HelpPC 2.10 Quick Reference Utility Copyright 1991 David Jurgens This file exists to provide you with more information about HelpPC. I hope it helps with the decision of whether to download HELPPC. Below you will find a description of the included utilities and a list of about 100 of the 1300 topics included in the HelpPC databases. I think you will find the download of the program worth your while if you're a serious PC programmer or support professional. HelpPC 2.10 is a shareware program designed for the intermediate to advanced PC programmer who knows what he's doing, but just can't remember specific information necessary to program advanced features of the PC or PS/2. This utility is comprised of a collection of information found in manufacturer technical reference manuals, various commercial books, technical topics discussed on CompuServe's technical forums, public domain articles and my own snooping, all organized in a single database. The help topics include BIOS interrupts, DOS interrupts and functions, EMS and Mouse functions, BIOS and DOS data structures, diagnostic codes, DOS commands, 80x86 assembler instructions, C functions and various hardware port addresses and register specifications. The main program is a quick reference utility that allows quick viewing of the help database from the DOS command line. The program, which is approximately 10K in size, is written in C with a little assembler sprinkled in for speed/size optimization. A 43 and 50 line mode is supported for those that like to squint. A TSR version is included that has several enhancements over the command line version, including dual monitor support and context sensitive help, (if you place your cursor on a text string within an editor and hotkey into the TSR, HelpPC pops up and presents information on the topic). These utilities can be run on a floppy system, but a hard disk system is recommended. Also included are two command files INDEXHLP.COM and BUILD.BAT. INDEXHLP.COM is the file index utility that allows you to use your own data files with HelpPC. Usage is very simple; you just include the files you plan to index on the command line. Issuing the INDEXHLP command gives instructions on usage. BUILD.BAT is a batch file provided to simplify using INDEXHLP; It indexes the default databases in the distribution and allows you to specify your own additional databases. BUILD without parameters indexes the default databases. If any file names are supplied, they are also indexed. Default databases can be easily removed by creating a new, modified BUILD.BAT file, re-indexing, and removing the unwanted database text file from the help directory. Have fun! Dave Jurgens CIS: 70004,30 HelpPC 2.10 Quick Reference Utility Copyright 1991 David Jurgens Here's a list of some of the topics included in HelpPC, which is less than 1/13 of the topics actually included in the databases: 6845 Crt Controller specs (CRTC) 765 Floppy Disk Controller specs (FDC) 8042 AT keyboard controller specs 8086 CPU Flags format 8250 through 16550 UART specs. 8253/8254 Programmable Interval Timer specs (PIT) 8259 Programmable Interrupt Controller specs (PIC) 8272 PS/2 keyboard controller specs ANSI cursor control codes ASCII, Extended ASCII and EBCDIC character tables Assembler directives (MASM) Assembler options (MASM) BIOS break and Ctrl-C handlers BIOS data area layout BIOS interrupt descriptions BIOS parameter block Batch File Commands Batch Control Block formats (BCB) Boot diagnostic codes Boot sector format Byte ordering C - ANSI C functions C - MS C functions, including graphics, _dos_* and _bios_* functions. C - Turbo C functions C operator precedence tables CMOS RAM & Real Time Clock specs (RTC) Capacitor values Code page tables and country info Cold and warm bootstrap behavior Color attribute table Critical error handler information dBASE file formats DOS INDOS critical section flag DOS INVARS internal variables DOS error codes DOS interrupt descriptions DOS service descriptions DOS versions table Data ranges Detecting PC capabilities and installed equipment/software Device attributes Device command codes Device header Device request header Device status Directory format Disk Base Table (DBT) Disk Partition Table Disk Transfer Area (DTA) Disk drive specs Diskette status data Drive Parameter Table (DPT) EMS services EXE file header format HelpPC 2.10 Quick Reference Utility Copyright 1991 David Jurgens Effective Address calculations Epson printer codes Extended BIOS Data Area (EBDA) Extended errors returned by INT 21,59 Extended FCB (XFCB) File Allocation Table File Attributes File Control Block (FCB) Floating Point formats Floppy disk formats Game port specs Global Descriptor Tables (GDT) Hardware port address tables Hayes modem commands and data formats HP Laserjet commands IOCTL functions Intel 8088/286/386 instruction set indexed by instruction Interrupt tables, standard and undocumented IRQ assignments Keyboard commands for the AT Keyboard flags Keyboard Make/Break codes Keyboard Scan Code tables for INT 16h, bioskey() and _bios_keybrd() Machine Status Word (MSW) Machine identification byte tables Media descriptor byte Memory Control Block (MCB) Memory model descriptions Microsoft C error messages Microsoft C options Mouse services Parallel port printf specifiers Program Segment Prefix (PSP) RS232 pinouts and meanings Resistor values scanf specifiers System File Table (SFT) Undocumented interrupts, functions and tables Video data tables