Possibilities - Realities 12/90

Contact:   eSoft, Inc. (Makers of TBBS)
           15200 E. Girard Ave., Suite 3000
           Aurora, CO  80014
           (303) 699-6565      Voice
           (303) 699-6872      Fax
           (303) 699-8222      BBS
           support@esoft.com   E-Mail

REALITIES 12/90
---------------

*** From December 1990 Possibilities Newsletter ***
*** Copyright 1990 by eSoft, Inc.  All Rights Reserved ***

REALITIES...how to make it work
by eSoft Technical Support Staff

From the moment you first install TBBS, it's easy to see the possibilities are 
almost endless.  Turning those possibilities into realities can bring up 
questions.  For this reason, quality customer support is at least half the 
overall value of any software package. 

We recommend you call the eSoft Support BBS (303-699-8222) and read through 
the messages in each of the various support areas.  You could find answers to 
your questions, even before you've asked them!  You'll definitely get some 
useful tips and ideas for bringing possibilities to life with tbbs.  In this 
section of the newsletter, we will answer some of the more commonly asked 
questions we receive. 

Flattening the Learning Curve...

Q. I recently purchased TDBS.  I'm new to dBASE and also to programming.  What 
I can do to learn what I need to know to program TDBS? 

A. There are two things you need to learn:  Programming, and the dBASE 
language. 

Most major communities have several adult education options for both, as do 
community colleges, four-year colleges and universities.  You may even be able 
to locate an offering that helps with both by teaching you entry-level 
programming and the dBASE language at the same time. 

dBASE itself can be used in two ways:  interactively, or through programming a 
dBASE application.  Only the latter will assist you with TDBS, so avoid 
courses on using dBASE, and focus on courses that deal with dBASE language 
programming. 

You will also find dozens of books on dBASE programming.  Remember you need to 
learn dBASE language PROGRAMMING, not how to use dBASE interactively.  If you 
learn dBASE programming, you'll be able to be fully productive with TDBS. 

Closing the Doors...

Q. I'm anxiously thinking about buying TDBS, because I'd like to add doors to 
my system.  In addition to dBASE, what other programs can I run through TDBS?  
Can I use Clipper or Foxbase? I'd also like to have callers access some of my 
compiled BASIC games. 

A. For the unfamiliar, "doors" is a common bulletin board term for the 
mechanism of letting callers run DOS programs on-line.  Although we don't 
refer to it that way, TBBS Single Line effectively has "transparent doors" 
through the Type 44 menu option. 

TBBS Multi-Line, however, does not and cannot offer doors.  The reason is that 
TBBS runs on a single CPU, and has an integrated multi-tasker.  Some other 
multi-line BBS products offer doors, because they either use something like 
DESQview to multi-task three or four lines, or use one CPU per line through a 
LAN, approaches which are less efficient or more expensive solutions when 
compared to TBBS. 

TDBS is a special dBASE language compatible development system.  It is NOT 
"doors" nor is it a "hook" into dBASE itself.  Therefore, you cannot run BASIC 
language programs, Clipper or Foxbase programs, or anything not developed with 
TDBS itself. 

TDBS comes with two parts - a dBASE language compatible compiler and a run- 
time module.  The compiler is used for code development -- you use it to 
compile programs that you write in the TDBS language (dBASE compatible with 
extensions).  The run-time module is loaded into memory with TBBS when the 
system loads, and provides the necessary functionality for users to run the 
TDBS programs you have written and compiled.  All programs accessed through 
TDBS must be written and developed using TDBS.  dBASE itself is not required 
at all, as everything about TDBS is self-contained. 

Aborting the "Aborting to Top"... 

Q. My users and I occasionally get an error from TBBS that says, "unexpected 
DOS error, aborting to top."  What does that mean, and what happened to cause 
it? 

A. The message means that some sort of DOS error was encountered by TBBS.  The 
system aborted to the top, meaning that the user was moved to the top level 
(main) menu.  When a DOS error occurs, TBBS resets internally on the line on 
which the error took place, and reloads the top menu, essentially "starting 
over" for that user.  (User limits, counts and clocks are NOT reset, however - 
they continue to be maintained properly despite the error.) 

This error normally occurs for one of two reasons:  First, you have chained 
(Type 5 or Type 45) to a non-existent menu, or second, you have referenced a 
file on a menu which does not exist (through a Type 5, for example).  Either 
of these will cause TBBS to try and locate a file which it expects must exist, 
and hence, will trigger the error.  

You will need to check your menu(s) to determine the source of the error.  
Common problems are misspellings, typographical errors, or in the case of 
referencing a file, you might have left off a drive and/or path when one was 
required. 

The other possibility is that your system is experiencing a hardware failure.  
In this case the unexpected error will indicate the cause, such as CRC error 
(meaning a disk sector could not be read).  In these cases you will have to 
perform maintenance on your computer to repair the problem. 

Conditioning Yourself Before Your Modem...

Q. What is modem pre-conditioning?  TBBS is the only software I've encountered 
that requires this ridiculous step!  I have one modem I have to pre-condition 
every day or it doesn't work.  What a pain! 

A. It sounds like you have a modem problem, or you aren't issuing the proper 
pre-conditioning string.  In order to know, you must understand what pre-
conditioning is, and why TBBS requires it. 

Older modems as well as several current models have DIP switches (tiny switch 
banks) or jumpers that are used to configure various parameters within the 
modem.  Newer modems often do away with DIP switches and jumpers entirely, 
because they have so many options and settings that having a switch or jumper 
for each one is impractical.  These modems are configured through special 
modem command strings. 

The settings on such modems are held internally in something called "NRAM" or 
non-volatile RAM.  This is either normal RAM whose memory is maintained by a 
battery inside the modem, or is a special type of RAM that acts like ROM but 
can be rewritten.  

It should be noted that some modems have a few DIP switches for major 
settings, in addition to NRAM.  USRobotics brand modems are a good example of 
this.  In most cases however, NRAM settings override the switch settings. 

The term "pre-conditioning" was coined by us, and is used to describe the 
process of setting the various NRAM options important for successful operation 
of TBBS.  On modems with NRAM, nearly all software will require pre-
conditioning, although it's probably referred to by another term and is 
handled differently. TBBS is definitely NOT the only software that requires 
this operation in some form or another. 

Because NRAM is non-volatile, settings you save in NRAM don't go away, even if 
you turn the modem off.  NRAM settings can be lost under one or more of the 
following circumstances:  manual NRAM reset, accidental NRAM reset, settings 
not actually saved to NRAM after being set, power surge destroying NRAM 
contents, defective NRAM or modem hardware, or a weak battery inside the 
modem. 

You should only have to pre-condition your modems ONCE, then forget about it.  
If you are finding a need to pre-condition them again, especially on a regular 
basis, then it's due to one of the reasons outlined above.  You should never 
have to pre-condition more than once unless something has gone wrong in the 
modem or pre-conditioning was not done correctly to begin with. 

- END -
PS1290-2
Rev. 12/90

Copyright (C) 1994 eSoft, Inc., All Rights Reserved.  Permission granted
to distribute this file in its entirety, without modification, to any
interested party.  Any other use requires the written permission of
eSoft, Inc.

IMPORTANT:  The information herein is subject to change without notice.
Please call or write to confirm factual information of importance to you
or your organization.

