memory

[D Williams]

Hello,

I hope that you can help me. I have inherited an undocumented program written using PB 3.2.
I would like to place a watch on some of the variables and step through the program to better understand it.

When I attempt to step into the program, I receive the following message:

Not enough memory available to run
in the IDE: try PBD.EXE. Press ESC
IDE memory available: 190224
IDE required to exec: 390288

I am using windows xp with 512m RAM and have attempted to configure a pif to maximize the memory available to PB.
Here is the memory that I have available in a dos window:

655360 bytes total conventional memory
655360 bytes available to MS-DOS
628032 largest executable program size

33554432 bytes total contiguous extended memory
0 bytes available contiguous extended memory
16711680 bytes available XMS memory
MS-DOS resident in High Memory Area

Last week I purchased PB 3.5 in order to get some documentation for PB.
I also purchased PBCC thinking that perhaps I could port the program over to sidestep the memory problems, but that is turning into a bigger job than I expected.

Can you please suggest some way that I can step through this program?

Thank you for your help.


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[Ian Cairns]

In PB.exe under Options/Compiler Set "Attach PBDebugInfo" to on.
Run PBD.exe and use your standard debug commands to work through the program.

regards,

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ian[dot][email protected]

[D Williams]

Thanks for the tip. I guess I am somewhat closer to debugging, but I'm still not there.\

After opening the file in pbd I received the following message:

Success..Press any key.
DDE memory available 273088
DDE required to exec 390288

When I attempt to step into the program I receive this message:
Error 258: Program too big to fit in memory.

Does anyone have any ideas?

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[Davide Vecchi]

You might try to make your module code smaller.

Other than eliminating parts of code , you could move some procedures to compiled units (*.PBU) (procedures that you don't need to debug now), which is a good idea anyway.

I'm sure there are more things you can do, just now i can't think of any, i'll post if they come to my mind.

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Davide Vecchi
[email protected]

[Michael Mattias]

>you could move some procedures to compiled units (*.PBU

Or *.PBC CHAIN files.

[Ian Cairns]

try this link:
ems memory and windows xp
regards,

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ian[dot][email protected]

[Mike Luther]

Friend Williams,

If all this and WIN XP and so on wind up in a deep black memory
hole and there is no other way out, but you MUST get this done,
you might send me your Email address to mine which is published
here.. I may be able to offer pointers to other operating system
sources for DOS which will bail you out and then some.

At the risk of starting a riot here, sigh ..

There are ways in OS/2 to gain even more available memory and
work, as far as I've seen, with larger programs in relation to
the de-bugging issue, than I've seen in any other *DOS* platform
variation. And, again, you can run larger programs for client
use that you can de-bug in the conventional single-step way
as well, if absolutely needed. I've heard it described as
'cheese debugging' by other PB afficiandos in the past, and,
yes, even I have to use it at times, grin.

There are arguable some issues which have surfaced in the past
with things that seem 'broken' that then can't be 'demonstrated'
to those not working in the IBM version of *DOS* and the arguably
'standard' EMS/XMS interface and so on.

But so far, there are work-arounds that haven't stopped me yet.

Amd as I sit here right now, I'm going forward with PB 3.5 for
'DOS' in yet another program far bigger than I could even run in
the PB 3.5 IDE in any other form of DOS I've ever had, today, using
extra long quad integers for arrays with elements that big, for the
first time in my life with PowerBasic. Plus while i'm writing this
and taking a break to answer you in MOZ 1.8a6 in OS/2 MCP2 latest
there are 156 threads and 15 complete active tasks running on this
box with only 19% of a 500Mhz Intel CPU even used. Which includes
two complete DOS comm port applications running full time in the
background for dedicated logging purposes as well!

And it *IS* possible, to run OS/2 as a GUEST in Windows, at least
it was until M/S bought out Connectix, which although they killed
the reverse to run WIN as a GUEST in OS/2, I'm told is cheerfully
available for the reverse!

And .. at least for USA folks .. all it costs for the Passport
Advantage membership at IBM for a full year of support and the
whole deal of MCP2 latest for OS/2, is a flying $62 USD. Which
runs everything I've thrown at the IBM DOS provided back to 1974.
Assembler code I still use, plus everything all the way into
the whole USB, and so on for a heck of a lot into the future.

You will, perhaps, as I am seeing, have a hard time getting the
resulting DOS code from PB 3.5, running for certain communications
and printing issues in WIN XP SP2 latest. I do have a test box of
that level here which is giving me no end of trouble on some WIN
items that are really WIN and have NOTHING to do with other than
Windows code. So as I have found out there are even more compatiblity
issues with where WIN is going as opposed to other operating systems
in respect to heritage code..

But if there is no other out, and the issue is one of absolute
support for DOS operations, such as embedded systems work, hardware
communications issues for water or oil field reservoir production
work, numerical machine tool systems, .. and so on .. have hope!
OS/2 is fully supported in writing from IBM through December 31,
2006. And per disclosure at WarpStock for more than one year now..
it's TCO'd under contract for very big customers in Europe .. through
the year 2019. Plus IBM still officially posts that they are supporting
over SIX MILLION pure DOS 'users' at this point. So it almost has to
mean something about DOS and what is needed, I guess.

Heritage applications are SERIOUS business for some people. And
the ability to work with them is a very major commitement for some
people as well.. Including PowerBasic, which has done a wonderful
job for me for a long, long time.



------------------
Mike Luther
[email protected]

[Frank Cox]

For anyone who's interested:

"Welcome to dosemu 1.2.2.0!"
SHARE installed.
C:\>mem

Memory Type Total Used Free
---------------- -------- -------- --------
Conventional 640K 10K 630K
Upper 116K 21K 95K
Reserved 268K 268K 0K
Extended (XMS) 16,384K 8,292K 8,092K
---------------- -------- -------- --------
Total memory 17,408K 8,591K 8,817K

Total under 1 MB 756K 31K 725K

Total Expanded (EMS) 2,048K (2,097,152 bytes)
Free Expanded (EMS) 2,048K (2,097,152 bytes)

Largest executable program size 630K (645,168 bytes)
Largest free upper memory block 92K ( 94,560 bytes)
FreeDOS is resident in the high memory area.

C:\>

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