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`@ LexisNexis’
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`2 of 10 DOCUMENTS
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`Copyright 1994 Gale Group,Inc.
`All Rights Reserved
`ASAP
`Copyright 1994 ZDNet
`Computer Shopper
`
`April 1, 1994
`
`SECTION:Pg. p586(2) Vol. V14 No. N4 ISSN: 0886-0556
`
`ACC-NO: 15048421
`
`LENGTH: 2419 words
`
`HEADLINE: CD-evelopment: discovering a wealth of dev tools on CD-ROM;
`Walnut Creek CD-ROM's C Users' Group Library, CICA for Windowsand Simtel 20for DOS application development
`software, Microsoft Corp.'s Microsoft Developer Network application development documentation collectionson
`CD-ROM;
`Software Review;
`Evaluation
`
`BYLINE: Graves, Bruce
`
`BODY:
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`Four CD-ROMdiscs are now available to provide employment for Microsoft Windows and MS-DOSsoftware de-
`velopers' previously idle CD-ROMdrives. They furnish accessto literally gigabytes of shareware and freeware program
`development software and related documentation, as wellas hundredsofutility, game and miscellaneous programs.
`Walnut Creek CD-ROMpublishesthree of the discs, the $49.95 C Users' Group Library, $29.95 Simtel 20 for COS and
`$29.95 CICA for Windows CD-ROM databases. The C Users! Library's 3,443 C and 668 H files provide a wealth of
`data for tracing the developmentof the C language from its ad hoc beginningsto its current state of structured sophisti-
`cation. Simtel 20 puts the complete SIMTEL-20 US Army DOSprogram archives on disc, while CICA does the same
`for the Center for Innovative Computing Applications' archives, except that it usually omits source code. Microsoft
`Corp's Microsoft Developer Network collection of developer-originated articles and documentation sports a versatile
`search engine and costs $195 for a one-year, four-issue subscription.
`
`C Users' Group Library, CICA for Windows,Simtel 20 for DOS
`
`Walnut Creek CD-ROM
`
`1547 Palos Verdes Mall, Suite 260
`
`Walnut Creek, CA 94596
`
`1-800-786-9907
`
`Sugg. List Price: C Users' Group Library--$49.95; CICA for
`
`Windows, Simtel 20 for DOS--$29.95 each
`
`EMC/VMware v. PersonalWeb
`EMC/VMwarev. PersonalWeb
`IPR2013-00083
`IPR2013-00083
`EMCVMW 1039
`
`

`

`Page 2
`CD-evelopment: discovering a wealth of dev tools on CD-ROM.; Walnut Creek CD-ROM's C Users' GroupLibrary,
`CICA for Windowsand Simtel 20for DOSapplication development software, Microsoft C
`
`Requires: Windows3.0 or higher (for CUGL or CICA) or DOS3.3 or
`
`higher (for Simtel 20 for DOS); MPC- compliant CD-ROM drive.
`
`Microsoft Developer Network
`
`Microsoft Corp.
`
`One Microsoft Way
`
`Redmond, WA 98052-6399
`
`1-800-759-5474 (subscription); (206) 882-8080 (information)
`
`Sugg. List Price: one-year (four-disc) subscription--$195
`
`Requires: Windows3.0 or higher, or
`
`Windows NT, MPC-compliant CD-ROM drive.
`
`Until recently, I could count the numberof times I had used my CD-ROMdrive for development tasks. Windows
`NT, OS/2, a multimedia developmentkit, and several C++ compilers have been distributed on discs (as opposed to
`disks), so the drive was necessary to install them. Butafter installation, the unit usually sat idle, hiding behind the com-
`puter and buried undera pile of books.
`
`That's not how it has to be, however. As the four examples below will prove, you can get personal access to giga-
`bytes of programming information with only a little research.
`
`C Users' Group Library
`
`If C source code fascinates you, so will the C Users' Group Library (CUGL) disc, published by Walnut Creek
`CD-ROM.Andif youlike tracking the language, watching it evolve from the collection of statements, non-standard
`functions, and seemingly random headerfiles that it was in the early 1980s into the sophisticated programmingtoolit is
`today, you can spend hours perusing the disc's 3,443 C files and 668 Hfiles.
`
`Along the way, you'll encounter tens of useful programs and hundredsofuseless ones, ranging from an implementa-
`tion of Euclid's greatest-common-denominator algorithm to a tic-tac-toe game that was written almost 15 years ago (and
`still never loses, of course). There's CP/M code that demonstrates a stack-based implementation ofre-
`verse-Polish-notation, a portable implementation of the Unix spline utility, a 6502 cross assembler, and even a program
`that produces easy-to-read listings by printing every character twice (probably a breakthrough in 1980, when the code
`waswritten).
`
`Thedisc is divided into 102 top-level directories that represent individual diskettes from the library. Documents in
`the root directory providefile-by-file information for some of the subdirectories, though most of the more recent addi-
`tions only receive brief, one-line descriptions. Thefiles in each directory are a combination of source code, documenta-
`tion, and executables, and some of them include compiler-specific makefiles and projects.
`
`You'll find programsthat emulate cellular automata; generate Mandelbrot graphics; execute Xmodem, Ymodem,
`and Zmodem functions; display three-dimensional medical images; implement Simplex optimization; andeven perform
`spell-checking functions. Unix fans will discover multiple versions of wc, grep, head, tee, entab, retab, freq, and more.
`GNUusers will be happy, too, when they discover GAWK, GNUPLOT,and a 386-specific version GNU C/C++.
`
`Source code originated just about everywhere from Alabama to Japan. Coding quality varies immensely,and styles
`span the range of readability, including everything from well-commented, easy-to-read routinesto deeply nested state-
`ments and functions that only a compiler can love (or decipher). And if you think C is a low-level language today,try
`reading programsthat were written in 1979, before prototypes or nameslonger than eight characters were in vogue.
`
`Finally, if you're in search of computer nostalgia from the 1980s, you'll certainly find it here. References to Lattice
`C, Desmet C, MarkWilliams C, Microsoft C 3.0, the CP/M operating system, DOS 2.0, anda 20Mbhard disk for under
`$700 abound. And if phrases like Magic Word XYZZY and Youare in a maze oftwistylittle passages,all alike, invoke
`imagesof text-based terminals, acoustic modems, and the original Adventure game by Crowther and Woods, don't miss
`the chance to play it one more time--and to see how it was written.
`
`Simtel 20 for DOS
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`

`

`Page 3
`CD-evelopment: discovering a wealth of dev tools on CD-ROM.; Walnut Creek CD-ROM's C Users' GroupLibrary,
`CICA for Windowsand Simtel 20for DOSapplication development software, Microsoft C
`
`While the sheer volume of programs on the C User's Group Library disc is impressive, it pales in comparisonto the
`Simtel disc (also published by Walnut Creek). This disc contains thousandsof valuable entries plus thousands of others
`that range from interesting to, well, mediocre. Simtel holds the entire contents of the SIMTEL-20 archives, maintained
`by the U.S. Army at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. Look around for a while; any MS-DOSuseror de-
`veloper will find something useful.
`
`For programmers,there are libraries and subroutines, complete with source code, to perform everything from ma-
`trix manipulation to Fast Fourier Transforms. You'll also see time and date manipulation, hashing functions, data com-
`pression, and even an onscreen cuckoo clock. Mostof the routines are written in C, thoughthereis also a sprinklingof
`routines in C++ and assembly language.
`
`Not only does Simtel provide useful and educational routines, but you'll find a huge number of MS-DOSutilities.
`You can create batch files with all the abilities of a BASIC program; choose between multipleCONFIG.SYS and
`COMMAND.COMfiles at bootup time; copy floppies quickly; sort and defragmentdirectories and entire disks; and
`recover data from damagedfloppies.
`
`If you need a disk or environmenttool, it's probably here. A warning appliesto theutilities (and the rest of the pro-
`grams, too): Not all of them are commercial-quality or completely up to date. Be prepared to spend sometime experi-
`menting with them, and back up your data before you haphazardly reorganize (or worse, accidentally reformat) your
`hard drive.
`
`Programmers and non-programmersalike, including astronomers, chemists, electrical engineers, mathematicians,
`and even teachers and homeowners,will be able to find enough programsanddata files to keep themselves busy for
`days or even weeks. At $29.95, this disc delivers an unbeatable amountof information andutility for the price.
`
`Thetitle does have one significant weakness, however: Its sheer size can be overwhelming. With over 7,000 ZIP
`files, it's tough figuringout whereto start. An included text documentthatlists each file, sorted by directory (and hence
`by topic), is an excellent place to start, but each entry receives only a one-line summary.A basic database, providing
`more complete descriptions and incorporating somesort of rating system, would have been an excellent addition.
`
`CICA for Windows
`
`Walnut Creek also publishes a disc that contains a huge number of Windowsfreeware and shareware applications,
`utilities, data files, text files, source code, and more from the CICA (Center for Innovative Computing Applications) at
`Indiana University. Like the Simtel disc, the CICA disc is aimed at a very broad audience, not just developers. Its depth
`matchesits breadth, however, and it is well worth allocating several hours just to get a feel for what the disc contains,
`nevermind exploring everything that looks interesting.
`
`Updated quarterly, the disc holds 3,570 files culled from Internet directories on Windows and WindowsNTsoft-
`ware, as well as the libraries in CompuServe's Microsoft Forum. With such sources,it's no surprise that there's such a
`hugevariety of drivers, games, programmingtools, andutilities, in addition to substantial documentation for bothWin-
`dows and NT.
`
`In the developmentarena, entries range from application-code generators to a database-manipulation library, from a
`text file explaining Dynamic Data Exchangeto a resource de-compiler (which actually extracts bitmaps, dialogs, menus,
`and so forth from an EXE or DLL andplaces them in an RCfile). There are also several program editors and a virtual
`device driver (VxD)that allows DOSapplications running under Windowstotell if they're full-screen or in a window.
`
`Other tools include a Windowsversion of Emacs, the Unix-based editor (whose icon is typically a miniature kitch-
`en sink, because it does almost everything an editor can do--and then some); a utility to measure CPU usage; a program
`to detect other applications that misbehave;several icon editors; a disassembler that works on executables and DLLs;
`and a utility that displays which API functions a program calls.
`
`Though the CICAdisc's variety is strong, there are a few problems. For example, quite a few of the sample files,
`tutorials, and utilities are showing their age. Some have been around since Windows3.0, several are alpha andbeta re-
`leases from as far back as 1991, andstill others provide programminginterfaces that don't fit well or have been super-
`seded by more complete libraries from companies like Microsoft, Borland, or Inmark.
`
`More importantly, however, many of CICA's sharewarelibraries include only a DLL, a demonstration of how to
`use it, and some documentation--in contrast to DOSlibraries, which frequently include source code. This creates two
`problems:First, it's impossible to study the library internals to understand how they work. Second, they require the us-
`
`

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`Page 4
`CD-evelopment: discovering a wealth of dev tools on CD-ROM.; Walnut Creek CD-ROM's C Users' GroupLibrary,
`CICA for Windowsand Simtel 20for DOSapplication development software, Microsoft C
`
`er's complete faith that they operate correctly now andthattheir creators will provide updates and bugfixes as long as
`anyone needs them.
`
`Whichfiles to include with specific utilities isn't CICA's or Walnut Creek's choice, of course, and the problem isn't
`uniqueto this disc. Individual authors decide howto distribute their tools and applications. But the disc's index could at
`least indicate which entries doinclude source code; in manycases, that would help developers decide whethera specific
`directory was worth exploring or whether to keepsearching for something moreuseful.
`
`Microsoft Developer's Network
`
`Lastly, we saw the Microsoft Developer's Network (MSDN), which wascreated by Microsoft to distribute infor-
`mation about Windowsand Microsoft developmenttools and to gather feedback from developers. To accomplish these
`tasks, the group monitors the Microsoft technical forums on CompuServedaily, publishes a quarterly newsletter, and
`producesan updated MSDNdisc four timesa year.
`
`Unlike the Walnut Creek CDs, which primarily consist of source code andutilities, the MSDNdisc contains hun-
`dreds of short and medium-length articles. Broken into high-level categories like Multimedia, Visual C++, and Win-
`dows, then further divided into subcategories, such as GDI, OLE,and the Windows Manager, the numberofarticles and
`the sheer volumeoftextual information on the disc is amazing.
`
`In addition to articles written specifically for the MSDN,the disc contains the Microsoft Knowledge Base and
`documentation for a varietyof Microsoft developmenttools, including Visual C/C++, the Windows SDK, Access, and
`Visual Basic. The text and the programs from CharlesPetzold's Programming Windows3.1 and Ray Duncan's Ad-
`vanced MS-DOSProgrammingare also included, along with articles and codelistings from several magazines, such as
`the Microsoft Systems Journal and Basic Pro.
`
`To avoid overwhelming users with hundreds of megabytes of raw data, the disc includes Microsoft's own Win-
`dows-based Multimedia Viewer. The interface makes it easy to browse the topics and expand and contract individual
`categories, similar to the way that the File Managerdisplays directories. Double-clicking on an entry bringsits text and
`any associated diagrams up in the Viewer's main window,which supports printing, annotation, and copying information
`to the Clipboard.
`
`The interface also includesa flexible search engine that runs in its own window and can quickly scan the disc for
`individual words, phrases, and basic logical and wildcard expressions. For example, searching for every article that
`contained the word DLL andthe phrase LARGEMEMORY MODELtookroughly 30 seconds and produceda list of 29
`entries. Double-clicking on any ofthose entries popsits text up in the Viewer. Furthermore, searches can belimited to
`article titles, narrowed in scope to specific categories, or restricted to the articles that a previous search turned up,all of
`which makes them evenfaster.
`
`Manyentries contain hypertext and pop-up definitions that behave like their Windows Help counterparts. Some
`topics also have sample files (such as source code, DLLs, and executables) associated with them, and clicking on an
`icon in their text displaysa list of the files and where they can be located on the CD. Thefiles can be copied, browsed,
`or executed from the Vieweror accessed normally via DOSor the WindowsFile Manager.
`
`The MSDNdoeshave a few rough edges. For example, the Viewer takes over 20 secondsto start up.Its list of
`search results scrolls sluggishly, requiring frequent access to the CD; a simple caching scheme would probably makeit
`more responsive. Also, like the Windows Help program, the Viewer doesn't allow youto highlight text in its main win-
`dow and copyit directly; instead, it brings the text up in a simple viewerthat strips away any special formatting.
`
`Quirks like these are relatively minor, however. The MSDNdisc contains so much useful information, and makes
`that information so easytofind,it's a virtual must for every Windowsprogrammer. If you develop software and regu-
`larly reach for manuals, search for information online, and ask colleagues howto solve problems,a subscription to
`MSDNwill pay for itself very quickly (although at $195 per year, a complimentary disc caddie would have been nice).
`
`GRAPHIC: table
`illustration OP Microsoft Windows OP MS-DOS
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`LOAD-DATE: March 12, 2008
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