[fd-dev] Please use DISPLAY with care

[Ralf Quint]

[This messages is relayed on behalf of Aitor Santamaria Merino ([EMAIL PROTECTED])]

Hi,

I just want to warn about the problems you may find with DISPLAY.
This not only affects FreeDOS DISPLAY, but also some other DISPLAY.SYS,
as those in MS-Windows9X (at least Spanish editions).

I am suggesting to do

MODECON CODEPAGE PREPARE xxx C:\DOS\cpxxx.RA
MODECON CODEPAGE SELECT xxx

Which is very similar as the way MS-Windows9X (at least Spanish vers)
does.

Notice that this leaves the system in an inconsistent manner, because
kernel hasn't changed its internal codepage (neither other possibly
existing drivers, like PRINTER.SYS).
Consequences:
1) You may have mismatch in the codepages shown in screen and printer
2) You may run into troubles if you deal with filenames and characters
outside the "latin/english" subset, because kernel filename
capitalisation tables aren't changed

This all happens because the correct way to set a codepage would be to
use CHCP.
CHCP is an internal program that calls kernel, which calls NLSFUNC. If
I am not wrong, NLSFUNC would care of all that (including DISPLAY), and
change all of that in a consistent manner*.
The problem is that we do not have a NLSFUNC program :-(((
As I suggested it, the screen (and in a near future) they keyboard
would
live in the suggested codepage, whereas the rest of the system keeps
living with 437.

However, it hadn't caused big troubles to me, as this is the default
configuration in Windows9X.
Anyway, use it with care, and beware of these problems about filenames
and printer mismatching.

Aitor

(*) There is a case which, in my opinion, leads to inconsistency.
DISPLAY.SYS is responsible for changing keyboard codepage too.
Microsoft's implementation will switch the screen codepage regardless
if
KEYB managed to change codepage or not, which means that it would leave
screen and keyboard with different codepages if KEYB failed. In my
opinion, this is a bug.

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