Source distribution of Micro version of SPITBOL-386 with all of its functionality but with a much reduced memory capability.

Note that there were two versions. While both were 16-bit 8088 code, one provided 16-bit and the other 32-bit INTEGER data types in SPITBOL.

The V37 MINIMAL source is from 2009.

The C files contain conditionals for all the other operating systems and architectures I did along the way, like SPARC, PowerPC, MIPS, Moto68K, etc. I think I recall stripping many of those out in the C files I sent you in 2009 when you first resumed work on this.

The #define you need for the 8088 version is BCC16, and if that's still in the original files I sent you, perhaps you should use those C files instead.

If anyone actually tries to build this, they will need Borland Turbo C++ 3.x or 4.x, the last versions to support 16-bit object files.

With a quick search, it appears 3.x is available free online, though there seem to be issues finding the right full-screen DOS box for it to run in.

The assembler used was tasm that came bundled with Borland C++. I believe the makefile is set up for Intel' 32-bit Code Builder because I was using it at the time with the 32-bit version of SPITBOL and it had more features than Borland's tmake.

You need a 32-bit SPITBOL to run the MINIMAL tokenizer and 8088 code generator.

With some effort, I'm sure it could be made to work with other 16-bit C compilers and assemblers, but Borland is the only one I tried.

This baby SPITBOL was pretty robust, and was even used on some 8088 cards plugged into a host chassis.

This is the source distribution of a "micro" version of Catspaw SPITBOL-386 with all of its functionality but with a much reduced memory capability. It generates EXE files and is useful in situations where you wish to distribute a program that is capable of running on all MS-DOS platforms, from 8088 through Pentium.

Although the memory limitations are severe, you'll be surprised at how large a program can be accommodated in the 56 KB workspace. For example, the large demonstration programs KALAH.SPT and ATN.SPT fit comfortably. Programs that accumulate data in tables and arrays will be more of a problem, but for simple filtering or reformatting applications, SPITBOL-88 should prove useful.

By maintaining full functionality with SPITBOL-386, you'll be able to move '386 programs directly to SPITBOL-88, with no source code changes in most cases.

Two versions of SPITBOL-88 are provided: SPITBOLS.EXE and SPITBOLL.EXE. They are identical except for the size of integers; they provide 16 and 32-bit integers respectively:

SPITBOLS' 16-bit integers are the same as those in Robert Dewar's PC-SPITBOL. Values range from -32,768 to +32,767. SPITBOLS stands for "SPITBOL Short".

SPITBOLL's 32-bit integers are the same as SPITBOL-80386. Values range from -2,147,483,648 to +2,147,483,647. Because the 8088 is fundamentally a 16-bit machine, integer arithmetic with SPITBOLL will be slower than in SPITBOLS. Also, an additional two bytes are required to hold each integer value, which may be significant in programs that store many integers. SPITBOLL stands for "SPITBOL Long".

Both 8088 versions limit the values of integer keywords to &MAXLNGTH (see below).

SPITBOL-88 provides 64-bit floating point support identical to SPITBOL-386, including trigonometric, logarithmic, and exponential functions. A software emulator is included, so an 80x87 numeric coprocessor is not required (but will be used if present).

SPITBOL-88 uses a small memory model that provides approximately 56 KB of workspace (for compiled program and data). Default memory values are:

The initial stack and &MAXLNGTH values can be adjusted from the command line, subject to the overall limitations provided by the small memory model. The -s# command line option will change the stack size to "#" bytes, while -m# changes the maximum object size (&MAXLNGTH). Changing either will affect the workspace size. Increasing the stack size will diminish the workspace and increase &MAXLNGTH. A smaller stack will enlarge the workspace and decrease &MAXLNGTH.

Type SPITBOLS or SPITBOLL at the DOS prompt (no arguments) to obtain a complete list of command line options.

SPITBOL-88 follows the I/O conventions of SPITBOL-386. Options formed according to the syntax of Dewar's PC-SPITBOL are not valid.

To prevent unnecessary memory thrashing in the small memory model, the default record length and buffer size is 512 bytes, not 1,024 bytes as is the case in SPITBOL-386. This may be increased to 1,024 with the -b and -l I/O options in the INPUT or OUTPUT function. See the description of the INPUT funciton in manual chapter 19 for more information on these options.

The SET function provides random-access positioning within a file. In addition to the standard SET function arguments documented in the SPITBOL-386 manual, SPITBOL-88 supports most of the SET argument forms of Dewar's PC-SPITBOL. This is essential for SPITBOLS, because there is no other way to set file positions larger than 32,767. Specifically, the forms supported are:

While these new SET functions are now available in all versions of Catspaw SPITBOL, they are not needed in any of the 32-bit versions, including SPITBOLL.

SPITBOL-88 provides identical HOST functions (including screen, keyboard, and BIOS calls) to SPITBOL-386. The numbering of some host functions differ between Dewar's PC-SPITBOL and SPITBOL-88:

The include files PCHOST.INC and HOST.INC provide two different version-independent ways of accessing these functions.

SPITBOL-88 supports runtime-loadable external functions. Calling arguments and methods are similar to SPITBOL-386, except that string lengths are 16-bits, and pointers use the conventional 8088 16:16 segment:offset notation.

For convenience, arguments specified as INTEGER in the LOAD call are passed to external functions as 32-bit long integers, regardless of which 8088 version is running. Thus the same external function can be used with both SPITBOLS and SPITBOLL. However, if an argument is passed as unconverted, a pointer to the integer block is passed, and either a 16-bit or 32-bit integer will be there, depending upon the version. The LOGIC.ASM file shows how to determine which version is running.

External functions must be COM files, ORG'd to location 100H. Assembly-language examples are provided in sub-directory EXTERNAL\ASM. With limitations, external functions can be written in C as well. See sub-directory EXTERNAL\C and the READ.ME file there for more information.

Floating point instructions may be used if the /e (emulated) option is used with Borland's Turbo Assembler, or the -f option (the default) with Borland C++ 3.0. Such functions must be linked with FLOAT.OBJ (provided) to produce the memory fixups needed to produce floating point emulator opcodes.

Several utility functions are provided in directory EXTERNAL\ASM. See comments at the beginning of each file for usage information. Some have associated include files to simplify usage.

• CVTNS Convert numeric to 2, 4, or 8 byte string. Useful for outputting the internal binary form of integer or real values.
• CVTSN Inverse of CVTNS.
• FILENAME Perform wildcard filename lookup in directory.
• LOGIC Perform a variety of logical and base-conversion operations.
• LTRIM Trim the left side of string.
• PATHNAME Returns the file and pathname associated with and I/O channel.
• TESTEF? Test functions that show how different types of results can be returned.

In directory EXTERNAL\C:

• REALCVT Provides real-to-string conversion with precision and format controls similar to SNOBOL4+.

Save files (execution snapshots of SPITBOL's workspace) may be created prior to execution with the -y command-line option, or during execution with EXIT(-3,filename) or EXIT(-4,filename).

Executable files (full, stand-alone EXE files) may be created prior to execution with the -w command-line option, or during execution with EXIT(+3,filename) or EXIT(+4,filename). Use +3 or -3 with EXIT() to terminate execution after writing the file. +4 or -4 will continue execution after writing the file (but with all files except INPUT, OUTPUT, and TERMINAL closed), and may be used to periodically checkpoint a long-running program.

It is now possible to EXIT to a filename that is the same as the file being executed. That is, an EXE file can recreate itself as it acquires and "remembers" additional data.

SPITBOL's SETEXIT function can be used to trap Control-C interrupts. The &ERRTYPE code for such an interrupt is 320.

The TIME function returns version-dependent values. SPITBOLS' TIME function returns execution time in deciseconds (tenths of a second). SPITBOLL's TIME function returns execution time in milliseconds.

Compilation and runtime statistics (-c and -x command-line options) are in deciseconds for SPITBOLS, in milliseconds for SPITBOLL. Both express storage usage in words, where a word is defined to be 2 bytes. The COLLECT() function returns available storage in words as well.