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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!floyd!harpo!seismo!hao!hplabs!sri-unix!erh%virginia@csnet-relay
From: erh%virginia%csnet-relay@sri-unix.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.micro.cpm
Subject: none
Message-ID: <16364@sri-arpa.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 9-Feb-84 01:23:16 EST
Article-I.D.: sri-arpa.16364
Posted: Thu Feb  9 01:23:16 1984
Date-Received: Wed, 8-Feb-84 09:32:13 EST
Lines: 34

1
	I have recently obtained MDM716 and I am gratified with its
performance.  I submit the following suggestions in hope of making the
excellent thing better:

1. The overlay method of customizing the program is still too specific.
Ideally, there should be two clearly defined overlays:
	-- an outer one containing all procedures for a given modem
	or modem setup.  There would be one overlay for PMMI, another for
	Hayes, etc.  This overlay should contain well isolated procedures
	to hang up the modem, send a break, etc.  The way it is now, a 
	Hayes user has to wade through all the PMMI stuff to find the 
	relevant code (not mentioning the fact that the code for the 
	other modems just sits there and uses the precious K's).  To wit:
	Hayes can be told to hang up by dropping DTR, which is infinitely
	faster than sending the #$%! pluses, but the DISCONNECT stuff is 
	buried too well for me to bother. That outer overlay should contain 
	procedures to do all kinds of exotic things, such as change the baud 
	rates, etc.  Use flags to indicate which procedures are valid.
	-- an inner one dealing with the i/o hardware: sending and 
	receiving characters from the modem.  And please, have somewhat 
	more general procedures.  The functions to mask a status byte are
	cute, but too primitive.  The guys using interrupts and BIOS 
	bufferring of incoming characters would prefer to use a system
	or BIOS call to get/test for input characters.

2. The dialing procedures could be somewhat smarter.  Use some way of 
separating the decription from the phone number.  The way it is now,
all digits get dialed out, including things like "Gandalf1, 1200bps...".
I also agree with a recent remark about necessity of controlling the
pulse/tone dialing mode.

~v~ Ed Howorka, erh@uvacs
 ~