Barrie's Download Page

You'd expect this page to contain all the downloads I have made available wouldn't you? Well, you're right! On here, you'll find links to all the downloads from all the pages, including those off all the old pages that have been removed. Someone might still find them useful.

You'll still find links to all the Delphi downloads on the Delphi Page and the Emulator downloads on the Emulator Page as well. Due to the number involved, I've not included the MIDI files on this page - you'll find them on the MIDI page!

As of 19 June 1998, all the links point to my ftp server which is only active on Saturdays between 00:05 am and 23:55 pm GMT. If you try to download on any day other than Saturday, you'll get a message telling you that the site doesn't exist. It does... but only on Saturday's when I'm on-line! For more details on connecting to the ftp server, check out the Dance eJay main page.

GFA Programs

DOS Commands

Yes I know DOS is old hat, but there must still be some users out there. These commands are all GFA Basic for DOS executables. As with all DOS commands, typing /? as a parameter offers help on usage.

DIR2TEXT:
Extremely useful command which searches a hard disk drive for a given extension and builds a formatted text file. All subdirectories are opened, so you get the location of every file on your disk which matches the criteria.

ADD:
Adds a single line of text to the end of a text file, or removes n lines.

CLEAN:
This small command does a very useful task - it cleans unwanted files off your hard disk, like .TMP files and .BAK files. You can do the same with the DEL command and switches, but I wanted to write this anyway to check out GFA's command line abilities and it does have a couple of additional features. All it needs is the drive letter and the extension of the files you want to remove, Eg:
CLEAN D: BAK
This will...


a) tell you how many .BAK files there are on drive D:
b) ask you to confirm deletion of these files and
c) tell you the free space on the drive before and after the files have been deleted.

For full instructions, type CLEAN /? at the prompt.

Examples Programs (No Source Code)

These programs are all GFA Basic for DOS executables too.

BUTTONS FOR GFA (BFG):
BFG is a GFA Basic programming utility which allows you to design screens of clickable buttons as objects then resize, colour, label and move them around on the screen.
When you have them as you want them, you can save the data and get BFG to write the GFA program code to produce what you see on screen - including reading the mouse click positions - along with working GFA code that you can merge into or use as a starting point for your own programs! In fact, if you merge the code straight into the GFA editor with nothing else there already, you can hit F10 and it will run! All you need to do is fill in the blank sections with code for what you want the buttons to do.

LAUNCH CONTROL:
Launch Control is a GFA Basic written menu front end for non-Windows 95 machines. When you turn the PC on, you are presented with a menu allowing you to launch programs with a single keypress. On exiting the program chosen, you are returned back to the menu. Standard PCX files can be used as graphical backdrops to the menu. Can be configured to run Windows 3.x programs directly or Windows itself. Simple to install and configure with extensive text file.

MIDICOMP:
Reclaim up to 75% or more of the hard disk space taken up by your MIDI files and still keep every single one of them! MIDICOMP places them all in a compressed archive format but still lets you listen to them or pull them out whenever they are needed. With the ability to create new archives, add to them and delete MIDI files from them, MIDICOMP is a useful utility to add to your collection.

MIDI FILES:
A zip containing an archived collection of nice MIDI files ready to use with MIDICOMP.

REMBRANDT:
The world's very first 3D paint program - honest! First produced on the Amstrad 1640 years ago, (that shows how old it is), Rembrandt contained a number of features not found on any of the paint programs of the day, including colour cycling, a proper airbrush (not fixed pattern), proper cut and paste, (paint with the cut) and a multitude of other effects. The 3D option allowed the painting on 10 levels back into the monitor giving a true effect of depth when wearing red/blue 3d glasses.
Ideally suited to 486 machines, you may find it runs a little too fast on modern Pentiums. However, if enough requests are received, I may dig out the source code, add a few delays and recompile it. Really good when it was written, it's still worth a look - even if only to show how good today's paint programs are!

Source Code Examples

PONG:
Simple GFA source code example to demonstrate the use of GRAPHMODE to produce the classic game of Pong. A white dot moves across the screen like a ball, bouncing off the top and bottom walls and off the paddles left and right, the net being a vertical line down the middle. Play against the computer. Includes scoring.
Note: If you suffer from the program starting normal speed and then suddenly slowing down, then remove the INKEY$ line. Then use Alt-Shift-Ctrl to stop the program.

BALL:
GFA source code to demonstrate the moving of a multi-coloured sprite across a multi-coloured screen using the various modes of the PUT command. When you run it, it works in slow motion, with on-screen text commentary of what's going on. When you understand the principles, you can remove the lines indicated and see it all happening at normal speed.

CURONOFF:
When you are using a graphics mode in GFA, you can used HIDEM and SHOWM to hide and show the mouse cursor. However when in text mode, these commands don't work and there isn't a text alternative. This LST file contains two procedures, one called CURON and the other CUROFF and can be called in your text mode programs when you want the cursor to be visible or not. The line @CUROFF in your program will turn the cursor off and @CURON turns the cursor on - but that was obvious eh?

HANGMAN:
Yep, the kids game. In fact, all the words are on DATA statements at the end of the program, though you could change the words and make it an adult game... if you see what I mean... Break the ice at parties, but don't let your parents play it!
Hangman is simplistic, because it was written in 10 minutes after a challenge, but it's still playable.

Pascal Programs

Programs Without Source Code

COLOURSPACE:
Pascal DOS EXE light synthesizer. Use the mouse to play along to your favourite music. Highly relaxing. First version.

Delphi Programs

The following files were all written in the 16 bit Version 1 of Delphi.

Examples With Source Code

TINYCALC:
The basics of a calculator. Shows use of real numbers, buttons and the tag property.

Programs Without Source Code

WINCARVE:
Takes a large file (anything bigger than will fit on a floppy disk - even when zipped up) and cuts it into chunks that will. The disks can then be transported to another machine and WinCarve will join them back together again. Inserts intelligent header into each chunk so Wincarve knows how many chunks in the final file, what the file is called and how big it is.

SPLITTER:
Same usage as WinCarve, but this is my son Craig's attempt which he reckons is better than mine. Try them both and please e-mail me with your vote on which is the best.

Miscellaneous Programs

EASYBASE:
Written in Quick Basic many moons ago to teach the basics of databases in schools, EasyBase runs in DOS and despite it's age, I occasionally hear of cases where it's still in use! The reason I am told is that it is so easy to use. In fact, as you would guess by the title, it's a database which was written with the emphasis on ease of use. Based on a card-file type of database where each record is an index card, EasyBase integrates the types of feature you would normally find in a standard relational database. Ideal for kids or those with a need for a database, but not all the fancy features of those currently available for lots of money. A new database can be set up within a few minutes of loading it for the first time!