Re: TAME and TIME

["Robert Holmgren" holmgren@xxxxxxxx]

** Reply to message from --  on Mon, 23 Dec 2002 08:05:53 +0100

Manuel:

> But I don't know if the DOS box time is
> going OK when I don't perform the TIME command.

That's the reason to use the PROMPT command I included in my msg. Then you DO
know the time in the DOS box. Try it. Just put "PROMPT $d$h$h$h$h$h
$t$h$h$h$_$p$g" in AUTOEXEC.NT. You can easily remove it when you're done
experimenting.

> Anyhow, if I open a DOS
> box under W2000 and I run the TIME command from time on time, the time
> is always OK. So, as you have suggested, it's not a problem related to
> TAME.

Au contraire, not a good test -- we haven't demonstrated that Tame is not
involved -- indeed I suspect that Tame _is_ very much involved! mainly because
you say
 > If I perform a
 > DOS/NV from XyWrite and I run TIME system command, the time is OK and,
 > when I go back to XyWrite (via EXIT), the time in XyWrite screen is
 > automatically updated and now it's OK.
The original DOS box in which you launched XyWrite doesn't run under Tame, only
the applications that you start subsequently in the box. CMD.EXE and
COMMAND.COM are not under Tame -- do "MEM /C |MORE" and you will see that Tame
is loaded into memory after the command processor. The Mostek system clock is
not running under Tame either. If a program, even under Tame, asks the system
what time it is, system returns the correct time. So I suspect that what's
going on here relates to XyWrite's own internal clock, which probably asks the
system once for the time, and thereafter keeps track of time by counting the
CPU cycles (of which the session is being partially, and erratically, deprived
by Tame), and therefore isn't keeping correct time. Note that the XyWrite
clock is also a stopwatch, which keeps track of elapsed time; it would probably
be fairly easy to determine whether this elapsed time function is working
properly...

Here's what I would do. Open a XyWrite session (session #1). CAll
AUTOEXEC.NT. REMark out TAME-MON.COM and SAve the file. Start another
concurrent XyWrite session (session #2). Now you've got session #1 running
under Tame, while #2 is NOT running under Tame. Compare behaviors. In other
words, let's begin to locate the problem.

> Robert,
> Thank you very much for your message. Yes, initially, when I first boot
> the machine (and first load XyWrite), the times are identical, but
> XyWrite gradually displays more and more error in the time it reports.
> If I am not working in XyWrite (it's in the background), the error is
> bigger and bigger.
> Now, it's 8:03 at the system level (7:45 in XyWrite). If I perform a
> DOS/NV from XyWrite and I run TIME system command, the time is OK and,
> when I go back to XyWrite (via EXIT), the time in XyWrite screen is
> automatically updated and now it's OK. But, very soon, the time (only
> under XyWrite) starts to go slower than the system time, even the DOS
> box system time that it's OK. But I don't know if the DOS box time is
> going OK when I don't perform the TIME command. Anyhow, if I open a DOS
> box under W2000 and I run the TIME command from time on time, the time
> is always OK. So, as you have suggested, it's not a problem related to
> TAME. Maybe it's related to the "low sensitivity" parameter?
> If I perform a DOS/NV from XyWrite but I don't run the TIME system
> command, then the XyWrite clock is not updated and the wrong time
> continues to be in my screen. If I perform a NOW command from the
> XyWrite command line, time is wrong (the same showed in the top left
> hand corner).
> It's a minor problem but I like to have the right time in my last file
> save. I'll continue to test and I'll give you more information.
> Best whishes,
> Manuel Castelao

-----------------------------
Robert Holmgren
holmgren@xxxxxxxx
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