This file contains documentation on how to install the 'Panel Display System'
for OS/2 V2.x.

Installation of the 'Panel Display System' shareware package and the inclosed
demonstration programs is simply a matter of using a program capable of
extracting files stored in the "PKZIP" format and either copying some of the
files to other directories or by adding the directory containing these files to
various "CONFIG.SYS" statements.

The fastest way to install 'PDS' in order to be able to execute the
demonstration programs is to simply create a directory and to unzip the
distribution file "HSSPD.ZIP" into that directory.

The demonstration programs can be run from that directory by opening an OS/2
"Command Line Window" from the "Command Prompts" folder, changing to the
directory containing these files and then executing the demonstrations.

The following demonstrations are available:

  LOAN.CMD   - A sample 'Simple Interest Loan' calculator.
               This is a REXX script that uses the REXX interface for the PD
               system known as the 'rxPD' interface. This script uses the
               "HSSPD.DLL" dynamic link library, which contains the rxPD REXX
               extensions and the 'Panel Definition Library' file, "LOAN.PNL".

  LOAN.EXE   - A sample 'Simple Interest Loan' calculator.
               This is an executable file that uses the PD system's 'High Level
               Language' interface. It is identical in function to the
               "LOAN.CMD" command file and uses the same "HSSPD.DLL" and
               "LOAN.PNL" files.

  PDEDIT.CMD - A simple interactive text editor.
               This is a REXX script like the "LOAN.CMD" file which demonstrates
               the power of the 'Panel Display System'.  It is a fully
               functional editor in that it will save any changes or create any
               file requested.

  UGUESSIT.CMD - A game where you try to guess a 4 digit number.
               Another REXX script which uses the "UGUESSIT.PNL" panel
               library.
               Lots of fun!

  BOUNCE1.CMD/BOUNCE2.CMD - Demonstrations of simple character animation.

  SNAKE1.CMD/SNAKE2.CMD - Demonstrations of more complex character animation.
               The "SNAKE2.CMD" script is the more complex of the "BOUNCE" and
               "SNAKE" scripts. Use the "/H' operand in order to display some
               help information on the available options.

               CAVEAT - There is a "BUG" in OS/2 2.1 that can have a severe
               impact on your system if you run any of the "BOUNCE" or "SNAKE"
               scripts in an OS/2 "FULL SCREEN" session and then press either
               "Alt+ESC" or "Ctrl+ESC" to get back to the OS/2 "Desktop". The
               bug is in OS/2's "Schedular". What happens is that the "BOUNCE"
               scripts and the "SNAKE1" script will consume about 99.99% of
               the available CPU cycles. The 0.01% available to all other
               process is simply because these scripts call "BEEP" which gives
               all other processes about 1/400th of a second to execute.
               The "SNAKE2" script runs in "QUIET" mode by default. This means
               that it can consume 100.00% of the CPU if run in "FULL SCREEN"
               and switched to the background.
               This bug is not present in OS/2 2.0 and it is fixed by the latest
               OS/2 2.1 "Corrective Service Diskettes" (CSD).
               To repeat, this is a bug in OS/2, not in the "Panel Display
               System" nor these demonstration scripts.

In order to make the 'Panel Display System' accessable to all PDS applications
which you or others might develop, all that is necessary is that the "HSSPD.DLL"
file be located in a directory listed in the "LIBPATH" statement in the
"CONFIG.SYS" file or that the directory containing "HSSPD.DLL" be added to the
"LIBPATH" statement.

In order to make the demonstration files accessable from any directory in an
OS/2 "Window", you can either copy the files to other directories or you can add
the directory containing these files to the "PATH" statement and the "DPATH"
statement.

The '.CMD' files and the '.EXE' file should be in a directory listed by the
"PATH" statement in the "CONFIG.SYS" file.

The '.PNL' files should be in a directory listed by the "DPATH" statement in the
"CONFIG.SYS" file.

OS/2 searchs the current working directory and then the directories in the
"LIBPATH" statement of the "CONFIG.SYS" in order to find the 'Dynamic Link
Library' file "HSSPD.DLL" needed by PDS applications.

The 'Panel Display System' first searches the current working directory and then
the "DPATH" environment variable for the '.PNL' files required by PDS
applications.

Feel free to modify the demonstration REXX PDS scripts, but please do not
redistribute this package with any changes you may make.