# DOS, TCP/IP and Pascal



## Daigoro (Jan 9, 2005)

Hi,
Browsing thrugh this site, I hope to have hit the right spot to ask for help.

I have a pretty old set of software, with turbo pascal source (too much code, to recode the software), running on a DOS machine. The software monitors a lot of custom hardware, and requires direct hardware-access.
I have a NE-2000 compatible ethernet card connected to the machine, too.
My task ahead, is to network-enable the software on this machine.

My problem is that it's been impossible for me to find any documentation about how to use Turbo Pascal to use any TCP/IP stack.

I bought the DR-DOS developer-kit, as it looked like an easy route, but it turned out to just be a DOS with a TCP/IP stack, and no documentation available as to how to make programs for it. The enclosed programs, like the ftp-server works without problems, I just need more.

Then I looked at the boot-disks at bootdisk,com, and thought perhaps they would be able to help me, but again I can't find any information about how to use Pascal to interact with the stack.

I have access to most versions of MS-DOS (with network-support), the latest version of DR-DOS, all versions of Windows, as well as access to Turbo Pascal and Delphi if any of them will be of help to solve the task.

Basically, what I need is to do, is to enable each of the old programs (running in parallel) to listen to a specific port, and when certain command-packets are recieved, they should answer back.
The DOS enviroment can change very much, as the programs does not rely on DOS for anything but time and file-access. (I have used MS-DOS 3.2 and 6.22, aswell as DR-DOS without problems.)

I hope this description covers pretty much what I need, and I hope some of you guys have some good advice, or perhaps examples for me, that will aide me to a good result.

Please ask if I neglected some important details, or if something was not described clearly enough.

Best regards,


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## Daigoro (Jan 9, 2005)

Can it be true, that nobody around here has any advice for me?`

Then what about a hint about where it might be better for me to ask for help?

I'm eagerly awaiting any input.

Best regards,


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## dougp01 (Apr 14, 2005)

I think it is true. I am an old Turbo Pascal user myself. I find there is very little said any more about the language, although at one time it was the premier language of choice. I once asked a similar question about tcp/ip and found very little. 

You might try at: vpascal_com and go to news

(you will have to convert the Underscores in the url because this forum is not allowing me to paste the actual address)

Althought the top article today says that vpascal has died, I think there is still a lot of help available. BTW - I am now using a vpascal compiler for small applications that I like to call file filters. Mostly, I take text output from other applicaitons and rearrange the data into something I can use.

-doug


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## draceplace (Jun 8, 2001)

How-a-bout...have something else (that was made for TCIP) listen to the ports and write a Pascal readable file that contains the needed info. When Pascal sees the file (timer starting the pgm?, deamon or what ever) it does its thing, gets done it deletes the file then starts looking for it again. This way Pascal leaves the worry about TCIP to another app that knows what its doing.


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