On page 31 of the Fall 1991 issue of The HP Palmtop Paper I described a procedure to modify Turbo Pascal (TP), version 3.02a, so it would run on the HP 95LX's sixteen-line display. Any program compiled with this modified version of TP 3.02, will also use a sixteen-line display by default.
There are other modifications that can be made to TP 3.02a. For instance, you can change the default colors, automate loading the error message file, and even add a new command to TP 3.02's menu. The new command is eXecute. "Execute lets the user "drop to DOS" and return to Turbo Pascal 3.02 by typing "exit."
To speed up and simplify the whole modification process, I found INSTX.COM * (archived in TP95INST.ZIP below), a program that makes patching TP 3.02a a breeze. The process involves running the INSTX.COM program on a standard PC computer. INSET makes a copy of TURBO.COM and modifies the copy, leaving the original file intact.
I've enhanced INSTX so that it includes the patches for making TP 3.02a run on the HP 95LX.
The file, TP95INST.ZIP *, contains a complete set of instructions for modifying Turbo Pascal 3.02a using INSTX.COM as well as the Borland TINST.COM program.
If you're looking for a copy of Turbo Pascal 3.02a, contact Joe Wright, 711 Chatsworth Place, San Jose, CA 95128. Joe has been licensed to distribute TP 3.02a. The price of the program is $90.
Another company, TurboPower Software, has several add-on programs for TP 3.02a. Perhaps the best of these add-ons is TDEBUG, a dynamic debugger.
Another add-on, Turbo Optimizer, will reduce the size of a Pascal executable file to a mere shadow of its former self. It does this by weeding out parts of the run-time library that are not used. TDEBUG requires a full sized screen. Turbo Optimizer should run on the HP 95LX. If you're interested in either of these products, you can reach Turbo Power Software in the U.S.A. at either 800-333-4160 or 719-260-6641.