Problem with installing Borland C++

[John Latter]

Hi,

I'm having a problem installing Borland C++ and wonder if anyone knows
of some simple thing that I keep missing.

I didn't find (as a newbie) the "Readme" doc included with the
download at all helpful. These 2 links seemed quite straight forward
though:

http://csjava.occ.cccd.edu/~gilberts/bcc55.html

http://community.borland.com/article/0,1410,21205,00.html

Whartever variation I try, however, just gives me a momentary flash of
a black box.

I appreciate what I may be doing wrong will not be apparent from the
above but I'm hoping that someone might know of something the authors
of the above pages are assuming everyone knows but I don't!

I could SCREAM!!!

--

John Latter

Model of an Internal Evolutionary Mechanism (based on an extension to homeostasis) linking Stationary-Phase Mutations to the Baldwin Effect.
http://members.aol.com/jorolat/TEM.html

'Where Darwin meets Lamarck?' Discussion Egroup
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/evomech

 

[Cousin Stanley]

Cousin Programmer Dude ....

I enjoyed a brief tour of your web site ....
http://www.sonnack.com/

You've done a lot of work there
and have some very nice POV and Fractal examples ....

It would be cool if you considered an Any-Size CSS design
for old dudes with funky eyes, like me, that have a hard time
with small fixed-size text ...

 

[Blinky the Shark]

Cousin Programmer Dude ....

I enjoyed a brief tour of your web site ....
http://www.sonnack.com/

You've done a lot of work there and have some very nice POV and
Fractal examples ....

It would be cool if you considered an Any-Size CSS design for old
dudes with funky eyes, like me, that have a hard time with small
fixed-size text ...

In the mean(which might be a long)time, can you set a minimum font size
in your browser, so anything smaller we be rendered at that user-defined
size? My three graphical browsers (each with a different rendering
engine) all allow that -- if yours does, we're four-fer-four.

 

[John Latter]

Your second posts says you solved the problem, but a tip for
the future: That flash means a MS-DOS program started and then
ended very quickly. To find out what happened, try starting
a console window and running your MS-DOS program from there.

That way you get to see what it said when it died.

Hi Dude,

I'm a newbie and it was only today that I found out what a 'console'
was.

I spoke too soon about having solved the problem! This Borland page
says:

http://community.borland.com/article/0,1410,21205,00.html

Open a console box.
1. Start | Run...
2. Type "command" into the field [Enter]

Add a path reference to the Environment variables:
3. Using the mouse, right-click on the "My Computer" icon (on your
desktop) and choose "Properties".
4. Click on the "Advanced" tab.
5. Click on the "Environment Variables..." button.
6. Highlight the "Path" System variable (bottom).
7. Click on the "Edit..." button.
8. Append the line with ";C:\BORLAND\BCC55\BIN;"
9. Click OK (in the "Edit System Variables")
10. Click OK (in the "Environment Variables" window) and click OK (in
the "System Properties" window) Navigating to the directory,
"c:\Borland\bcc55\bin"
11. cd borland [Enter]
12. cd bcc55 [Enter]
13. cd bin [Enter]

First, once I've opened a console then I can't close it down -"Windows
is unable to close - needs more time" (or similar)

Second, I can get to here ok:

10. Click OK (in the "Environment Variables" window) and click OK (in
the "System Properties" window)

but the rest of it is meaningless to me cos I'm only learning! How do
I 'Navigate' - via the console or via Windows Explorer? Where do I
enter "cd borland" (and the other two) into? The console won't take
'em ("invalid")

The other link which describes how to install C++

http://csjava.occ.cccd.edu/~gilberts/bcc55.html

Talks of making a short cut on the desktop, which I did it opens a
console window ok but thereafter sees nothing that the
start/run/command console did.

Using the command console (the one that won't shut down) I was able to
complie and run the test program given - which was stored in a place I
didn't want it to be and there doesn't seem to be any option as to
where these programs go.

Then I made the mistake of downloading SciTE editor which refuses
point blank to compile the test program - it clamed "file not found".
I tried to alter the USER Properties file (or whatever it is) only to
find it doesn't exist!

Borland put itself in C:\Borland, SciTE in Program Files, and the test
program was stored in Documents and Settings - I just wish I knew what
was going on!!

How do I uninstall Borland - can I just delete it?

I also wish I could install ANY language on my computer - Basic or
C/C++!!!

John <--- Is back to SCREAMING

--

John Latter

Model of an Internal Evolutionary Mechanism (based on an extension to homeostasis) linking Stationary-Phase Mutations to the Baldwin Effect.
http://members.aol.com/jorolat/TEM.html

'Where Darwin meets Lamarck?' Discussion Egroup
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/evomech

 

[tlshell]

Open a console box.
1. Start | Run...
2. Type "command" into the field [Enter]

This is the "start" button on the bottom left on your toolbar, not the
DOS box. Typing "command" in the "run" box starts the command.com file
which in turn generates a DOS box.

 

[John Latter]

Open a console box.
1. Start | Run...
2. Type "command" into the field [Enter]

This is the "start" button on the bottom left on your toolbar, not the
DOS box. Typing "command" in the "run" box starts the command.com file
which in turn generates a DOS box.

Hi Therese,

I am a bit confused - I clicked on the start button (with the windows
logo) in the bottom left of my screen and then on run and then typed
in 'command' in order to get a box (I don't know if its dos or
otherwise). I didn't type command into the console cos I didn't have
one.

--

John Latter

Model of an Internal Evolutionary Mechanism (based on an extension to homeostasis) linking Stationary-Phase Mutations to the Baldwin Effect.
http://members.aol.com/jorolat/TEM.html

'Where Darwin meets Lamarck?' Discussion Egroup
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/evomech

 

[John Latter]

On Wed, 30 Jul 2003 11:24:25 -0500, Programmer Dude

Hi Dude,

On the 'little point' you are right in thinking I was clicking on the
'x', and on the big point you are equally right in saying I ought to
read some tutorials on basic Windows use.

I am very grateful, however, for the information and help that you've
given - I can now see my way forward with Borland should I persevere
with it but I'm also looking at BCX, XBasic, RapidQ etc. - despite
being dimly aware of my own limitations, and the way I have approached
this, I still feel that the first language that's successfully
installed onto my machine is going to be the one I use!

Scintilla/SciTE's homepage (if you are interested) is here:

http://www.scintilla.org/

and the download page is here;

http://www.scintilla.org/SciTEDownload.html

On the homepage (about halfway down) it says this about SciTE:

SciTE is a SCIntilla based Text Editor. Originally built to
demonstrate Scintilla, it has grown to be a generally useful editor
with facilities for building and running programs. It is best used for
jobs with simple configurations - I use it for building test and
demonstration programs as well as SciTE and Scintilla, themselves.

I would be pleased if it was of any use to you - thanks again!

John

First, once I've opened a console then I can't close it down
-"Windows is unable to close - needs more time" (or similar)

You probably tried to close the console window by clicking the
little [X] in the upper right corner? You can't close a console
window that way. Type "exit" at the command prompt in the window.

10. Click OK (in the "Environment Variables" window) and click
OK (in the "System Properties" window)

but the rest of it is meaningless to me cos I'm only learning!
How do I 'Navigate' - via the console or via Windows Explorer?
Where do I enter "cd borland" (and the other two) into? The
console won't take 'em ("invalid")

The instructions are pathetic at this point. Quoting that bit
from your post:

} 10. Click OK (in the "Environment Variables" window) and click
} OK (in the "System Properties" window) Navigating to the
} directory, "c:\Borland\bcc55\bin"
} 11. cd borland [Enter]
} 12. cd bcc55 [Enter]
} 13. cd bin [Enter]

Someone messed up. Step 10 should probably end just before the
word "Navigating". The word "Navigating" should be changed to
"Navigate", and that sentence should be step 11. Or 12, since
they don't give you much clue what they mean. Step 11 might
be something explaining that.

Steps 11-13 could be folded into a single step with a bit more
typing. All in all it should be something like:

11. Back in your console window, type:
cd c:\Borland\bcc55\bin

(This, of course, assumes you put the stuff there.)

Talks of making a short cut on the desktop, which I did it opens
a console window ok but thereafter sees nothing that the
start/run/command console did.

How did you create the shortcut? They probably mean for you to
create one that runs the "GUI" Borland C compiler. If I recall,
this was named BC.EXE.

Easy way to create a shortcut: Use Windows Explorer to get to
your c:\Borland\bcc55\bin directory. Find the BC.EXE program.
Right-click and drag it to your desktop. Release. Select the
"Create Shortcut..." selection from the menu that appears when
you release the mouse button.

...there doesn't seem to be any option as to where these programs
go.

I believe you can put the whole Borland directory structure anywhere
you want it. This requires you to modify your PATH variable again.
Also, Borland has a boatload of configuration things you can use
to determine everything from colors to directories.

Then I made the mistake of downloading SciTE editor which refuses
point blank to compile the test program - it clamed "file not
found".

You have an editor that compiles code? Never heard of SciTE, so
I can't offer much. "File not found" means the file doesn't
exist or you're looking in the wrong directory.

Borland put itself in C:\Borland, SciTE in Program Files,...

That Borland compiler is ancient ('swhy it's free). I used it
nearly a decade ago. The install program took the lowest common
denominator way out -- it may have offered you a chance to change
the install location or it may not have. Usually it's best to
let them have their defaults--it makes uninstalling more certain.

Program Files is the indicated place for installing software.
Usually one keeps the software SEPARATE from the user documents.
You don't keep your Word documents in the Office directory, for
example (if you have clue #1).

Documents and Settings is the new (as of win2k) "user directory"
system. You were probably actually in:

How do I uninstall Borland - can I just delete it?

Yes. It's so old it doesn't know about the Windows Registry or
DLL files, so blow it away.

I also wish I could install ANY language on my computer - Basic
or C/C++!!!

No offense intended, John, but you might want to consider some
tutorials on basic Windows use. It will pay off richly as you
proceed down this road. (Because trust me, this stuff you are
struggling with NEVER goes away.)

--

John Latter

Model of an Internal Evolutionary Mechanism (based on an extension to homeostasis) linking Stationary-Phase Mutations to the Baldwin Effect.
http://members.aol.com/jorolat/TEM.html

'Where Darwin meets Lamarck?' Discussion Egroup
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/evomech

 

[John Latter]

You need to type exit on the command line.


I'm guessing that the problem is that you are in a different
subdirectory. Since your earlier text indicated that Borland was a
top-level directory, you should enter "cd \borland". The slash tells
the command processor to look for borland in the root directory. In the
small chance that the current drive is different than the one borland
was installed in, you need to first change the current drive: "c:" to
select the C drive.

Thad

Hi Thad,

You're probably right and I think I'm going to back off from being
frustrated at not being able to install properly and take Dude's
advice to read some tutorials first!

John

--

John Latter

Model of an Internal Evolutionary Mechanism (based on an extension to homeostasis) linking Stationary-Phase Mutations to the Baldwin Effect.
http://members.aol.com/jorolat/TEM.html

'Where Darwin meets Lamarck?' Discussion Egroup
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/evomech

 

[Glev Zarriontal]

John Latter wrote:


How did you create the shortcut? They probably mean for you to
create one that runs the "GUI" Borland C compiler. If I recall,
this was named BC.EXE.

As I understand it, this free version is the DOS command line only version.
If I am correct, there is no IDE aka GUI. However, this is a very neat
program called Quincy(*1). The most current version is Quincy 2002.

It is freeware. It is a front end for C++ command line compilers.
http://www.alstevens.com/quincy2002/

John Latter: Please do read the entire instructions on the site before you
attempt to use the app. There are 2 or 3 text files that go with Quincy
2002.

Easy way to create a shortcut: Use Windows Explorer to get to
your c:\Borland\bcc55\bin directory. Find the BC.EXE program.
Right-click and drag it to your desktop. Release. Select the
"Create Shortcut..." selection from the menu that appears when
you release the mouse button.


I believe you can put the whole Borland directory structure anywhere
you want it. This requires you to modify your PATH variable again.
Also, Borland has a boatload of configuration things you can use
to determine everything from colors to directories.

I do agree. He should be able to place it anywhere he pleases.

You have an editor that compiles code? Never heard of SciTE, so
I can't offer much. "File not found" means the file doesn't
exist or you're looking in the wrong directory.

He probably needs to configure it. Some option should allow him to select
where the compiler is.

It is supposedly a nifty source code editor.
http://www.scintilla.org/SciTE.html

That Borland compiler is ancient ('swhy it's free). I used it
nearly a decade ago. The install program took the lowest common
denominator way out -- it may have offered you a chance to change
the install location or it may not have. Usually it's best to
let them have their defaults--it makes uninstalling more certain.

Borland C++ 5.5 is old.

[snip]

Yes. It's so old it doesn't know about the Windows Registry or
DLL files, so blow it away.


No offense intended, John, but you might want to consider some
tutorials on basic Windows use. It will pay off richly as you
proceed down this road. (Because trust me, this stuff you are
struggling with NEVER goes away.)

Or a good class or two. Junior colleges should offer it cheaply. And John
might want to invest a good book or two about Windows as well if his budget
will allow it.

-----------------------------------
1: I discovered Quincy while helping my nephew get into C/C++ programming.
Or at least I think he wants to get into C/C++ programming. He does not
make this really clear.


*****************************************************************************
Lefse is really good grub..."Jeg Elsker Lefse! I Love Lefse!" sums it up well
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Dome/3918/index.html

 

[tlshell]

Hi Therese,

I am a bit confused - I clicked on the start button (with the windows
logo) in the bottom left of my screen and then on run and then typed
in 'command' in order to get a box (I don't know if its dos or
otherwise). I didn't type command into the console cos I didn't have
one.

After you got the DOS Box, I imagine the next step was to follow the
instructions:

Add a path reference to the Environment variables:

3. Using the mouse, right-click on the "My Computer" icon (on your
desktop) and choose "Properties".
4. Click on the "Advanced" tab.
5. Click on the "Environment Variables..." button.
6. Highlight the "Path" System variable (bottom).
7. Click on the "Edit..." button.
8. Append the line with ";C:\BORLAND\BCC55\BIN;"
9. Click OK (in the "Edit System Variables")
10. Click OK (in the "Environment Variables" window) and click OK (in
the "System Properties" window) Navigating to the directory,
"c:\Borland\bcc55\bin"
11. cd borland [Enter]
12. cd bcc55 [Enter]
13. cd bin [Enter]

Did you do this?

If you're still confused, here's the shortest explanation:

To navigate to the directory, use the DOS box. Navigate means find
your way.

"cd" means "change directory"

I suggest that you simply type "cd c:\Borland\bcc55\bin" which will
take you from wherever you are to c:\Borland\bcc55\bin in one step.

Now that you've done it, the rest should seem a little simpler.

 

[John Latter]

You need to type exit on the command line.


I'm guessing that the problem is that you are in a different
subdirectory. Since your earlier text indicated that Borland was a
top-level directory, you should enter "cd \borland". The slash tells
the command processor to look for borland in the root directory. In the
small chance that the current drive is different than the one borland
was installed in, you need to first change the current drive: "c:" to
select the C drive.

Thad

Hi Thad,

I'm not sure if I've answered your post before and then forgot to keep
it but I'm gonna take time out to get a better understanding of
windows (won't take more than an hour or two will it? *g*)

John

--

John Latter

Model of an Internal Evolutionary Mechanism (based on an extension to homeostasis) linking Stationary-Phase Mutations to the Baldwin Effect.
http://members.aol.com/jorolat/TEM.html

'Where Darwin meets Lamarck?' Discussion Egroup
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/evomech

 

[John Latter]

Hi Therese,

I am a bit confused - I clicked on the start button (with the windows
logo) in the bottom left of my screen and then on run and then typed
in 'command' in order to get a box (I don't know if its dos or
otherwise). I didn't type command into the console cos I didn't have
one.

After you got the DOS Box, I imagine the next step was to follow the
instructions:

Add a path reference to the Environment variables:

3. Using the mouse, right-click on the "My Computer" icon (on your
desktop) and choose "Properties".
4. Click on the "Advanced" tab.
5. Click on the "Environment Variables..." button.
6. Highlight the "Path" System variable (bottom).
7. Click on the "Edit..." button.
8. Append the line with ";C:\BORLAND\BCC55\BIN;"
9. Click OK (in the "Edit System Variables")
10. Click OK (in the "Environment Variables" window) and click OK (in
the "System Properties" window) Navigating to the directory,
"c:\Borland\bcc55\bin"
11. cd borland [Enter]
12. cd bcc55 [Enter]
13. cd bin [Enter]

Did you do this?

If you're still confused, here's the shortest explanation:

To navigate to the directory, use the DOS box. Navigate means find
your way.

"cd" means "change directory"

I suggest that you simply type "cd c:\Borland\bcc55\bin" which will
take you from wherever you are to c:\Borland\bcc55\bin in one step.

Now that you've done it, the rest should seem a little simpler.

Hi Therese,

I was alright up to step 10 but then I went wrong. ProgrammingDude has
given the same advice as yourself but for the moment I'm gonna take
time out and see if I can find out more about windows internal
structure.

Thanks again!

John
--

John Latter

Model of an Internal Evolutionary Mechanism (based on an extension to homeostasis) linking Stationary-Phase Mutations to the Baldwin Effect.
http://members.aol.com/jorolat/TEM.html

'Where Darwin meets Lamarck?' Discussion Egroup
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/evomech

 

[Programmer Dude]

I am very grateful, however, for the information and help that
you've given - I can now see my way forward with Borland should
I persevere with it...

Glad I could help. Borland's TC++ was my first C/C++ compiler,
so I have very fond memories of it. We spent many long days
together!

...I still feel that the first language that's successfully
installed onto my machine is going to be the one I use!

[BWG] Many of the "religious" issues in the business ("best"
language, "best" editor, "best" operating system) are, I've
always thought, based on initial experience.

Scintilla/SciTE's homepage (if you are interested) is here:

http://www.scintilla.org/

Hmmm. Interesting. But (speaking of religious issues), I'm a
member of the "vi faith". I use a vi-alike, called vim.

http://www.vim.org/

But that SciTE does look interesting.

 

[Cousin Stanley]

Cousin Programmer Dude ...

Have you tried Python ???

http://www.python.org

These links provide a taste of what's been done ...

http://www.vex.net/parnassus/

http://freshmeat.net/search/?q=Python&section=projects

I've been programming since 1966 and find Python
to be an absolute delight to use ...

After using Python for a while, you may not
throw your Basic/C/C++/Delphi/Java/etc compilers away,
but you will find them gathering more and more dust ...

It's also an EXCELLENT first language
for those with little or no programming experience,
and easy to install ...

 

[John Latter]

Cousin Programmer Dude ...

Have you tried Python ???

http://www.python.org

These links provide a taste of what's been done ...

http://www.vex.net/parnassus/

http://freshmeat.net/search/?q=Python&section=projects

I've been programming since 1966 and find Python
to be an absolute delight to use ...

After using Python for a while, you may not
throw your Basic/C/C++/Delphi/Java/etc compilers away,
but you will find them gathering more and more dust ...

It's also an EXCELLENT first language
for those with little or no programming experience,
and easy to install ...

Hi Cousin Stanley,

I've had a look at the website and the info there is quite impressive.
After some trials and tribulations I've finally got BCX installed on
my machine and am gonna look at RapidQ tomorrow - as a beginner (and
trusting that its 'easy to install'!) I might just as well download
Python while I'm at it, thankyou for the link!

--

John Latter

Model of an Internal Evolutionary Mechanism (based on an extension to homeostasis) linking Stationary-Phase Mutations to the Baldwin Effect.
http://members.aol.com/jorolat/TEM.html

'Where Darwin meets Lamarck?' Discussion Egroup
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/evomech

 

[Cousin Stanley]

John ...

I've experimented a bit with Rapid-Q Basic
and also find it very usable and there are
many examples available to learn from and
build upon ...

One of the Rapid-Q advantages is that distribution
of compiled programs as a single file executable
is fairly easy to achieve ...

Python is relatively easy to learn ...

The Beginner's Guide link from Python.Org
lists several good learning resources,
most geared primarily toward Python itself,
but some also for learning programming in general ...

http://www.python.org/doc/Newbies.html

Python programs are usually written in your favorite
text editor and then run from a command-line environment,
e.g. MS-DOS under Windows ...

Advantages of Python programs include cross-platform
capability and the ability to freely experiment
using the interactive interpreter which will execute
code line by line as it is entered at the console ...

Python is a mature and evolving language,
under active development, and also has a very helpful
support community of users helping users ...

 

[Cousin Stanley]

John ...

The 'Hello' program in Python is only one line :

print 'Greetings, huMon ...'

Save that one line in a text file named greet.py ...

To run the program :

python greet.py

 

[John Latter]

John ...

I've experimented a bit with Rapid-Q Basic
and also find it very usable and there are
many examples available to learn from and
build upon ...

One of the Rapid-Q advantages is that distribution
of compiled programs as a single file executable
is fairly easy to achieve ...

Python is relatively easy to learn ...

The Beginner's Guide link from Python.Org
lists several good learning resources,
most geared primarily toward Python itself,
but some also for learning programming in general ...

http://www.python.org/doc/Newbies.html

Python programs are usually written in your favorite
text editor and then run from a command-line environment,
e.g. MS-DOS under Windows ...

Advantages of Python programs include cross-platform
capability and the ability to freely experiment
using the interactive interpreter which will execute
code line by line as it is entered at the console ...

Python is a mature and evolving language,
under active development, and also has a very helpful
support community of users helping users ...

Hi Cousin Stanley,

Although I'm only a beginner to programming on Windows I did do
assembler programming a VERY long time ago and so I'm trying to look
at what the best language(s) might be for I/O stuff.

In another thread where I was having problems installing Borland C++ a
chap said of this compiler:

Unless this is a different C++ compiler than what I was looking at
yesterday, it will only compile to a command line interface. Thus it is
doubtful it will be able to create win32 dll files.

It may be better just for 'hands-on' experience to start with a Basic
language such as XBasic/RapidQ/BCX but do you know if I'll be able to
create win32dll files with them? Can I with Python?

Thankyou for your help!

--

John Latter

Model of an Internal Evolutionary Mechanism (based on an extension to homeostasis) linking Stationary-Phase Mutations to the Baldwin Effect.
http://members.aol.com/jorolat/TEM.html

'Where Darwin meets Lamarck?' Discussion Egroup
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/evomech

 

[Cousin Stanley]

| It may be better just for 'hands-on' experience
| to start with a Basic language such as XBasic/RapidQ/BCX
| but do you know if I'll be able to create win32dll files
| with them? Can I with Python ?

John ...

There are distribution/install methods available
to convert Python source programs to stand-alone executables,
and I think you can also generate win32 DLL files
but I'm not 100% sure about that as I've never done it myself ...

Cousin JanC that often posts here could probably
shed more light on that ...

Python provides a very "basic" , e.g. fundamental, approach
to programming and the following experiment might give you
a better idea of "hands-on" type Python I/O processing ...

Although you've never used Python, I would wager
that you can read and understand the following program
that ...

o Reads an input file line-by-line
o Finds a given search string
o Writes the corresponding line
to an output file if the search string is found

# ----------------------------------------------------------

path_in = 'c:/windows/general.txt'
path_out = 'k:/Python/py_Work/file/general_search.txt'

file_in = file( path_in , 'r' )
file_out = file( path_out , 'w' )

search_str = 'Windows 98'

for this_line in file_in :

if this_line.find( search_str ) != -1 :

file_out.write( this_line )

file_in.close()
file_out.close()

# --------------------------------------------------------

Save the code between the lines above as file_find.py ...

To run the program ... python file_find.py

# ---------------------------------------------------------

The example input file, general.txt, used above
is 1354 lines ( ~41 KB ) ...

The ouput file produced 74 lines ( 3.7 KB )
with lines only containing the string 'Windows 98' ...

This program runs in about 1/10th of a second
on the 250 MHz Win98_SE machine that I use ...

 

[Programmer Dude]

Python is a mature and evolving language,
under active development,...

Isn't that something of an oxymoron? (-: