File        : ReadMe
Date        : 07-Dec-97
Author      :  A.Thoukydides, 1995, 1996, 1997
Description : Help file for the "ARMEdit" suite of software.


INTRODUCTION

ARMEdit is a suite of utilities for use with Acorn and Aleph One PC cards. It
consists of a RISC OS module, a desktop front-end application, several DOS
executables, a DOS device driver, and support for third party programmers.

Limited support is provided for the Acorn software PC emulator. Due to the
lower level of programmer support provided, some features of the ARMEdit
suite may not operate as expected when used with the software emulator.

To install and try the software quickly, follow the instructions in the
Docs.QuickStart file.

This suite of software is FreeWare; it may be freely used and copied.
However, I retain full copyright of all files except Info-ZIP's UnZip
utility. See the section on "LEGAL MATTERS" for more details.


FILE LIST

This is the complete lists of files contained in this ARMEdit distribution.
All of these files must be included unmodified if distributed further.

    ReadMe              This file.

    !ARMEdit            The front-end application. This is only required for
        !Help           some of the functionality of the suite.
        !Run
        !Run2           The application directory also contains the ARMEdit
        !Sprites        module that is always required. With early versions
        !Sprites22      of the PC front-end software it is necessary to load
        PCQuit          the module before starting the PC front-end.
        Configure       
            !Run        The PCQuit file may be modified, or used as an
            !RunImage   example of an obey file to be run when the PC
            !Sprites    front-end is quit. The supplied example file kills
            !Sprites22  all PC related modules.
            Messages
            Res
            Sprites
            Sprites22
            UnZip
        Install
            CodeARM
            CodePC
            Device
            Utilities
        Launch
            !Run
            !RunImage
        Resources
            !RunImage
            ARMEdit
            Banner
            Ensure
            Messages
            Res
            Templates
            Title
            Title22

    Docs                The rest of the documentation. The different files
        ARMEDIT         are described below. Read these before reporting any
        Banner          problems.
        Code
        Contacts
        Device
        Ensure
        FrontEnd
        GETFILE
        HPC
        Module
        OSCLI
        PUTFILE
        QuickStart
        Talk

Other files are stored compressed as Zip archives in the "!ARMEdit.Install"
directory. These may be extracted using the "Install..." option from the
iconbar menu. Alternatively, SparkFS or Info-ZIP's UnZip utility may be used
to decode the files by hand.


DOCUMENTATION

For more information on the ARMEdit suite please refer to the documents in
the "Docs" sub-directory. The files are:

    ARMEDIT     - Documentation for the "ARMEDIT.COM" PC executable that
                  allows DOS files to be edited using RISC OS editors.
    
    Banner      - Documentation for the "Banner" utility used by the
                  front-end to display a title window.

    Code        - Documentation required for writing extra utilities for use
                  with the ARMEdit module or front-end.

    Contacts    - Contact details, including how to obtain upgrades to
                  ARMEdit and the PC card software.

    Device      - Documentation for the "ARMEDIT.SYS" PC device driver that
                  allows access to RISC OS filestore from DOS or Windows 95.
          
    Ensure      - Documentation for the "Ensure" utility used by the
                  front-end to load required system modules.
    
    FrontEnd    - Documentation for the "!ARMEdit" front-end that enhances
                  the functionality of the suite and allows simpler
                  installation and configuration.
        
    GETFILE     - Documentation for the "GETFILE.COM" PC executable that
                  allows files to be copied from RISC OS to DOS.
    
    HPC         - Documentation intended for other PC card device driver
                  developers, detailing some of the calls that may be made
                  to the ARMEdit module from the PC processor.
    
    Module      - Documentation for the "ARMEdit" module that provides vital
                  support for all parts of the system.
    
    OSCLI       - Documentation for the "OSCLI.COM" PC executable that allows
                  RISC OS *commands to be executed from DOS.
    
    PUTFILE     - Documentation for the "PUTFILE.COM" PC executable that
                  allows files to be copied from DOS to RISC OS.

    QuickStart  - A short introduction to installing and using the main
                  features of the ARMEdit suite of software.

    Talk        - Documentation required for using the "!ARMEdit" front-end
                  from new PC utilities.


LEGAL MATTERS

The "ARMEdit" suite of software and documentation is supplied "as is"; no
warranty, express or implied, of the merchantability of this software or its
fitness for any particular purpose is given. In no circumstances shall the
author, or any provider or distributor of this software, be liable for any
damage, loss of profits, or any indirect or consequential loss arising out of
the use of this software or inability to use this software.

This software is FreeWare. Permission is granted for anyone to distribute it
unchanged and in its entirety, providing that no profit is made in the
process. The "ARMEdit" suite may not be distributed if modified or
incomplete; neither may it be distributed without this documentation.
However, the "Banner" application and "Ensure" utility may be used and
distributed independently providing the terms in the relevant documentation
file are complied with.

The install option uses Info-ZIP's UnZip utility to extract files from an
archive. Info-ZIP's software (Zip, UnZip and related utilities) is free and
can be obtained as source code or executables from various sources. See the
Docs.Contacts file for more details.

To use this suite, or any part of it, as part of a system or other
application that is for sale (for however much and for whatever reasons) or
released as copyright material then the author's express permission in
writing must be obtained. The author maintains copyright on all the material
supplied and reserves the right to change these conditions at any time
without notice.


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to the thank the following people for their contributions to the
development of this software:

    Acorn Computers - The Risc PC, RISC OS and the ObjAsm assembler.
    Aleph One       - Producing the PC cards, information and support.
    Oliver Betts    - His excellent RISC OS LineEditor module.
    Neil Bingham    - Promoting ARMEdit, and numerous constructive comments.
    Ray Dawson      - Suggestion for improvements to early versions.
    Paul Gardiner   - Information about Windows 95 long filenames.
    John Harrison   - Bug reports and suggestions for improvements.
    Mike Hobbs      - Useful comments during early development and testing.
    Dominic Symes   - The brilliant !Zap editor; get a copy immediately.
    Tim Tyler       - Making !Zap even better than ever.
    Brian Tucker    - Pointing out a bug that many others did not notice.
    Robin Watts     - !Larger, the greatest backdrop program ever.

Thanks also to all the beta-testers who have helped with the development and
testing of this software.
