__djgpp_nearptr_enable

Syntax

#include <sys/nearptr.h> int __djgpp_nearptr_enable(void);

Description

This function enables "near pointers" to be used to access the DOS memory arena. Sort of. When you call this function, it will return nonzero if it has successfully enabled near pointers. If so, you must add the value __djgpp_conventional_base to the linear address of the physical memory. For example:

if (__djgpp_nearptr_enable()) { short *screen = (short *)(__djgpp_conventional_base + 0xb8000); for (i=0; i<80*24*2; i++) screen[i] = 0x0720; __djgpp_nearptr_disable(); }

The variable __djgpp_base_address contains the linear base address of the application's data segment. You can subtract this value from other linear addresses that DPMI functions might return in order to obtain a near pointer to those linear regions as well.

If using the Unix-like sbrk algorithm, near pointers are only valid until the next malloc, system, spawn*, or exec* function call, since the linear base address of the application may be changed by these calls.

WARNING: When you enable near pointers, you disable all the protection that the system is providing. If you are not careful, your application may destroy the data in your computer. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!

Return Value

Returns 0 if near pointers are not available, or nonzero if they are.

Portability

ANSI/ISO C	No
POSIX	No