Subject: Linking bgi drivers into executables

24. *****
 Q: How can I link graphics drivers directly into my executable?

 A: This is a complicated, yet a very useful task, because then you
won't need any separate graphics drivers (or fonts) to go separately
along with your program. Unfortunately, Turbo Pascal documentation
on this task is a bit confusing.
   1) The very first step is to get the necessary files from the
Turbo Pascal disks to your working directory. To start with, you'll
need binobj.exe and all the .bgi files.
   2) Run the following commands (best to place them in a batch,
call it e.g. makeobj.bat):
     binobj cga.bgi cga CGADriverProc
     binobj egavga.bgi egavga EGAVGADriverProc
     binobj herc.bgi herc HercDriverProc
     binobj pc3270.bgi pc3270 PC3270DriverProc
     binobj att.bgi att ATTDriverProc
     rem binobj ibm8514.bgi 8514 IBM8514DriverProc
   3) Get drivers.pas from the Turbo Pascal disk and compile it with
Turbo Pascal. Now you have a drivers.tpu unit which contains all the
graphics drivers.
   4) Now you won't need the .bgi and the .obj files any more. You
may delete them from your working directory.
   5) Write your graphics program in the usual manner. But before
putting your program in the graphics mode use the following
procedure if you want to link e.g. the EGAVGA graphics driver
directly into your executable. (Link just the driver(s) you'll need,
since the drivers take up a lot of space.)
     uses Graph, Drivers;
     :
     procedure EGAVGA2EXE;
     begin
       if RegisterBGIdriver(@EGAVGADriverProc) < 0 then
         begin
           writeln ('EGA/VGA: ', GraphErrorMsg(GraphResult));
           halt(1);
         end;
     end; (* egavga2exe *)
     :
   Linking the .bgi and .chr drivers is also covered in Swan (1989),
Mastering Turbo Pascal 5.5 pp. 355-359 and Mitchell (1993), Borland
Pascal Developer's Guide , pp. 221-229.
   If you have Turbo Pascal 7.0 its help function gives you an
example code. One way of getting at it is the following. In the
Turbo Pascal IDE (that is in the editor) type RegisterBGIdriver.
Then place the cursor on it and press alt-F1 for help of that
keyword. Press alt-F10 and select "Copy example". Press first <ESC>
then alt-F10 and select Paste. The example code is pasted within
your program for you to study.
   Incidentally, although this is a slightly different matter, you
can link any data material into your executable. See Stephen
O'Brien, (1988), Turbo Pascal, Advanced Programmer's Guide, pp. 31 -
35 for more details.
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