APPENDIX B
Common PEN*KEY 6000 Series Information
PEN*KEY
R
6200/6300 Hand-Held Computer Programmer’s Reference Guide B-31
Windows System Files
Windows is an
operating environment
, a special class of DOS application whose
primary purpose is to enable other applications to execute.
Applications
DLLs
INIs
APIs
Additional
Windows
Files
(optional)
Handwriting
Recognition
Pen Windows
Minimal Windows System Files
Windows Drivers
DOS
DOS Drivers
BIOS
Hardware
The most visible portion of Windows is the Graphical User Interface (GUI), but
the real power of Windows is actually hidden deep inside the computer. Windows
also acts as a multiĆtasking system, which means that any number of applicaĆ
tions may be loaded into memory and executed all at the same time. However,
only a single application would be receiving CPU time at any given moment.
In a typical PEN*KEY 6000 Series Computer configuration, the Windows enviĆ
ronment is practically invisible to the end user. So why have it at all? Windows
becomes an intermediary between the application and the hardware. Unlike a
DOS application that needs to supply its own code to interact with the display
and other peripherals, Windows applications need only conform to the general
parameters of the device. The intricacies of dealing with the device are handled
by a Windows driver, allowing the application to focus its attention on other
tasks.
The retail version of Windows is delivered on several disks and requires from 6 to
8 MB of hard disk space for installation. There are a vast number of user configĆ
urations that can be built with Windows. Many of the Windows components are
optional and their uses are dependent on the type of peripherals (sound cards
etc.) installed on a given PC. Intermec Technologies Corporation provides a stanĆ
dard minimal configuration for Windows in the PEN*KEY 6000 Series ComputĆ
er. This configuration provides only those elements that are absolutely necesĆ
sary in order to start Windows and load the File Manager. Many of the
services" assumed to be present by a given Windows application are not present
and must be installed separately. The
Windows Components
paragraph in SecĆ
tion 3 provides a list of the files included in the minimal Windows configuration,
along with a brief description of each file's purpose. Few, if any, of these files
may be removed and still allow Windows to run.
B. Common PEN*KEY
6000 Series Info.
