:::: FAST386.EXE ::::

Belatedly, I offer a 32-bit version of Fast Index for non-OS/2 users. This
is a DPMI (DOS Protected Mode Interface) client, with a built-in DPMI
server (PMODE/DJ) if needed. It requires at least a 386 and 3 megs of RAM.

This is a straight port of the OS/2 Virtual Pascal version of Fast Index
3.0, with only the very minimal changes required for Free Pascal (aka
"FPC"). It offers the same performance advantages as fastos2.exe. The
biggest code change is in the opening banner. :-)

Back when Searchlight first moved to a Win32 version, I had several
requests for a Win32 port of Fast Index. At the time, I didn't have the
proper tools for it; even though I had a 32-bit version of Delphi, it
didn't provide backwards compatibility with Borland/Turbo Pascal's own
basic "Dos" unit. To port Fast Index, I faced a substantial rewrite, and I
judged it not worthwhile. Ironically, third-party tools like Virtual
Pascal, and now Free Pascal, have provided more support for porting legacy
code than Borland's own software. I just installed Free Pascal for the
first time a couple days ago, and I think the team is doing a smashing
job. I still can't offer you a Win32 port (see below), but at least this
32-bit version will run under Windows.

Performance? Well, you remember "Machine 1" from the documentation of Fast
Index 3.0? That's since been upgraded to a 486DX4/100 with 64 megs of RAM,
running Linux. Under DOSEmu, compiling a recent nodelist of 20,000 nodes,
fast386.exe comes in at just over four seconds, vs. almost eleven seconds
for fastidx.exe. Wow, you can save seven seconds! :-) With equipment that
no longer even qualifies as modern, we've obviously reached the point of
diminishing returns.

This archive does NOT replace fastix30.zip. If you want either the 16-bit
MSDOS version or the 32-bit OS/2 version, you must get that archive.


:::: OTHER PORT STATUS ::::

I have a Linux version that works well, except that it doesn't understand
the MSDOS-style pathnames which are typically embedded in nlindex.sl2. I
can code around this if there's interest (I may do it anyway). The Linux
version was actually the first FPC-based port I did -- and no further
changes were then needed to port it (back) to MSDOS.

I tried a Win32 version, as well as an FPC-based OS/2 version, but both
fail due to (different) minor bugs in FPC's libraries for those platforms.
Those problems may be resolved in the future; for now, fast386.exe has
been tested successfully under OS/2, Win 95, and Linux's DOSEmu.


:::: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ::::

Free Pascal (aka FPC, aka FPK):

 http://www.brain.uni-freiburg.de/~klaus/fpc/

PMODE/DJ:

 http://www.delorie.com/djgpp/
