Object File, Graphics, DXF Format Documents, among others

On one of the lists dealing with editing DOOM game maps (WADS) someone
suggested being able to import DXF drawing files into DOOM maps, which
are two-dimensional editable maps with a single height value. I refer to
these as "unitary maps".


Someone else mentioned where to find a copy of the specification for DXF
files, which perked my interest both because I've been looking too and
a reader of Comp.compilers once asked about them too. (Plus our beloved
moderator has done a prose summary of them in one of his books, which he
can insert a plug for at the end of this message.)


I struck a motherlode!


I have found a site that contains a number of files of interest to many
of the readers of the COMPIL-L list / comp.compilers newsgroup.


x2ftp.oulu.fi:/pub/msdos/programming/formats


In which the following files there will be of interest:


00index.txt List of files in that directory
bmp.zip BMP (BitMaP) graphics file format specification
ccitt-t4.doc CCITT Draft Recommendation T.4
                                [This is a copy of Internet RFC 804]
dbasefil.inf dBASE III database file structure
dxf_spec.zip AutoCAD Drawing Interchange (DXF) file format specification
lib-info.zip Microsoft library (.LIB) format
lxexe.zip Linear eXecutable Module Format Description - 3 June 1992
objlib.zip OS/2 OBJ/LIB formats (?) (MASM/MSC object file format)
off.doc OFF - A 3D Object File Format specification
omf.zip IBM OS/2 16/32 bit Object Module Format (OMF) introduction
rtfspec.zip Rich-Text Format (RTF) specification 1.0 by Microsoft
ss0288.zip .OBJ - Relocatable Object Module Format by Microsoft


There are no less than three object file format specs here plus many
other files; check the 00readme.txt file; a number of the files (like
Adlib music instrument bank format) I had no interest in. What I have
thumbnail examined appears to be the type of thing I and other people
were interested in: detailed technical specifications on how to read and
write files which are created using these formats.


Sometimes you find stuff when you're not looking for it, and sometimes
you find stuff you've been looking for when you least expect it. I
certainly would not have expected a pointer to a site holding specifications
for object files on a list discussing the game DOOM, that's for sure!
[The book that Paul expects me to plug is "Graphics File Formats, 2nd ed",
Windcrest/McGraw-Hill, ISBN 0-07-034025-0, which documents 30 popular formats.
But I wouldn't do that. -John]
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