BCSS -- Screen saver routines for Borland C++

          The screen saver modules used by the Windows 3.1 screen
saver program are really nothing more than standard Windows
applications, with a few special features.  To help programmers
with the task of writing screen savers, Microsoft provides a static
library, SCRNSAVE.LIB, in the Windows 3.1 SDK.  This static library
includes a default screen saver window procedure and a set of
proprietary routines for password protection. 
          Unfortunately, the Microsoft library has not been
licensed to other compiler vendors, such as Borland.  Since the
task of writing a screen saver window procedure is fairly trivial,
most users have gotten by without SCRNSAVE.LIB.  However, a glaring
deficiency of such screen savers is a lack of support for
Microsoft-compatible passwords.  
          Even if a user does have access to SCRNSAVE.LIB, he or
she still does not have access to the underlying source code, since
Microsoft did not bother to include this in the Windows 3.1 SDK. 
Worse yet, SCRNSAVE.LIB is written in a manner which requires the
user to define numerous global variables and resource IDs, many of
which are clearly unnecessary for the task at hand.
          SS.LIB is a library which provides the functionality of
Microsoft's SCRNSAVE.LIB.  To use the library, one need only:  (1)
include the header file (SS.H) and (2) add the SS.LIB library and
the SS.RC resource file to the link.  All source for SS.LIB is
provided.
          Two screen saver examples demonstrating use of SS.LIB are
provided:  Blank (BLANKSS.CPP) and Scramble (SCRMBLSS.CPP). 
"Blank" is the simplest form of a screen saver -- it simply blanks
the user's screen.  "Blank" demonstrates the functionality of a
screen saver, without distraction from painting routines.
          "Blank" is easily modified to provide a full-fledged
screen saver.  "Scramble," the second example, is merely the
"Blank" screen saver with its screen saver window procedure
slightly modified (at the WM_CREATE and WM_PAINT case arms).
          For further reading, the reader may consult "The Bugs
You'll Want to Keep in Your Windows 3.1 Setup," PC Magazine,
October 13, 1992; "Save Our Screens," Windows Tech Journal, June
1992; and "Screen Slaver," Windows Tech Journal, February 1993.

-- J. A. Smart, Aug '94