Note: This IBM PC BIOS API call is for DOS/Win16 personality only. Use Family API for portability.

Note: osFree Macro Library provides macros for most of functions

Int 10H, AH=08H

Version

IBM 5150 and higher

Brief

Get character and attribute undr cursor

Family API

VioReadCellStr VioReadCharStr

Input

AH = 08h
BH = page number

Return

AH - attribute
AL - character

Macro

INCLUDE BIOS.INC @GetChAtr 0

Notes

for monochrome displays, a foreground of 1 with background 0 is underlined

the blink bit may be reprogrammed to enable intense background colors using AX=1003h or by programming the CRT controller

the foreground intensity bit (3) can be programmed to switch between character sets A and B on EGA and VGA cards, thus enabling 512 simultaneous characters on screen. In this case the bit's usual function (intensity) is regularly turned off.

in graphics modes, only characters drawn with white foreground pixels are matched by the pattern-comparison routine

on the Tandy 2000, BH=FFh specifies that the current page should be used

because of the IBM BIOS specifications, there may exist some clone BIOSes which do not preserve SI or DI; the Novell DOS kernel preserves SI, DI, and BP before many INT 10h calls to avoid problems due to those registers not being preserved by the BIOS.

some IBM PC ROM BIOSes destroy BP when in graphics modes

Note

Text based on Ralf Brown Interrupt List Release 61

IBM PC BIOS API
Video I/O	INT 10H: 00H, 01H, 02H, 03H, 05H, 06H, 07H, 08H, 09H, 0AH, 0BH, 0CH, 0DH, 0EH, 0FH
Hardware info	INT 11H, INT 12H
Serial I/O	INT 14H: 00H, 01H, 02H, 03H
Tape I/O	INT 15H: 00H, 01H, 02H, 03H
Keyboard I/O	INT 16H: 00H, 01H, 02H
Printer I/O	INT 17H: 00H, 01H, 02H
Disk I/O	INT 13H: 00H, 01H, 02H, 03H, 04H, 05H
Date and Time	INT 1AH: 00H, 01H
osFree Macro Library
Video I/O	@SetMode @SetCurSz @SetCurPos @GetCur @SetPage @ScrollUp @ScrollDn @Scroll @GetChAtr @PutChAtr @PutCh @SetPalet @SetColor @SetDot @GetDot @WrtTTY @VideoState @GetMode @GetDisplay @GetVideoState @GetEGAInfo @Cls
Hardware info	@Equipment @MemSize
Serial I/O	@AuxInit @AuxSendChar @AuxRecieveChar @AuxStatus
Tape I/O	@TapeOn @TapeOff @TapeRead @TapeWrite
Keyboard I/O	@KbdStatus @CharIn @CharPeek
Printer I/O	@PrnPrint @PrnInit @PrnStatus
Disk I/O	@DskReset @DskStatus @DskRead @DskWrite @DskVerify @DskFormat
Date and Time	@SetTime @GetTime
Mouse	@MouInit @MouShowPointer @MouStatus @MouSetPos @MouSetMickey @MouRegion
Memory manager	@ModBlok SET_BLOCK
Family API
DOS	Process Manager	DosBeep DosExit DosSleep DosExecPgm
File Manager	DosChDir DosChgFilePtr DosClose DosDelete DosDupHandle DosMkDir DosMove DosQCurDir DosQCurDisk DosSetFileMode DosOpen DosQFileInfo DosRead DosQFileMode DosQFSInfo DosQVerify DosRmDir DosSelectDisk DosFindClose DosFindFirst DosFindNext DosSetFileInfo DosSetVerify DosWrite DosFileLocks DosSetFHandState DosNewSize DosBufReset DosQFHandState DosSetFSinfo
Memory Manager	DosFreeSeg DosSubAlloc DosSubFree DosSubSet DosAllocHuge DosAllocSeg DosReallocHuge DosReallocSeg DosGetHugeShift DosCreateCSAlias
NLS	DosCaseMap DosGetCtryInfo DosGetDBCSEv DosSetCtryCode DosGetCollate DosGetMessage DosInsMessage DosPutMessage
Date and Time	DosSetDateTime DosGetDateTime
Devices	DosDevConfig DosDevIOCtl DosDevIOCtl2
Signals	DosHoldSignal DosSetSigHandler
Misc	BadDynLink DosGetEnv DosGetMachineMode DosGetVersion DosError DosErrClass DosSetVec
KBD	KbdCharIn KbdFlushBuffer KbdGetStatus KbdSetStatus KbdStringIn KbdPeek
VIO	VioGetBuf VioGetConfig VioGetCurPos VioGetCurType VioGetPhysBuf VioReadCellStr VioReadCharStr VioScrollUp VioScrollDn VioScrollLf VioScrollRt VioScrUnLock VioSetCurPos VioSetCurType VioSetMode VioGetMode VioShowBuf VioWrtCellStr VioWrtCharStr VioWrtCharStrAtt VioWrtNAttr VioWrtNCell VioWrtNChar VioWrtTTY VioScrLock VioPopUp
Tools	BIND
Modules	DOSCALLS.DLL VIOCALLS.DLL KBDCALLS.DLL MSG.DLL
Libraries	API.LIB OS2386.LIB FAPI.LIB DOSCALLS.LIB SUBCALLS.LIB