CORTEX 5 is actually a collection of several CORTEX programs. It will work with Number Nine Sgt Pepper boards (nncortex; just like earlier versions of CORTEX). It will also work with the new Number Nine #9GXi board (ticortex). In addition, a two computer version of CORTEX now exists which will support any VESA compliant graphics card/monitor (most new boards). The programs are essentially identical, the only difference being the graphical hardware they use. In addition, there are two additional programs that are used in conjunction with either of these CORTEX programs: PREPPY.EXE, which is a precompiler for timing files, and CORTEXCC.EXE, which is the actual timing file compiler....the heart of the CORTEX STATE SYSTEM (CSS). Note that ticortex.exe's cortexcc.exe file is different from those used for nncortex and remote cortex simply because we have included access to TIGA's low level graphics functions in ticortex.exe.

CORTEX 5 is a complete rewrite of CORTEX 4.3, which was not generally released. It is thus much more powerful from CORTEX 3, the program that most experienced users will be familiar with. Version 5 is a little different from the earlier versions (you'll find new menus and such), but it works in basically the same way....it shouldn't take long to get used to.

A Reference manual is available and included in the release as \docs\ctxref59.doc. A current USERS manual is also included as \docs\ctxUser.doc. The \docs\history.txt file and cortex.cfg include some additional documentation of recent additions and bug fixes.

To get started quickly, simply go to the subdirectory called either \sgtpeppr or \#9GXi (depending on your board) and run CORTEX (NNCORTEX.exe for Sgt Pepper boards and TICORTEX.EXE for #9GXi boards).

For the VESA version of cortex, you need two computers. The master controls experimental timing, data collection, and sending commands to the graphics (slave) computer. The CORTEX "send" program is run on the master. In the \remcort and \remote32 directories, it is called cortsend.exe. The slave computer runs a "receive" program. The VESA version is called rvesactx.exe, and happens to be 32 bit regardless of whether it is located in the \remcort or \remote32 directories. The other programs in \remcort are all 16 bit; whereas those in \remote32 are all 32 bit. They can not be used interchangeably (due to differences in sizeof(int)). Thre are 16 bit "receive" versions for TIGA and NNIOS, but they are likely to be of limited utility.

There are various utility programs in the \util_bin directory that may or may not need to be run before you can run CORTEX. For instance, if you are using a HERCULES card instead of a VGA card, you need to make sure that the msherc.com program has been run before starting CORTEX. If you are using TICORTEX.EXE, you need to make sure that the TICORTCD.EXE driver is running, *****INSTEAD***** of the standard TIGACD.EXE driver that comes with the board. because there is a timing loop bug in TIGACD which causes TIGA to not display correctly. Several different versions are included. I find that newcd2.exe works best for me.

The \source directory is filled with the complete source code for CORTEX Most people won't need this stuff, but it's there if you wish to add more timing file subroutines or other functionality to CORTEX5.

The \source\demos directory contains a plethora of demo files, with varying degrees of commenting included. The file \docs\Demos.doc provides a brief description of each of the files in the \source\demos directory, as well as which items and conditions files need to be loaded to test the included timing files.