David,
>question 1:
>do any of you using the Squeak API extensions (under 1.31) know how i >can call a DLL function with an underscore in its name?
>aoVWriteDevice: deviceNumber channel: channelNumber voltage: voltage
>  <api: AO_VWrite ushort ushort double short>
>  ^self invalidArgument
>the above won't compile with the _ in.
API call names can be symbols or strings. Try this

aoVWriteDevice: deviceNumber channel: channelNumber voltage: voltage
  <api: 'AO_VWrite' ushort ushort double short>
  ^self invalidArgument

Ale.