NorthStar_TurboDOS_UserGuide_1983.pdf

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TurboDOS®

User's

Guide

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is a Inc. Turbo-Plus"' is a trademark of Microserve, Inc.

CP/M®

, is a registered trademark of Digital Research, Inc.

WordStar"' is a trademark of MicroPro International Corporation HORIZON" is a registered trademark of North Star Computers, Inc

Z-BOA® _{is a registered trademark of Zilog, Inc.} 8086® _{is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation} 8088-2® _{is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation}

Copyright© 1983 _{by North Star Computers, Inc.}

TurboDOS 1.3 NOTICES

User's Guide

Copyright Notice Copyright 1983 by _Software 2000, _Inc.

All

rights reserved. No _{part of this publication}

may be reproduced, _{transmitted, transcribed,}

stored in a

retrieval

_{system, or translated}

into any _{language or computer language,}

in

any form or by any means, electronic, mecha—

nical, magnetic, optical, chemical, manual _or

otherwise, without the prior written permis—

sion of Software 2000, _Inc., 1127 _Hetrick Avenue, _Arroyo Grande,

California

93420, U.S.A.

Trademark _Notice TurboDOS

is

a _{trademark of Software} 2000,

Inc., and has been _{registered in the United}

States and _in most _{major countries of the}

free world. CP/NI, CP/M _Plus, and EIP/M _are trademarks _{of Digital} Research.

User's Guide

Purpose We've _designed

this

_{jLsm=ggÁm to} make

it

easy for you _{to learnhow to} use theTurboDOS operating system. This document

tells

_you

what TurboDOS does, how _to use

its

various

facilities,

and what _to do _in case _{of errors.}

It

also describes each TurboDOS command

in

detail.

The _{information presented applies}

to both Z80 and 8086 TurboDOS.

Assumptions _{In writing this guide,} we've assumed _that you have a _{pre-configured copy of} TurboDOS

all

ready to run on _{your computer.} Also, you need _to know some basic things _{about your}

computer equipment: how _to hook

it

up and

start

it

running, and how _to handle the _disks

it

uses. We _{haven't assumed you}

are a

pro-grammer _or an experienced computer user,

however.

Organization This guide

starts

with a _{section that}

ex-plains some of the basics: what TurboDOS

is,

what

it

does, how _{to get}

it

started, enter

commands, and _{correct errors.}

The _{next three sections explain} the _principal

concepts of TurboDOS _{in more}

detail.

_There

are sections on

files

and _disks,

printing,

and _processing.

TurboDOS _1.3 TABLE OF CONTENTS

User's Guide

SOME _{BASICS What}

is

TurboDOS? _{. . . . . . . . . . .}

1-l

Why Use TurboDOS? _. . . .

1-l

Networking _. . . _. . _. . . .

l-2

CP/M _{Compatibility . . . . . . . . .}

l-2

Performance _{. . . . . . . . . . . . .} l—3 Disk _{Capacity . . . . . .}

. . _. . . .

l-3

Reliability

. . .

l-3

Print Spooling . . . _. . . _.

l-4

Getting Started . . . _. . .

l-5

Cold _Start

. . _. . . . _{. .} . _. . _. .

l-5

Sign On

. _. . . . _. . .

l-5

Log On

. _. . . .

l-6

Entering Commands _. . . . _. . . .

l-7

Command _Foímat

. . _. . . .

l-7

Multiple Commands _{. . .}

. . .

l-8

Correcting Errors . . . _. . _. .

l-9

Attention Request . . . _. . _. . . . l-10

Summry _.

. . . . _{. . .} . . _. . . . . _.

l-ll

FILES AND _{DISKS What}

is

a File? . . . _{. .} . _. . . . 2-1

Identifying Files . . . _. . _. . . . . _. 2-2

Names and Types . . . _. . . . 2-2

Directories . . . _{. . .} . _. . _. . . . 2-3

Wild-Cards . . _. . _{. .} . . . _. . . . 2-4

Drive Selection . . . _. . . . . _. 2-5

Working _{with Files}

. . _. . . . 2-6

1.3

User's Guide _(Continued)

COPQULNDS SEND ("1"1""" ""j'l _{0 0 P 0 0 * * 0 * 0 0 0 e} 5-52

(Continued) SERVER _Command.

. . _{. .} . . . _. . . S-53

SET ("(·É""" _{· '·"}

. . . _. . . . 5-55 SHOW _Command

. . _. . . . . _{. .} . . . . 5-57

TYPE

. . . _. . _. . . 5-59 USER _Command

. . . _. . . . _. . . _. . _. 5-60

TurboDOS _1.3 SOME _BASICS

User's Guide

SOME BASICS

In this section you

will

learn what TurboDOS does, _{what kind of hardware}

it

runs on, how

to

start

it

up, anáhow to enter commands and

correct errors.

Let's start with the obvious _question...

What _is TurboDOS? TurboDOS _is a collection _{of programs designed}

to make _{your computer run r,ore}

efficiently,

and _to make

it

easier for you _to run other programs, create and _manage

files,

and use

the peripheral devices (such as the _console,

printer,

and _{disk drives) attached to your} computer.

TurboDOS _is an "operating system", the

tech-nical term _{for a program} which _{supervises the}

operation of other programs. TurboDOS

itself

is not _{specialized for any particular}

appli-cation (such _as word _{processing, accounting,} or

statistics).

_Instead, TürboDOS _works

together with whatever _specialized

applica-tion program you _{care to run,} and _{takes care}

of whatever

file

and _device management

func-tions _your

particular

application _program requests.

Now

let's

examine _what makes TurboDOS dif—

ferent from _{other operating} systems.

Why Use TurboDOS? Compared _{to other microcomputer operating} systems, TurboDOS _{is distinguished} by:

. Networking Capability . CP/M Compatibility . Superior Performance

TurboDOS _1.3 SOME _BASICS

User's Guide

Why Use TurboDOS (Continued)

Performance Independent benchmark comparisons have shown

that file-intensive applications perform much

better with TurboDOS than _with CP/M _or FIP/M.

You'll benefit from _this performance improve-ment with

virtually

any business application.

File processing averages at least three times as fast, sometimes much more. The more users on your system, the _greater the performance advantage becomes.

Disk _{Capacity Business applications are often}

limited

by the _{available disk capacity of} your computer. TurboDOS _is designed _to handle _big hard _disks and _big

files.

CP/?4 _{has internal limitations}

which prevent

it

from supporting disks _or

files

larger than 8 _{megabytes. Disk drives}

larger than 8 _{megabytes have to be}

parti-tioned into segments, making them awkward _to

use. In contrast, TurboDOS _{supports disk}

drives to 1,000+ megabytes _without

parti-tioning,

and _supports

files

up to 134 megabytes.

Reliability

Integrity of data and _{graceful recovery} from

errors are

critical

to any serious data

pro-cessing

activity.

TurboDOS

offers vital

improvements _in these _{important areas.}

TurboDOS does

read-after-write

_of

all

_disk updates. _{In other} words, whenever

it

_writes

information out to disk,

it

immediately reads

it

back _to make _sure

it

got recorded okay.

User's Guide

why Use TurboDOS

(Continued)

Reliability

Whenever _{errors are detected,} TurboDOS _gives (Continued) _{you meaningful diagnostic messages,} and

lets

you chose from a _{variety of recovery options.}

In the event of a _{disk error,}

for

_example,

you can choose one of these alternatives: . Retry the disk operation again

0 Ignore the error and continue processing . Abort the program

Print Spooling The _slowest component _of your computer system

is undoubtedly the _printer.

If

_your

applica-tions involve much

printing,

you may

find

that

the

printer

is

the bottleneck

that

limitshowmuchworkyoucangetdone onyour

system. To _{help solve this} problem, TurboDOS

includes an automatic "print spooling"

faci-lity

that lets

you get on

with

the next processing task without having to wait

for

printing from the _{previous task to finish.}

Here's how

it

works. When _{your application}

program

tries

to send characters to the

printer,

TurboDOS _intercepts them and _saves them _{in a disk}

file

_{instead. (This is called}

"spooling".) When _{the program}

is

_done, TurboDOS _{automatically}

starts printing

_the

contents of the

file.

(This

is

called "de-spooling".) At the _{same time,}

it

_{lets you go} ahead and run your _next program.

In a multi-user system, several _{users ínay}

try

to

print

at the same time. In

this

case,

TurboDOS _{automatically} queues the print fiLes

TurboDOS _1.3 SOME _BASICS

User's Guide _(Continued)

Getting Started To _get TurboDOS _started,

it

is

necessary to reada copy of theoperatingsystem fromyour TutboDOS system _disk

into

_{your computer's} memory. _{This process}

is

variously known as

"cold

start".

Cold _Start The _{exact cold-start} procedure depends on the kind of hardware you are using.

Usually,

all

you need to do

is

_{turn on the} computer's _{power switch, or press the}

compu-ter's "reset" button

(if

the power is already

on).

If

your TurboDOS system _{disk is} a

flop-py diqkor other typeof removablemedia, you need _{to load}

it

into the disk drive. At this point, TurboDOS

will

_{load into} memory

automa-tically,

and _{sign on.}

Sign On On a single-user _system (or _a multi-user

system _with no log-on required), you

will

see

the following display on your console _{as soon} as TurboDOS _is loaded:

i I

l _TurboDOS

l.3x,

Copyright 1983 _etc. I i _DA}

The _"sign-on" message

tells

you which _version

of TurboDOS _{you are using.} The "QA}"

is

the "command prompt" _that

tells

_you TurboDOS

is

ready to accept a command from _your

keyboard.

It

also

tells

you that user number zero and _drive A _{are currently selected (more}

about _this

later).

TurboDOS _1.3 SOME _BASICS

User's Guide _(Continued)

Entering Commands TurboDOS does _{only what you}

tell

it

to do. The way you

tell

it

what to do

is

by _entering commands on _your console keyboard.

Whenever _{you enter} a command, _{you are} actual—

ly asking TurboDOS _{to load} a _particular

pro-gram _{front disk into your computer's} memory

andrunit.

TurboDQS _{coineswithmore than30}

standard commands _{(programs) that are}

de-scribed in

detail

in a

later

_{section of}

this

guide. You _{can also enter} commands _{to run}

application programs, or programs you have

written yourself.

Command Format A _{TurboDOS command always}

contains a command name which specifies _{the program to} be _run. The _simplest commands _{consist only of the} command name, followed by _the RETURN _(or

ENTER) _{key. For example:}

l [

i _OMRIR i

I l

is a commonly-used command which _{displays a}

directory of the

files

on _{the currently—}

selected _user number _(zero) and _{disk drive}

(drive A). Remember _{that the} command name "DIR"

is actually

_{the name of} a _{program on}

disk. Don't _forget the RETURN _key

at the end

of each command.

Frequently, the command _name

is

_followed by

additional command _{information (drive}

letter,

User's Guide

Entering Comnands

(Continued)

Command _{Format Another example:}

(Continued)

_

_

__{_ _ __ _}

i l

l _0A}COPY PCANYFTT.,E _B: I

I l

is

a command to copy a

file

named "ANYF'ILE"

from drive A _{to drive} b. "COPY"

is

_the name

of another command program.

Multiple Commands You may enter several TurboDOS commands

at

one time. To do _{this, separate the} commands

with the character

\

(backslant), and _press

RETURN _{after the last command. For example:}

l l

I _{OMPTP BX\PTP C: \PT.P P:} l

I i

is a string oÍl three commands to display the

directories of drives B, C _and D _{in sequence.}

You can

string

as many commands together as you

like,

limited

only by _{the size of the} TurboDOS command _{buffer. Normally, the} com—

ínand _buffer

is

_big enough

for

you _{to type} a command _string two _{lines long.}

When you _enter a string of commands, TurboDOS executes each command _{in sequence, one after}

another. Each command _{but the}

first

is

User's Guide _(Continued)

Attention Requests _{Youcansuspendtheexecutionof a program or} f, command at any time by typing the "attention"

""' _{character on}

your console keyboard, _the BREAK key. TurboDOS

will

"beep" _to acknowledge

that

it

has _{received your}

attention

_request and suspended _{execution of your} program.

After an attention request, your program

will

remain suspended

until

you _type one of the following attention responses:

CTRL-Q (resume) _{simply restarts execution of}

your program at the _point

it

was interrupted. You

will

find this attention/resume sequence

useful to prevent displayed information from scrolling

off

the top of your console screen

before you have _{time to} read

it,

CTRL-C _{(abort) cancels} program execution, and

returns you to the TurboDOS command prompt. CTRL-P _(echo-print)

restarts

_program

execu-tion and causes

all

subsequent console _output

also to be echoed _{on the}

printer.

A _second

attention/echo sequence turns off echoing _of

console output to the printer. Th:_{Ís feature}

is

useful

for

getting hardcopy of your con-sole interactions with the system.

CTRL-L _{(end-print) restarts} program execution

after signalling the end _of the _{current print}

job. This is useful primarily when _spooling, because

it

causes

all

accumulated _print

out-put to be _immediately queued _{for printing.}

TurboDOS _1.3 SOME _BASICS

User's Guide _(Continued)

Summary This section has _{covered some of the basics} you need _to know _about TurboDOS. _You've

learned what an operating system

is,

how TurboDQS _{compares with other microcomputer}

operating systems, and what _{kind of} hardware

it

runs on. You've also learned how to load TurboDOS _from a cold

start,

log _on, enter

commands and command _{strings, correct typing}

errors, and make _{attention requests.}

Our _{next topic}

is

one of the most _important

User's Guide

files

AND _{DISKS In}

this

section, you

will

learn more about

how TurboDOS does

its

most _{important job:} managing _your

files

and _disks.

What _{is a File?} a

"file"

is

a

collection

_{of related}

infor-mation qtored on disk. Files may contain data (numbers, _{text, formulas, pictures,} and so on) or computer programs.

You can think of a

file

_{on disk as} being

like

a

file

folder in a

file

cabinet. When _you

store information in a

file

cabinet, you use

file

folders to group related information together. For _instance, one folder might contain information about _company employees

(names, addresses, _telephone numbers, and _so

forth).

You _{might label}

this

_folder "Em-ployee Data" _{so you can find}

it

later.

Using your computer's _{disk instead of} a

file

cabinet, you could set up a disk

file

con-taining the employee _information. You _might

TurboDOS _1.3 FILES AND _DISKS

User's Guide _(Continued)

Identifying Files TurboDOS keeps _{track of your}

files

by name.

It

maintains a

directoryof thefilesoneach

disk. whenever _you want _to access a particu—

lar

file,

you simply

identify

the one you want by name.

Narííes and Types _Within

limits,

you can give your

files

any names you _want. Each

file

name can be up to eight characters long. Try _to make up names

that

will

remind you what each

file

_contains:

j l

l EMPLOYEE CONTRACT LOANCALC l

l CUSTOMER _{TAXINFO STARTREK} l

l PAYROLL USRGUIDE PAYCHECK !

As you create more and more

files,

you

will

find they begin _to

fall

_{into natural}

catego-ries (commands, BASIC _{programs, documents,}

data base

files,

and so

forth).

To _help you group similar

files

together, you may add an

optional extension (called a

"file

type") to your

file

names. The

file

type can be up to three characters long, and

is

_always

sepa-ratedfrom

thefilenamewithaperiod:

! I _EMPLOYEE.DAT CONTRACT,DOC _LOANCALC.BAS I I _{CUSTOMER.DAT TAXINFO.DOC STARTREK.BAS} l I _{PAYROLL.DAT USRGUIDE.DOC PAYCHECK.BAS} l

l l

User's Guide

Identifying Files (Continued)

Directories To keep _{track of your}

files,

TurboDOS main—

tains a

file

directory on each _{disk. For} each

file,

_{the directory contains the} name, type and _{attributes of the}

file,

what user

it

belongs to, how _big

it

is,

and where

it

is

located on the _disk.

You can use the DIR command _{to dispia;,'} ¿c

print

the

file

directory

on any of yúut

disks. For example:

I

I _0A}ILLB l

I

l _{THISDISK.LAB 15-Apr-84} 90OK _REMAINING I I _{22 FILES DA:}

*.*

324K DISPLAYED l

I l

l CONTRACT.DOC _{12K STARTREK.BAS} 8K l l CUSTOMER.DAT _{58K TAXINFO} .DOC 2K l l _{EMPLOYEE.DAT 28K USRGUIDE.DOC 96K} l !

etc.

I _DA} l

l !

The DIR command _{displays the}

files

_in

alpha-betical

order byname, andshowsyouthesize of each one in kilobytes. (A kilobyte

is

1024 _bytes.)

It

_also shows you how much unused _{space remains} on the disk, and other

TurboDOS _1.3 FILES AND _DISKS

User's Guide

Idexiti:Eying _Files

(Continued)

Wild-Cards Sometimes

it's

_{convenient to} be _{able to refer}

to an

entire

_{group of}

files,

such as

"all

payroll data

files"

or

"all

BASIC _program

files".

For _this purpose, TurboDOS provides two _{special characters} ? _{and * that can be}

used _in

file

names and _types. You can use the ?

ina

file

name _{or type} as a

"wild-card" to match _{any character in the}

corresponding position. You can use the * to indicate that

all

remaining character posi—

tions of the

file

name _{or type are wild—}

cards.

For example, _the command:

l I

I _{OMDTB PRY?FTTFqPRT} l

I I

might

list

the following

files:

I l

! _{PAYQFILE.DAT PAYAFILE.DAT} l

I PAY5FILE,DAT PAYXFILE.DAT I

I _{PAY9PILE.DAT PAYZFILE.DAT} I

l I

while the command:

l {

l _{0Á}PfTj'TF *} BAA l

I !

would delete

all files

of type .BAS _{from the}

User's Guide

Identifying Files (Continued)

Drive Selection Your _{computer system may} be _{equipped with}

several disk drives (up _to 16 _of them). Each

drive

is

assigned a

letter

A-P. _In

its

com-mand prompt, TurboDOS reminds _you which _drive

it

is currently working on. When _{you refer to} a

file

by _name, TurboDOS

normally looks for that

file

on _{the current}

drive.

To _access a

file

on a

different

drive, you have to enter a drive

letter

and a

colon in front of the

file

name. For example,

if

you _enter:

l _{ozÜpETíFTK B·POC[JMFNT|,TYT} I I

TurboDOS

will

_{look for the}

file

DOCUMENT.TXT

on drive B, _{even though the current drive}

is

drive A.

You can also use a drive

specification in

front

of a command _{keyword to indicate that} you want TurboDOS _{to load the} command from a

particular drive:

l

I 0MC.·PFTFTF TSTRPTRFK,BFS I

I

In

this

example, TurboDOS _{would look}

for

DELETE.COM _(or DELETE.CMD) on drive C, and

TurbooOS _1.3 FILES AND _DISKS

User's Guide

Identifying Files (Continued)

Mive Selection

If

you need _to access many commands or

files

(Continued) on the same

drive,

_you might

find

it

convenient to change _{the current drive} so

that you don't have _to keep _{specifying the}

drive

explicitly

on _every reference. To change _{the current drive, simply type the}

drive

letter,

a colon, and _then RETURN:

l l

l _0A}aL

I OB} !

I I

Notice that TurboDOS changes

its

command prompt _{to indicate} the _{new current drive.}

working with Files At

this

point,

let's

see how you can

accom-plish some basic

file

operations using

Turbo-DOS. _{These include creating, copying,}

renam-ing and _deleting

files.

Creating Files TurboDOS does _not have _{any special} command _to

create a

file.

Most _{of the time,} you create

new

files

by running application _programs. For example, _{to create} a _text

file

you would

probably use a text editor _or word processing program. You can also create

files

by making

copies of other

files.

when a _{program creates} a _new

file,

the

file

starts

out empty. as _{the program writes}

information to the

file,

TurboDOs

automatic-ally

allocates additional disk space. A

file

can grow as large as needed, limited only by

TurbolX)S _1.3 FILES AND _DISKS

User's Guide

Working _{with Files}

(Continued)

Renaming _Files To change _the name of a

file,

use the RENAME comnand:

i l

I _OMRENAME TAKNCRT,C 131\8 1,(". BAS i l _{OA:LOANCALC.BAS renamed OA:LC .BAS} I

l DA} l

I l

Using wild-cards, you can rename a _{group of}

files:

l !

l _OMPENPMF STRPTRE,K _{* TREK,*} l I _Confirm

individual

files

(y/n)? kl I i OA: _{STARTREK.BAS renamed} OA: _{TREK .BAS} i l _{OA:STARTREK.COM renamed OA:TREK} .COM l I _{(jA: STARTREK.DOC renamed} OA: _TREK .DOC i l _{OA:STARTREK.REL renamed OA:TREK .REL} l

l _DA} i

i i

Deleting Files

Toeraseafilefrom

diskconipletely, use the DELETE command:

I l

l _0A}PET,RTE C)R.TGTNPTl,BPS l

I _{QA:ORIGINAL.BAS deleted} l

l QA} I

I l

Like COPY _and RENAME, _{the DELETE command can}

be used _{with wild-cards to delete} a _group of

files

with

one command. You _should be

TurboljOS _1.3 FILES AND _DISKS

User's Guide

Backing up

(Continued)

Using Backup The BACKUP command can be used _{only to} copy (Continued) _{an entire disk to} another _{disk of exactly the}

same kind and _format, BACKUP _{is the fastest}

method _{of copying} a disk, because

it

copies everything in one operation.

Using COPY _The COPY _{command can also be used for making}

backup _copies. You can use COPY _{to copy}

all

files

from _{one disk to another:}

I l

I OZÜCOPY Am _b; ?N I

l _OA:ALPHA .COM _{copied to OB:ALPHA} .COM l i _{OA:BETA .BAS copied}

to OB:BETA .BAS l

l _: l

I _: I

l OA: _{ZULU .DAT copied}

to OB:ZULU .DAT l

i _QA} l

! i

COPY _{is slower than} BACKUP _because

it

copies one

file

at a tinte. COPY _{has some}

advan-tages, however. You can copy from one kind

of disk to another

--

from a _{hard disk to} a

floppy

disk, for

example. You can _copy

selected

files

or groups of

files

if

you

wish. In addition, the COPY _{command has an}

"archived" option

for

copying only those

1.3 FILES DISKS

User's Guide _(Continued)

Working _{with Disks} So

far,

we've _seen how TurboDOS _{works with}

files

stored on disk. a _{single disk} can _hold dozens _of

files,

_{sometimes hundreds of them.} However, _certain TurboDOS commands and faci—

lities

deal _{with the disk}

itself,

_{rather than}

with the individual

files

stored on

it.

Kinds _of Disks A _{disk is} a _{rotating magnetic} medium used by

a computer system _{to store programs} and _data.

Information is recorded on disk magnetically,

much _{as voice or music}

is

_{recorded on audio}

tape. The _{term "disk" applies to several}

kinds of storage inedia: _{floppy disks,}

remov-able cartridge disks, and _fixed hard _disks.

Floppy disks (also called "diskettes") _are inexpensive, and _often the _{only kind of} stor— age available on small microcomputer systems. They are removable _disks which _use a

flexible

magnetic medium _{that spins inside} a cardboard

jacket. Floppy disks come in B-inch and

5.25-inch diameter sizes (even _{smaller ones}

are being developed). They _may be _recorded on _{oneor both sides, andcommonlyhavecapa—}

cities

of 150K _to 1,50OK _(kilobytes).

Cartridge disks are _also removable, _{but they} use a

rigid

("hard") níediuin _{that allows} much more _{data to} be _{stored on} each _disk. They

are considerably more expensive than flop—

pies, so

their

use on microcomputer _systems has been somewhat

limited.

_{Cartridge disks} corrie in 14-inch, B-inch, and _5.25-inch

diame-ters, and _{typically hold} 2 _{to 20 megabytes (a}

megabyte

is

1024K, _{more than a}

million

TurboDOS _1.3 FILES AND _DISKS

User's Guide

Working _{with Disks}

(Continued)

Kinds _of Disks _Fixed hard _disks (sometimes _called "Winches— (Continued) _{ter" disks) use one or several}

rigid

_magnetic

platters sealed _inside an

airtight

container. They _provide a reliable and economical _means

of storing a

lot

of information (typically 5

to 50 _megabytes), and _{are rapidly becoming}

popular in medium-to-large microcomputer sys— terns. The disadvantage _of such _{disks is that}

they are non-removable,, Consequently, some

other kind of removable medium _{(floppy disk,}

cartridge disk, or tape)

is

almost always required for backup and _archive purposes.

Disk Formats _Information

is

_{recorded on disks along con—}

centric circular "tracks", somewhat

like

_the

grooves on a phonograph record. Each _track

is further subdivided into fixed-length "sec—

tors". The _{"format" of a disk refers to} how many tracks are recorded on the disk (on

either one _{or both sides),} how many sectors are recorded on each _track, and how rnany

bytes are recorded in each _sector.

For some kinds of disks ("hard-sectored")v

the format

is

fixed by _{the hardware}

itself.

For _{others ("soft-sectored"), the format} must be _{pre-recordedonto the disk bymeans of the} TurboDOS FORMAT command _{before the disk} can be used. Most _{floppy disks} arid _{many hard}

disks are soft-sectored.

For maximum _capacity and performance, _floppy

disks used _with TurboDOS _{are generally}

for-matted _{with large sector sizes (typically} 512

TurboDOS _1.3 FILES AND _DISKS

User's Guide

Working _{with Disks}

(Continued)

Directory Formats _{In addition to CP/M-conipatible}

"linear"

di—

rectories, TurboDOS _{also supports an optional} "hashed" _{directory format that} makes _look-up

in large directories much _faster.

The _{standard linear directory format is} com—

patible

with CP/M, and

is

_searched sequen—

tially.

Because OE _{this, Look-up speed gets}

slower as the directory gets bigger. For

hard _{disks with big directories, look-up time} can get painfully slow.

The _optional hashed _{directory format} uses a

"hashing algorithm", a sophisticated tech-nique _for making _look-up on large directories

much _faster. A _{hashed directory may be used}

on any disk, but is especially suited for use on hard disks with big

directories.

Hashed

directories are ÁQX _{compatible with} CP/M. To

initialize

a _{disk to use}

this

_optional

hashed

directofy

_format, use the ERASEDIR command. _{Alternatively, to} change _an exist—

ing directory from _{linear to} hashed (or

vice-versa), use the FIXDIR command:

l l

l _{0MFT"PTP C·} l

I _Hashed

directory desired (Y/N)? X l l OK _{to reorganize directory on drive} C?

í

l

i _{Íjirectory reorganized, hashed} I

i _DA} I

I l

TurboDOS _1.3 FILES AND _DISKS

User's Guide

working with Disks (Continued)

Disk _Errors

If

_you key R

(retry),

TurboDOS

will

try

_the (Continued) _{read or}

write

_{operation several more times.}

If

it

is

still

unsuccessful, you

will

get another message.

If

you key

I

_{(ignore), processing}

will

con-tinue as

if

_{the error} had not occurred. This option is not recommended _in most _situations because

it

causes processing of invalid data and may _{lead to other errors.}

If

you key A _{(abort), TurboDOS terminates the}

program you were running when _{the error}

oc-curred.

If

you hear a "beep" and see

this

message on

your console:

! I

l _{Not Ready}

Error, Drive C _{[Retry, Abort]} i

i l

it

means TurboDOS _{could not} access the selec-ted drive for one of the following reasons:

. there's no such drive on your system . the drive

isn't

ready to operate

. no disk

is

mounted in the drive

. the disk hasn't been formatted . the disk format

is

unrecognizable

. you forgot to type SERVER before FORMAT,

VERIFY, _etc,

Again, you must _{select the desired recovery}

TurboDOS _1.3 FILES AND _DISKS

User's Guide _(Continued)

User Numbers The _log-on mechanism _of TurboDOS _permits

(Continued) certain _user

id's

to be

"privileged",

allow-ing those users to access various protected

facilities

of TurboDOS.

If

you

qualify

as a

"privileged user", you can change _user num-bers _{anytime you}

like

_{with the} USER _command:

I l

l 5B }T7,SEP 1 ?, I

l _12B} i

In most systems, you _{are automatically} logged on _{to user zero} as a

privileged

_user. You

can then change _to any other user number _with

the USER _command.

File Attributes File attributes may be used _{to control} how a

file

can be accessed. TurboDOS _{defines four} such _attributes: Read-only, _{Global, Archived,} and FIFO. Each _{of these}

attributes

_is

ex-plained in detail below.

You can _set and _clear

file

attributes with

the SET command. For example:

l l

l _{0A}SEt *.cñj¶ ¶+RG-A} I

sets

all

.COM

files

to Read-only, _Global, and

not Archived. The SHOW _{command lets you see}

TurboDOS _1.3 FILES AND _DISKS

User's Guide

File Attributes (Continued)

PIFC) _{File The "FIFO"}

attribute

causes a

file

to be

accessed by TurboDOS _{using a special}

first-in-first-out

access method. FIFO

files

_are

especially convenient

for

inter-process and

inter-user communications, and _{are described}

in more detail in the proqranlpRer's

.

Read-Only" _Drive TurboDOS _{allows drives to} be marked _read-only much _{in the same fashion as}

files.

_Another

variation of the SET command _is used:

i l

i 0A},S.ET

c: t-i-p j

l

Drive C

set to read-only l

! _0Al,qET

c:, _t-p i

I _Drive C

set to read/write I

l _DA} l

I I

Setting a drive read-only prevents TurboDOS

TurboDOS _1.3 FILES AND _DISKS

User's Guide _(Continued)

File Sharing In a _multi-user TurboDOS system,

it

_{is quite}

possible that two _or more _users may want

to

access _the saíne

file

at the _{same tinte. This}

canhappen

if

the users are logged on to the

sane _user number, or

if

they are accessing

the same glcbal

file.

TurboDOS has _various

facilities

to regulate such

file

_sharing.

File Locks As a general rule, TurboDOS allows _any number

of users to read

afile

at the sarríe time, but

only one _user may

write

the

file.

(This

is

called the "períaissive"

rulej

If

a second

user

tries

to

write

the

file"efore

the

first

user

is

finished, the second _user

will

re—

ceive an _error message. The _exact níessage depends upon the application programs being run, but is usually soir.ething

like

"cannot write

file"

or "disk

full".

Alternatively,

it

is possible to set up Tut— boDOS so that only one _user can _access any

file

at a time. (This

is

called the "exclu—

sive" rule.)

If

your system

is

set up

in

this

fashion, and

if

_{a second user}

tries

_to access the

file

before the

first

is finished,

the second _user

will

_{receive an error} mes— sage, usually something

like

"cannot open

file"

or

"file

not found".

Record Locks TurboDOS _also has _{record locking}

facilities

that make

it

possible

for

several users to access and _update common

files

at the same

time. Record _{locking is not automatic.} Pro— grams must make

explicit

_{requests for}

Turbo-DOS _{to open}

User's Guide (Continued)

Suumary _{This section} has _explained how TurboDOS mana-ges _your

files

on disk. You've _{learned what}

files

are, how _{they are}

identified

by name, and how you can create, copy, rename and

delete them. You know how TurboDOS _{disks are}

organized, and _{the proper procedures}

for

formatting disks, changing _disks, and

recov-ering _{from disk errors.} You _{understand the}

importance of making _frequent backup _copies

of your important programs aná _data

files.

And _you know about _user numbers,

file

attri-butes, and

file

_{sharing. Congratulations!} Next, _{we look at} how TurboDOS handles

TurboDOS _{1.3 PRINTING}

User's Guide

PRINTING _{This section teaches you}

all

_about

printing

under TurboDOS, _including how _{to use}

its

print

spooling

capabilities

to best

advan-tage. The _printing

facilies

_of TurboDOS _are

rather elaborate, so there's quite a

bit

_to

learn.

Printing Methods _{We'll start} by _{describing the various}

print-ing methods _supported by TurboDOS. _Later,

we'll go into detail about the commands used

to control printing.

Your _system may be equipped with several printers (up _to 16 _{of them),}

all

of which _may be _{in-use simultaneously.} Each

printer is

assigned _a

letter

A-P _(just as in the case of disk drives). You can control which _printer you _{want to} use at any given time. In a

multi-user system, each _{user can control his}

print

routing independently.

There _are two _{fundamentally different} methods

of printing in TurboDOS:

djj=É

and spoojed,

Direct Printing

Print

output may be _routed

directly

_{to any}

specified printer on a _{character-by-character}

basis. This is the _simplest method _of print—

ing in TurboDOS, and the _only method

suppor-ted by CP/M. _Direct

printing is

_useful

for

very long

print

jobs (e.g., overnight), and

for certain

special

situations

such as

single-sheet printing.

User's Guide

Printing Methods

(Continued)

Direct Printing Another drawback of

direct printing is that

(Continued)

it

is

very awkward to use in a multi-user

environment.

If

two _{users attempt to}

print

directly

to the same

printer

at the same

time,

theresult isaniergedprintout

that

is

not

likely

to be _of much _{use to either user.} Thus,

direct printing

_{requires that users}

carefully

coordinate among themselves to avoid such _conflicts.

You can eliminate both of these problems by

using spooled _printing.

Spooled _Printing when you _select spooled

printing,

TurboDOS

intercepts the print output from _your program and saves

it

in

a

print

file

on disk, This

process is called "spooling", and the result—

ing

print

file

is

sometimes called a "spool

file".

When _{the print job is} done, TurboDOS

automa-tically starts printing

the contents of the

print

file.

This _process

is

called "de-spooling", and takes _{place in} the background

independent of your console. You can go ahead and _run your next program without wait—

ing

for

the

printing

to

finish.

When _the

printing is finished, the

print

file

is dele-ted automatically.

In a multi-user environment, several _users may be generating spooled

print

output at the saíne time without any interference. As _their

jobs

finish!

TurboDQS _{automatically} queues

the

print fíles

for de-spooling on a

Turbo1X)S _1.3 PRINTING

User's Guide

Printing Methods

(Continued)

print

jobs When a program generates

its first

_character

of

print

output, a _new

"print

job" begins.

If

spooled

printing is

in

effect,

TurbooOS

creates a _new

print

file

automatically

at

this point.

Subsequent

print

output

is

spooled to

this print

file

until

the

print

job ends, whereupon TurboDOS _{closes the}

print

file

and queues

it

for de-spooling.

In most _{cases, the}

print

_job ends

automa-tically

at the conclusion of the program.

However, _the

print

_job may also be ended by an end-print attention request from the

con-sole, by _an

explicit

_{end-print request from} the program, or by the _{presence of a reserved}

end-of-print

character in the

print

output

stream

(if

one is defined for your system).

Using _Print Queues TurboDOS _{supports up to} 16

print

_queues,

identified by the

letters

A-P. A

print

queue

is

simply a

list

of

print

jobs awaiting

de-spooled _printing. You can assign any printer on _{your system to de-spool} froni any

print

queue. jobs are always _printed from a

parti-cular queue on a first-come

first-served

basis.

The _simplest way to use these queues

is

to assign each

printer

_to a

different

queue ——

for

example,

printer

a _to queue A,

printer

B

TurboDOS _{1.3 PRINTING}

User's Guide

Printing Methods

(Continued)

De-Spooling _{De-spooling is an automatic background acti—}

vity

which generally requires no _operator

attention. However, TurboDOS _{lets you exer—}

cise control over de-spooling in various ways when _necessary.

You can assign any

printer

_{to de-spocl from} any

print

queue, _{or place} any

printer

in an

"off-line"

status (to allow you _to change paper or ribbons, _for example). You can _stop and _{restart printing on any printer, restart} any

print

_{job from the beginning, or} termi— nate any print job altogether. These _control

functions may be exercised from any _user

console.

Now _{that we've}

reviewed the printing capabi—

lities

of TurboDOS,

let's

_{look at the} com—

mands _{for controlling}

print

_routing, queuing, and _de-spooling. They _are PRINT, QUEUE, and PRINTER.

User's Guide _(Continued)

Routing Control The PRINT command _{controls the routing of}

print

output. In a multi-user system each user tnay control his own

print

routing inde—

pendently.

Direct Printing To _{select the direct printing} mode, you need

only specify which _printer (A-P) you wish _to use:

l i

i _0A}PPTNT F'RTNTÉR=B !

l _{printing is to PRINTER} B l

! QA} l

l I

When _using

direct printing

_in a multi-user

system, make _sure no one else uses

that

printer

until

your printing is finished.

Automatic Spooling To _{select the automatic} spooling níode, you nmjst _specify on which queue (A-P) you want

your print job placed. You may also specify

the _{disk drive onto which} you want the

print

file

to be _writtem

I I

i _{0A}PPTÑT PRTVE>C} O[JE[JE=A. i l _printing

is

to SPOOLER _{on DRIVE} C l

l _to QUEUE A I

i _{0A}PRTNT oú.EñE=B} !

I _{Printing is to} SPOOLER _{on DRIVE} C I i

to QUEUE B !

l _Da} i

TurboOOs _1.3 PRINTING

User's Guide

Routing Control (Continued)

Manual _Spooling To _{select the} manual _spooling mode _(in which

the

print

file

is not automatically queued),

the keyword FILE _is used:

i _{OMPRTNT I?ñ,E} I

l _Printing

is

to SPOOLER _{on DRIVE} C I

l _OMPPTNT FTRE DRTVE=A I

] _Printing

is

to SPOOLER _{on DRIVE} A I

! QA} l

Again, you need to specify the spool drive

only

if

you want _to change

it.

Other Options You can

direct print

output to your console with the following command:

l _{OMPBTNT coNsohF} I

I _Printing

is

to CONSOLE l

l QA} l

You can cause

print

output to be _discarded

altogether by _{using this} command:

I I

l _{0A}PBTNT OFFTJNE} }

l _Printing

is

to OFFLINE I

l QA} l

Finally,

a PRINT command _{with no parameters}

User's Guide (Continued)

Queuing Manually The QUEUE _command

lets

you manually queue

print

files

(or any text

file)

for de-spooled

printing:

I

I _{0A}cMÉñE TExTFTTíE,ppN} I

i _{OA:TEXTFILE.PRN queued} i

I QA}

i i

The QUEUE _command

lets

you specify which

queue you want to use, but

if

you don't (as

in the example above) _{the current queue is} used (as _set by _{the last} PRINT command). You can specify that you want the

file

to be

deleted

after

it

is

printed. You can even use wild-cards

in

the

file

name to queue a

group of

files

with a _single command. For

details on

all

these variations, refer to the

QUEUE _{command description later in this}

TurboljOS _1.3 PRINTING

User's Guide _(Continued)

De-Spool _Control The PRINTER command

lets

you control de—

spooled _printing on any printer in your sys— tem. _This command may be used by any _user from any console.

Queue Assignment To _assign a

printer

(A-P) _{to tie-spool} from _a

particular

print

queue (A-P):

I i

l _0Á}PPTNTEB A OTJFIJE=C I

I _PRINTER A _{assigned to} QUEUE C l

I _DA} I

If

the _{printer is currently printing,} the _new

assignment takes

effect

at the end _{of the}

current

print

job.

To _{display the current de-spool} assignment _of

a particular printer:

l l

I _0Á}PPTÑTER H. i

I _PRINTER A _{assigned to} QUEUE C l

l QA} !

To take a specified

printer off-line

_{at the}

end _{of the current}

print

_job:

I

l _0A}PPTNTER A oFFTiTNE )

I _PRINTER A _{assigned to OFFLINE}

l QA} l

I

1.3 User's Guide

De-spool _Control

(Continued)

Print job Control To _temporarily suspend _{de-spooling to} a spe—

cified printer

(to correct a _{paper jam,}

for

example):

l _0A}PPTNTFR A. S'POP i

l _PRINTER A _{assigned to} QUEUE C _(Stopped) I

l QA} !

l l

To resume _{de-spooling troin the point}

it

was stopped:

l l

I 0A}PPTNTER R GO !

I _PRINTER A _{as.qigned to} QUEUE C I

l _DA} l

To _{stop de-spooling to} a specified

printer

and

restart

_{the current}

print

_{job from the}

beginning when _{de-spooling is} resumed:

l l

I _OMPRTNTER A _HxñN I

I _{PRINTER A assigned}

to QUEUE C _(Stopped) i

l QA} !

1

To _terminate the _current

print

_job on a spe—

cified printer,

and _{continue with the next} queued _job:

l t

I OMPPTNTER A TFRMTNPTE (

l _PRINTER A _{assigned to} QUEUE C l

I QA} I

! I

The _terminated

print

file

_{is not deleted from}

disk, so the job may be manually re-queued

TurboljOS _{1.3 PRINTING}

User's Guide _(Continued)

Spooler _Errors

If

you hear a "beep" and see the

following

diagnostic message on your _console:

I I

I _Spooler

Error (Ignore, Abort) I

I _I

it

means that the disk to which you _were

spooling has _{run out of space in the middle}

of your

print

job. TurboDOS has _{closed your}

print file

(prematurely), but has _Aot queued

it

for de-spooling.

When _{you see}

this

_{message, you must} choose one _{of the two recovery options (Ignore or}

Abort) by _{keying the}

letter

_{I or} A.

If

you key _{I (ignore), your}

print

_routing

is

set to

"off-line",

and _{your program}

will

continue with any

further print

_output

dis-carded.

If

you key A _(abort),

your program

will

be

terminated.

Summary _In

this

_{section, you've learned}

all

_about

printing

and

print

_{spooling in}

all its

_many

variations.

Next,

youwill findout

rnoreabouthow

TurboDOS 1.3 PROCESSING

User's Guide

Command _Processing

(Continued)

Command _Strings TurboDOS _{also accepts strings of} commands

separated by _{the character}

\

_(backslant). TurboDOS _executes each command _{in sequence,} and _re-displays each _{but the}

first

_as

it

is

executed:

l l

l _{OMPTP B: \PTR C·\PTP P·} I

l I

...(drive

b

directory)...

l

l

! _{0A}DIR C:} l

l l

i

...(drive

C

directory)...

l

I l

! _{0A}DIR D:} l

l {

I

...(drive

d

directory)...

[

I

I DA} l

i

A command

string

may not exceed _{the size of}

the TurboDOS command _buffer, which _is normal—

TurboDOS _1.3 PROCESSING

User's Guide

Batch _Processing (Continued)

Simple _{Do-Files Certain} commands (such _as COPY, RENAME and (Continued) DELETE) _{ntay expect interactive input} from _the

console keyboard.

If

such a command is

exe-cuted from within a

do-file,

then

its

_console

input comes from the

do-file

rather than _the keyboard. For example:

] l

I OÁWYPE DKT,PRM PC) I

l DELETE I

I PROG.PRN l

l _PROG.REL I

l PROG.CCM l

l _0A}PO PET,PPOG I

I _0A}DELETE l

I _* PROG.PRN !

I OA: _{PROG.PRN deleted} I

l _{* PROG.REL} l

l OA: _{PROG.REL deleted}

! _* PROG.COM l

I OA: _{PROG.COM deleted} i

I _* !

I QA} !

l l

TurboDOS _1.3 PROCESSING

User's Guide

Batch _Processing

(Continued)

Do-File Parameters When _{arguments are present, the} DO _cominand

(Continued) makes a _{temporary copy of your}

do-file in

which arguments _{are substituted for} parame—

ters as required. The _temporary

file

is

executed, and then _deleted when _execution

is

done.

Nested _{Do-Files Do-files may contain} embedded DO _commands:

l !

I _{oÉñTYpE P[JN,PO} l

I DO COMPILE

{I}

I

I DO _LINK

{l}

_{2} l

l

{I}

I

I 0Á}'¢YP,E COMPTT|.F,PO I

i BASCOM _{{I}.REL,{I}.PRN={1}.BAS/S/C} I

I TYPE _{{1}.PRN ;L} !

l _{DELETE {1}.PRN} l

l _{OÁWYPF TJNK,PO} I

l _{L80 {1}.REL{2}/E,{I}.COM/N} I

I _{DELETE {1}.REL} l

i QA} l

l I

Do-files

may nested in

this

fashion to any

TurboDOS _1.3 PROCESSING

User's Guide (Continued)

l DA _{}R=N-E_ ALLTQLC'NL NJT} COTDSTPT AJJT l l QA: _AUTQLOAIj. AUT _renamed OA: _{COLDSTR'I'.AUT} i

! _DA} i

! I

Note _that a newly-created .AUT

file

does not take _effect

until

t:_{be next- ccId-start.}

Networking As you know already, a multi-user TurboljCS

fj/ ¿"j¢ i' :' e. éc:

tüdlly

a r.etwork of

interconnec-ted microcomputers wc}LkinC| _together. A

sepa-rate rríi-crocomputer _supports each Lv'er 's video

console, and one or more additiomü wicrocor-putets rnay be useá to ri'artacje disks, Frinters,

comrrmnications channels, and _other sb¿3lrec:

devices _{of tbe} system.

In _¢er!eral, ycu do not need _to be concern-eC

about the networkir'-q aspects C4 _{TljrL")QrlGS.}

When you read from _drive C _{or print to}

jµin-ter B, _for example, you do not neeá _{to think} about whether _that Cisk _{Crive is} connected _to your _processor or to another _{processor in} the networ i:

. TurboDGS automatically routes your

requests to t-he _{proper destir}atic!r- without} any

explicit

action CTl _your part-.

However, _there are a few _cases in which _you

need _to be conscious _{of the ttue} niulti-"prc-cessor nature of the system.

Local Con"tIr|anc3s A _{fev' TurboDC)S commands require direct access}

to disk Orive c:p-cj

controller

hardware, and

consequently may be executed only in the

proceRsor to which t"he _áisk

is

_attached. The.<e comnianC!c

are:

l

TurboDOS _1.3 PROCESSING

User's Guide

Memory Management (Continued)

banked Z80 _Certain TurboDOS commands (BACKUP, BOOT, (Continued) FORMAT, andVERIFY)

will

_{not run}

in

_{a banked}

TPA. So _that you can use these commands, TurboDOS _{provides a BANK command which}

lets

you change between _the banked and non-banked

configurations at

will.

8086-Family _{In an 8086-family processor,} TurboDOS occupies lower memory, with the _tpa above:

I l

l I

: Transient Prgm Area :

* 0

* *

! I

I I

I _TurboDOS l

I l

Since 8086-fantily processors can address up

to a megabyte of _memory

directly,

_memory

management

is

_{generally not} a problem, and

bank-switching is unnecessary.

Sumnary _{In this section,} you've _learned how TurboDOS commands work, and _various ways commands may be executed (command _{strings, do-files,}

auto-load). You _{also understand} the effects of networking and _memory management on _your

processing.

1.3 User's Guide

COMMANDS _{This section describes each TurboDOS command}

in

detail.

For ease of reference, the com�