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VM/COM, April 1984
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0 CAPS User's NewsLetter
0 Volume 01 Number 01
0 04/05/84
0 Editor: Andy Robinson (ANDY@MAINE)
-
- Staff:
0 Andrew T. Robinson (ANDY@MAINE): editor;
Michael Johnson (CSNM059@MAINE): editor;
Barry Gates (CS23124@MAINE): editor;
Richard Fortin (CS23011@MAINE): editor;
Sean Colbath (GROUP604@MAINE): staff writer;
Tim Willsey (CS23003@MAINE): staff writer;
0 Prof. G. Markowsky (MARKOV@MAINE): faculty advisor;
- NewsLetter Contribution Sink Machine: CSNEWS
0 Contributions from readers welcomed and encouraged!
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0 PAGE 2
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0 Table of Contents
+ _____ __ ________
- Introduction to Vm/Com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Using NICKNAME Files on CMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Using CMS MAIL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Sending Files to Other User's . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Full Screen Peruse for CMS Users . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Ethics/File Transfer Over BitNet . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Virtual Humor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Tutor Listing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
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0 PAGE 1
0 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Introduction to VM/COM -- Andrew T. Robinson (ANDY@MAINE)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
-
Here you have the first issue of VM/COM, the CAPS
User's guide to the galaxy as it were. This newsletter is
intended for the user at CAPS who is interested in learning
more about our system and its workings. It is composed
entirely of materials submitted by programmers and users of
the CAPS system, and the VM/COM staff. We are not
associated in any way with the CAPS administration. The
newsletter contains features such as a programmer's
notebook, programs of general interest, programming
techniques, a gripe column (VM-FLAME), a section for MAIL
from our readers, a humor column, and a lot more!!! Our
publication is primarily directed towards increasing your
effectiveness *and* enjoyment while programming the CAPS
VM/SP CMS system.
0 We encourage unsolicited material from our readers. We
can't guarantee that everything will be included in the next
issue, but everything we receive *will* be saved for future
reference. Send anything computer-related: Humorous
anecdotes, Programs you feel other users may have use for,
programming tips in any language, gripes and complaints
about us or the system in general, and of course we are
always willing to accept complimentary MAIL also...
0 A service we feel will be especially useful to students
is the consultant/tutor list, and VM/COM will be building an
index of programming articles included in our 'publication'
which will be available on request every time a new issue is
sent out. Our tutor/consultant list should aid students and
users who need help in finding it... At this time we have a
total of five tutors who can give you help on almost
anything related to computer science. We will also include
a list of student consultants, at least one of which is
usually available during the day in one of the terminal
areas. Members of the VM/COM staff are often available for
consulting at various times during the day.
0 This weeks issue deals primarily with methods of file
transfers and the use of NICKNAME files etc. etc. The
articles are written primarily for the new user who has had
a little experience with full CMS. We would like to hear
your comments about this issue so we can improve the next
one, but for dow, this is it!
0 So here it is. Read and (hopefully) enjoy. We will be
looking forward to your comments in the next issue, probably
to be sent out in 2-3 weeks, depending on the volume of
material we receive.
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0 PAGE 2
0 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Using NICKNAME Files on CMS -- Barry D. Gates (CS23124@MAINE)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
-
After a short time using this system, you will probably
have accumulated a list of your friends who also have
logonids on the computer. Fortunately, CAPS has a system
set up for handling lists of user, so that you need not
remember your friends id number, only his 'nickname'. This
Nickname system is supported by the MAIL and MM (multiple
message) commands and allow you substitute a person's
nickname instead of his logon id.
0 A nickname file is simply a list of names and numbers in
their proper columns in a file called NICKNAME FILE or a
file with any name and a filetype of NICKNAME. To create
such a file, you use the XEDIT command NICKNAME. For the
purposes of this article, I will use NICKNAME FILE. To
start out, type
0 XEDIT NICKNAME FILE
0 This will put you into the XEDITOR editing a file called
NICKNAME FILE. Then issue the XEDIT command NICKNAME. This
will prompt you for each item necessary, as follows:
0 The first thing it will prompt you for is the nickname
of the person you wish to add. This nickname may be up to
eight characters long and will be used as the name you wish
to refer to your friend's id by. The next prompt will be
for your friend's id. After that you will be prompted for
the user's "Location/Route id". This field is optional, and
if you simply type a carriage return, it will store LOCAL in
your file. This field is used to designate the computer
system where your friend(s) is/are located. If you knew the
logon id of a friend at USM, you could send messages or mail
to him. Of the numerous computers which connect to MAINE
(which is the name for our computer, although LOCAL will
also do), USM is called PORTLAND, and UMF is called
FARMNTON. The next prompt is for a phone number, and is
optional. Note: If you want to put a phone number in, use
the format displayed on the prompt, otherwise the parts of
the number may be lost. After that you will be prompted for
the person's name. This data will be stored in mixed case
and can be up to twenty-eight characters long. This field
is also optional. It will then ask you if you wish to enter
more nicknames. If you do note type 'Y' it will assume you
do not have more to add. When you are done adding entries,
simply file it and then you have yourself a nickname file.
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0 PAGE 3
0 The following is an example of how a NICKNAME session
may work. Lines that start with a '>' are things that you
the user type in, and those that are not are the ones the
computer types:
0 >xedit nickname file
0 XEDIT:
0 >type *
0 BARRY CS23124 MAINE * * * * Barry Gates
ANDY ANDY MAINE * * * * Andrew Robinson
VM/COM CSNEWS MAINE * * * * ID For Vm/Com
0 >nickname
0 ***** Nickname?
0 >jim
0 ***** Realid? (userid of the person who's nickname is JIM)
0 >useridxx
0 ***** Location? routeid
0 >portland (Jim is a user at USM, or PORTLAND)
0 ***** Phone No? area nnn-nnnn ext
0 >207 999-1111 0345
0 ***** Full name? Mixed Case -- up to 28 characters.
0 >Capt. James T. Kirk
0 JIM USERIDXX PORTLAND 999-1111 0345 Capt. James T. Kirk
0 ***** More entries (Y/N)?
0 >n
0 XEDIT:
0 >file
0 Now that you have a nickname file, let's use an example
on how to use it. Here is a portion of a sample nickname
file:
0 BARRY CS23124 MAINE * * * * Barry Gates
ANDY ANDY MAINE * * * * Andrew Robinson
VM/COM CSNEWS MAINE * * * * ID For Vm/Com
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0 PAGE 4
0 JIM USERIDXX PORTLAND 999-1111 0345 James T. Kirk
0 If I wanted to send a mailfile to the Vm/Com Newsletter Id,
I would simply type
0 MAIL VM/COM
0 (for more information on MAIL see the article in this issue
by Michael Johnson). If I knew that my friend Andy was on I
could send him a message by typing MM ANDY HELLO, I NEED
YOUR HELP. The MM command will replace ANDY with his number
from my nickname file and send a message just as though I
had typed M ANDY HELLO, I NEED YOUR HELP. You may have
noticed that I have an entry for myself in the nickname
file. Although this may seem a pointless thing to do, when
you use MAIL, the mail command finds out what your userid is
and looks in your nickname file for an entry for that id.
It then puts the name field in the header for that mailfile.
0 This last section concerns the MM command. As I
mentioned before, the MM command will send multiple messages
to a user. This is only a small part of what that command
does. To specify a userid, you type MM followed by either a
userid, a nickname or a userid and nodeid (name of the
computer the userid is on) in form 'userid@nodeid.' If I
wanted to say hello to a friend in Portland with the id
WATSON, I would type MM WATSON@PORTLAND HELLO, and he would
get a message saying 'HELLO.' Notice that the 'at' sign
('@') is required only if you don't have an entry in your
nickname file for a person at another installation (like
PORTLAND) and not at all if you are talking to someone using
our computer system.
0 If you do not type a message after specifying who the
message is for, MM will prompt you with 'Enter Message:'.
Here you may type in several lines of messages, in mixed
case, followed by a null line. These lines will be sent to
the user specified. MM will also format the messages so
that they will take the minimum number of lines possible and
so they will fit on an 80 column screen. I will conclude
this article with an example. If I typed in the following:
0 MM ANDY
Enter msg:
Hello,
how are you?
I was wondering if you wanted to order out for a pizza.
Pepperoni and mushroom with extra cheese sound good to you?
0 Msg sent to ANDY
R;
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0 PAGE 5
0 Andy will get the following on his screen:
0 20:57:51 MSG FROM CS23124 : Hello, how are you? I was
20:57:51 MSG FROM CS23124 : wondering if you wanted to order
20:57:51 MSG FROM CS23124 : order out for a pizza. Pepperoni
20:57:51 MSG FROM CS23124 : and mushroom with extra cheese
20:57:51 MSG FROM CS23124 : sound good to you?
-
*Editors note* For those of you who have mastered the use
of CMS NICKNAME, there exists on system another method of
entering nicknames, called the system nickname file. The
software for using this facility is available by typing the
command:
0 SHARE NICKNAME
0 at the console. There are many advantages to using SYSTEM
NICKNAME, but the primary advantage is that your id is
available to all users who share the NICKNAME disk, and
people who do not interact with you often can send MAIL that
will include your real name as specified in SYSTEM NICKNAME.
The reader is left to experiment with this system.
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0 PAGE 6
0 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Using CMS MAIL -- Michael Johnson (CSNM059@MAINE)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
-
I am sure most of you who are reading this have wondered
at one time or another about the CMS mail facility. If you
already know how to use it, you may not need to read any
further than this, but there is a possibility you might pick
up something you don't already know!
0 The CMS mail facility is invoked by one of two key
words, MAIL or MEMO. Either of these will accomplish the
same thing, which is to activate a macro named MEMO. Just
calling MEMO with no parameters will not get you very far,
so let's cover some of the more basic functions of the MEMO
macro. (In the interest of readability, I will use the term
MAIL to refer to either method of activating the macro
MEMO).
- Recieving new MAIL: To recieve new mail, type MAIL R.
The macro will then look in your virtual reader for any mail
files you may have. If you don't have any, then an error
message will be printed, and the macro will end execution.
Any mail files that you do have will be displayed, one at a
time, on your terminal. After each mail file has been
displayed, you will be queried as to the disposition of the
mailfile you have been viewing. The following message will
be printed:
0 Disposition? (Log , Delete, Type, Print
, Forward userid, Reply
, Tickler > ,
Cms )
0 The query will be in this form the first time only.
Subsequent queries (if you have more than one mailfile) will
be in a shortened form:
0 Disp? <?>
0 To see the full message, type a '?' at this point. Covering
all the possible responses to this query would be rather
tedious here, so I will talk about them later.
- Sending new MAIL to someone else: The syntax for sending
new mail is as follows:
0 MAIL userid >
nickname
userid@nodeid
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0 PAGE 7
- Where: userid is the logonid (i.e. CS23nnn, etc.) of the
person you are sending the mail to.
0 nickname is the nickname designated for the person
you are sending the mail to in your NICKNAME file
(for more information on NICKNAME files, see the
article in this issue by Barry Gates).
0 userid@nodeid: userid is the logon of a person at a
remote BITNET node, and nodeid is the BITNET nodename
for that installation. For more information on the
BITNET, see the CMS help file. The '@' character IS
necessary in this form of the command.
0 >: Are the designation
for an existing file on one of the user's disks. A
file may be designated with any of the above recipient
designations. A copy of the designated file will be
placed in a mailfile with a subject line at the top
of the header as follows:
0 Subject: **MAIL** of the contents of file
0 The mailfile will then be sent off to the MAILER server
machine at MAINE. More on the header and subject line
in the next paragraph.
- When the macro is called to create a new mailfile, it
will (if no existing file is designated) invoke the Xeditor
and a special Xedit macro will be run to build a header on
to the top of the file. The header will be in the following
form:
0 To: userid@nodeid <(recipient name)>
From: userid@MAINE <(sender name)>
Date:
0 The user will then be queried for a subject. This is
straight forward. Type in whatever you wish to at this
point (within reason) for a short description of the
contents of the mailfile. If you do not want to have a
subject line, just hit the RETURN or ENTER key without
typing anything in.
0 You are now ready to create your mailfile. You have all
the capabilities of the Xeditor at your disposal to create
the mailfile you wish to send. When you are finished
creating the mailfile, issue the FILE command to exit the
Xeditor. The mailfile will then be sent to MAILER, and you
will be queried as to the disposition of the file you have
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0 PAGE 8
0 just created. This is the same query message that you get
upon recieving new mail. If you should happen to quit from
the Xeditor without creating a mailfile, i.e. QQuitting, the
macro will detect this and will not attempt to send a non-
existant file, but will type a line that says:
0 Mail not sent. xxxxxx MAIL not created.
0 At this point I feel it is necessary to give a brief
description of the dossible responses to the disposition
query.
0 Log : Will place the mailfile that has just been
displayed/created in a file designated by
on the user's mini-disk as specified.
The default fileid is OLDMAIL LOG A, but any
id is possible. If the log file is created on
a Temp disk the mailfile is not deleted, and
the query again takes place.
0 Delete: The mailfile you have been viewing/creating is
removed from your mini-disk and/or virtual
card reader.
0 Type: The mailfile that you have been viewing/creat-
ing will be typed on your terminal.
0 Print: A copy of the mailfile you have been viewing-
creating will be sent to your virtual printer,
with the device being spooled as designated in
. If no parameters are given,
the device is not altered.
0 Forward: A copy of the mailfile will be sent to the
specified userid in a special format with any
additional comments you care to add via the
Xeditor, which is invoked by the macro to
create the mailfile in forwarded format.
0 Reply: Similar in execution to Forward, except a new
mailfile is created and sent to the specified
user. The person who sent the file currently
being disposed is the default for userid.
0 Tickler: Use the contents of the mailfile to set up an
entry in your reminder file. More on REMINDER
and tickler files in a future issue of VM/COM.
0 Cms: Issue the CMS/CP command of your choice, or
drop into the CMS SUBSET if no parameter is
given.
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0 PAGE 9
0 This has by no means been a complete coverage of all the
facets of the Cms mail facility, and there will be a follow-
up article in the next issue to take up topics such as
options to the mail command, and details of some of the
items that were only briefly discussed in this article. In
the meantime, try out Cms MAIL and see for yourself how
useful it can be. I should insert a note of caution here:
the mail facility, like any other convenience, can be
abused. This proves to be at the very least an annoyance, so
exercise discretion in the use of MAIL.
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0 PAGE 10
0 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Sending Files to Other User's -- Andy Robinson (ANDY@MAINE)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
-
Most people who have used CMS for any length of time
will have either desired to transfer files to other users,
or actually done so. This article is intended primarily to
demonstrate a simple and fast way to send files to any user
at any installation connected to BITNET.
0 The most generalized file transfer commands is CMS DISK
DUMP. It will send files of any length, including modules,
wherever you direct them. The format of the DISK DUMP
command is:
0 DISK DUMP filename filetype <( STD <)>>
0 Files sent by the DISK DUMP command can only be loaded
by the DISK LOAD command, which has the format:
0 DISK LOAD <( NOREPLACE <)>>
0 In order to direct the files to the appropriate user at
the appropriate node, the user must issue the CP SPOOL
command in the following format:
0 CP SPOOL PUNCH TO userid
0 Where 'userid' is the userid of the person to receive the
files, and ROUTE is optional, and is only used if you are
sending to another installation other than MAINE. Examples
of valid nodes are PORTLAND and FARMNTON.
0 When you are through sending files to the specific user
and node, it is good practice to issue the command:
0 CP SPOOL PUNCH OFF ROUTE OFF
0 which resets your virtual punch parameters, so that any
files you punch will not go merrily bounding around the
bitnet looking for an owner.
0 After issuing the first SPOOL command, you then issue
the DISK DUMP command for every file you want to send. When
you are through sending files to one user you can just issue
a new SPOOL PUNCH TO/ROUTE command and send to another user.
When you are through sending files, issue the CP SPOOL PUNCH
OFF ROUTE OFF command to reset your punch, and do whatever
else you want.
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0 PAGE 11
0 You can also use the EXEC facility of CMS LISTFILE to
make an EXEC file called CMS EXEC on your A-disk which
contains the names on multiple files to which a single
command is to be applied. The format for this command is:
0 LISTFILE filename filetype filemode (EXEC PREFIX 2 SUFFIX 3
- To load a DISK DUMP file sent by another user, you must
issue the DISK LOAD command. If there are other non-DISK
DUMP files in your reader, you will have to ORDER the file
so that it can be read in. This is accomplished by doing a
0 CP QUERY READER ALL
0 Which might result in the OUTPUT:
0 ORIGINID FILE FORM RECRDS CO HLD DATE TIME NAME TYPE
CSNEWS 2194 LOG 000031 01 NOH 03/30 16:13
ANDY 3531 LOG 001012 01 NOH 03/30 18:46
CS23011 6668 A 000029 01 NOH 04/01 18:35 STUFF DISKLOAD
0 The file with a 'TYPE' of DISKLOAD was produced by the DISK
DUMP command. The command always places this 'TYPE' in the
CP file identifier, but users can alter this using the CP
commands, such as CLOSE or CHANGE.
0 Now, to retrieve the DISK LOAD file, just look down the
'FILE' column in the QUERY data, find the file-number, which
in this case is 6668, and then issue the CP ORDER command:
0 CP ORDER RDR 6668
0 Which should result in the output:
0 0001 FILE ORDERED.
0 Now you can issue the DISK LOAD command to get the file. It
will be loaded onto your disk with the fileid of the file as
it was sent from the sender's disk. You should use care in
this since a file of the same name and type will be
OVERLAYED AND POSSIBLY DESTROYED by the DISK LOAD command.
It is better to dse the NOREPLACE option of the command to
prevent this possible problem:
0 DISK LOAD (NOREPLACE
0 Now, the output might be:
0 RFETHICS HELPNEWS A1
0 Indicating that a file with the fileid typed at the console
was loaded on your A-disk. You can load the file on some
other read-write disk than d your A-disk by typing:
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0 PAGE 12
- DISK LOAD (NOREPLACE
0 For instance:
0 DISK LOAD B
0 Will cause the file to be loaded on your B-disk.
0 You will have to repeat the ORDER/DISK LOAD sequence for
every DISK DUMP file in your reader, until all are read in,
or you get sick of doing it, whichever comes first.
0 A sample file sending sessions follow. Lowercase is
user input and uppercase is system response:
- cp spool pun to john route portland <- set up to send
disk dump test1 exec <- dump first file
PUN FILE 3001 TO JOHN COPY 001 NOHOLD ROUTE PORTLAND
disk dump test1 module <- send second file
PUN FILE 3002 TO JOHN COPY 001 NOHOLD ROUTE PORTLAND
cp spool pun to jeff <- ROUTE still PORTLAND
disk dump file1 fortran <- send him a file
PUN FILE 3008 TO JEFF COPY 001 NOHOLD ROUTE PORTLAND
cp spool pun route off <- Reset route to LOCAL
disk dump file1 pascal <- file to JEFF at MAINE
PUN FILE 3010 TO JEFF COPY 001 NOHOLD
cp spool pun off route off <- reset punch
- * IMPORTANT NOTE!!!! * If you send files to an installation
other than a CAPS installation (MAINE, PORTLAND, and
FARMNTON) you *must* use the 'STD' option of DISK DUMP!!
CAPS DISK DUMP has special modifications to improve space
usage efficiency, and other locations do not implement these
mods. For instance, if sending to a user at CUNYVM, you
would say:
0 CP SPOOL PUN TO JOEUSER ROUTE CUNYVM
DISK DUMP FILE1 WHATEVER A (STD
CP SPOOL PUN OFF ROUTE OFF
0 If you do not do this, the people who receive the file(s)
will NOT be able to read them in!!
0 These commands are effective, but tedious to use at
best, especially when sending large numbers of files. The
individual user is encouraged to write EXEC procedures to
standardize file sending and receiving. Two such procedures
called IMPORT and EXPORT are available from the VM/COM staff
on request as examples. The user would also do well to
examine the file transfer ethics document compiled by Rick
Fortin in this issue.
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0 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Full Screen Peruse for CMS Users -- Sean Colbath,
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
- Using XEDIT and EXEC2 to simulate
Peruse in full screen -- a tutorial
- One of the disadvantages to the CMS PERUSE command is
that it does not take advantage of the capabilities of a
full-screen terminal. However, EXEC2 and XEDIT have the
capability to simulate peruse and do it in a full-screen
mode.
0 To make this command work successfully, you need to make
2 files. One is written in EXEC2, and is the 'control
file', responsible for handling the spool file and getting
it to XEDIT. The second is an XEDIT macro that formats the
screen and allows the user to display the file. It is the
exec file that I will address first.
0 The basic EXEC makes use of 4 commands to do the set-up
procedure. It uses the CMS command VMINFO to determine if
the user is on a full-screen device, and to obtain other
important information. Secondly, it uses SILENTCP to get
information on the spool file, and thirdly it makes
judicious use of the SPOOL and DEFINE command to access the
file.
0 The last two commands are the most important. One of
the primary problems with the full screen peruse command is
getting the file on disk (where XEDIT can manipulate it)
without deleting the file from the reader spool queue. The
solution is the HOLD attribute of the CP SPOOL command.
SPOOLing the reader HOLD allows you to read in multiple
copies of a file without destroying its corresponding spool
file. It is this method that is most commonly used.
0 Another problem is the fact that the user may not want
the status of his reader changed by the program. A good way
to get around this is to use the AS parameter of the DEFINE
command. Using this, you can define your current reader at
another address, and define a new reader at the CMS default
reader address, 00C. The new reader may be SPOOLed with
whatever attributes the user desires without destroying the
original reader. When you are through with the new reader,
you can replace the old device with its attributes intact.
Here is an example:
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0 PAGE 14
0 CP DEFINE 00C AS 0CC < This moves the reader to virtual
... < address 0CC
CP DEFINE RDR 00C < This gets a new reader
CP SPOOL 00C HOLD < Give it the hold attribute
... < Perform the needed task
CP DETACH 00C < Remove the extra reader
CP DEFINE 0CC AS 00C < Replace the user's reader
0 Now on to XEDIT. The XEDITor has a very powerful
screen formatting command, RESERVE. This will let the user
reserve certain lines of the screen from usage by XEDIT and
put his data on them. All un-reserved lines (if any) will
be used to show the file. The RESERVEd line may be
highlighted or not, and protected or not. I will go into
the further uses of the RESERVE command in a later article,
since we will only use RESERVE for output. After stacking
the spool file data to the XEDIT run file, it can be
displayed on the screen as a descriptive header. Here is an
example:
0 SET RESERVED 1 HIGH Perusing spool file &SID,
from user &USR at &DATE &TIME
0 This reserves the first XEDIT screen line with the words
"Perusing spool file..." and the contents of the variables
&SID, &USR, &DATE and &TIME. As many or as few lines of the
screen can be reserved as is desired by the user.
0 The XEDIT macro portion of the peruse command should
handle the setting of PF-keys, reserving descriptive screen
lines, and (optionally) processing command-line input from
the user (to implement a special command, for instance).
0 Upon exit from the XEDIT macro, the caller exec should
determine what to do with the file (such as purge the file,
leave it in the spool queue, READ it, or DISK LOAD it). It
is possible to put a return code value on the QUIT command
line (used to leave XEDIT) and have the caller interpret it.
Note: It is NOT possible to issue the QUIT command from
within an XEDIT macro. You must stack the QUIT command, and
leave the macro via &EXIT.
0 This is by no means a definitive list of the
possibilities of this peruse command or of using EXEC2/XEDIT
macro combinations to create your own commands. The reader
should use these suggestions to make his or her own
programs, and experiment as desired. If you would like a
sample peruse command (RLOOK, or ReaderLOOK) written by the
author, simply contact the VM/COM staff.
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0 PAGE 15
0 {Description of the RLOOK program by Sean Colbath}
0 RLOOK allows the user to use all the capabilities of the
XEDITOR (except for making alterations in the spool file)
because it is an extention of the editor itself. The user
can step through the file page by page, or can shift the
file one screen to the right or left for very wide files.
When the user is done, he/she may purge the file, quit and
leave the file in the spool queue, read the file (if a read
control card is present) or disk load the file (if a disk
load card is present).
0 The current version allows access to commands through
pre-set pfkeys, or through the console. This allows the user
to do searches for pieces of data contained in the file. The
only limitation to the size of the file is the amount of
storage available and the amount of free disk storage the
user presently has.
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0 PAGE 16
0 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ethics/File Transfer over Bitnet -- Richard Fortin (CS23011)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
-
Lately, I'm sure, it has come to most users' attentions
that a problem exists in insuring that files which are sent
to other nodes across Bitnet are not files which should not
be sent, such as IBM copyrighted material. The main concern
to administration is that files recognized as legally
copyrighted software remain at the nodes which have bought
them and not get distributed far and wide for free. There
are other concerns as well among users. Many of us write
utility programs which get spread amongst our friends and
their friends and etc. On occasion some of the authors
might not wish to see their programs spread about without
their consent. So in order to save us all some grief and
perhaps insure the continued existance of the Bitnet
connections a few simple guidelines should be followed.
0 1) If the material is copyrighted by a company, university,
or some other institution under no circumstances should
you take it upon yourself to send it to someone else,
even someone on the same system as you. Such software is
usually purchased and it is *ILLEGAL* to distribute it
by any means.
0 2) If the material has been copyrighted by a person you do
not know you should treat it as if it is copyrighted
by a company.
0 3) If the material has been copyrighted by a person you
know you should at least obtain their permission before
sending it and better yet refer the person asking for it
to the author.
0 4) If the material is not copyrighted but is obviously the
work of someone you know follow the same procedure as if
it was copyrighted by them.
0 5) If the material is not copyrighted but is obviously
system software then DO NOT distribute it.
0 6) If the material is not copyrighted and is just an
interesting piece of uork go ahead and send it, that's
that's what Bitnet's for.
0 And one last thing to remember, when sending material
that is copyrighted ( after obtaining permission of course )
always send the copyright with it.
1
0 PAGE 17
0 * Editors note * Also keep in mind the nature of the files
you are transmitting and what they are meant to do. For
instance, CAPS is within it's rights to NOLOG a user or
ERASE a file that they consider threatening to the system or
other users. Things such as repetitive message sending
execs and terminal-holders are frowned upon by operations.
Use your common sense, and when in doubt, ask someone in
authority. If you follow the guidelines prescribed above
you will probably not have any troubles, but if you feel the
slightest bit funny about it... ASK!
0 Also note that a legally binding copyright for non-purchased
software is of the general form:
0 (C) year BY name, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
0 For example:
0 (C) 1984 BY JOE C. DOE (JOEDOE@VMVM), ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
0 Such a copyright legally binds a person who wishes to
distribute the piece of software to obtaining the authors
permission before doing so.
1
0 PAGE 18
0 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Virtual Humor -- Edited by the VMCOM editorial staff
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
-
It's nice to see your bright smiling faces bright and
smiling again, and this seems like the time to enlighten you
on our 'humor' column. In this column, we put almost
anything that's funny and computer related. Of course, we
*are* limited by the bounds of good taste, most of the time,
but virtually anything can make it into the column (no pun
intended).
0 Some of our regular features are 'OPCODEs', a listing of
all kinds of weird and occasionally funny perversions of
machine language instruction mnemonics, 'CSJOKES', again
weird, even funny, jokes about the system and computers in
general, and then, anything else we can fit in.
- Opcodes #1 (if you have any funny opcodes, send them in!!):
0 TTITT Turn 2400 foot tape Into Two 1200 foot tapes
SEX Sign EXtend
CRUEL CRash Until Everyone Leaves
SSM Set Sado-Masochistic CPU mode ON
WWLR Write Wrong Length Record
WWR Write Wrong Record
AWP Argue With Programmer
CPWM CPU - Weird Mode
SUR Screw Up Royally
CUC Cheat Until Caught
SUP Solve Unsolvable Problem
SHRT SHRed Tape
CSYS Crash SYStem
CSNIO Crash System on Next I/O
TST Trash System Tracks
CS Crash System
WSE Write Stack Everywhere
FSM Fold, Spindle and Mutilate
FSRA Forms Skip and Run Away
ESB Eject Selectric Ball
Õfrom IBM selectric typewriter terminalsþ
BSC Burst Selector Channel
SRDR Shift Right, Double Ridiculous
DIRFW Do It Right For Once
ERM Erase Reserved Memory
SRR Shift Registers Random
AR Alter Reality
EROS Erase Read Only Storage
ÕSounds like an IBM special!þ
EROM Erase Read Only Memory
CRM Clear Random Memory
1
0 PAGE 19
0 ERIC Eject Random Integrated Circuit
CSD Cough, Sputter, and Die
EP Eat Pizza
EPI Eat Pizza Immediate
BF Belch Fire
FOPC ÕSetþ False Out-of-paper Condition
PEHC Punch Extra Holes in Cards
EEP Erase Entire Program
DDC Daily During Calculations
PAUD PAUse Dramatically
BDC Break Down and Cry
EJDV EJect Disk with initial velocity V
SDC Spool Disk to Console
ED Eject Disk
PD Punch Disk
FLD FLing Disc
SDE Solve Differential Equations
TDS Trash Data Segment
EDIT Erase Data and Increment Time
CCD Clear Current Directory Õthis may really exist!þ
WC Waste Core ÕUNIXþ
CCCI Clear Condition-Codes Indefinitely
DCWPDGD Drink Coffee, Write Program, Debug, Get Drunk
SCCA Short Circuit on Correct Answer
EC Eject Carriage
ECL Early Care Lace
PCI Pleat Cards Immediate
SCI Shred Cards Immediate
SC Shred Cards
SCTR Stick Card To Reader
ECP Erase Card Punch
SHRC SHRed Card
MBTD Mount Beatles on Tape Drive
PBPBPBP Place Backup in Plain Brown Paper Bag, Please
Õfor stealing codeþ
1
0 PAGE 20
0 CS-Jokes #1:
- (These jokes courtesy of Mike Dow. They're not all CS
oriented, but we hope you get a laugh out of a few of them.
For a complete list, just ask a VM/COM staff member!)
- The Cannonical Collection of Light Bulb Jokes
0 Q: How many Psychiatrists does it take to change a light
bulb?
A: Only one, but the bulb has got to really WANT to change.
0 Q: How many programmers does it take to screw in a light
bulb?
A: None. Thats a hardware problem.
0 Q: How many Unix hacks does it take to change a light bulb?
A: As many as you want; they're all virtual, anyway.
0 Q: How many Bell Labs Vice Presidents does it take to change
a light bulb?
A: That's proprietary information. Answer available from
Western Electric Corp. on payment of license fee
(binary only).
0 Q: How many graduate students does it take to screw in a
lightbulb?
A: Only one, but it may take upwards of five years for him
to get it done.
0 Q: How many jugglers does it take to change a light bulb?
A: One, but it takes at least three light bulbs.
0 Q: How many valley girls does it take to change a light
bulb?
A: Oooh, like, manual labor? Gag me with a spoon!
0 Q: How many data base people does it take to change a light
bulb?
A: Three:
One to write the light bulb removal program,
one to write the light bulb insertion program, and
one to act as a light bulb administrator to make sure
nobody else tries to change the light bulb at the same time
0 Q: How many Zen masters does it take to screw in a light
bulb?
A: Two: one to change the bulb and one not to change it.
Notes: 1 to change and 1 not to change is fake Zen. The
true Zen answer is Four. One to change the bulb.
1
0 PAGE 21
0 Q: How many Carl Sagans does it take to screw in a light
bulb?
A: Billions and billions.
0 Q: How many folk singers does it take to screw in a light
bulb?
A: Two. One to change the bulb, and one to write a song
about how good the old light bulb was.
0 Q: How many surrealists does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Two, one to hold the giraffe, and the other to fill the
bathtub with brightly colored machine tools.
0 Q: How many psychologists does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: None, the bulb will change itself when its ready.
0 Q: How many IBM types does it take to change a light bulb?
A: 100. Ten to do it, and 90 to write document number
GC7500439-0001, Multitasking Incandescent Source System
Facility, of which 10% of the pages state only "This page
intentionally left blank", and 20% of the definitions are
of the form "A ...... consists of sequences of non-blank
characters separated by blanks".
0 Q: How many Federal employees does it take to screw in a
lightbulb?
A: Sorry, that item has been cut from the budget!
- Also, for those of you with funny annecdotes for our humor
column, send them in!! Just about any material within the
bounds of good taste can be used, but CS related stuff gets
priority!
1
0 PAGE 22
0 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Tutor Listing as of 3-30-84 -- VM/COM Staff (CSNEWS @MAINE)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
- The following tutors are available for CS students:
- Rate/hr Name/Userid@Node will tutor/consult in:
------- ------------------ -------------------------------
0 $3.25 ³ Barry D. Gates Cs81,82,83,182,189,190,C,Exec,
3.75 T ³ CS23124@MAINE Exec-II,Pascal,Cobol,SAS
³ Fortran,Assembler
0 3.25 ³ Andy Robinson Cs-81,82,83,189,190,PL/1
3.75 T ³ ANDY@MAINE Exec,Exec-II,Script,Assembler,
³ Cobol,Fortran,FortVS, more..
0 3.25 ³ Rick Fortin Cs83,182, Fortran,
3.75 T ³ CS23011@MAINE Pascal,RPG,SPSS
³
3.25 ³ Tim Willsey Cs82,83,182,189,Pascal,
3.75 T ³ CS23003@MAINE Fortran,Assembler
0 3.25 ³ Mike Johnson Cs83,182,Pascal
3.75 T ³ CSNM059@MAINE
³
-----------------------------------------------------------
- Generally, the tutors mentioned above can assist you on
simple problems with your programs without charge, but any
time in excess of 15 minutes is chargeable, according to the
rate scale of the tutor, as online (terminal) tutoring.
1
0 PAGE 23
0 Tutors can be contacted by CMS Mail, CP or CMS MSG, in
person, by the phone, or whatever way is most convenient for
you. The tutors retain the right to designate a mutually
convenient time to meet, and expect students to be there at
the appointed time. If the student does not show up, it is
the right of the tutor to charge his base rate for one hour
of tutoring time. Talk to your particular tutor about his
rates, policy, and minimum charges.
0 The rates shown above are for regular tutoring (no code)
and/or online or on-the-terminal tutoring, with a 'T' next
to the rate. Rates of all tutors are subject to change
without notice. It is requested however that any tutors who
appear on this list notify us of rate-changes.
0 Tutors for which there is a 'C' listed instead of a rate
will offer help free of charge to anyone who needs it when
they are not busy. Please note that these people are
generally informal consultants, and have projects of there
own to do. If you are having a serious logic problem or
something similar in your program, it is better to see the
designated student consultant or your instructor for
assistance.
0 Any person who would like to have their name added to the
consultant/tutor list please contact the VM/COM staff or the
VM/COM machine via MAIL. This list is maintained free of
charge, and is intended to provide a competitive base of
tutors from which students may choose.
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