AGA Toolkit '97

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DosMan: The Complete Online AmigaDos Reference Manual By: Peter Bagnato If you want to know the evolution of DosMan. As well as latest additions and changes to this program, see the History.Doc. DOSMan is the definitive and complete online AmigaDOS Manual. Even though many many months of research went into this project it probably still has some errors. The only way DOSMan may hope to survive and become more accurate is through feedback. If you find anything here is incorrect please contact me so I can update it. I've received many requests from people to get rid of all references to anything that is pre-Workbench 2.0. I simply will NOT do this. Despite all the awesome improvements with Workbench 2.0, there are still people out there who still use 1.3. Plus, there are people who run both operating systems with Rom switchers. This DosMan is for EVERY Amiga user!!! Many moons ago, Commodore came up with the ARP (AmigaDos Replacement). There are many unique commands and keywords that were introduced here and never saw the light of day in future AmigaDOS versions. Since ARP is not an official AmigaDOS / Workbench release, those unique keywords and commands will not be found here. DOSMan is FreeWare-Ware... this means, if you like it (or at least appreciate the work put into it) please send the author your favorite pd software... or $5.00 so I can go and buy some. If you don't do this, you can't use my program 8-() Many many long days were put into this, I'm not being unreasonable! (Commodore was unreasonable when they didn't include AmigaDOS docs witht their A1200's, but that is another story). If this plea for your hard earned money is not enough, see the 'Legal Stuff' section at the end to really get bored with more details that I wish were not needed. It is very easy to get ahold of me. I can be found here: Peter Bagnato 1025 Assisi Lane #508 Atlantic Beach, Florida 32233 United States of America tele: 904-246-5071 internet: pbagnato@jax.jaxnet.com Special Thanks -------------- Many people have given me inspiration to finish this project: Danny Amor... for an endless supply of seals which he graciously let me club :) Bruno... for a future endless supply of Burgandy... and for keeping the Amiga flame burning in Brazil. Michael Pedersen... who has an identity crisis he thinks he's a Danish. John Collett... for teaching me what little I know about programming in AREXX and for the excellent HyperBook version of DosMan. Dion... the most ignored and talented Amiga programmer in the world. MegaDisk... for staying around when all other Amiga diskmags bit the BIG ONE. Mathias Betheke... for making my CLI think it is a UNIX shell... (he wrote the 'man' alias). ESCOM for buying the Amiga. Only time will tell//// Colin and BOTH Software for inventing the fabulous MUInt... as well as for getting me started on this project. Colin, thanks for your cool icon too... he also provided me with the original Dos ARP Man Pages which were the groundwork for DOSMan. Mike Haas for creating Textra, the most versitile text processor on the Amiga. It is certainly the programmers best friend... Thanks also to the dozens and dozens of people who have pointed out my mistakes and who have given me many excellent suggestions to improve DosMan. NO THANKS WHATSOEVER GOES TO: ---------------------------- Irving Gould and Mehedi Ali... these two bastards are singlehandedly responisble for running the greatest computer in the world into the ground. May a thousand camels find refuge in their underwears... they are lucky keel hauling is illegal! Introduction ------------ What can I say? The Workbench is great! That was the reason I bought my first Amiga in 1989. With her pull-down menus, icons, colors, and sounds I was protected from the dog-eat-dog world of MSDos (any kind of Dos for that matter!). I have worked with computers since 1984 (the TRS-80!) and after learning about my Amiga I realized how limiting MS/Dos and UNIX really is. The Amiga's multitasking environment does not limit you the way other operating systems do. The Amiga allows you to run several programs at once from any combination of the Workbench and Shell. You are not limited to using one or the other. At first I avoided the CLI with a mad pasion. The more I learned about the Workbench, though, the more I realized what it could not do. I also started collecting really cool pd (public domain) software which did all kinds of neat things to my system. The more I started altering my startup-sequence (and user-startup when I picked up Release 2 of AmigaDos) and exploring the shell with these little programs prompted me to learn more about my working environment outside the Workbench. What really pushed me to realize the Shell was important was when some of those pd programs turned out to be poorly written and things would crash with my system in a really big way. I could only root out the cause of these problems by using the CLI. Programs such as AutoCli, MagicICons, Tools Daemon, and New Icons have made the Workbench much more useful and asthetic. But, sometimes I find it easier to enter a command in the CLI instead of clicking down several directory drawers just to double click and icon. What I am attemping to accomplish with DosMan is to help you understand the basics of AmigaDos. I have structured DosMan to all levels of Amiga users. No matter how much or how little experience you had with AmigaDos you'll find something of interest here. DosMan is also written for all those A1200 users (such as myself) who was surprised when they bought their new A1200s only to discover Commodore did not include directions to AmigaDos! This is the manual Commodore never sent you. For Workbench 1.3 users: ----------------------- Some people are still using Workbench 1.3. That is fine, except if you take your time to examine the diferences between the two Operating Systems then you'll change your mind. Here are only a few of the differences: * There are many programs without icons that cannot be run under 1.3 unless you use the CLI. You can run any program from the Workbench under 2.0 and above. (note: even though you can run CLI programs from the Workbench it is usually better to use the CLI. Most commands need keywords and/or filepaths to get them to work properly. As you read DosMan and get more familiar with AmigaDOS, this will all become more apparent.) * 1.3 only allows you to show files with icons attached to them. If you want to see a file that does not have an icon attached to it then you need to use your CLI. After Release 2, you can use the "Show All Files" selection from the "Windows" menu on the Workbench. * 1.3 does not let you use scripts (aka Command Sequence File... MS/Dos calls them BatchFiles). The only script 1.3 is set up to utilize is the Startup-Sequence. Under Workbench 2.0 and above you have the "Execute" command which lets you run any script you like. How to use DOSMan ----------------- I. If you wish to use the fabulous MUI interface 1st of all, you must have MUI installed. MUI can be found on all good bulletin boards as well as all decent pd libraries. If you look for it and still can't find it, contact me and I'll see that you get it. If you wish to use the MUI interface, then MUInt must be in your C: directory. MUInt takes the DosMan.def AmigaDos script and translates it into a code that lets MUI draw the GUI Interface. Neat, no? You also need IconX in your C: directory. To install MUInt simply use the Installer script provided. The Installer script only copies MUInt to your C: directory, it does nothing else. If you don't have MUI (or don't want to use it for DosMan) then don't install MUInt and save your diskspace for more important things. The DosMan directory reside anywhere you like. So, no special installation is required for that drawer. Now you can drag the DosMan directory wherever you like except for Ram:. For some reason, the MUInt script will not work from Ram:. So, drag it anywhere on a floppy or harddisk. I hope to fix the Ram: problem as soon as possible. Remember! The Man directory must reside in the Dosman directory along with all the other files. It will not find it if it is not! DosMan.def is the icon to click on to get the DosMan window opened. After it is installed, go ahead and click on it! DosMan.def Usage: ---------------- It is so easy my dead dog can use it. Simply double click on the icon and you are presented with an interface which allows you to select the command you want to examine. You will notice a list of radio buttons below the list of DOS commands. These buttons allow you to select your reader of choice. The reader you chose MUST be in your system's path. If it is not, it will not work. (In other words, it must reside in either the 'c' or 'system' or 'utilities' directory of your Workbench.) If your reader is not in your path, it simply won't work... and you will get no warning of why it did not open... If there is a reader not there you would like added, please bring it to my attention and I'll throw it in there... If you don't have MUI installed (or want to), then you can use the Amigaguide version provided. II. To use it with AmigaGuide. Many people hate MUI. Many people (still) use Workbench 1.3. That's the reason for the AmigaGuide version. Simply make sure you have AmigaGuide or MultiView on your system then double click on the DosMan.guide icon. If you wish to use Multiview you need to change the tool types of the DosMan.guide icon. III. To use from the CLI. Add this line to your user-startup sequence (if you use Workbench 2.0 or above) or to your startup-sequence (if you use workbench 1.3): alias man [text-reader] [path to man dir] For instance, if you want to use Multiview to read the man pages and the man directory is at 'Work:DosMan/Man' then you would type in your user-startup: alias man sys:utilities/Multiview Work:DosMan/Man Now, everytime you reboot the computer you can view any DosMan page you like by typing: man [command] For instance, if you want to view the MakeDir dosman page, you would enter: man MakeDir (This smells like UNIX, ugh!) IV. To use with AREXX from the CLI. The most requested feature to be added to the previous version was a CLI version. Hence: DosMan.rx. This is an AREXX script which will act like an online Dos helper. To make it work you must have RexxMast running. If you don't have AREXX on your system (eg you are using Workbench 1.3) then DosMan.rx will not work. In the CLI change directories to wherever DosMan resides. For example, if DosMan is in the 'Work:Dosman' directory then type 'CD Work:DosMan'. Now type 'rx DosMan.rx' and answer all the questions as they come up on the screen. Several things to remember: Don't move the location of the 'man' directory. Also, if too much of the text file scrolls out the window or if you want it to scroll some more then change the 'i' variable in the script. I clearly marked which number to change. It is defaulted to 20 lines, it can be any number that you like. If you have any problem doing this do not hesitate to contact me, I'll make sure it works for you. Future Plans: ------------ If there is enough feedback from all you Amigoids out there I will: -Correct any problems that others point out to me. -Add a complete description of what all the system devices do. -Add a complete description of what all the libraries do. -Rewrite it and compile it with HighSpeed Pascal so you do not need MUI, MUInt, or iconX to run it. I feel the overhead of this program is way to high the way it is now. -Add any other feature (reasonably) which anyone suggests to me. -I would also like to have this in multiple languages (eg German, French, Italian... etc). If anyone out there is multilingual and would like to do some translations, please contact me... - I would like to add a list of 'replacement' commands. That is, a list of Shareware (and commercial) programs which do a good job at replacing some of the shortsightedness of Commodore in creating AmigaDOS. So, if you have a command you use INPLACE of one of ones included with your Amiga, then please inform me of it. - Any other suggestions will be greatly welcomed! About Me: -------- I'm a 28 year old Sonar Technician in the US Navy. I have been involved witht he Amiga since 1990... and will stick with my Amiga (and continue developing for it) until either me or my Amiga dies. I'm currently working on a multimedia presentation about the DMZ (De-Militirized Zone) between North and South Korea. It will be a complete history of the DMZ with many interesting facts. This will be in Korean and English. Also, I am designing an Amiga version of the game "Doom Trooper". I scrapped the "Magic:The Gathering project because that computer game is about to be released. I have also created a program called "Guido's Protection Agency" which allows you to freely and quickly change the protection bits of your files. And I created a 1.5 meg anim of a skull doing something cool. These two programs are also free if you contact me I'll send them to you. If you care about keeping me making cool programs for the world's greatest computer then please register. The Boring Legal Stuff At the End: --------------------------------- DOSMAN.def, DosMan.guide, DosMan.rx, all the files in the Dosman/man directory and all files in the DosMan distribution as found on the Aminet copyright ©1995 by Peter Bagnato. MUInt is copyrighted by BOTH software. All HyperText scripts are the property of John Collett. Both have graciously granted permission to distribute their wares with my distribution. This program may be distributed any way you like. Permission from the author is required before it may be distributed commercialy or as part of a commercial package costing more that $5.00.