home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
Wildcat Gold - The Optical BBS
/
Wildcat Gold - The Optical BBS (The Golden ROM Series)(Volume 4 Number 1)(The Digital Publishing Company)(1992).ISO
/
sdn
/
taskmst.sdn
/
TM480.EXE
/
TMISSUE.EXE
/
README.FMP
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1991-09-10
|
9KB
|
212 lines
FmP Taskmaster, README.FMP, 5th September 1991
=================================================================
INTRODUCTION
-------------
This document refers to the MS-DOS Shareware version of the
Taskmaster product, UNIX, XENIX and CDOS versions being also
available. The product has been developed, produced and is
exclusively owned by UK Software house FmP, a company
established in 1984.
MS-DOS Taskmaster is also available as a conventional
'commercial' product known as Professional Taskmaster. Having
evaluated the shareware users may choose to register it or
purchase the Professional version.
INSTALLATION:
-------------
Please insert the issue disc in drive A: and type
A:<return>
GO<return>
This runs the installation task (INSTALL.TSK) which is we hope
in itself a friendly introduction to Taskmaster.
Though the evaluation system requires a considerable amount of
disc space, Taskmaster itself is comparatively small. The
install task will advise of disc requirements.
REPLICATION OF SOFTWARE
------------------------
If you wish to make copies of this software for your friends
or colleagues, you are strongly advised to use the facility
provided by OVERVIEW.TSK. This will ensure that you end up
with a reliable and complete copy with no missing files.
See the REPLICATION and VERIFICATION options.
The files TMISSUE.EXE, TMMANUAL.EXE and TMEXAM.EXE are self-
extracting archives containing all issue files in compressed
form. They are not needed for normal operation and will only
be copied to the Hard disc if you use the REPLICATE option.
If you suspect any of the issued files of being corrupted you
may re-run the INSTALL task from the issue disc.
CONFIGURATION OPTIONS:
----------------------
1. Location of files
In order to run Taskmaster and SCR from any directory:
Add \FMP to the APPEND command in AUTOEXEC.BAT
Add \FMP to the PATH command in AUTOEXEC.BAT
Alternatively:
SET FMPDIR=installation directory (if not C:\FMP)
A BATCH file \FMP.BAT is created at installation time which
can also be used.
2. Command interpreter.
By default, Taskmaster first looks for C:\COMMAND.COM. If not
found, it then examines the Environment variable COMSPEC.
3. Swap files
When Taskmaster is asked to make the maximum amount of memory
available in order to run large programs beneath it, it
normally creates a temporary 'swap file' in C:\. If this
directory is not a suitable location for you, please include
the following SET command in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file:
SET TMP=location
4. Running Tasks:
Tasks must have a filetype of .TSK. You need not specify this
when invoking Taskmaster:
e.g. a task called TASK3.TSK is run by typing:
TM {flags} TASK3<return>
Several Command-line flags are available and are summarised
when you invoke Taskmaster with no parameters.
SHAREWARE ISSUE FILES
---------------------
Mandatory files:
----------------
TM.EXE This is the Taskmaster Interpreter. The Shareware
issue is of a single-user copy. Netware (tm)
users will require Taskmaster Professional. Please
state your requirements when ordering. The share-
ware copy of TM.EXE is not intended to run on net-
works. TM.EXE will identify itself as UNREGISTERED
SHARWARE, REGISTERED SHARWARE or PROFESSIONAL on
loading if given no command parameters. Taskmaster
Professional will also run stand-alone.
The following files must be available either in the working
directory or one listed in the APPEND list.
FMPVT52.DEF Contains video specific sequences, i.e. VT52. An
ANSI driver is not required by Taskmaster.
LOGON.OVR Logon screen file.
Files Required for application development:
-------------------------------------------
SCR.EXE The Screen Processor program. SCR combines screen
source text with VT52 sequences extracted from
FMPVT52.DEF to produce an .OVR file.
Utilities:
----------
LIST.COM A Public Domain file viewer (as used to display
the license during installation). Please make a
donation to the author if found useful.
Any Editor or Word Processor can be used to create tasks which
are merely ascii text files. There is no requirement for any
compilation or pre-processing, the task being interpreted (like
BASIC).
This does not however apply to the screen templates for your
menu, data capture and information screens. These must be pre-
processed using SCR. For the demonstration tasks, this is done
automatically by INSTALL.TSK (or by OVERVIEW if they are missing
when needed).
First use
---------
Two approaches are recommended. You can load the OVERVIEW
system by typing: TM OVERVIEW<return>. This will give you
access to:
1. The on-line manuals for Taskmaster and SCR.
These are not intended nor cannot be a total substitute
for the standard A5 manual of several hundred pages.
2. All example tasks,
3. An interactive introduction to the Taskmaster user-
interface.
The alternative is to run the STANDARD service selection
system. This comprises two tasks: STANDARD which runs the
services and CONFIG which configures them.
You can therefore type: TM STANDARD/O<return> for a
demonstration of the STANDARD system. The /O flag is
generally used to inform a task that it should run in
demonstration mode. In this case, it is used to avoid some of
the security features that are normally active.
The point not to be missed here is that STANDARD and CONFIG
while supporting a menu system comparable if not superior to
other products, ARE ONLY EXAMPLES. Taskmaster lends itself to
the production of 100% customised systems for menuing, text
information, job-control and many other applications.
EUC
---
As you run through the demonstrations, you will see various
references to a program called EUC. This program enables a
system administrator to tailor PC's for Taskmaster end-users
and install any necessary security features if required. It
is particularly useful for an administrator, who supports a
Novell NETWARE(tm) network and wishes to review the activities
of end-users in real-time. It should be noted that such users
will require Taskmaster Professional. EUC is available in both
networked (supplied with Taskmaster Professional) and non-
networked (supplied with Registered Taskmaster) versions.
FOOTNOTES
---------
The facilities to be found in Taskmaster although extensive
are minor compared to its parent product: the PROTEAN 4GL.
We hope you enjoy using Taskmaster.
In the event of problems:
-------------------------
Taskmaster is supported both by its authors in the UK and its
distributors in the USA. Contact details given in VENDOR.DOC.
We welcome any suggestions for improvements to the software
and documentation forming this Shareware product, which will
be added to our Enhancement Register. We reserve the right to
subsequently release improved versions without notice.