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VENDOR.DOC
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1991-10-22
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_______
MVP Software ____|__ | (R)
1035 Dallas SE --| | |-------------------
Grand Rapids, MI 49507 | ____|__ | Association of
(616) 245-8376 (voice line) | | |_| Shareware
contact person: Dave Snyder |__| o | Professionals
CIS 70363,15 -----| | |---------------------
|___|___| MEMBER
Taskmaster
Key words: MENU MENU-SYSTEMS TASKMASTER TM LANGUAGE ASP MVP JOB-CONTROL
SHAREWARE PORTABLE NETWORK LAN UNIX XENIX
Taskmaster Version 4.80
Copyright (c) FmP 1988-1991
All rights reserved Worldwide
FmP, Market Square Chambers, Market Square, Congleton, Cheshire CW12 1ET
England Telephone (from US) 011 44 260 272398 Fax 011 44 260 276919
Vendors in the USA or Canada may contact our USA representative:
----------------------------------------------------------------
MVP Software Inc., 1035 Dallas SE, Grand Rapids MI 49507; (616) 245-8376
Please note:
------------
Taskmaster is also available as a commercial (non-shareware) product on MS-DOS,
PC-DOS, Xenix, Unix and CDOS. The MS-DOS commercial release of Taskmaster is
known as Taskmaster Professional and is subject to more regular updates than
the shareware version and has a standard commercial support scheme.
(All trademarks acknowledged).
Reproduction of the product by Distributors:
--------------------------------------------
(Commercial vendors, user groups, BBS operators, Computer Clubs, etc.)
Distributors may charge a nominal disk fee of no more than $10. They must
supply the entire original set of files but may add to these if they wish.
Distributors may also combine the original files (plus any they may add) into
a single file -- the suggested name is TM480.ZIP.
Restrictions:
-------------
Do not list Taskmaster in any advertisement, catalog etc. which describes
Taskmaster either as "PUBLIC DOMAIN" or as "FREE SOFTWARE". Taskmaster is
shareware. Shareware is "Try-Before-You-Buy" software; it is not free.
The shareware version of Taskmaster must not be offered for sale with printed
documentation, nor may it be provided as part of a larger system without the
express written permission of FmP or MVP Software. The rights to receive any
such financial or other benefit, and to modify the product or employ its com-
ponents in any kind of derivative work, are reserved exclusively by FmP. You
may not reverse-engineer, disassemble, modify, decompile or create derivative
works of the product.
The following files must be in the root of all issue disks:
GO.BAT : Batch file for installation from floppy
PRINTMAN.BAT : Batch file to print file LICENCE.FMP
INSTALL.TSK : The installer task
INSTALL.OVR : Screens for the installer task
LOGON.OVR : General Screens file
FMPVT52.DEF : Video definition file
LIST.COM : A shareware file viewer
TM.EXE : The Taskmaster interpreter
TMISSUE.EXE : Self extract archive - basic files
TMEXAM.EXE : Self extract archive - additional examples
TMMANUAL.EXE : Self extract archive - on-line manuals
LICENCE.FMP : Product and registration information
VENDOR.DOC : This file
README : Important installation information
Short Description: Taskmaster is the INTELLIGENT Menuing language. Completely
programmable yet amazingly simple to learn, it will grow right along with your
system. Supports LANs. Extensive on-line help. Developed in England and used
by major British companies including British Gas South Western and Commercial
Computer Services Ltd. Available for the first time in North America.
Description:
Taskmaster is the INTELLIGENT menu system.
Typical menu systems make computers easier to use, which makes users more
relaxed and productive. With a menu system users interact with a friendly
"Front-End" while the menu system deals with the unfriendly operating system.
This effectively shields the inexperienced or infrequent user from the
unfriendly aspects of the operating system.
Taskmaster does all this and much more. As the only programmable user
interface product on the market, Taskmaster is unique. No single "front-end"
can satisfy all users; Taskmaster therefore allows far more extensive and
flexible configuration than competing products. Typical menu systems allow
limited configuration of the user interface; e.g., define the names, locations
and parameters of your applications. Taskmaster, however, is implemented as a
high level language. It comes with user menu tasks which permit you to get up
and running immediately while maintaining flexibility. Yet you may also
program Taskmaster for TOTAL control of the user interface. Everything
displayed on the screen is under your control. You are not stuck with someone
else's ideas. Today you may only want Taskmaster's ease of use. But tomorrow
YOU WILL NEED TASKMASTER'S UNSURPASSED FLEXIBILITY. Taskmaster is the ONLY
user interface that you cannot outgrow.
Not a programmer? If you can speak English you can program using Taskmaster's
intuitive fourth-generation language. Yet it has the power to offer you
complete control over the computing environment.
Features include:
* Supplied end-user tasks make Taskmaster suitable for beginners
* Programability makes Taskmaster suitable for experts
* Taskmaster can launch even the largest of applications
* Can restrict access to system prompt, applications, directories
* Can prevent other applications from providing access to a system prompt
* Can implement timeouts on menus - for security and screen saving
* Optionally provides secure access via user names and passwords
* Can return you DIRECTLY to ANY PREVIOUS menu level
* Ideal for data capture; able to pass data to applications
* Data can easily be saved to disk for later restoration
* No restrictions on complexity of each option
* Taskmaster is an ideal first language - easier than BASIC!
* Taskmaster is portable to other operating systems
* Can perform scheduling of periodic routine tasks such as backups, etc.
* Can report and act on results from any application
* Automatically records user activity in an encrypted catalogue
* Can easily log actions to a journal
* Can create and read ASCII text files - e.g. output from utilities
* Can directly read the screen - closing messages etc.
* Can switch between video "screen pages"
* Can get and set all file (and directory) attributes
* Is intelligent, flexible, expandable, indispensable
* Is upgradeable to Protean, a fuller programming language, LANs, Unix and CDOS
systems -- in short, when your system grows, Taskmaster grows right along
with it.
* Minimum hardware requirements: 360K floppy, 256K RAM, DOS 2.0
* Upgradeable to interface with Unix, Xenix, and CDOS micro, mini and mainframe
systems
What users and reviewers are saying about Taskmaster:
". . . an efficient language for the machines we use, giving faster processing
and more code in the machines. . . . Our programmers also find Protean
[Taskmaster's programming language] easy to learn and quick to use." -- Brian
Downes, Systems Manager, British Gas South Western
"[Taskmaster] was the natural choice because of its multi-user, networking
capabilities and ease of support. Its compact size enables mainframe software
to be permanently loaded alongside the application." -- Hugo Grimes, Commercial
Computer Services Ltd
"[Taskmaster] is an extremely professionally-designed language which has
excellent professional-level documentation and is implemented in a way which
gives me great confidence in its abilities. . . . In the multi-user, mixed-
platform, multiple operating system environment for which it has been designed
I believe you will be hard pressed to beat it. A very interesting and
impressive product." -- PC Week (Britain), July 16, 1991.
Registration Options: $79.95 product support via CompuServe, phone, mail.
$94.95 with printed manual (provided as an option
because not all users will need a printed manual;
the program comes with an extensive on-disk
manual and series of help screens. Recommended
for individual use where a printed manual is
desired.
$249.95 for Taskmaster Professional, the commercial
version of the product, which includes a printed
manual in a slip-case, free preferred lifetime
support, customized programming available, on-
site installation and training available,
upgrades to Protean available, LAN, UNIX,
XENIX and CDOS versions available. Interfaces
with micro and mainframe systems. Contact MVP
Software for details. Recommended for corpor-
ate, government or institutional use. Discounts
of up to 70% available for site licenses and
network systems.
All product registrations and purchases come with a free introductory member-
ship to CompuServe, including a $15 usage credit. A $49 value, free with
product purchase!