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#============================================# # ZSHELL V1.30 (C) 1990,91 PAUL HAYTER # # updated to V2.0 (C) 1993,94 MARTIN GIERICH # #============================================# Last change: 16.06.94 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ INTRODUCTION This is the ZShell version 2.0 documentation. It is a small, fast and powerful SHELL replacement. Have a look at FEATURES to see the advantages. ZShell is tested with Kickstart 1.3 , 2.04 and 3.0 and should run also with other Kickstarts. There are no special requirements. I tried to made usage similar to AmigaDOS. If you did not understand something, have a look at your AmigaDOS usermanual. To use the ONLINE-HELP start ZShell from Workbench or CLI/Shell and press the HELP key. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ FEATURES * About 25K small (pure assembler code). * Supports the standard housekeeping commands which are builtin, so no disk access is necessary. eg. list, dir, cd, rename, makedir, delete, copy, path, info, type * A total of 63 builtin commands. * Online HELP function and documentation with examples. * Filenamecompletion by simply pressing a key. * Command line editing better than KS2.0 . * Command line history with searching. * Function key aliasing. * Command aliasing. * Starting from Workbench or CLI/Shell. * Colorful output if more than 2 bitplanes available. * Script file execution and special script commands (like IF, ASK). * Wild Card file descriptions (*,?,~,[],|). * Simple 'More' type text viewer. * Has a kind of Memory-Clock with alarm (!). * Makes itself resident for quicker starting and memory saving. * Reverse Polish Calculator. * Can examine the KickTagPtr, CoolCapture etc. and reset them. * Some commands and features for debugging system/programs. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CONTENTS Introduction Features Contents Distribution Starting ZShell History & Command Line Editing Executing Commands Wild Cards Filenamecompletion Input/Output Redirection Special Characters Builtin Commands ... Builtin Commands for Programmers and Advanced Users ... Tips & Hints Possibilities for Future Improvements History Copyright Disclaimer Credits Correspondence & Bug Reports ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DISTRIBUTION Following files belong to this document: 1) ZShell The main executable 2) ZSH The small starter 3) ZShell.doc This documentation (and online help manual) 4) ReadMe Short description 5) ZShell.s Source code of the main executable 6) ZSH.s Source code of the small starter 7 - 12) The corresponding icons ------------------------------------------------------------------------ STARTING ZSHELL * There are three ways of starting ZShell: 1. The easiest way: Start the file called 'ZShell' from Workbench or CLI/Shell. 2. Put the file called 'ZShell' in the C: directory and start the file called 'ZSH' from Workbench or CLI/Shell. 3. A bit complicated and only for starting from Workbench: Make a startup script (see below) or an empty file with a PROJECT icon. Change the default tool to 'ZSH' or 'ZShell' (better ZSH, but put ZShell in C: ) with the right path. Doubleclicking on this project icon will start ZShell and execute its script. You can also shift-doubleclick a startup script with ZSH/ZShell. (You can rename 'ZSH' as what you like, but do not rename 'ZShell'). The first way is recommended for having a quick glance at ZShell, but if you use ZShell sometimes, the second way is better. Why ? Because 'ZSH' is about 700 Byte long and starts the ZShell- resident if possible. So loading 'ZShell' is only necessary the first time you use ZShell after booting up. * If starting from CLI/Shell you can specify the name of a script file (see EXECUTE) as an argument which will be executed after starting. If there is no name given, ZShell will try to execute S:ZStart . eg. ZSH ram:hello {will try to execute ram:hello} ZShell {will try to execute S:ZStart} * If starting from Workbench you can specify the window-description and the startup script (default S:ZStart , see above) with ToolTypes: eg. WINDOW=con:20/50/400/100/Moin SCRIPT=ram:hello Make sure that WINDOW and SCRIPT are in capital letters. (You can edit the ToolTypes by selecting an icon and then choosing 'Information' from the Workbench menu.) * NOTE: ZShell and ZSH are PURE (see RESIDENT,PROTECT). ------------------------------------------------------------------------ HISTORY & COMMAND LINE EDITING ZShell has a 1024 byte circular history buffer. It works similar to most other shells, the NEWCON: handler in Workbench V1.3 and the standard console handler in Kickstart 2.0+. UP ARROW - go back one line in the history buffer. DOWN ARROW - go forward one line in the history buffer. SHIFT UP ARROW - go to the 1st line in the history buffer if nothing was typed. Otherwise the string left of the cursor will be searched in history buffer. (like KS2.0+) SHIFT DOWN ARROW- go to the last line in the history buffer, which should be blank. LEFT ARROW - move cursor left. RIGHT ARROW - move cursor right. SHIFT LEFT ARROW- move cursor to left end. SHIFT RIGHT ARROW move cursor to right end. CTRL S - move cursor to start of line. CTRL E - move cursor to end of line. TAB - move cursor to start of next word SHIFT TAB - move cursor to start of last word CTRL X - delete whole line. CTRL Q - delete one word right of cursor CTRL W - delete one word left of cursor CTRL L - clear the ZShell window ESC (Escape) - quit ZShell like ENDCLI (I like this very much !). CTRL A - see FILENAMECOMPLETION . SHIFT RETURN - like typing '^' and 'J', useful for ECHO. Words are delimited by space, point, slash and colon ( ./:). Again, command line editing is similar to most shells. Backspace, delete and return do what they are supposed to do. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ EXECUTING COMMANDS Most commands can be aborted by depressing Control-C. Nearly everything is case independent. To use a disk command simply type its name after the prompt, the same way as you would do in other shells. The first part of the input up to the first space is interpreted as commandname. It is searched for (in this order) : 1. in the alias list (see ALIAS) 2. in the internal (builtin) command list (see BUILTIN COMMANDS) 3. in the resident command list (see RESIDENT) 4. in the current directory (see CD) 5. in the command search path (see PATH) and, if it is found, it is executed. The part after the first space is taken as arguments, also called parameters. The arguments are separated by spaces. ZShell will allow up to 25 arguments. If the commandname is a directory, the current directory will be changed (see CD). eg. addbuffers df0: 15 'addbuffers' is the command, that will be found as a internal command. 'df0:' is the first argument. '15' is the second argument. The third argument does not exist. You can avoid using an alias or an internal (builtin) command or changing the current directory by typing a point before the commandname (this is called 'force disk'). To abbreviate internal or resident commands put a point behind it. If you use just a point, the current directory will be set to the last current directory ('dir back'). eg. .addbuffers df0: 20 {This uses the disk command or if available the resident addbuffers} ad. df0: 20 {uses the internal addbuffers command} .ad. df0: 20 {if available this uses the resident addbuffers} . {go back to old current dir} BEWARE of other matching commands! The first matching will be taken! res. can mean reset or resident, but reset will be taken ! There is no abbreviation for disk commands, take FileNameCompletion ( CTRL-A ) instead. A textual error message will be displayed if an AmigaDOS error occurs. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ WILD CARDS ZShell supports wild card file descriptions on some commands (DIR, LIST, DELETE, COPY, RECOPY, CTRL). Wild cards are like those supported on MS-DOS (tm) or UNIX (tm) systems, and not the same as the ones on AmigaDOS. So use * instead of #? . NOTE: You can only effectively put one * character in a wild card. Character Meaning * Match zero or more characters. ? Match one character. ~ Negates the following wildcard. [ ] Specifies a class of characters to match. (One of the characters in the brackets must match) | Separate multiple filenames (can be wildcards) (One of the file descriptions separated by | must match) To get that just try the examples following and try it out with DIR. eg. list *.info {lists all files ending in .info} dir z*.s {lists all files starting z, ending in .s} delete df0:*.info {deletes all .info files from df0:} copy *.s ram: {copies all .s files to ram:} copy 1? df0: {copies all two char files beginning with 1} dir ~*.s {lists all files NOT ending in .s} list ~*.info {lists all files except for .info files} dir *.[co] {lists files ending in .c or .o} list [abcd]* {lists files beginning with a,b,c or d} list c:mount|version {lists the files Mount and Version} list ram:env/a*|*b {lists all files starting with a or ending with b from RAM:env (environment)} copy ~*.info|*.bak {copies all files NOT ending in .info and NOT ending in .bak} ------------------------------------------------------------------------ FILENAMECOMPLETION Filenamecompletion makes typing long filenames and directorynames easier. It does not matter if you want to type it as command or as argument. Just type some beginning characters of the desired name and then press CTRL-A . If there is more than one possibility that match, it will only be completed as far as all possibilities match. In this case type the next character then again press CTRL-A . If a filename was fully matched, a space after it will be inserted. If a directoryname was fully matched, a slash (/) will be inserted after. Maybe you do not want *.info files to be completed. This will avoid some trouble. Use 'ctrl -c *.info' for that or see CTRL. To use an other key (like TAB) instead of CTRL-A , see CTRL. For example a directory contains: MegaEditExample MegaEditExample.info MegaViewer MoreMegaFiles {directory} If you want to change the current directory to MoreMegaFiles you type: mo then press the CTRL key with the A key. You will see the full name with a slash at the end. Just press RETURN and you changed it. To delete MegaViewer you type: delete me and press CTRL-A. You will see 'Mega'. Now type the V key and press CTRL-A again. You see 'delete MegaViewer '. Press RETURN and it will be gone. You want to start MegaEditExample. Type: me and press CTRL-A. Then type E and press CTRL-A. There is no space after the name. This is because MegaEditExample.info also matches. Start it by pressing RETURN. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ OPTIONS The internal commands support only three options, because this is easier to remember. These options start with a dash (-) . 1. -C or -CLEAR , used by AVAIL,ENDCLI,LOCATE,PATH,RESIDENT,CTRL 2. -R or -RECURSIVE , used by COPY,DELETE,LIST,RECOPY 3. -Q or -QUICK , used by DIR,LIST So instead of typing 'dir -q' you can also type 'dir -quick'. As nearly everything, options are also case independent. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ INPUT/OUTPUT REDIRECTION The standard redirection operators are supported for all internal commands, as well as disk based programs. (Redirection only affects those programs which use the dos.library's Input() and Output() functions.) > redirect std output. < redirect std input. >> append redirect output. (tacks output onto the end of file) eg. dir >ram:directory df0:c type zshell.doc <raw:0/0/100/100/input >raw:0/0/640/100/output sortfile things >>df0:things.log ------------------------------------------------------------------------ SPECIAL CHARACTERS The following characters have special meanings to ZShell. " " Double quotes. Used to enclose strings with spaces. eg "hello world". ^n Hat character. Prefixes a control character letter (n). Used in ASK, ECHO, & ALIAS commands. eg ^L <-clear screen %n Percent prefixes a number (0-7) to specify an optional parameter for command aliases. Used in ALIAS command. Can also be used to specify prompt arguments. See PROMPT. $n Dollar prefixes a number (0-7) and corresponds to an optional parameter specified with %n (above). *?~[]| Wildcard characters. * matches 0 to n characters. ? matches one character, ~ negates the following wild card, and [ ] surround a class of characters to match. See WILD CARDS. \n Backslash prefixes a special character, whose meaning you want ignored. eg. echo "hello \"fred\"" (hello "fred") ; Semi-colon seperates multiple commands on one line. eg. cd df1:;dir > redirect output. < redirect input. >> redirect append output. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ BUILTIN COMMANDS : ================== Following there are descriptions of the standard commands which are builtin in ZShell (and therefore need not be loaded from disk). Square brackets [] mean that the argument enclosed in is optional. A vertical bar | separates multiple possibilities, choose only one. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ADDBUFFERS drive number_of_buffers * ADDBUFFERS increases disk access speed on the specified drive by adding a number of sector cache buffers. Each additional buffer reduces memory by about 560 bytes. Generally, 25-30 buffers per floppy drive is optimal. eg. addbuffers df0: 25 addbuffers df1: 30 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ALIAS [variable] [definition] * ALIAS assigns a variable name to a definition. The variable name can be up to 15 characters long, and the definition can be up to about 360 (250) characters long. * Function Keys eg. alias f1 "ed df0:s/startup-sequence^M" This example assigns the unshifted F1 key to the text enclosed in quotes. Note that the ^M characters puts an auto carriage return in the definition. eg. alias F10 "cd df0:^M" This sets shifted F10 to 'cd df0:<CR>'. Other egs. alias f2 "cd df1:^M" alias f4 "genim2 " alias F9 "scribble df0:text/" alias f1 "a68k z.a;blink z.o to z^M" * The secondary use of ALIAS is to assign command aliases. eg. alias mv rename This allows an alternate name for rename. i.e. mv. So you could type mv oldname newname {to rename oldname to newname} eg. alias as a68k alias pp powerpacker alias go "a68k zsh.s;blink zsh.o to zsh" alias cped "copy df0:c/ed" You would use this last alias, if you need to copy a particular file a lot. So, to copy c/ed to ram: use:- cped ram: * You can also pass external parameters to an alias. eg. alias al "%1 a68k $1.s;blink $1.o to $1" Typing al test will assemble test.s using a68k, then blink test.o to become test. You can specify upto eight parameters to pass to a command alias. At the start of the alias definition, specify the parameters to pass with the variables %0 thru %7. These need not be in sequence. The first %n will be assigned to the first parameter, the 2nd %n to the 2nd parameter etc. Insert the corresponding variables $0 thru $7 at the points in the alias definition where that parameter is to appear. eg. alias disp "%1 %2 %3 echo \"$3 $2 $1\"" alias cram "%0 %1 %2 %3 copy $0 $1 $2 $3 ram:" alias go "%5 %1 %6 %2 echo \"1st-$5 2nd-$1 3rd-$6 4th-$2\"" * Command aliases can be nested to 1 level. eg. alias clear "echo ^L";alias cdir "%1 clear;cd $1;dir" * An important point about aliases, is that you can redefine the existing internal command names. eg. alias help "type help_screen" This would make it so that pressing HELP or typing H E L P would not generate the standard help command list, but would type the file called help_screen to the screen. Similarly eg. alias copy c:copy alias info c:dfree alias assign .assign * Typing ALIAS with no parameters at all, will generate a list of all current alias definitions. eg. alias * See UNALIAS for how to remove alias definitions. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ASK [question] * ASK prompts the user with a question requiring a Yes or No answer. If the first letter of the users response is 'Y', ASK returns code WARN. Responding 'E' returns ERROR, 'F' returns FAIL. Any other letter will result in return code OK. The question can include ASCII characters as well as control codes as per the ECHO command. eg. ask "Do you want commands copied to ram? " if warn copy c: ram: endif Note: You can redirect the ANSWER to a file by redirecting the OUTPUT. eg. ask >ENV:CallIt {The answer is written to CallIt} ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ASSIGN [logical name:] [directory] * ASSIGN will assign a logical device name (must end in a colon (:) ) to a disk directory. eg. assign z: df1:zshell_source Now if you do a DIR Z: you will get a directory of df1:zshell_source. Similarly, the default device names can be reassigned. eg. assign libs: df1:libs * Typing ASSIGN with no parameters, will list the current device assignments. eg. assign ASSIGN is compatible with the AmigaDOS Assign command. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ AVAIL [-C] * AVAIL shows the available memory as: 1.Total chip memory free, 2.Total fast memory free, 3.Total memory free. * With option '-c' given, it tries to free unused memory (remove unused libraries, devices and the help manual) eg. avail avail -c ------------------------------------------------------------------------ BORDER ON|OFF [number] * Switches the border of the window on or off. If the border is off there will fit some more characters in a line; this can be useful when viewing texts with MORE. * If you run Kickstart 1.3, you should do a 'CLS' or 'echo ^L' after using BORDER OFF. * If you specify a number after ON or OFF, the window is resized as large as possible. The number means the wanted distance of the window top to the screen top in pixels. By specifying a negative value the window will just not hide the screens menu bar. eg. border off border on 0 {fills full screen} border off -1 {does not hide the menu bar} border on 10;cls {with KS 1.3} ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CD [destination] * Changes the current directory to 'destination'. If no parameter is given, the current directory's name is shown. It is easier to change the directory by simply typing its name (without CD). eg. cd ram: ram:t {same as 'cd ram:t'} ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CLS * CLS clears the window. It also resets the consolehandler, so if you see lots of funny characters on the window, try CLS. * You can do the same by using 'echo ^[c'. * CTRL L only clears the window (same as 'echo ^L'). eg. cls ------------------------------------------------------------------------ COPY [-R] sourcefile1 [sourcefile2] [sourcefile3] ... destination * There are 6 derivatives of the copy command : 1. copy file to file. eg. COPY C:LIST RAM:LS 2. copy file to a directory. eg. COPY C:MOUNT DF1:C 3. copy multiple files to a directory. eg. COPY L:PORT-HANDLER L:DISK-VALIDATOR DF1:L 4. copy files in a directory to another directory. eg. COPY C: DF2:C 5. copy multiple directories to a single directory. eg. COPY L: DEVS: C: RAM: 6. Recursively copy all files and subdirectories within the source directory to the destination directory. eg. COPY -R DF0: DF1: Other examples: eg. copy fred wilma eg. copy c:dir df1:c eg. copy dir list type cd df1:c eg. copy -r df0:devs df1:devs eg. copy -r source:*.s ram: copy df0: df1: {only copy the files in df0: to df1:} ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DATE [hh:mm:ss|dd.mm.yy|mm-dd-yy] * DATE without arguments shows the actual date and time (systemtime). * You can specify one or two arguments to set date or time or both. The time format must be in HOUR:MINUTE:SECOND . Do not forget the colon (:) between. Give only one or two digit numbers. There exists two formats for setting the date. First is DAY.MONTH.YEAR . Second is MONTH-DAY-YEAR . Use only one or two digit numbers. eg. date date 14:15:00 {quarter past two PM} date 12.5.94 {12th of May in 1994} date 3-30-88 8:12:45 {30th of March in 1988 in the morning} ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DELETE [-R] source1 [source2] [source3] [source4]... * Deletes one or more files or directorys ('source1','source2',...). * If you specify the -r option when deleting a directory, then all subdirectories are recursively deleted also. Otherwise (if the -r option is not given) only the files in the specified directory are deleted. WARNING: You can hardly get back what you have deleted ! So be careful, especially when using the -r option ! (Try DISKSALV for getting lost files back, DO NOT use DISCDOCTOR) eg. delete fred wilma barney betty dino delete df0:devs df1:c df1:data ram: delete menu delete -r devs: delete -r df1: {better use 'format drive df1: name x quick'} ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DIR [-Q] [source] * Lists the directory of the 'source' to the screen. Hitting space will pause the listing and backspace will continue it. Files are shown with their size in bytes. DIR lists the current directory if no parameter is given. If 'source' is a filename, then only that file is listed. If the option '-q' is not given, the filenames will be sorted alphabetically. * All files/dirs with the H-bit (see PROTECT) set, will not be shown. eg. dir df0: dir -q devs:printers/hp* ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ECHO [string] * Prints the 'string' to the screen. If you want spaces in the string, make sure the whole string is enclosed in quotes. If you want to print special control characters (eg. ctrl-L clear screen) then prefix the control letter with a ^ character. If you want to print double quotes, then use the \ character before the qoutes. If you want to print some special characters like the CSI ($9B), you can put a (hexa-)decimal number after the ^ character; you can separate it from the next character by a point (.) . Do not forget the ^J at the end of a line. eg. echo hello^J echo "hello world" echo "^Lthe screen was just cleared^J" echo "^Lline 1^Jline 2^Jline 3^J" echo "these are double quotes ->\"^J" echo ^$9b.33mColor^$9b.32mful^J echo ^$9b.4mUnderlined^$9b.0mNormal^J * Some common control codes are: ^7 ^G bell (makes a DisplayBeep) ^10 ^J linefeed. ^12 ^L clear screen. ^13 ^M carriage return. ^24 ^X clear line. ^27 ^[ escape. ^$9b CSI (command sequence introducer). ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ELSE * ELSE marks the middle of an IF statement. All statements following it, and before the ENDIF statement will be executed only if the IF condition is FALSE. See IF for usage. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ENDCLI [-C] * Exits you from ZShell back to the AmigaDOS CLI prompt or Workbench. * If the option '-c' was specified, it will clear ZShell as a resident: only in low memory situations needed. * Instead of using ENDCLI you can simply press the ESC key or click on the close gadget, if available. eg. endcli endcli -c ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ENDIF * ENDIF marks the end of an IF statement. See IF for usage. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ EVAL expression * EVAL evaluates the 'expression' as a reverse polish expression, and displays the answer in decimal and hex notation. Reverse Polish Notation (RPN) is used in Forth and in Hewlett Packard calculators (the best calculators in the world). It is based on how arithmetic is actually done at the lowest possible level. RPN allows calculating complex expressions without using brackets. eg. eval 4 5 + This gives the answer 9. When a number is found, it is 'pushed' onto the arithmetic stack. The + always adds the last two numbers on the stack. eg. eval 7 2 3 + - This gives the answer 2. It is the same as (7 - (2 + 3)). See, 7 is first pushed onto the stack, followed by 2, then 3. The + adds together the 2 and 3 and leaves the result 5 on the stack. Which means that the number 7 followed by 5 are left on the stack. The - subtracts the last entry (5) on the stack from the one before it (7), leaving the result 2. eg. 12 * (3 + 9) > eval 12 3 9 + * (15 - 4) * (6 + 18) > eval 15 4 - 6 18 + * (6 * ((87 + 13) / (2 * 25))) > eval 6 87 13 + 2 25 * / * * EVAL only performs 32 bit integer arithmetic. Negative numbers are prefixed with - .(hexadecimal they are shown as a 31 bit integer with bit 32 set, as usual) Prefixing positive numbers with + is optional. eg. eval +5 -3 + {results in 2 hex:$00000002} eval -5 3 + {results in -2 hex:$fffffffe} * EVAL supports decimal, hexadecimal and binary numbers. If you prefix the number with $, the number is hex If you prefix the number with %, it is binary. Programmers: For BPTR-APTR conversion you can use & to specify a hexadecimal APTR when asked for a BPTR and vice versa with §. eg. eval $c00000 $a0 16 * + * EVAL can also be used to perform base conversions (to dec or hex) eg. eval $ca eval %10110001 eval 45 eval &5a8 * The operators + - * / & | @ ! are supported. The & allows logical AND'ing. And | allows logical OR'ing. The @ is similar to PEEK in BASIC. Conversely, ! is similar to POKE in BASIC eg. eval $80 $21 $08 | | $aa & eval $67 %11001011 & eval $c00000 @ This prints out the long word in memory locations $c00000 - $c00003. eval $aa55aa55aa $40000 ! This pokes the long word $aa55aa55aa into locations $40000 thru $40003. * For environment handling you can specify the value of an environment variable with | followed by the name. To store the result in a variable, redirect the output. eg. eval >ENV:aa |ENV:bb 1 + This adds 1 to the value in ENV:bb and stores the result in ENV:aa * If the result was 0 an error (fail-level 10) will be returned. If it was negative, a warn (5) returns. (Not when redirecting output) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ EXECUTE source * Executes the ZShell script file of name 'source'. All ZShell commands, as well as commands from disk are valid within a script file. * If the S-protection-bit (see PROTECT) of 'source' is set, you do not need to type EXECUTE, just use 'source' like a command. * You can break scripts by pressing CTRL-D. eg. execute install_hard_disk ------------------------------------------------------------------------ FAILAT [failat_level] * FAILAT sets the error code level at which scripts (and multiple commands on one line) will be aborted. The default level is 10. Most commands return 10 as an error, (20 for serious errors) while compilers returning Warning type errors will return 5. Hence, the default of 10 will allow Warnings to occur without the script (or line) being aborted. If a command returned an error code higher than the failat level, it will be printed out on the window. eg. failat 20 {sets failat level to 20} * If you do not specify a failat level, the current setting is shown. eg. failat ------------------------------------------------------------------------ FAULT [error_number] * FAULT displays a textual error message of the given DOS-error-number eg. fault 103 {says something like 'no free store', go and buy some extra memory :) } ------------------------------------------------------------------------ FILENOTE file|directory comment * FILENOTE creates or changes a comment of the file or directory. This comment can be up to 116 characters long and can be displayed using the LIST command. It is useful if the filename does not say what for this file is. Add a comment to this file and you will forever know what this file does. eg. filenote devs:mountlist "This is used by the mount command" ------------------------------------------------------------------------ HELP [topic] * HELP shows the lines of this manual corresponding to the topic. To see all topics available, type 'HELP CONTENTS' . Make sure that this manual is in your command search path (see PATH). For some help about a command you can also type 'commandname ?' . Type only '?' to read the manual with MORE (see MORE). Note: Instead of typing the topic you can only type some starting characters. Note: The manual is only loaded once and will stay in memory till you use 'AVAIL -C' or 'ENDCLI -C' eg. help contents {'help cont' will do the same} help copy makedir ? ? * HELP without a topic lists the names of all available ZShell commands to the screen. This does not need the manual. HELP can also be invoked by hitting the HELP key. eg. help ------------------------------------------------------------------------ HTYPE source * HTYPE outputs a hex listing of the file specified. Output is the same as the M command. SPACE pauses the listing, BACKSPACE gets it going again, and CTRL-C will abort the listing. eg. htype c:list ------------------------------------------------------------------------ IF [NOT][WARN][ERROR][FAIL][EXISTS file] * The IF command allows conditional execution of statements following it. * If the condition specified is true, then execution continues after the IF statement until either an ENDIF or ELSE statement is encountered. If it is an ELSE statement, then all statements between the ELSE and the closing ENDIF are skipped. * If the condition is false, then all statements after the IF and before either an ENDIF or ELSE statement are skipped. If an ELSE is encountered, then execution continues for all statements after the ELSE and before the closing ENDIF. * IF can examine the state of the return code from the last command execute with WARN, ERROR, and FAIL tests. You can test for the non existence of such a state by including the optional NOT parameter. eg. IF WARN echo "last command returned warnings" ELSE echo "last command did not return warnings" ENDIF IF NOT FAIL echo "last command did not fail" ENDIF * IF can also test for the existence of a file or directory. eg. IF EXISTS :system/format echo "this disk has a format command" echo "you can look yourself. I'm not joking" ENDIF IF NOT EXISTS ram:ed copy c:ed ram: ENDIF ------------------------------------------------------------------------ INFO * Lists lots of information about all available volumes (like disks). These columns mean: NAME: Name of the device containing the volume UNIT: Unitnumber, not very interesting SYS: Filesystem, can be one of: OFS : Oldfilesystem (old fashioned and slow) FFS : Fastfilesystem (needs at least Kick 2.0) INO/INF : International OFS/FFS DCO/DCF : Directory Cache OFS/FFS (needs Kick 3.0) MSD : CrossDOS Filesystem (MessyDOS) ??? : Unknown SIZE: Maximum useable size of the Volume in KBytes (1024 Bytes) FREE: Free/useable size in KBytes FULL: Ratio between used size and maximum size BLOCK: Size of a single block in Bytes STATUS: Says if it is possible to write to that volume ERR: Number of soft errors, I only saw 0 yet VOLUME: Name of the volume (name of the disk). * Note: It would not make sense to show the free size in Bytes, because space can only be allocated in whole blocks and one block is at least 488 Bytes large. eg. info ------------------------------------------------------------------------ JOIN [sourcefile1] [sourcefile2] ... destfile * JOIN concatenates one or more files to form a new file (destfile). eg. join fred.doc roy.doc dog.doc mydocs.doc ------------------------------------------------------------------------ LAB label * LAB specifies a destination (label) for the SKIP command. See SKIP. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ LIST [-R] [-Q] [source] * Lists the directory of the 'source' to the screen. Hitting space will pause the listing and backspace will continue it. * LIST acts similar to DIR (see DIR), but outputs more information: - Hidden files will be shown - Shows the date and time of the last change (date-of-last-change) - Shows the protection-bits (see PROTECT) - If available, the comment will be shown (see FILENOTE) * LIST supports recursive listing. That means the contents of all subdirectories are shown. To use it, specify the -r option. eg. list list sys:system list -q df0: list -r -q *.info {show all INFO-files in the current and in the sub-directories} list -r ram:~*.info {show all except *.info files in RAM:} ------------------------------------------------------------------------ LOCK device ON|OFF * 'LOCK device ON' locks the write-access to a device eg. lock df0: on will make it impossible to write to or change something on the disk inserted in DF0: * 'LOCK device OFF' makes write-access to a device possible again. eg. lock dh0: on lock dh0: off ------------------------------------------------------------------------ MAKEDIR [directory1] [directory2] ... * Creates one or more directories of the names specified. eg. makedir temp makedir c l s libs devs fonts makedir devs/printers ram:c ------------------------------------------------------------------------ MEMCLK ON|OFF|ALARM * MEMCLK is for using a clock shown in the border of the actual window. The current total free and chip free memory are also shown. It can do a DisplayBeep (short flash on all screens) at a specified time. The DisplayBeep can be converted into a sound by using a PD-utility for that or using Workbench 3.0 . * Programmers: There will be only one 'MemClock'-Task, even if you run MEMCLK on many windows -> memory and CPU saving. * MEMCLK ON switches the clock on or does nothing if it already exist. * MEMCLK OFF switches the clock off or does nothing if it does not exist. * MEMCLK ALARM shows the alarm time. If you type a time (see DATE) after ALARM, you set the alarm time. (You cannot set an alarm date or multiple times.) ( MEMCLK A is the same as MEMCLK ALARM ) eg. memclk on memclk off memclk alarm memclk a 21:34:07 * The clock can also be used on non-ZShell windows, but MAKE SURE that the clock is switched OFF BEFORE the window is CLOSED, otherwise you will see THE GURU (or an ALERT with KS2.0+) For example, to get a clock on the Workbench, type in ZShell wait 5;memclk on and press RETURN. Now you have 5 seconds to click on the Workbench screen. For removing use 'wait 5;memclk off' . ------------------------------------------------------------------------ MORE source [line count] * MORE acts as a simple (ANSI) text file viewer. By default, it will show 19 lines of a text file, then wait for some user input. To move around in the text, you can use the CURSOR-KEYS: UP : Go one line up DOWN : Go one line down SHIFT-UP : Go one page (default 19 lines) up SHIFT-DOWN: Go one page down LEFT : Go to the top of the text RIGHT : Go to the bottom of the text The key 'P' creates a printout of the text (sends the text to PRT:) The key 'S' will prompt you what to search for. If you just press RETURN, then the last item will be searched for. Searching begins at the second top line shown. If the item is found, the line, it is in, is displayed as the first line. Typing any other key will abort you back to the shell. eg. more readme * Specifying the optional line count will allow you to show more or less than the default 19 lines. {Very useful for large borderless PAL screens or small windows} eg. more contents 12 more super.doc 25 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ NEWCLI [new_window [start_script]] * NEWCLI without arguments starts a new ZShell process. Things like paths and history buffer (!) will be copied to the new ZShell. The input/output window is created with the default specification. The startup script will be S:ZStart. * 'NEWCLI new_window' is used for opening a window with different specifications than the default. If new_window is a point (.) there will be no window and output will be send to NIL: , if there is an input necessary, the ZShell process will just end (for example at a end of the script S:ZStart). * 'NEWCLI new_window start_script' is used if the name of the startup script should be different from S:ZStart. eg. newcli newcli con:30/30/400/50/Shell newcli con:0/18/640/182/ZShell/CLOSE/NOSIZE/NOBORDER {this one only with KS2.0+, maximum of 80 chars per line} newcli con:50/20/500/100/Hello s:shell-startup newcli . ram:doassigns ------------------------------------------------------------------------ PATH [-C] [path1] [path2] [path3] [path4] ... * PATH defines the command search path used by ZShell when searching for disk based commands (see EXECUTING COMMANDS) . If you give the '-c' option, the old search path will be cleared and the new search path consist only of the given paths. eg. path -c c: ram:c df0: df1: This example will make it so that if you type a command which is not internal in ZShell, the resident list will be searched for it, then the current directory, then the c: directory, then the ram:c directory, then df0:, and finally df1: * By omitting the -c option, you can add a number of paths onto the existing command search path. eg. path df2:c Adds the directory df2:c onto the existing command search path. eg. path df1:bin df1:myprogs Adds the two directories df1:bin and df1:myprogs onto the existing command search path. * If, however, you type path with no parameters, the current search path will be displayed. PATH is not yet compatible to the AmigaDOS Path command. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ PROMPT [string] * If no parameter is typed, the current prompt setting will be shown. eg. prompt * If a prompt string is specified, the current prompt setting will be changed to that string. The character '%' specifies a special prompt option. %p Insert current directory name. %n Insert CLI number. %l Insert current input line number (for fun!) eg. prompt "%p> " {default prompt. Show current directory + '>'} prompt "Hello ." {shows 'Hello .' at the start of every line} prompt "%n.%p> " {show CLI number, then current dir, then '>'} ------------------------------------------------------------------------ PROTECT [filename] [h|s|p|a|r|w|e|d] * Allows you to alter/see the protection bits associated with a file or a directory (default: current directory). * PROTECT filename Shows the protection bits for the file specified. eg. protect editor * PROTECT filename [h|s|p|a|r|w|e|d] Toggles the specified protection bits on the file. eg. protect editor pd If 'editor' was already pure, then the pure bit would be reset. If 'editor' was not pure, then the pure bit would be set. If 'editor' was deletable, then the delete bit would be reset. If 'editor' was not deletable, then the delete bit would be set. eg. protect game hprwd eg. protect monitor hsparwed Bits: 'h' hidden V1.3 's' script V1.3 'p' pure V1.3 'a' archive V1.3 'r' readable 'w' writable 'e' executable 'd' deletable <- V1.2 only understands this bit ------------------------------------------------------------------------ QUIT [error_code] * QUIT forces a script file to end, and return to the shell. An optional error code can be passed back (ie. 5=WARN 10=ERROR 15=BAD 20=FAIL etc). eg. quit 5 quit ------------------------------------------------------------------------ RELABEL drive newname * RELABEL renames the disk specified with the newname given. eg. relabel Empty: MY_DISK relabel df0: FISHMONGER ------------------------------------------------------------------------ RENAME source destination * Renames the file or directory of name 'source' to that of 'destination'. You can use this to move files on a disk. eg. rename df0:c/list df0:ls {moves and renames} rename ed Editor {just renames} ------------------------------------------------------------------------ RESIDENT [command1] [command2] ... * RESIDENT allows you load commands into memory, such that they will execute immediately, rather than be loaded from disk all the time. The benefit of RESIDENT over saving commands on the RAM: disk is that only one copy of the command is in memory all the time. RAM: based commands will use up twice as much memory when the command is being executed. * The limitation of RESIDENT is that only certain commands will work. Generally, all commands which have their PURE bit (see PROTECT command) set can be made RESIDENTABLE. However, RESIDENT does not check whether the PURE bit is set before loading, and hence you can try out commands to see if they work. They'll always work the first time. Its only when executing the 2nd time that the Amiga will likely crash. NB: Crunched programs will most likely not work. * Typing RESIDENT with no parameters will show the current list of resident commands: ADRESS is for programmers USECOUNT says how many times it is used right now ROM internal residents have negative values NAME means the name (hard to guess :) * Typing one or more command names after RESIDENT will make those commands resident. ZShell will search the command search path to try and find them. eg. resident c/list c/cd c/date c/avail resident ed RESIDENT is compatible with the AmigaDOS Resident command. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ SEARCH file search_string * SEARCH searches for the search_string in the file. The file can be a binary (eg. executable) or a text. Each occurance will be printed on the window with highlighted search_string. If the file is a text, the whole line will be printed. If it is a binary file, it will be printed from the occurance to the next NULL or LF. * Searching is case independent (of course!). * To search for a string at the beginning of a line (textfile only) put a point (.) before the search_string. eg. search zshell.doc "binary (eg." search s:startup-sequence .assign {show all assigns, but not 'resident assign'} search c:mount $ver: {show version number and date, should work with all newer executables} ------------------------------------------------------------------------ SETCLOCK LOAD|SAVE * SETCLOCK only works if you have a battery backed up clock (BBUC). It accesses the adresses $DC0000 and I do not know if it works with very old or very new (A1200) clocks. * SETCLOCK LOAD sets the systemtime (you can see the systemtime with DATE or MEMCLK) to the time in the BBUC (hopefully this is the right time). * SETCLOCK SAVE first resets the BBUC, then stores the systemtime to the BBUC. To set the BBUC to the right time, use DATE to set the correct date and time, then use SETCLOCK SAVE. eg. setclock load setclock save ------------------------------------------------------------------------ SETDATE file|directory [date/time] * SETDATE changes the date-of-last-change (DOLC) of a file or directory. The DOLC can be shown by simply listing this file with LIST (see LIST). * SETDATE with no date/time given sets the DOLC to the systemtime (see DATE,SETCLOCK). * If you want to set the DOLC to a special date you have to specify the date or time or both in a format described at 'DATE'. eg. setdate ram:newthings setdate devs:mountlist 21.8.71 {very old} setdate murks 18:09:00 12-24-94 {future} ------------------------------------------------------------------------ SKIP label * SKIP searches for the label within the current script file. If it finds it, execution continues from that point onwards. Labels are specified using the LAB command. eg. lab myloop dir ram: ask "list ram again? " if warn skip myloop endif ------------------------------------------------------------------------ STACK [size] * Allows you to view or alter the current stack size. eg. stack {shows the current stack size} stack 30000 {sets current stack = 30000 bytes} ------------------------------------------------------------------------ TYPE source * Prints to the screen the ASCII/ANSI text file specified as 'source'. Hitting any key will pause the listing. Backspace will restart it. CTRL-C will abort the listing. eg. type readme ------------------------------------------------------------------------ UNALIAS [alias1] [alias2] [alias3] [alias4] ... * UNALIAS removes one or more alias definitions from the alias list. eg. alias f1 "cd df0:;dir^M" alias f2 "cd df1:;dir^M" ... alias f10 "ed df1:s/startup-sequence^M" ... unalias f1 f2 f3 f4 f5 f6 f7 f8 f9 ... unalias f10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ WAIT timeout * WAIT halts processing for the time given. Timeout is in seconds. You can abort this with CTRL-C. eg. echo "I'll wait a minute" wait 60 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Comments ; blah blah blah blah * etc etc etc # hello ma * Placing a semi-colon, an asterisk or a hash character as the 1st character in the line of a script file allows you to place comments in it. eg. ; This is a comment line * If you want to place a comment at the end of a line, you have to put ;# before it. eg. info;#to see something interesting ------------------------------------------------------------------------ BUILTIN COMMANDS FOR PROGRAMMERS AND ADVANCED USERS : ===================================================== These commands are thought for users with a deeper knowledge of the system. Maybe they are also useful for those not knowing of the system internals (like beginners). Just try the examples to find that out. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ BREAK task_description [signalmask|C|D|E|F] * BREAK sets some signals at a given task * task_description can be one of: - task/process name (case dependent !) - task/process adress - CLI-process number (one from 1 to 20) - zero (0) for this task It will be checked if the node-type field contains TASK or PROCESS * signalmask is a longword; all bits, which should be signalled, must be 1 . Alternatively you can specify c,d,e or f to set the according signal to CTRL-C,-D,-E or -F. (CTRL-C is bit 12) * BREAK without signalmask (and c,d,e,f) given sets all signals the task is waiting for. eg. break RexxMaster {and it will be gone...} break Exchange c {Exchange will get itself off too} eg. If 2 ZShells are running. The one with the CLI-number 1 (get that out with prompt %n) lists a very large directory. You can break that by using the other ZShell typing: break 1 c Thats the same like you pressed CTRL-C on the ZShell number 1. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CHECK ON|OFF * Activates or deactivates the programmers status line. eg. check on {activates status line} check off {deactivates status line} The status line (if activated) will only appear once a disk based or resident program has been executed. The line appears as follows: Result2: 0 time = 00:00:23.66 changes-> chip: 0 fast: 0 total: 0 Result2 shows the error code that can be asked for with IoErr. Time shows how long the program took to execute in hours, minutes, seconds, hundredths (This time does NOT include the time it takes to load the program from disk). Changes show if the program has left any memory still allocated. i.e. if 200 bytes of chip memory were left allocated by the program, then you see 'chip: -200'. The Return code (the program returns in D0) is shown as Fail-Level. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CTRL [max_14_chars | -C [ignore_name]] * CTRL is for command-line-editing-keys-definitions (great word :). In other words: You can change the meaning of keys pressed with CTRL (Control) and some other keys (TAB ^I, Backspace ^H, Return ^M, Shift-Return ^J, ESC ^[). * 'CTRL' without arguments shows the current definitions. eg. ctrl * 'CTRL QWSEAX[IYHJMLn' (case dependent) sets the default settings. To change something, just change the character corresponding to the key pressed with CTRL. See some lines above for some CTRL- equivalents ( eg. TAB is same as CTRL-I ). You may get confused if you define one key twice. eg. ctrl QWSEIX[T {complete filename with TAB, CTRL-T does what TAB did} ctrl QWKU {half line deleting like KS2.0 shell} ctrl QWSEAXTIYMJH {...and you will have lots of fun} * There is a special meaning with the 14th character. This is by default the point (.), which is displayed as a 'n' (don't get confused). The point has a special meaning in some commands (ECHO,SEARCH,PUTMSG,dir back,force disk, abbreviation) and can be redefined using 'CTRL QWSEAX[IYHJML.', but replace the point by the character desired. The ASCII code must be between 32 and 64. eg. ctrl QWSEIX[TYHJML# {# is now a special character, TAB completes filename, CTRL-T is one word forward} * 'CTRL -C' shows the ignored filenames when filenamecompleting. By default this is unset. (-C means here -Complete) * 'CTRL -C filedescription' defines which names are not completed. 'filedescription' contains wildcard(s) in most cases. eg. ctrl -c {display ignore_name} ctrl -c *.info {ignore *.info-files} ctrl -c *.info|*.bak {ignore files ending in .info and .bak} ctrl -c ~*.tex|*.dvi {complete only *.tex and *.dvi-files} ctrl -c "" {unset ignore_name} ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DISKCHANGE device * Needed for devices which do not detect a diskchange. eg. mount rad:;diskchange rad: Makes your rad:-disk appear on the Workbench. diskchange ram: If the ram-disk does not exist yet, the handler will be started (and the ram-disk can appear on Workbench when done before LOADWB) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DIE device * DIE lets the handler of a device end itself. It seems not to work with most handlers. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ GETMSG [portname] * GETMSG waits for a message arriving at the process-internal messageport (pr_MsgPort). The message will be shown, strings will be tried to detected (this could cause lots of enforcer hits). Then you will be asked if to reply the message. 'y' replies it and should be used normally. 'e' replies and gets back to waiting mode again. Abort waiting is possible with CTRL-C. * 'GETMSG portname' gives the process-internal port the given name. Then it behaves as described above. * See PUTMSG for examples. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ LOCATE [-C] lock|filename * 'LOCATE lockadress' (lockadress is a BPTR) shows information about that lock structure. fl_Access must be -1 (write) or -2 (read). * 'LOCATE filename_or_dirname' gets an ACCESS_READ lock structure on that file/dir. (If you type -1 after the filename you should get an ACCESS_WRITE lock, but there seems to be an error in DOS !) * 'LOCATE -C lockadress' unlocks (removes) the lock structure. eg. locate &21f45c {shows lock on adress $21f45c} locate $9f5b7 {shows lock with BPTR $9f5b7} locate -c $9f5b7 {removes this lock} locate ram:rdit {tries to read-lock ram:rdit} locate ram:rdit -2 {same as above} locate c:mount -1 {got a write-lock on c:mount ?} ------------------------------------------------------------------------ M [start_address] [end_address] * M is a memory contents dumping command. * Typing M with a start and end address will display the hex and ASCII contents of those bytes in the memory locations specified. * Typing M with only a start address will display 160 bytes starting at the location specified. * Typing M with no parameters will display 160 bytes starting from the current memory location. * The current memory location is always one location higher than the last location shown by a prior M command. eg. m $70000 $77fff m $fc0000 m ------------------------------------------------------------------------ PUTMSG port_description [number1|string1] [number2|string2] ... * PUTMSG is useful for testing programms which wait for a message, or to reactivate a task that waits for a message which will never arrive. PUTMSG sends a message to the given messageport. * port_description can be given in 5 (!) ways: - Name of the messageport - Adress of the messageport - 3 ways of a task_description, see BREAK. This MUST be a Process because the process-internal messageport will be used. * number|string is a longword number or a string. If it is a number, it will just be added to the message. If it is a string, a adress pointing to this string will be added to the message. If number1|string1 was a point (.), the message will be initialized as an DOS-Packet. * After sending the message PUTMSG will wait for the reply and show that reply like GETMSG. Abort waiting with CTRL-C. WARNING: Your machine might CRASH if you send a message to a (Process-internal) port that is not waiting for this message. NOTE: PUTMSG without arguments makes a DisplayBeep (even without a window) and outputs the internal register value of A5. eg. putmsg testtask $21fd68 12 putmsg testport "Hello World!" If you have 2 ZShells, execute in the one with CLI-number 1 'getmsg'. Activate the other shell and type putmsg 1 "like some chatting ?" The ZShell no. 1 should display that and prompt 'reply ?'. Answer 'y' and the message goes back again. Now try 'getmsg wurgutz' at one ZShell and 'putmsg wurgutz $abcd' on the other. Do not forget to reply. * You can use PUTMSG to use the AREXX interface of a programm. This works with some programms even with Kick 1.3 and no AREXX-Package. eg. putmsg showdvi 0 0 0 0 0 "tofront" {gets ShowDVI to front} Instead of the first 0 you sometimes must write the adress of this task. If available replace the second 0 with a pointer to the rexxsyslib.library. The third 0 is called rm_Action. I do not know what it is for. The fourth and fifth are results, only interesting in the reply. eg. putmsg showdvi 0 0 0 0 0 "loadnew tex.dvi" * Specify a point as first number if you want to send a DOS-Packet. eg. putmsg DF0 . 0 1023 0 0 -1 {same as LOCK DF0: ON} If you get $FFFFFFFF as 4th longword, it was successful. (with Kick 1.3 you need to use FileSystem instead of DF0) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ RECOPY [-R] [directory|file_description] * RECOPY copies a file to the same directory with a slight different name (new file), then deletes the old file and renames the new file like the old file was called. After that the new file is the same as the old file was (date and comment are copied too). You might say: What is the use of that ? - Answer: You can process lots of files with a LoadSeg patch or a patch at the device. Depending on the patch it sometimes would be a good idea to run a diskoptimizer after RECOPYing. * In other words: Put some powerpacked textfiles in RAM: then run the PowerPackerPatcher (from Nico Francois), then do 'RECOPY RAM:'. After that these textfiles should be unpacked. Similarly you can crunch whole disks (in DF0:) running a stacker- like programm on DF0: then doing 'RECOPY -R DF0:'. This is tested with EPU and might also work with XFH (from the XPK-Package). * The option -R (recursive) does the same as in LIST. * If no directory is specified, the current directory is taken. * If you want to give a file_description make sure that it contains at least one wildcard. For specifying a single file put a '|' (vertical line) behind it. eg. recopy -r recopy ram:~*.info {do not RECOPY .info-files} recopy ram:bigdoc| {RECOPY only the file bigdoc} ------------------------------------------------------------------------ RESET * Performs a COLD reset of your Amiga. i.e. RAD will go, and you will get back fast memory that may have been disabled. And viruses should disappear. You will be asked before resetting. eg. reset ------------------------------------------------------------------------ SHOW D|I|L|M|P|R|S|T * Shows some information about important exec-lists: - Devices - Interrupts - Libraries - Memory - Ports (MessagePorts) - Resources - Semaphores - Tasks (and Processes) Use the first character of one of them as argument. * The output means: - Adress: hexadecimal start adress of the structure - Pri : Priority, often unused - Ver : Number of version (only with D,L,R) - Rev : Number of revision (only with D,L,R) - Name : Name - State : Task state (only with T) - SignWait : Signals, a waiting task waits for (only with T) - PT : Pr means Process, Ta means Task, Tm means Task with Messageport like Process (only with T) * If displaying the tasklist, the CLI-number (-> CLI ?:) and the loaded command will be shown at processes with cli-structure. eg. show d {have a look at the device-list} show Devices {same as above} show t {This is REAL MULTITASKING ! :) } ------------------------------------------------------------------------ STRINGS sourcefile [count] * STRINGS displays all valid ASCII strings in a file which have a length greater than or equal to the count. If no count is given, a default of 10 characters is used. * This command is very useful for finding out which libraries a program uses. eg. strings c:zshell 20 strings c:mount ------------------------------------------------------------------------ TASKPRI priority [task_description] * TASKPRI sets the priority of a task, it can be displayed using 'SHOW T'. The priority must be between -127 and 128 and should be within -50 and 20 to avoid system-hangups. Standard is 0 . * task_description is same as described at BREAK. * With one argument TASKPRI sets the priority of this task. * If task_description is given, TASKPRI sets the priority of the given task. NOTE: I did not like to call this command CHANGETASKPRI, because this name is really too long. eg. taskpri 2 {This task will be preferred} taskpri -1 3 {affects CLI no. 3} taskpri 4 Workbench ------------------------------------------------------------------------ VEC * Displays some important execbase pointers, which give a good indication of whether a virus is present in your system. WarmCapture, CoolCapture, ColdCapture, KickTagPtr, KickMemPtr, and KickCheckSum are displayed. If any of these are are NOT zero, then either a virus, RAD, or virus protector or some other program that takes control of your machine when you reset, is present. If you suspect a virus, you may want to eject the disk from DF0: and type the RESET command, which should clear the virus. Now you should boot up on a clean disk. eg. vec ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ======================================================================== ------------------------------------------------------------------------ TIPS & HINTS Useful aliases: alias arexx "%1 %2 putmsg $1 0 0 0 0 0 \"$2\"" So 'arexx showdvi "tofront"' is the same as the example in PUTMSG. alias run "%1 echo >T:X $1^J;newcli . T:X" This can be used to run programs, which do not need a window. If you substitute the point (.) with a window-description (like CON:10/10/400/100/Hallo ), you can run all commands with that. If you want some shortcuts like MessyDOS: alias md makedir alias ren rename alias del delete alias dc diskchange These are only needed for Kickstart 1.3: alias setenv "%1 %2 echo >ENV:$1 $2" alias getenv "%1 type ENV:$1" alias unsetenv "%1 delete ENV:$1" A script counting down from 10 to 0 (a bit complicated and slow) : failat 11 ; setenv helpenv 11 lab backtohere copy >NIL: ENV:helpenv ENV:counter eval >ENV:helpenv |ENV:counter 1 - echo "Current number: " ; eval |ENV:helpenv if not error skip backtohere endif From Workbench assigns are most likely done by clicking an icon: For example if you have the assigns below in the script failat 10 assign TEX: dh0:text/pastex assign MF: dh0:text/pastex/metafont putmsg you need to get a PROJECT ICON for that. Now define the default tool as ZSH (or ZShell) and a tooltype containing WINDOW=. (case sensitive). That's all. Failat 10 breaks the script if an error occurs. Putmsg flashes the screen to indicate that everything was successful. No window will be opened. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ POSSIBILITIES FOR FUTURE IMPROVEMENTS * Make the PATH command AmigaDOS compatible (near future !). * Make use of more KICKSTART 2.0+ features like ASSIGN ADD. * Improve script file execution, like passing arguments, allow subroutine scripts and commands like FOR. * More flexible environment variable handling. * AmigaGuide (tm) compatible documentation. * Include MOUNT/MOVE/INSTALL command. * Rewrite COPY/DELETE. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ HISTORY up to V1.3: See the source code of the ZShell V1.3 release (for example on FISH disk 537). Source: 103 KByte, Executable: 13 KByte, Doc 32 KByte. V2.0: There were so many changes, I think there is no sense in listing them all here, because it may be longer than this document. So just read this document or the source code. Source: 180 KByte, Executable: 25 KByte, Doc 72 KByte. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ COPYRIGHT FOR THE V1.3 PART ZSHELL IS FREELY DISTRIBUTABLE. YOU CAN DISTRIBUTE THIS AS LONG AS THIS DOC FILE REMAINS WITH THE EXECUTABLE, AND THAT NO CHARGE IS MADE FOR THEM (APART FROM A NOMINAL COPYING CHARGE). IF YOU FEEL LIKE SENDING ME SOMETHING FOR THIS PROGRAM, SEND ME A POSTCARD!, A P.D. DISK, A PROGRAM YOU'VE BEEN WORKING ON ,BUT DON'T SEND ME ANY MONEY (WELL, IF YOU REALLY, REALLY WANT TO, I GUESS I COULD PUT UP WITH IT). ------------------------------------------------------------------------ COPYRIGHT FOR THE V2.0 PART This may be confusing, that there are two copyrights, but I (Martin) did not like to change the original copyright notice. The parts belonging to V2.0 are marked in the source code with 'V2.0'. ZSHELL IS FREELY DISTRIBUTABLE. YOU CAN DISTRIBUTE THIS AS LONG AS THE TWO EXECUTABLES REMAIN WITH THIS DOCUMENTATION TOGETHER (AND PLEASE DISTRIBUTE THE SOURCE FILES WITH THEM TOO), AND THAT NO CHARGE IS MADE FOR THEM (APART FROM A NOMINAL COPYING CHARGE). IT IS NOT ALLOWED TO USE ZSHELL COMMERCIALLY ! I would like to get your comment on ZShell to see if anybody is using it and what can be improved. See 'CORRESPONDENCE' for my adress. Amiga, AmigaDOS, Workbench and Kickstart are registered trademarks of Commodore-Amiga Inc. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DISCLAIMER USE THE FILES OF THIS PACKAGE ON YOUR OWN RISK ! The authors are in no way responsible for what you are doing with it or what it does to you or your soft- and hardware. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CREDITS FROM PAUL Many thanks to Wayne for his invaluable help in doing the history and command line editing parts of ZShell. Also, thanks to Tim Strachan who asked for the history stuff. ZShell was entirely written using Wayned by Wayne Hayter (various versions). And was assembled with A68K V2.61 by Charlie Gibbs. And linked with Blink V6.7 by the Software Distillery. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CORRESPONDENCE & BUG REPORTS * Please send any correspondence and/or bug reports referring V1.3 to me at the address below:- Paul Hayter PO Box 331 Ballina 2478 AUSTRALIA * Please send correspondence, bug reports, comments, suggestions for future improvements etc. referring V2.0 to this adress: Martin Gierich Narzissenweg 7 76297 Stutensee GERMANY If you have EMAIL access, please send me one at this adress: uj3w@ibm3090.rz.uni-karlsruhe.de There might sometimes be some problems with the email system, so if I got the mail I will reply it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ $VER: ZShell.doc 2.0 (16.6.94)