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Revised 09-05-87 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 151 line read from the transmit file. NOTE: The characters in eolstr are always sent at full speed. SEE ALSO: entstr, blankfill string parameters esc Stores an alternate string or command to be executed by the ESC key when in term function. etx Stores an alternate string or command to be executed by ETX (Ctrl-C) when in the term function. exrc Is sent to the modem/executed when an interactive Host Operation session logs out. Es set exrc "@set disks c" resets the disks parameter in case privileged (unrestricted) callers modify this parameter. h is set to the hour of the day when expanded in the form hh. EXAMPLE: echo "It is now %h Hours" SEE ALSO: d, t string parameters helpfile The pathname that contains the online help file. You may wish to set this in the phone directory "setup" entry. Iff helpfile begins with the character @, the rest of xhelpfile is treated as the initial calling sequence of a DOS subprogram such as a pop-up menu handler. SEE ALSO: f, xhelpfile string parameters, help command home When ZCOMM is invoked, home is set to the current directory. When the "cd" command is given without an argument, the directory is changed to the contents of home. When ZCOMM is Restricted, absolute pathnames (those beginning with \ or /) must have home as a prefix. This restricts unprivileged users to the directory given in home and/or its subdirectories on any of the disks allowed by the disks string parameter. When changing the value of home, use slashes (/) and not backslases (\), and do not use a disk identifier. SEE ALSO: disks string parameter kermreset A string (up to 32 characters) may be sent by Pro-YAM's Kermit when it attempts to recover from a transmission error. The default value for this string is empty. Two metacharacters are special: \336 inserts a one second pause, \335 sends a break. l l (letter l) indicates selection of a long distance carrier for calls to other area codes. It is set to "1" as a default. l may (C) 1987 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 23 String Parameters Revised 09-05-87 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 152 set to the access code of the particular alternate long distance service desired with a "set" command. SEE ALSO: m string parameter lib A string variable which may be used to indicate the directory containing scripts. lpnono Do not send any of the characters in lpnono to the printer. lpnono may use ZCOMM Character Escapes to represent control characters. EXAMPLE: set lpnono "\7" prevents the printing of bell characters. SEE ALSO: l mode m m is used to indicate selection of a long distance carrier for calls within the same area code. It is set to "1" as a default. m may be set to the access code of the particular alternate long distance service desired with a "set" command. It is separate from the l string parameter because the default "1" prefix may not work if the area code given, but some alternative long distance services require the area code to be specified calls within the same area code. SEE ALSO: l string parameter mcommand A command that is executed instead of ZCOMM's built in dialing routine. This may be either "gosub dial" which would access the "dial" entry in the phones file, or "source /dial" which would access the script from a separate file. The second method allows a separate "dial" file for each machine, but requires one more file to be kept track of. Note that mcommand does not start with an @. The default value is empty, disabling this function. EXAMPLE: set mcommand "gosub dial" SEE ALSO: telno string parameter mconnect A command that is executed or string that is sent to the modem when the modem makes a connection. A typical use is to set transparent mode for some Novation modems. The default value is empty, disabling this function. (C) 1987 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 23 String Parameters Revised 09-05-87 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 153 menu The filename that contains the script accessed by the menu command. EXAMPLE: set menu /host/menu.hst messages Messages entered with the message command are appended to this pathname. By convention, this file should be readable when ZCOMM is running in Restricted host mode. EXAMPLE: set messages "/host/messages" mprefix A command that is executed or a string that is sent to the modem as a prefix to dialing a number. The default ATD works with the Hayes Smartmodem(TM) 1200. ATDT instructs the modem to use DTMF (Touch Tone(TM)) dialing instead of pulse dialing. Character escapes may be used. msuffix A command that is executed or a string sent to the modem after the last digit in the phone number. Most intelligent modems require the default value of "\r". oname1...oname5 contains the information stored by the args string parameter for each level. outahost A command that is executed or a string sent to the modem when ZCOMM exits host operation with a F1 or ALT-N key. EXAMPLE: set outahost ATZ\r sends the ATZ command to a Hayes modem to restore its default no autoanswer state. password Changes the password callers must enter to gain access to your computer when ZCOMM is in host operation. If password is empty no password will be demanded. EXAMPLE: set password "Change This Already" SEE ALSO: challeng.t script, demand command phones The filename that contains the telephone directory entries and associated commands used with the call and gosub commands. The default is "/PHODIR.T". The default may be changed at installation time by the putsnp program. The DOS environment variable PHONES will override the default when ZCOMM is started. Finally, a set command may be used to change the telephone directory once ZCOMM has started. (C) 1987 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 23 String Parameters Revised 09-05-87 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 154 picture The filename used by the ALT-Z command to "zap" a copy of the display memory to the specified file. plog The filename that contains the file transfer performance log. If empty (the default), this function is disabled. Not supported on 8086 small model flavors. private Pathname that messages are stored into by the private command. This should NOT be readable when ZCOMM is running in Restricted host mode. EXAMPLE: set private "/private" pwd This parameter is set to the current working directory by each cd and pwd command. quitcmd Sets the string be sent to the modem or command to be executed when a protocol file transfer has been completed and the ALT-Q key was typed during that transfer. EXAMPLE: set quitcmd t\r\336\r\336\r\025off\r would send t<ENTER>, a pause, <ENTER>, a pause, <ENTER>, and ^Uoff<ENTER>. This sequence may be useful for automatically logging off Compuserve after downloading a file. SEE ALSO: ALT-Q special key remote ZCOMM reads The full name of the remote system from the telephone directory entry when the call command is given. EXAMPLE: call omen using the omen entry in the distributed PHODIR.T file assigns omen-tech to the remote string parameter. In Host Operation, the caller's name is read into remote. SEE ALSO: call command, rub Assigns a string or command to the RUBOUT (Shift Backspace) key. rxcnt A three digit number which counts the number of files that have been created for receiving. An incoming file with an illegal name is changed to rename.n with n is incremented from the value stored in rxcnt (or 0). s Contains the current time in seconds since the last minute. s0...s9 These may be tested with the if %sN and if i%sN,string commands, or expanded into a string using character escapes with the "%sN" construction, where N is 1...9. Use set param "" (empty (C) 1987 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 23 String Parameters Revised 09-05-87 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 155 string enclosed by double quote characters) to set a string parameter to empty. Soft Keys The f1 to f40 strings are executed by the respective keys from the term function, review function, or command prompt. In the term function, soft keys definitions for fins, fdel, fhome, fup, fdown, fleft, fright, fend will override ZCOMM's built-in definitions for these keys. The built-in definitions take precedence in the review function, conference command, and at the command prompt. ZCOMM's character escapes can be used to encode special characters, including spaces and/or tabs. The contents of these keys may be displayed by ALT-K or by the keys command. If the assigned string begins with "@" (commercial at), the string is executed as a command. A soft key command called from the term function should not end with a t or f command because this would cause excessive recursion (calling the term function from within the term function). (Use the create or open instead.) In the conference command, soft keys are inserted into the editing window unless they are commands, which are executed. Soft keys are not executed from review or the command prompt unless they are commands (beginning with "@"). t expands to the current time and date each time it is used. SEE ALSO: d, h string parameters tab Assigns a string or command to the TAB key. telno The current telephone number string. SEE ALSO: mcommand string parameter tmp A string variable which may be used to indicate the directory used for data to be transmitted or received. twxfile Pathname for storing all incoming TWX messages. Please refer to Chapter 99 on Host Operation for more information. unrestrict Changes the password callers must enter to allow remote functions that are normally restricted such as erasing files, listing and changing parameters, and changing to private directories. If unrestrict is empty (the default), the unrestrict command will fail. (C) 1987 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 23 String Parameters Revised 09-05-87 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 156 SEE ALSO: unrestrict command w Contains the day of the week (local time) as Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, or Sun. welcome is executed after the password (if any) has been demanded and accepted. EXAMPLE: set welcome "@type welcome.txt; purgek; nulls 0" xhelpfile The pathname that contains the online help file for host mode commands. This should be readable when ZCOMM is in Restricted Host Operation. Iff xhelpfile begins with the character @, the rest of xhelpfile is treated as the initial calling sequence of a DOS subprogram such as a pop-up menu handler. SEE ALSO: f, helpfile string parameters, help command y0...y127 Read only string parameters y0 to y127 expand to represent lines displayed by the term function. y0 corresponds to the current partially finished line as displayed by the term function. The last line referenced by becomes the y string parameter current line used by the y, yb, and yf string paramrters. Each time the term function displays a newline from the remote, the y parameter is set to the new, unfinished line from the remote. y expands to represent the y parameter current line. yb Referencing the yb read only string parameter backs up the y string parameter current line one line, and then represents that line. yf Referencing the yb read only string parameter advances the y string parameter current line one line, and then represents that line. SEE ALSO: H, h test conditions (C) 1987 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 23 Character Escapes Revised 09-05-87 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 157 24. CHARACTER ESCAPES Some commands use strings with character escapes similar to those used by the C programming language for describing string constants. When translating a string for character escapes, ZCOMM substitutes strings (%svar) and then translates the result for backslash (\) encoded character escapes. String-Parameter %svar Environment-Param %SVAR % (per cent) \045 newline (LF) \n return (CR) \r tab (HT) \t backspace (BS) \b form feed (FF) \f escape (ESC) \E transparent \T lowercase \L uppercase \U octal byte \nnn hex byte \xHH concatenation \& backslash \\ A backslash followed by any character not listed above translates to the unadorned character. %svar is replaced by the value of the corresponding string parameter. The string parameter name must be written exactly, in the correct case, with no extra letters or digits at the end. Any non alphanumeric character delimits the parameter name. The DOS environment is searched for parameters after exhausting the ZCOMM string parameters.[1] The \n, \r, \t, \b, \f, \E, \nnn, \xHH and \\ character escapes generate the associated character. The \T character escape inhibits the processing of character eascpes (but not string substitutions) in the remainder of the string. It is useful when the raw string contains backslashes which must not be treated as character escapes. The \L character escape forces the rest of the string to lower case, __________ 1. DOS environment parameters are upper case only (C) 1987 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 24 Character Escapes Revised 09-05-87 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 158 up to the next \ character. Likewise, \U forces upper case. Octal byte escapes (\nnn) accept 1 to 3 octal digits terminated by the first non octal digit. Hex byte escapes (\xHH) accept exactly 2 hex digits. The \& character escape generates nothing; it is useful to delimit the lexical end of a string parameter name in string concatenation applications. 24.1 Concatenating String Parameters To concatenate the contents of the string parameter with other characters, one must escape the next character with a backslash if it is a letter or digit. The \& character escape expands to nothing. EXAMPLE: Assume string parameter s1 contains "foo". putw "%s1\&bar" sends "foobar". putw "%s1\142ar" sends "foobar". putw "%s1-skidoo" sends "foo-skidoo". putw "%s1bar" is undefined. putw "%s1\bar" sends "foo<BS>ar" Failure to observe this property causes the sets and put commands to give unexpected results. An arbitrary byte is generated by backslash followed by one to three octal digits. Note that a 7 bit transmission mode (if set) modifies the parity bit of characters transmitted by the term function during the put[w] command. 24.2 Quoting Strings Strings must be enclosed by double quotes (Shift ' on the IBM Personal Computer) to allow white space and/or semicolon to be included in the string. If a string containing white space were not quoted, it would be terminated by the first space or tab, and ZCOMM would consider the rest of the intended string as another (incorrect) command. (C) 1987 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 24 Quoting Strings Revised 09-05-87 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 159 24.3 Layering of Escaped Characters Sometimes a string will be processed two (or more) times by ZCOMM's character escapes. set f12 "@accept s1 Name:; obey find\ \n%s1\ /PHODIR.T" This example causes ZCOMM to ask for a name when F12 (shift F-2) is typed. The name is read into string parameter S1, which is then used as part of the argument for the find command. The find command searches the telephone directory for lines beginning with the string you just typed in. To match only lines starting with the given string, a linefeed (\n) is prepended to the argument of the find command. When the obey command executes, the backslash-space sequences translate to spaces, and the double backslash translates to a single backslash. The space after "find" and after "%s1" must be escaped because the obey command accepts a single string argument. If these spaces were not escaped, the obey command would not "see" the rest of the line after "find". The find command performs its own character escape translation, changing the \n to a linefeed character. (C) 1987 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 24 Test Conditions Revised 09-05-87 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 160 25. TEST CONDITIONS (if, on, while commands) The following conditions may be tested with the if, on and while commands. Where a string parameter is indicated, it is an error to specify a nonexistient string parameter. When an immediate string argument is indicated, that argument is delimited only by white space. As a result, if "is1,hello&&L<5" command ... won't work as expected, but if is1,hello if "L<5" command ... will work. Some of the test conditions described below may be used with ">", "==", "!=", or "<" for numeric comparisions. The right hand argument of a numeric comparision may be: + A decimal number. EXAMPLE: if "L>5" abort + A string paremeter which contains a decimal number. EXAMPLE: set maxloops "5" if "L>maxloops" abort + The length of the string stored in a string parameter, denoted by a leading % character. EXAMPLE: set s1 "Hello" set s2 "foo" if "%s1>%s2" echo "%s1 is longer than %s2" These comparisions should be quoted in case a future version of ZCOMM implements output redirection in the same manner as COMMAND.COM or the Unix shell. Numeric conditions may also be tested against a bit mask using the & operator. EXAMPLE: if s&64 echo "Caps Lock is ON" 0...25 The specified pattern (see pattern command) was matched in the last wait command. (C) 1987 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 25 Test Conditions Revised 09-05-87 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 161 %svar The specified string parameter svar (see the set command) is non empty. May be used with ">", "==", or "<" for numeric comparisions of the string length of svar. EXAMPLE: if %s1 putw %s1 ? The ? numeric parameter counts the number of files sent or received with a protocol, and the number of lines matched by the find command. The fFILE test condition (if true) assigns the file length to the ? parameter.[1] With certain operating systems, the exit status of a subprogram accessed by a shell escape is stored in the ? numeric parameter. The ? numeric parameter may then be tested with the ? test condition. It can be used with ">", "==", or "<" for numeric comparisions. EXAMPLE: p?0 find fizzbin *.txt; if ? echo "Found fizzbin" SEE ALSO: ? numeric parameter B True iff Ctrl-Break has been pressed since the last purgek command. Csvar True iff string parameter svar contains any control characters less than 040 (hex 20) or rubout. EXAMPLE: if Cs0 echo "Please Retype E True iff the elapsed time in seconds is non 0. May be used with ">", "==", or "<" for numeric comparisions. NOTE: Elapsed time may be off by up to one second. The maximum testable value for elapsed time is 32767 seconds. EXAMPLE: if "E>300" off Disconnects the modem if the elapsed time is greater than 300 seconds. SEE ALSO: restime command F>N True iff more than N kilobytes of free space remain on the default drive. EXAMPLE: if "F>2000" usq hugefile.q __________ 1. On 16 bit computers, file lengths greater than 32767 are represented as 32767. (C) 1987 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 25 Test Conditions Revised 09-05-87 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 162 Hregular-expression Searches backward thru the circular buffer for the next line matching regular-expression. If the search is successful, the y string parameter points to the matched line. EXAMPLE: To allow processing of information such as: 5 Review folder UFO (0 stories) (a typical news item in the Executive News Service), one must scan for lines with a certain pattern (in this case the character "(" immediately followed by 1...9 indicating 1 or more stories). while "H\([1-9]" ss (rest of line) The above searches backwards for the next line containing "(1" to "(9". Note that "(" is a magic character in regular-expressions, and must be escaped. The h test condition is similar, but starts the search with the last displayed line. SEE ALSO: ens.t and kcdisl.t scripts, regular-expressions, y, yb, y0...y127 string parameters Isvara,svarb Tests whether the contents of string variable svara are IDENTICAL to the contents of string variable svarb. Case is significant. EXAMPLE: if Is0,s9 goto exactmatch SEE ALSO: i test condition (compares a string parameter and an immediate string) Jsvar,string Tests whether any of the characters in the immediate string string appear one or more times in string parameter svar. EXAMPLE: if "Js0,!@#$%^&()_" echo "No funny characters"; goto getname L>N True iff this while command has made more then N loops. EXAMPLE: while !1 put "\r" wait ife "L>5" off Disconnects the modem if the while command has sent more than five "\r"'s. The "L>N" should be quoted in case a future version of ZCOMM implements output redirection in the same manner as command.com or the Unix shell. (C) 1987 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 25 Test Conditions Revised 09-05-87 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 163 R>N After a zcommand "" command, evaluates true iff more than N kilobytes of free space remain on the remote system's default disk drive. EXAMPLE: zcommand ""; if "R>1000" sz -y hugefile S>N True iff the transmission speed is greater N bits per second. EXAMPLE: if S>2400 put "set verbose\r" asvar The numeric value of the specified string parameter svar is non zero. May be used with ">", "==", or "<" for numeric comparisions. The string variable may contain leading spaces or tabs, an optional + or - sign, and digits. EXAMPLE: if "as1==30" goto seen30 Performs the goto if s1 contains "30". bTIME True if the current time is Before TIME. TIME is written in the form [yy[mm[dd]]]hhmm. No further conditions may be given in the if statement after the b condition. EXAMPLE: if b2300 return Returns from the script if the time is before 11 p.m. EXAMPLE: if b8512250900 return Returns from the script if the date/time is before 9 a.m. Christmas day in 1985. c Carrier detect is present on the modem port. EXAMPLE: if !c goto lostit d{?DLPSXZacdflmrtu} True iff the corresponding configuration is true: ? file transfer True if the last file sent or received with a protocol resulted in an error. D The script is running on a demonstration program. L True if ZCOMM is recording TurboLearn(TM) script information (learn command). (C) 1987 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 25 Test Conditions Revised 09-05-87 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 164 P Packet state is active (X.PC driver). S The script is running on a user supported program (e.g., ZCOMM). U True if ZCOMM was unrestricted when the first level of the current set of scripts was activated. SEE ALSO: u test condition X The X.PC commands are available. EXAMPLE: if dX goto xpclogin Z The ZMODEM commands are available. EXAMPLE: if dZ sz -n logfile a>N True iff ZCOMM was called from the operating system with more than N arguments (counting the program name). c The color/graphics display is selected. d ZCOMM is executing under DOS. f The program is running in the foreground. A script is considered to be running in the foreground when it is NOT called by the Callout Queue as described in Chapter 99. A program running in the background is unlikely to have an operator available for interaction. l>N True iff the script level (nesting) is greatern than N. m The monochrome display is selected. r Data Set Ready (DSR) on the modem is active. t ZCOMM is running under a Topview or DESQview virtual screen which may be smaller than the physical screen size u ZCOMM is executing under Unix/Xenix. e True iff an t, sz, or rz command terminated with an error, or if the term function has detected framing or overrun errors, since the last autodial. e>N True iff the e parameter (number of errors) is greater than N. EXAMPLE: if "e>5" off Disconnects the modem if more than 5 errors have been counted. (C) 1987 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 25 Test Conditions Revised 09-05-87 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 165 The "e>N" should be quoted in case a future version of ZCOMM implements output redirection in the same manner as command.com or the Unix shell. NOTE: The e parameter is not compared within the term function, so "detection" may be delayed. SEE ALSO: e numeric parameter fFILE (No space between f and FILE). Tests whether FILE exists as a normal readable file (not a directory or hidden file). FILE is expanded for string parameters. If the test is successful, the ? numeric parameter (testable with the ? test condition) is set to the file length. [2] EXAMPLE: if fnit put "message\r"; f -xp nit; put "\r\336y" If nit exists, give a "message" command, upload the file, then send carriage return, pause, and the letter "y". When used in a numeric context, the fFILE test represents the size of the file in kilobytes (1024 bytes), or 1, whichever is greater. EXAMPLE: if ffoo.bar>30 echo "File Longer than 30kb" EXAMPLE: if fspy.kgb if !% echo "Zero Length File" SEE ALSO: obey command g Tests whether term function file transmission flow is go (not stopped by an XOFF character). EXAMPLE: if !g echo "Remote has not sent XON"; pg1 SEE ALSO: g mode, term function XON and XOFF hregular-expression Please refer to the Hregular-expression test condition. isvar,string Tests whether the contents of string variable svar are identical to the immediate string string. Case is significant. No further conditions may be given in the if statement after the i condition. This test is useful in designing menu applications. The menu script menu.hst uses this test condition extensively. __________ 2. On 16 bit computers, file lengths greater than 32767 are represented as 32767. (C) 1987 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 25 Test Conditions Revised 09-05-87 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 166 EXAMPLE: accept s1 Choice:; if is1,a goto choicea Executes a goto choicea if the user keyboards an a in response to the "Choice:" prompt. SEE ALSO: I test condition (compares two string parameters) jsvar,string Tests whether the immediate string string is a substring of (contained somewhere within) the contents of string variable svar. Lower case characters in string match characters in either case. Upper case characters in string match upper case characters. No further conditions may be given in the if statement after the j condition. This test is useful in designing menu applications, and for examining message lines read with the grab command. EXAMPLE: grab s1; if js1,sig= goto endofsig Executes a goto if the line read by the grab command contained "sig=" or "This SIG=". k One or more characters have been received from the keyboard and are in the interrupt queue awaiting processing. Note: Keyboard characters are transmitted to the remote by the term function, except during a put command. l True if the line printer is ready to accept a character. m One or more characters have been received from the modem and are in the interrupt queue awaiting processing. n No pattern was matched as a result of the last wait command or search pending term function. n detects a search timeout, loss of carrier, or manual exit with F1 or ALT-X. psvar,string Tests whether the immediate string string is a prefix of the contents of string variable svar. The match is case sensitive. No further conditions may be given in the if statement after the p condition. This test is useful for examining message lines read with the grab command. EXAMPLE: grab s1; if ps1,sig= goto endofsig Executes a goto if the line read by the grab command contained "sig=", but not if it contained "This sig=" or "SIG=". r True iff a receive file is open for capture. SEE ALSO: create, t commands s>N True iff the keyboard shift state is greater than N. EXAMPLE: if "s>63" echo "Caps Lock is Active" (C) 1987 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 25 Test Conditions Revised 09-05-87 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 167 t True iff a transmit file is open. EXAMPLE: if !t echoc "%1 Short file! "; goto foobar SEE ALSO: f, open commands u True if ZCOMM is unrestricted. SEE ALSO: U test condition v True if the v (Verbose) numeric parameter is non zero. EXAMPLE: if v s Displays the status on the console if the v numeric parameter (Verbose) is non zero. y ZCOMM accepts a single character from the keyboard, which is printed followed by a newline. True if the character is "y" or "Y". False the H numeric is non zero, and a character is not typed within the time limit set by that parameter. EXAMPLE: echo "Really quit?"; if y quit Compound tests may be formed with the unary ! (not), binary || (or), and binary && (and) operators. The tests are evaluated strictly left to right. The unary ! operator applies to the following operand only. EXAMPLE: if n&&!n||c echo "Carrier Present" simply tests carrier because the result of the binary and operation above is always false. EXAMPLE: if !c||1||2 o abort Disconnects the modem and aborts the script if carrier is off, or if either pattern 1 or pattern 2 were matched. EXAMPLE: on e>45||!c goto allsignd Each time the term function returns, branch to the end of the script if carrier is lost or more than 45 line hits have been detected. (C) 1987 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 25 Software Coexistence Revised 09-05-87 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 168 26. SOFTWARE COEXISTENCE Some programs and device drivers affecting the operation of PC-DOS may interfere with ZCOMM, especially when ZCOMM is operating at high baud rates. Historically, loss and corruption of data have been caused by memory resident programs. Some of these programs increase interrupt latency preventing ZCOMM from reading a character from the UART holding register before the next character comes in on top of it. In other cases, programs do not properly restore the state of the machine when they exit from interrupts. If such a problem is suspected, run ZCOMM without any memory resident programs or special drivers to locate the source of the problem. Once the offending program is identified, a call to the program's vendor may obtain a corrected version. The design of memory resident programs is a little known black art. Subtle bugs, non reproducible interactions, and magic combinations are commonplace results of attempts to impose various aspects of multitaksing on top of an operating system that was not properly designed to permit such extensions. Omen Technology Inc may be able to help identify these interactions if provided with the source code of the offending programs. 26.1 PolyWindows POLYTRON's memory-resident deskyop organizer PolyWindows DeskPlus has been tested with ZCOMM. If you experience any problems with PolyWindows working with ZCOMM, call Polytron for assistance. Some of the known troublemakers are mentioned below. 26.2 DOS 3.2 DOS 3.2 introduces the concept of a fixed number of interrupt stacks. The default value chosen is not always sufficient, and DOS 3.2 sometimes prints the infamous Internal Stack Failure message and cheerfully halts the computer. Adding the line STACKS=20,128 to the CONFIG.SYS file should correct the problem. 26.3 Extended Memory RAMDISKS Extended Memory electronic disks (ramdisks) require the 80286 chip to switch in and out of protected mode during block transfers. A hardware reset pulse is used to switch back to the "real mode" required for DOS. This causes loss of modem data at high speeds. It may be possible to reduce excessive interrupt latency by reducing the length of protected mode block transfers to 128 or less. In one instance, replacing the ROM BIOS with a newer version increased the (C) 1987 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 26 Software Coexistence Revised 09-05-87 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 169 maximum transmission speed without losing characters to 9600 bps. This problem has not been observed with expanded memory (Intel/Lotus/AST/etc.) ramdisks. 26.4 Disk Drivers Disk drivers, especially hard disk drivers for 80286 machines, lock out interrupts for varying periods of time. The actual interrupt latency depends on the speed of the computer and the particular BIOS code used. In one case, upgrading to a newer BIOS allowed operation at 38400 bps, compared to 4800 bps previously. Such an improvement is well worth the small ($25 typical) cost of a new set of ROB BIOS chips. 26.5 DOS 3.x Each new version of PC-DOS adds new features and eats up more of the 8088's meager resources. DOS 3.2 increases interrupt latency enough to interfere with ZCOMM's operation at 19200 bps on an IBM PC. If this is a problem, switching to DOS 2.1 will reduce the interrupt latency. 26.6 EGA Wonder The BIOS in the ATI EGA Wonder has been observed to increase interrupt latency to the dismay of 9600 bps operation on an 8 mHz no wait state AT clone. There has also been a report (unexplained) that an EGA board has induced line noise in one instance. 26.7 ProKey Some versions of ProKey disable interrupts for excessive periods of time, dropping incoming modem characters. 26.8 FANSI-Console Versions of this program before 1.07 did not maintain the pointer to the active display board in the IBM documented memory location. A DOS mode command may cause ZCOMM to reference the wrong display adapter address. This caused incorrect sync signals and possible damage to certain monitors. Current versions (2.X) increase interrupt latency enough that the serial line drops characters when the keyboard is touched. (C) 1987 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 26 Software Coexistence Revised 09-05-87 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 170 26.9 Seaware Batch Versions of this program has been known to cause loss of data. 26.10 Pathname Modifiers Programs such as FILEPATH and GLOBALS allow files to be visible in more than one directory at a time. Such programs may interfere with security when ZCOMM is restricted, since that security is based on restricting access to directories. In general, sensitive files should not be made global when ZCOMM is made accessible to outside callers. ZCOMM may not recognize file names generated by such programs unless the program traps the DOS FINDFIRST calls as well as the file open calls. We have received various reports of strange behavior which have been traced to filesystem modifications caused by such programs, including damaged file systems. We recommend such programs be phased out as soon as possible, as they may not operate at all with future versions of DOS or distributed file systems. 26.11 BRKBOX This program locks out interrupts up to 17 milliseconds while waiting for the vertical retrace. For a communications program, 17 milliseconds is a very long time, and data will be lost at speeds above 300 bps. 26.12 CGCLOCK Programs such as CGCLOCK.COM use clock interrupts to update a time display on the screen. Some increase interrupt latency so much that ZCOMM cannot respond in time to accept characters from the remote, even at 1200 baud. 26.13 Concurrent PC-DOS ZCOMM runs under Version 4.1 of Digital Research Concurrent PC-DOS (CPCDOS). The - numeric parameter must be set to 0. The CPCDOS "addmem" command sould be used to allocate extra memory if shell escapes are to be used. 26.14 ANSI.SYS ZCOMM uses direct keyboard input from the ROM BIOS because the DOS keyboard input calls do not handle Ctrl-BREAK properly. As a side effect, keyboard keys redefined by ANSI.SYS have no effect on ZCOMM's operation. It is possible to program some of the keys to call ZCOMM with arguments. The following file, ressaigns ALT-C, ALT-H, and ALT-V to execute the commands shown below. The $ character represents (C) 1987 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 26 Software Coexistence Revised 09-05-87 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 171 ESCAPE. $[0;46;"cd \tmp";13;"ZCOMM call -200 cbbs-r";13p $[0;35;"ZCOMM call host";13p $[0;47;"cd \tmp";13;"ZCOMM call cissig";13p ZCOMM uses the ROM BIOS CRT functions and direct output to the display, bypassing any processing provided by ANSI.SYS. Perhaps someday Microsoft will enhance ANSI.SYS to make it useful for programs like ZCOMM ... 26.15 PRINT.COM Once the DOS PRINT program is memory resident, file downloads at high speeds (38kb on a PC) suffer from interference, even if a file is not currently being printed. With certain printers, the DOS PRINT command will preempt the running program for several seconds at a time. These "swapouts" can be confusing when you are accessing an interactive application. They may interfere with file transfers, especially if the remote program uses "tight" timing. If this happens, PRINT should be suspended during file transfers. Operation of the PRINT command does not appear to cause loss of data downloaded from timesharing services at 1200 bps, as long as the interruptions last less than ten seconds. Perhaps IBM or Microsoft will someday fix this bug in the DOS PRINT command. PRINT should not be invoked from ZCOMM for the first time as DOS memory allocation will become fragmented. If PRINT or some other spooler is outputting to a serial port using the BIOS INT 14h serial port driver, ZCOMM's "!~subprogram" command will redirect the printer output to the remote and thus should be avoided. 26.16 SWITCHAR = - ZCOMM will work properly when the switch character is set to "-", allowing Unix style pathnames. The - numeric parameter must be set non zero to allow ZCOMM shell escapes to use / to delimit directories. It may be necessary to remove this line from CONFIG.SYS and reboot DOS before using the IBM dump and restore commands. N.B.: DOS 3.0 does not support SWITCHAR in the config.sys file. C'est la vie. A short program, DASH, will set switchar to -. It prevents many oaths. For demanding applications requiring sophistication, power and support not provided by any user supported communications program, Omen Technology provides Professional-YAM Integrated Communications Tools. Pro-YAM is also published by the POLYTRON Corporation under the trade name PowerCom. (C) 1987 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 26 Background Operation Revised 09-05-87 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 172 27. BACKGROUND OPERATION ZCOMM and the help processor YHP run under TopView, DESQview, Carousel, and Windows, PC-DOS based multiprogramming systems that support virtual video memory access.[1] These operating environments allow multiple programs to run concurrently on the same computer. Vertical applications can use the high level menus to simplify the customer interface. The default "performance settings" allow nearly full speed file download and scripted data capture from dial-up services when other processes are not accessing the floppy disks. Older versions of DOS provide only 20 file slots which must be shared by all programs, running or suspended. This can cause unexpected, irreproducible problems with script processing. DOS's file system semantics can cause unexpected results when one program is writing to a file while another program is reading the file. Unlike Unix, data written by a program does not become visible until the file is closed. Program Information parameters: YAMS - 192 kb allows for modest shell escapes, 256k is suggested for ZCOMM. If memory is scarce, YAMS can run in about 100k with no shell escapes allowed and the circular buffer made smaller with a "set CBSIZE 4000" command given to DOS. ZCOMM* and YHP do not write directly to screen, do not access system keyboard buffer, run in the background, use their own colors (optional), accept keyboard typeahead, and the window may close on exit to DOS. They cannot be swapped because modem interrupts call ZCOMM directly. 27.1 DESQview DESQview 2.0 on 286 and 386 machines provides a congenial environment for ZCOMM. The Allow Close Window Command Advanced Option must be set to N, allowing ZCOMM to restore the serial port to a safe configuration when exiting. __________ 1. BIOS interrupt 10h, ah=0FF and ah=0FE (C) 1987 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 27 Background Operation Revised 09-05-87 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 173 27.2 Microsoft Windows Windows lacks a preemptive scheduler. Other programs can seize the computer for long periods, rendering background communications impossible. Windows int 10h support reduces ZCOMM's writing speed by more than 90 per cent. Since Windows will not give ZCOMM a full sized window, full screen interactive applications (screen editors, etc.) cannot be run from within a window. ZCOMM will display normally if the .PIF file specifies direct screen writing. (C) 1987 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 27 Crosstalk-XVI Conversion Revised 09-05-87 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 174 28. CROSSTALK-XVI CONVERSION This chapter lists Crosstalk-XVI commands and gives the ZCOMM commands, modes, and parameters that perform equivalent or superior functions. ABort Use the abort command. ACcept ZCOMM's security protection is based on DOS directory trees and multiple levels of privilege controlled by passwords. ALarm Use the lput command to send a bell character (\7) to the local "screen". ANswerback Transmission of the answerback string parameter is enabled by the q mode. ASk Use the accept command. ATtention ALT-2 allows a ZCOMM command to be entered from term function. BKsize This command relates to Crosstalk's proprietary protocol. BLankex See blankfill string parameter. BReak ZCOMM uses ALT-B or Ctrl-Break to send a break. A string or command assigned to the Ctrl-Break key supercedes its function in the term function. BYe Use the bye command. CApture Capture is always enabled in ZCOMM. CDir Use the cd command. Unlike Crosstalk, ZCOMM supports full DOS pathnames wherever a file name is expected. CLear Use cls. COmmand In Host Operation, callers type commands directly to ZCOMM. CStat Use ALT-S or the s command for status information not shown by the term function status line. The review function provides flexible buffer searching commands. CWait See the t mode and t numeric parameter. DAta Use the 7e, 7o, 7s, 7m, 8, 8n, 8e, or 8o mode. DEbug Use v or vv mode. This may be toggled with ALT-V from the term function. In addition, ZCOMM's v numeric parameter helps debug (C) 1987 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 28 Crosstalk-XVI Conversion Revised 09-05-87 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 175 scripts. DIr Use one of the dir commands. Arguments correspond to DOS usage. DNames The maximum number of names in a directory expansion is controlled by the optional DOS DIRSIZE environment variable. Large directories slow DOS and should be avoided. The DOS tree structure allows files to be logically grouped into directories. ZCOMM fully supports the DOS tree structure. DO See the call, source, and gosub commands. DPrefix See the mprefix and mcommand string parameters. DRive Use "D:" to select a drive. DSuffix See the msuffix string parameter. DUplex Use h or H modes. ALT-H toggles the half duplex modes from the term function. Also see the chat command. EMulate See the display command and the A mode. Function keys may be defined with the set command. ERase Use kill to clear the buffer, del to delete a file, browse to browse (and selectively delete) multiple files. FIlter See the i, s, and S modes. FKeys See the set, reskeys, and keys commands. GO To dial a phone number, type the number directly, or use a call command. call -n allows up to n retries at intervals set by the i numeric parameter. ZCOMM does not need a special command to work with a direct RS-232 connection. HElp Use the help command. IF See the ZCOMM if command and the i test condition. INfilter See the i, s, and S modes. JUmp Use goto label. LAbel Labels are denoted with a colon (:). LFauto See a mode, chat command. LIst Use the s command. (C) 1987 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 28 Crosstalk-XVI Conversion Revised 09-05-87 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 176 LOad Equivalent to the source or gosub commands. Since ZCOMM does not load the script file into memory, there is no limit to the length of script files. LWait See the p, r, w, P modes. MEssage Use the echo or lput command. MOde See the manual chapter on Host Operation. NAme The name of the called location is taken from the telephone directory entry name. NO This ia an internal Crosstalk command. NUmber The phone number is itself given as a command, either directly or as part of a script or telephone directory entry. OUtfilter See the r mode. PArity Use the 7e, 7o, 7s, 7m, 8, 8n, 8e, or 8o mode. PIcture Use ALT-Z to store a complete picture of the screen (including attributes) at ANY time. POrt Use the POrt command. PRinter Use the l mode, or toggle with ALT-L from the term function. ZCOMM buffers the printer to prevent loss of data. PWord See the password and unrestrict string parameters. QUit Use the off command. ZCOMM writes the circular buffer to the receive file if one is open before exiting to DOS, but does not complain if none is open. RCve Crosstalk internal command. REply Use the put or mput command depending on timing considerations. RQuest The ZMODEM, YMODEM and Kermit batch transfer protocols supported by ZCOMM use filenames specified to the sending program. RWind Use a goto command to a label near the beginning of the script. SAve ZCOMM does not use "command files" in the sense that Crosstalk does. The few operating parameters that ZCOMM needs set for interactive operation can be expressed conveniently in one line telephone directory entries. (C) 1987 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 28 Crosstalk-XVI Conversion Revised 09-05-87 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 177 SBreak Use the break command. SEnd Use the f command SKip Use the goto command. SNapshot Use ZCOMM's review function review past output from the remote. SPeed ZCOMM's speed command accepts all possible speeds from 75 to 38400. The whole number must be entered. STop Use an odd speed or 110 to force two stop bits. SWitch Use F-1 to exit the term function back to the command prompt, F-2 or one of the cursor keys to get from the term function to review. TAbex ZCOMM does not expand tabs on uploaded files. This is one Crosstalk feature for which there is no ZCOMM equivalent. TImer Use the display stat=off command to disable the term function status line. TYpe Use the review function to access the buffer contents. The findm, type, more, and browse/r commands may be used to view disk files. UConly Use the u mode. WAit Echo Use the p mode. Quiet Use the wait command with a suitable timeout. Delay Use the sleep command. Char Use the p command with the g numeric parameter set to the desired character. Prompt Use the p or w mode. String Use the pattern and wait commands. Case is significant. Until Use the if command a condition, alone or with the callout queue. Manual As above. (C) 1987 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 28 Crosstalk-XVI Conversion Revised 09-05-87 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 178 WHen ZCOMM's pattern and wait commands allow development of scripts for unattended operation. WRite Equivalent to the w command. XDos Equivalent to ZCOMM's x command. XMit This uses Crosstalk's proprietary protocol. With ZMODEM, one can use sz on the local system to send files automatically. Otherwise, use rb in the remote system, sb on the local system. (C) 1987 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 28 ASCII Code Revised 09-05-87 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 179 29. 1968 ASCII CODE X3.64 Dec Oct Hex EBCDIC 0/0 000 000 00 00 NUL ^@ Null, Ctrl-@ 0/1 001 001 01 01 SOH ^A Start of Header 0/2 002 002 02 02 STX ^B Start of Text 0/3 003 003 03 03 ETX ^C End of Text 0/4 004 004 04 37 EOT ^D End of Transmission 0/5 005 005 05 2D ENQ ^E Enquire, WRU 0/6 006 006 06 2E ACK ^F HEREIS 0/7 007 007 07 2F BEL ^G Bell 0/8 008 010 08 16 BS ^H Backspace, \b 0/9 009 011 09 05 HT ^I TAB, \t 0/10 010 012 0A 25 LF ^J Newline, NL, \n 0/11 011 013 0B 0B VT ^K Vertical Tab 0/12 012 014 0C 0C FF ^L Form Feed, \f 0/13 013 015 0D 0D CR ^M Return, \r, 0/14 014 016 0E 0E SO ^N Shift Out 0/15 015 017 0F 0F SI ^O Shift in 1/0 016 020 10 10 DLE ^P 1/1 017 021 11 11 DC1 ^Q XON, Start Reader 1/2 018 022 12 12 DC2 ^R DC2, Tape Punch ON 1/3 019 023 13 13 DC3 ^S XOFF, Stop Reader 1/4 020 024 14 3C DC4 ^T DC4, Tape Punch OFF 1/5 021 025 15 3D NAK ^U Nak 1/6 022 026 16 32 SYN ^V Sync 1/7 023 027 17 26 ETB ^W End of Tape Block 1/8 024 030 18 18 CAN ^X Cancel 1/9 025 031 19 19 EM ^Y End of Medium 1/10 026 032 1A 3F SUB ^Z CP/M End of File 1/11 027 033 1B 27 ESC ^[ Escape, \E 1/12 028 034 1C 1C FS ^\ File Separator 1/13 029 035 1D 1D GS ^] Group Separator 1/14 030 036 1E 1E RS ^^ Record Separator 1/15 031 037 1F 1F US ^_ Unit Separator (C) 1987 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 29 ASCII Code Revised 09-05-87 Universal Line Printer Edition ZCOMM User Manual 180 X3.64 Dec Oct Hex EBCDIC 2/0 032 040 20 40 SP Space 2/1 033 041 21 5A ! Bang, exclamation mark 2/2 034 042 22 7F " Double Quote 2/3 035 043 23 7B # 2/4 036 044 24 5B $ 2/5 037 045 25 6C % 2/6 038 046 26 50 & 2/7 039 047 27 7D ' Apostrophe, Single Quote 2/8 040 050 28 4D ( 2/9 041 051 29 5D ) 2/10 042 052 2A 5C * Splat, Star, Nathan 2/11 043 053 2B 4E + 2/12 044 054 2C 6B , Comma 2/13 045 055 2D 60 - 2/14 046 056 2E 4B . Period 2/15 047 057 2F 61 / Slash, Stroke 3/0 048 060 30 F0 0 3/1 049 061 31 F1 1 3/2 050 062 32 F2 2 3/3 051 063 33 F3 3 3/4 052 064 34 F4 4 3/5 053 065 35 F5 5 3/6 054 066 36 F6 6 3/7 055 067 37 F7 7 3/8 056 070 38 F8 8 3/9 057 071 39 F9 9 3/10 058 072 3A 7A : 3/11 059 073 3B 5E ; 3/12 060 074 3C 4C < 3/13 061 075 3D 7E = 3/14 062 076 3E 6E > 3/15 063 077 3F 6F ? Question Mark, Query (C) 1987 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 29 ASCII Code