Shareware Supreme Volume 6 #1

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L O G I 4 \ | / C - {*}- # 4LOGIC / /"'''"\ \ The Intelligent Alternative < 0^0 > / | / | \ Version 1.0 | ≈≈≈─|──U \ ^ / ∩ * 4DOS is copyright Rex C. Conn and J.P. Software * PKZIP and PKUNZIP are copyright PKWARE, Inc. ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ 1) General Description 2) Legalities 3) Requirements 4) Installation -- REQUIRED READING !! 5) 4ud and 4cd 6) 4Copy, 4Move and 4Del 7) 4LVC - Version Control 8) Future Enhancements 9) Contacting the Author 10) APPENDIX ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 1 G E N E R A L D E S C R I P T I O N 1 │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ 4LOGIC programs are 4DOS .btm (batch mode) files for carrying out various tasks on your PC in a simple, intelligent manner. Since they are pure batch code they are completely customizable--with a little work on your part! They are surprisingly powerful and take full advantage of batch file capabilities specific to 4DOS--a command shell nobody using a PC should be without! ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 2 L E G A L I T I E S 2 │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ These programs are guaranteed only to take up space on a disk. I will not be held responsible for any problems arising as a result of using them. The programs are dedicated to the Public Domain, and are free for personal use, with the following restriction: ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ I claim sole right to the name 4LOGIC and 4LVC, and retain the │ │ exclusive right to distribution of any programs under these names. │ │ While you are free to use the code of any or all of the programs, │ │ and I ENCOURAGE you to do so, you are NOT allowed to distribute │ │ your programs under either of these names. Please use another name │ │ if you make any changes to any of the programs contained in the │ │ 4LOGIC utilities. You are of course free to distribute the 4LOGIC │ │ archive in an unmodified form, so long as ALL the files are │ │ included. │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 3 R E Q U I R E M E N T S 3 │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ The 4LOGIC set of programs require the following: Hardware: The programs should run on any machine/monitor combination that runs 4DOS. A hard-drive. Software: DOS Should work with any version capable of running 4DOS. 4DOS Version 4.0 or above. EDLIN The DOS line editor. Any version. See, it does have some uses! Pkzip & Pkunzip Version 1.10 or above (See the Appendix) ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 4 I N S T A L L A T I O N 4 │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ** IMPORTANT ** Failure to follow the installation directions will result in erratic execution and error messages. Please read through the directions completely once before carrying them out. Follow these steps to ensure that the 4LOGIC set of programs run correctly. 1) Unzip ALL of the files in the 4LOGIC archive into 1 directory that is in your path. The programs will NOT run correctly if the directory is not in the path. Alternatively, create a directory, for example, C:\4LOGIC, and add it to your path statement. (For information about the "path" and creating directories see your DOS manual.) 2) 4LOGIC utilities REQUIRE you set the "4LOGIC" environment variable so that it points to the above directory. Add the environment variable to your autoexec.bat file. Example: If the directory you place the files in is C:\4LOGIC, then add the following command to your autoexec.bat file: set 4LOGIC=C:\4LOGIC NOTE: Type the above command from the command line for testing purposes so you do not have to reboot. But make sure you also put this command in your autoexec.bat as well. Do NOT add a trailing \, e.g, set 4LOGIC=C:\4LOGIC\ This is INVALID syntax! 3) You need approximately 300 bytes free environment space. To check how much you have available, run the 4DOS "memory" command. Check the environment settings. If you need to increase the environment size, do only ONE of either two things: (a) Alter your 4DOS loading line in the config.sys file by adding/changing the amount in the /E: switch. Example: /E:1024 will give you a 1024 byte environment. (b) Alter your 4DOS.INI file by adding/changing the "ENVIRONMENT" setting. Example: ENVIRONMENT = 1024 will give you a 1024 byte environment. 4) Make sure the 4DOS KEYSTACK program is active. If it is not active, do the following: (a) Make sure KSTACK.COM is somewhere on your drive. (b) Load the program with a command in your autoexec.bat file. If KSTACK is in C:\4DOS, use the following command: c:\4dos\kstack 5) Make sure the following programs are also in a pathed directory: PKZIP & PKUNZIP EDLIN NOTE: It is not absolutely necessary to have EDLIN available, however, without it you will NOT be able to run the 4MANAGE program. 6) Run the 4UD program. This will create a file named 4dirs.dat in the root of your boot drive, usually C:\, which contains all of the current drive\directory information on your system. NOTE: Any time you change any of this information, for example, by adding or deleting drives or directories, run 4UD again to update the 4dirs.dat file. 7) Run 4CHECK to insure that everything is setup correctly. This will do a fairly thorough check of your system. A file will be generated showing the results, and will be "list"ed for browsing. You can then either delete or keep the file. 8) You are now ready to run the 4LOGIC utilities! Look through the rest of the documentation for descriptions of the utilities, or plunge right in and run them if you're adventurous. If you have any problems, first, read the docs. You should find an answer here somewhere. Second, make sure you read all of the information on the various entry screens, particularly in 4LVC. Third, if you still can't find an answer see section 9 on how to reach me and I'll be glad to help. Fourth, if you can't reach me, start examining the code. (This is how I learned batch programming myself.) ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 5 4 U D & 4 C D 5 │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Syntax: There isn't any--just execute the program. Description: * 4UD Creates a plain ascii data file called 4dirs.dat in the root of your boot-drive containing all of your drive and directory information. Run this program whenever you change any of this information. * 4CD A simple change-directory program. This program presents the 4dirs.dat file in a 4DOS "select" screen. You then scroll through the list using the cursor keys the PgUp and PgDn keys, and the Home and End keys. Press ENTER on the drive\directory you highlight with the cursor. If you choose one of the floppy drives, insert a disk in the drive BEFORE you press ENTER on the drive letter. This will speed operation and bypass any prompts to insert a disk later in the program. ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 6 4 C O P Y, 4 M O V E & 4 D E L 6 │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Syntax: There isn't any--just execute the program. Description: * All Programs All three of these programs operate in the same way. You are presented with the 4dirs.dat file in a 4DOS "select" screen from which you pick drive\directories. In the case of 4Copy and 4Move you pick a FROM directoy first, and a TO directory second. For the 4Del you pick only one directory. If you choose one of the floppy drives, insert a disk in the drive BEFORE you press ENTER on the drive letter. This will speed operation and bypass any prompts to insert a disk later in the program. Next, you get a 4DOS "select" screen of all the files in the directory you picked. From this screen you tag files, using the "+ <spacebar> -" keys. After tagging files press ENTER to execute the command. To pick a single file, just highlight it and press ENTER. If you have tagged any files the command will execute on ONLY the tagged files--if the file under the cursor is NOT tagged it will NOT be acted on. A prompt will occur before overwriting files with similar names. The output will also be echoed to the screen. Modify the appropripriate line in the programs if you want to alter this behavior. You will NOT be prompted before file deletions. So, use with caution. You may always exit from ANY of the "select" screens by pressing ESC. ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 7 4 L V C 7 │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ What is a Version Control System? Basically, it is a program for making backups of numerous versions of the same filename. So, for example, if you are writing a program, you will want to keep backups of versions of the program containing substantial changes. Why keep backups? If you have ever done any programming, you surely have had this experience: %*?#! It was working before I made those changes!! A version control system allows you to retrieve the last working version you backed-up and start again saving untold hours of work. Syntax: 4LVC [command] [filespec 1 filespec 2 filespec n] All command line parameters are optional. If no parameters are given, 4LVC will run in normal menu-mode. The following rules apply to command line parameters: command = A X K P or H (Add, eXtract, Kill, Pack, or Help) filespec 1 to n = filespecs for the A, X, & K commands P & H have no filespecs (A) Only 1 command can be processed per run of 4LVC. All other parameters are interpreted as "filespec" options for the command entered. (B) After execution of the command, 4LVC exits to the 4DOS prompt. (C) If no filepsecs are provided, user input is prompted for. (D) If the command is invalid, 4LVC starts in menu-mode. Example: 4LVC A *.btm This will present all files in the current directory with the .btm extension in a select screen, from which 4LVC will then create/update an archive. NOTE: 4LVC will still cycle through the screens when you specify command line parameters. The command line parameters simply automate the process in a way similar to what 4DOS keystack commands do for any other program. Description: Starting 4LVC in menu mode without any parameters presents an opening menu. From the Main Menu you choose the letter associated with the function you want to perform. You then move to an input screen where you enter any input needed by the procedure, usually a filespec of some sort. All of the input screens for each of the various functions contain basic help information. NOTE: You cannot ESCape from an input screen. Due to the way 4DOS reads user input greater than one character, you must enter at least 1 character and then press ENTER. This is noted on the entry screens, and a suggested ESCape is noted. One method is just to enter a ; or some other character that will not be found in any file in the current directory. This will produce a warning that no files were found matching this filespec, and you will be returned to the Main Menu. The other method noted is to press ENTER for a default pick-list, and then ESCape from there back to Main Menu. The following descriptions will take you through each of the choices available from the Main Menu and briefly describe how they operate. These descriptions will focus on explaining how the program works rather than on how to use them. As you will see when you begin using 4LVC, it is easier to just try the program than it would be for me to tell you how to use it. REMEMBER, this is just 4DOS batch progamming with calls to PKZip. It is pretty complex, and the 4DOS batch capabilities are quite sophisticated, but messing anything up is pretty unlikely. ┌───────────┐ │ Archive │ └───────────┘ The Archive selection starts the process for creating a new archive or adding to an existing one. 4LVC uses PKZip to store the archived files. Consequently, you may archive virtually any type files, e.g., plain ascii, executables, spreadsheets. Archive File Format ─────────────────── The archive name has the following format: ┌──────────> This is the usual PKZip extension ┌┴┐ 4lvc?EXT.zip └┬─┘│└┬┘ EXT stands for the file extension of │ │ └──────────────> archived files. For example, if you are │ │ archiving myfile.pas, EXT will be PAS │ │ │ │ ? is replaced by a P if the archive is │ └────────────────> password protected, and a - if it is │ not password protected. │ └───────────────────> This is the same for all 4lvc archives. Examples: 4lvcPpas.zip is a password protected archive containing files with the PAS extension. 4lvc-btm.zip is not password protected and contains files with the BTM extension. All archives are kept in the same directory as the files they contain. If 4LVC is setup correctly you can run the program from the directory containing the files you wish to archive. You can also use the 4cd program in the Utilities Menu to change directories while in the 4LVC Main Menu. Each archive contains ONLY files with the same extension. So, if you have files with different extensions in the same directory, you will have a different archive for each particular extension. The filenames as they are stored in the archive have the following format: ┌────────────> This will be the number of the version ┌┴┐ stored. For example, version 1 will be myfile.### myfile.001, version 2, myfile.002, etc. └─┬──┘ └──────────────────> This is the regular filename. 4LVC will store up to 1000 different versions of a file in an archive. When you create a new archive the first version will have the extension 001. Each succeeding version will be incremented by 1. At version 1000 the count will roll over to 000 and start incrementing the numbers again, deleting the oldest succeeding version each time you add a new version. Password Protection ─────────────────── The password protection scheme is that used by PKZip for scrambling zipped files. The way I have implemented it is by allowing you to use any 10 ascii characters. This should be sufficient for anyone who is using 4LVC as their main VCS. If you want more sophisticated password protection, you need to get a better VCS. If you use passwords simply enter them at the appropriate prompt. For any password protected archive ALL of the files stored in that archive will use the same password. 4LVC is smart enough to ask for the password only once for any particular run. When you add files to an existing password protected archive you will again be prompted for the password. You MUST use the SAME password on each subsequent update of the archive. Given the file format of 4LVC archives, you can have only 1 archive for each set of files with the same extension in any particular directory. You CANNOT then have a password protected archive as well as a non-protected archive of the same files in the same directory. For example, you cannot have 4lvcPasm.zip as well as 4lvc-asm.zip in the same directory. Be careful if you use passwords! Comments ──────── 4LVC will prompt you for comments for each new archive, and for every file added to an archive. 4LVC will first search for any existing comment in a descript.ion file and present this as a default. If no descript.ion comment is found the Date/Time/Original Filename will instead be presented as the default. You can use the default comments, or type in your own. When working on a complex project, you should take full advantage of the comment feature. CAUTION: If you use the Date/Time/Filename default comment for any file, and later extract, change, and then rearchive that file, do NOT again accept the default comment. When extracting a file, 4LVC will put the comment in a descript.ion. If you re-archive the file after modifying it, and accept the default comment--the one found in the descript.ion file--this will NOT reflect the ACTUAL Date & Time of the modified file. Furthermore, you will now have 2 versions of the same file with an identical comment. The archive comment is stored in the archives.dat file kept in the directory specified by the 4LOGIC environment variable. This file is created the first time you create a 4LVC archive and is used by the 4MANAGE utility. The individual file comments are stored in the archive by PKZip. Determining Versions ──────────────────── 4LVC determines version numberss by comparing the date and time of the file to be archived with the dates and times of files already contained in the archive. If the file to be archived is NEWER than any archived file, it will then be archived. If it is the SAME, or OLDER, it will not be archived. If you extract an older version of a file, and subsequently modify it, this will change the date and time, and you can then rearchive it. ┌──────────┐ │ eXtract │ └──────────┘ The eXtract function will un-archive any file from a 4LVC archive. When you eXtract a file, the eXtracted version will be renamed to the original filename, and any existing version will have only its extension renamed. For example, suppose you eXtract myfile.007 from the 4lvc-btm.zip archive. The eXtracted file will be renamed myfile.btm. If there is an existing myfile.btm it will be renamed myfile.$$$. This allows you to compare the two files for any changes using your favorite file viewer or file-compare program. CAUTION: If you eXtract a file from an archive, and there is an existing file with the $$$ extension left over from a previous eXtraction, it will be overwritten without warning! ┌─────────────────┐ │ Kill (delete) │ └─────────────────┘ The Kill function deletes files from an archive. So, for example, suppose 4lvc-btm.zip contains the following files: myfile.001 myfile.002 myfile.003 myfile.004 myfile.005 You can delete any, or all, of these individual versions. If you delete ALL of them, you will now have an empty archive, but the archive name still exists. Consequently, if you archive any new *.btm files in the same directory, they will be added to this archive. If the archive is password protected, you will be prompted for the password. You should probably just delete the archive rather than just Killing all of the files inside of it. If you want to Kill files in a password protected archive you will be prompted for the password before Killing any files. ┌───────┐ │ Pack │ └───────┘ If you do a lot of Killing in your archives this can be a useful function. The Pack function will rename all of the files in an archive so they are in numerically sequential order. For example if you have an archive with the following files: myfile.002 stuffy.003 gooofy.002 myfile.003 stuffy.004 gooofy.004 myfile.006 stuffy.007 gooofy.006 myfile.011 stuffy.009 gooofy.008 Pack will re-sequence the files thus: myfile.001 stuffy.001 gooofy.001 myfile.002 stuffy.002 gooofy.002 myfile.003 stuffy.003 gooofy.003 myfile.004 stuffy.004 gooofy.004 This function can take some time if the archive is large. ┌───────┐ │ Help │ └───────┘ The help function will call up this document in the 4DOS list file viewer if it is in any directory in your path. If it is not, you will be notifed that help is not available. ┌────────────┐ │ Utilities │ └────────────┘ All of the 4Logic utilities are available from the Utilities Menu on the right side of the Main Menu screen. Of particular use for 4LVC is the 4Manage utility. This is a stand-alone utility that can be used to view and delete 4LVC archives. 4Manage relies on the archives.dat file located in the directory specified by the 4LOGIC environment variable. The archives.dat file is created the first time you create a 4LVC archive. It contains the complete pathname of the archive as well as the archive name comment. A sample entry looks like this: c:\bat\4logic\test\4lvc-btm.zip 4Logic Alpha versions--complete ============================================= This file is presented in a select screen when you run 4Manage. Highlight a filename to view or delete that file. If you delete an archive, 4Manage will pass the relevant information to EDLIN, the DOS line editor, and the archives.dat file will be updated accordingly. See, there are some uses for EDLIN! ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 8 F U T U R E E N H A N C E M E N T S 8 │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ This depends on user suggestions. Let me know what you would like to see added or changed. ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 9 C O N T A C T I N G T H E A U T H O R 9 │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ I can be reached in one of three ways: RIME Net Drop me a line in the 4DOS or Software conferences Midas Touch BBS A Superb BBS in Chicago run by Marc Medow. 2 Nodes, both running Dual Standards. Node 1 1-312-764-0591 Node 2 1-312-764-0761 You can also get the latest version of the utilities here as well. Home Brad Owen 6321 N. Winthrop #510 Chicago, IL 60660 ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 10 A P P E N D I X 10 │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ PKZip 2.0? ────────── If or when the new ZIP arrives, and if it maintains the same command line syntax as the 1.93 beta version that was widely distributed, then 4LVC should not need any modifications. As for converting 4LVC to another archiver format, you are free to do it yourself--this is one modification I will NOT personally make. Here is why. I do not get that excited about archiver programs. PKZip is the defacto standard, even if it does not compress as tight or as fast as some other programs, and doesn't have all the bells and whistles other programs have. It is about as solid and bug-free a program as virtually ANY piece of software ever written. Just consider how few versions Phil Katz has had to release in order both to stay at the top of the market, and to fix bugs. If you are that concerned about the miniscule amount of disk-space you will save by switching archivers, by all means, fire up your text-editor, search out all the PKZip and PKUnzip calls, and simply replace them accordingly. Nuff said.... Non-Standard 4DOS Settings ────────────────────────── If you are using non-standard 4DOS switches or characters, you may have some problems running the 4LOGIC utilities. For example, if you change the compound character from ^ to ; you may get some strange behavior. There is no possible way to work around these in a batch file. Here is one possible solution. Create a batch file, any name you like, with the following two lines: 4dos /C 4LVC exit This will run a plain session of 4DOS with all of the default settings. Next, somewhere near the top of 4LVC put in a SETDOS command resetting all of your changed settings back to the defaults. This should do the trick. ┌────────┐ │ Thanks │ └────────┘ Many thanks to Ric Naff whose 4DVC inspired 4LVC. I have used much of the code from version 3.20 of Ric's program, which was written for 4DOS 3.2. In my attempts at updating this program to run under 4DOS 4.0 I ended up rewriting a lot of the program and renaming it 4LVC, as per Ric's requirements. I hope you enjoy the 4LOGIC programs, and I welcome all comments, suggestions, and bug reports.