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shroom.doc - readme file for Shell Room Utility
Copyright (C) Davis Augustine 1990. All rights reserved.
Last Modified: 11dec90
Files
-----
SHROOM.COM - The program.
SHROOM.DOC - This documentation file.
Description
-----------
SHROOM is a utility that gives a DOS application's shells more
room. It does this by intercepting the shell operation,
swapping out the application program, freeing up the memory,
and then performing the shell operation. It also
intercepts the exit from the shell, so that it can swap
the application back in before returning to it. The program
is none the wiser.
Features
--------
o Easy to use.
o Detects swap file overflow (disk full) and asks whether you want
to abort back to the application or continue with a partial swap.
o Detects TSR loading and unloading during the shell. Frees
the TSR's resources and puts a warning message.
o Small resident size (under 6k). Frees nearly all of the memory.
o Works with all major DOS applications.
o Fully user specifiable swap file path. Ie., you can put
it on a virtual disk.
o Swaps allocated memory only, avoiding unnecessary writes
and reads of free memory.
o Intelligent command line parsing. Searches DOS's PATH
for program to load, allows passing of args to the program.
Automatically tries .COM and .EXE extensions if not
specified by user.
o Verbose mode for inquisitive users.
o Uses DOS "make temp file" facility to prevent network clashes.
Installation and Operation
--------------------------
o To install, just copy SHROOM.COM into a directory in your PATH
or the directory from which you will run the application.
o For help, use the question mark switch, eg. "shroom -?".
o To load, just type the normal command used to invoke the
application, with "shroom " prepended. Eg, if the application
is called "edit", then you would use the command "shroom edit".
Arguments are passed to the application just as before, so eg.
you can say "shroom edit letter.doc".
o To shell out, use whatever shell command is provided by the
application. You will see a message from Shroom saying that it
is swapping the program out, after which the normal shell prompt
and actions will appear. When you exit the shell, you will
again see the "swapping" message from Shroom and then be
deposited back into the application as usual.
Help Screen - Displayed by the "-?" switch:
-------------------------------------------
Usage: shroom [-?hLv] [-s path] prog [args]
-?h : print this help message
-L : display shareware license
-v : verbose mode
[-s path] : specify DRIVE:DIR in which to create swap file
prog : application program to execute
[args] : command line to pass to the application
NOTES:
o The application can be any .EXE or .COM file.
o Shroom first tries to load the application program from the current
directory, and then it searches the PATH.
o Works with PharLap DOS Extender based applications.
o Not compatible with Quarterdeck's DesqView, Microsoft's Windows or
other DOS multitasking software.
Shareware License - Displayed by the "-L" switch:
-------------------------------------------------
********** SHROOM SHAREWARE LICENSE **********
This is a copyrighted software work which is distributed as shareware.
Under this license agreement you are granted the right to use Shroom
on all machines and environments that it supports. You are also
free (and encouraged) to pass copies of this shareware on to others
as long as it is not for payment and not bundled with anything else
that is for payment.
If you find Shroom useful and worth the investment, please send a
registration fee by check or money order of $20 for individual users
or $75 for groups (up to 10 users) to:
Davis Augustine
P.O. Box 390178
Cambridge, MA. 02139
Commercial distribution licenses, source code and customized versions
are also available at reasonable rates. Please write to the above address
or send me email at Compuserve id 72230,3053. I would also appreciate any
comments, questions, suggestions or bug reports.