Almathera Ten Pack 3: CDPD 3/Almathera Ten on Ten - Disc 3: CDPD3.iso/jam/jamdisk4/arprel3.0/arpreadme

Text File | 1995-03-18 | 21KB | 727 lines

                 CONTENTS

       Installing ARP.......................................  1

    1.  How compatible are the ARP Commands?.................  1
       Wildcards............................................  2
       Environment Variables................................  3

    2.  ARP Command Enhancements.............................  4
       Assign and Mount speed up your startup sequence......  4
       Let ARP Copy Quick...................................  5
       Rename-ing, Copy-ing, and Move-ing files.............  5
       AShell: Three commands in one........................  6
       Type, Join and Protect...............................  6
       Search and Sort......................................  6
       CD and PATH..........................................  7
       ASH..................................................  7

    3.  Disclaimer, warranty and distribution................  8

    4.  CREDITS..............................................  8

































                  - i -







             Overview of the 1.3 ARP Release



            AmigaDOS Resource Project


              c/o Microsmiths, Inc.
                PO Box 561
               Cambridge, MA 02140

                 Electronic Mail:
             BIX, People Link: cheath
                 CIS: 76004,1766

    All software, manuals, install programs and associated material are
    Copyright (c) 1987,88,89 by Arp Authors. All Rights Reserved.

    The ARP Installation program and accompanying documentation may be
    freely distributed provided no changes or additions to the materials
    are made.

    AmigaDOS is a trademark of Commodore-Amiga, Inc.
    Unix is a trademark of AT&T Information Systems.

    Installing ARP

    To install the new 1.3 ARP commands on your system you use
    the ArpInstall program. This program can be run from either
    the Workbench (by clicking on its Icon) or if you prefer,
    from the CLI. This program uses a simple mouse driven
    interface to install the ARP CLI style commands on your
    system. You can select the commands you want, and where you
    want them placed on your disk, or you can elect to accept
    the default setup.

        Normally, you will want to install the ARP commands on
    your bootdisk or in the appropriate drawers on your hard
    disk. However, if you wish to install the ARP commands on
    another disk, please insert this disk before you begin
    answering the questions that ArpInstall will be asking you.


    1.  How compatible are the ARP Commands?

    Every effort has been made to make the ARP commands 100%
    compatible with the AmigaDOS V1.3 commands.  You can use the
    documentation in the AmigaDOS Users Manual and the AmigaDOS
    V1.3 enhancer manual with the ARP commands, and read further
    for a brief discussion of the more important enhancements
    made to each command.







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    Wildcards

    The standard AmigaDOS pattern matching abilities are present
    in ARP commands as described in the AmigaDOS Users Manual.
    In addition to these basic capabilities, ARP provides the
    following enhancements in pattern matching:

      - Use of the star ('*') to match any pattern.  This
        corresponds to the AmigaDOS pattern '#?'.  This use of
        the star character is so common as to be almost a de
        facto industry standard. Note that the AmigaDOS pattern
        matching is implemented as well: use the one that you
        like the best.

      - The ability to match a class of characters.  You
        specify the class of characters to be matched by
        enclosing them within square brackets.  For example,
        the pattern 'file.[ch]' will match file.c or file.h,
        but not file.o or file.ch (you match only one of the
        characters in the class). To specify a range of
        characters, you can use [a-z], which will match any
        character between a and z inclusive.

      - The ability to match 'anything but' a pattern. To do
        this, precede your pattern with the tilde ('~')
        character. For example, to list all files except those
        which end in .info, use this pattern: '~*.info' or
        '~#?.info'.

      - Smart 'tick' matching. The tick (single quote) is used
        by AmigaDOS to remove the special meaning of any
        wildcard character.  For example, to refer to a
        literal, actual question mark in a filename, you would
        use "'?". The AmigaDOS (and ARP) commands will interpret
        that two character sequence as a single question mark.
        Problems arise with filenames that contain a single
        quote, quite a common occurance. ARP commands try to be
        clever about when to tick and when not to tick.  For
        example, "Mike's Drawer" will be understood by the ARP
        commands to be "Mike's Drawer", but an AmigaDOS command
        will think it is "Mikes Drawer".  To do this under
        AmigaDOS (and it works with ARP as well) you can use
        "Mike''s Drawer".

    While these extra features add additional power welcomed by
    most users, they are also a potential compatibility issue,
    since they are not supported by the current AmigaDOS
    commands.  Fortunately, the problems are minor, and rarely
    occur.  Here are some of the potential problems, and their
    solutions, roughly in order of frequency of occurance:

    ( The ARP Eval command uses C-language Printf format, such
      as "%lx", rather than the BCPL "%X" formatting. )

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      - Conflicts with the use of '*' as a wildcard and as a
        filename or as an escape character. AmigaDOS uses the
        star (*) as a filename (referring to the current
        window) and as an escape character.  This is used most
        commonly with the Type and Copy commands.  If you run
        across an old script that does this, or if you wish    to
        use this yourself, you can issue the command "SET BCPL
        TRUE", which will cause Type and Copy to revert to the
        older behavior. Conflicts with '*' as an escape
        character are less likely, but possible.  We suggest
        you add the statement "SET ESCAPE \ BCPL FALSE" in your
        Startup-Sequence, and use the "\" character as the
        escape character.

      - OR patterns in ARP follow the AmigaDOS documentation.
        OR patterns are AmigaDOS patterns which look like this:
        (File1|File2|File3).  This will match any one of File1
        or File2 or File3. AmigaDOS commands allow you to
        leave out the parenthesis under certain circumstances,
        ARP commands implement the specification in the
        AmigaDOS manual: You must use parenthesis with the OR
        patterns in ARP commands.

      - Funny characters in filenames: The AmigaDOS commands
        don't recognize the extended pattern matching
        characters of ARP (*[]~) as special.  This means that a
        non-ARP using friend could create a file called
        "[LIST]", for example, using an AmigaDOS command that
        could cause you difficulty.  The short term solution to
        this is to use the tick (') character in front of these
        special characters.  So to delete the "[LIST]" file,
        you could type: Delete '[LIST']. The long term solution
        is to give your friend a copy of the ArpInstall
        program.

    Environment Variables

    Before Commodore released 1.3, the only environment variables
    available on the Amiga were the MANX/Rokicki variables,
    which former ARP releases were compatible with.  With
    AmigaDOS 1.3, Commodore introduced environment variables
    officially, but unfortunately not compatibly. The current
    ARP implementation is designed to help ease the conversion
    to the new implementation of environment variables as
    endorsed by Commodore.

        Environment variables using ARP read both the old style
    environment, and the new ENV:, however, we write only the
    older format.  This means, essentially, that you can use any
    format you prefer with ARP programs, and they will be able
    to find the value of the environment variable you assigned.



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    Some programs (for example, older Manx programs) do not use
    the ARP library function calls and so will work only with
    the older style variables.


    2.  ARP Command Enhancements

    Most of the ARP supplied commands have added capabilities
    when compared with their AmigaDOS cousins.  In this section,
    we present a brief overview of the more significant
    enhancements, for a full description of each command,
    consult the complete ARP documentation (distributed
    separately at a later date as ARPDOC3.ZOO).

        One thing common to all the ARP commands is an extended
    help template.  As you may already know, the AmigaDOS
    commands provide help in the form of a 'command template' in
    response to a question mark as an argument. ARP also
    provides these commands, and, in addition, provides an
    extended help feature if you type another question mark once
    you are presented with the template.  For example, typing:


    Search ?


    brings up the normal command template, which in this case
    is:


    From/a,Search,ALL/s,NONUM/s,QUIET/s,QUICK/s,FILE/s,CASE/s:


    If you were to now enter another "?" in response to the
    template prompt, you would get more information, in this
    case:


    Usage: Search <wildcards | STDIN> [Searchstring] [ALL]
            [QUIET | QUICK] [FILE] [CASE]


    This extended help often prevents trips to the manual.

    Assign and Mount speed up your startup sequence

    ARP's Assign and Mount commands accept multiple assignments
    or Mounts on one command line.  By taking advantage of this
    to specify all your assignments or Mounts in one stroke, you
    can avoid running each command several times in your
    startup-sequence, thus speeding things up. Here are two



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    example command lines:


    Mount dh0: dh1: dh2: pip:
    Assign C: dh0:c LIBS: dh0:libs DEVS: dh0:Devs Fonts: dh0:Fonts


    Let ARP Copy Quick

    The new ARP Copy command has an option which will
    automatically skip a copy when the source and destination
    files are identical.  The Copy command considers files
    identical when they have the same date and length.  It will
    also compare Filenotes if you have enabled Filenote copying.
    This can dramatically speed up directory or disk copies from
    place to place. You can use it on request by using the QUICK
    keyword on Copy's command line, or you can make it a default
    by setting the "copyflags" environment variable.  The
    copyflags variable lets you specify many default actions for
    copy, see the ARP manual page for Copy for complete details.
    As an example, to have Copy always use the QUICK option and
    also to copy the protection bits and date you can use:


        Set copyflags=CQ


    To specify a copy to or from the current directory, you can
    use a single dot (.)  character. This is similar to the
    convention found on other operating systems, such as Unix.
    (Search and CMP also allow this usage).

    Rename-ing, Copy-ing, and Move-ing files

    The new ARP Move command is an enhanced version of Rename.
    Move can do everything Rename can, and will also move a file
    from disk to disk.  This is cleaner and easier than doing a
    Copy and then a Delete, especially when transferring
    multiple files.  Both Rename and Move can use wildcards as a
    source pattern, so you can Rename or Move multiple files
    with one command. (Note: this is an enhancement: The
    Commodore Rename command will not accept a wildcard
    pattern.)

        ARP's Rename, Move and Copy commands also allow you to
    specify a simple substitution in the destination name, for
    example:







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        Rename *.c *.cBAK


    See the complete ARP documentation for more information on
    replacement patterns.

    AShell: Three commands in one

    AShell is a replacement for NewCLI, SYSTEM/CLI and NewSHELL,
    this one small command takes on the functions of all three.
    It's default action is to always provide you with the 'best'
    shell available.  You can also request a CLI by using the CLI
    keyword, or by copying it or renaming it "NewCLI", in which
    case it will do its level best to act like the standard
    NewCLI command.

        By editing the tool type for the Shell icon to refer to
    this file, you will also be able to eliminate the SYSTEM/CLI
    file from your disk.  See the manual page for AShell for
    more information on this versatile little command.

    Type, Join and Protect

    Type, Join and Protect allow wildcard patterns unlike their
    AmigaDOS cousins.  ARP Type also has two new options: B (for
    Banner) and F (for formfeed). B prints a small header at
    beginning of each file containing the name of the current
    file, F prints a formfeed (which clears the screen or
    advances the printer paper) at the end of the file. These
    options are most useful when typing multiple files.  Specify
    these with the OPT keyword:


        Type *.c OPT BF




        If you do not provide a source filename to Type, it
    will read from the keyboard. This allows it to be used as
    part of a pipeline. If typing from the keyboard, use
    CONTROL-\ to exit type.

    Search and Sort

    Search allows you to specify a wildcard pattern as a search
    string, instead of the simple literal string which the
    AmigaDOS Search allows.  You can also select to have a case
    sensitive search using the CASE keyword (default is to
    ignore case).  The ARP Search command will store the last



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    search string used in the environment variable "Search".
    Running Search again with no search string will use the
    value of the "Search" environment variable.  Text editors or
    databases which use ARP can also examine this variable.

        You can also use patterns to specify a range of files
    to search, you can specify a directory, or you can use dot
    (.) to mean the current directory (see Copy and CMP for
    another example of this use of dot).

        ARP's Sort is quite safe, it will not crash, even with
    large files and the default stack, unlike AmigaDOS's Sort.
    Both Search and Sort can read from the keyboard instead of
    from a file, which allows them to be used in pipelines.  To
    use Sort in a pipeline, just omit the input filename. To use
    Search, you must use the filename STDIN (and it must be
    capitalized, as shown here).  For more information on
    pipelines, see the ASH (Arp's shell) manual.

        The ARP Search command is three times faster than the
    AmigaDOS Search,  and ARP's Sort is about five times faster
    than the AmigaDOS Sort, which are nice enhancements
    (compatible too!).

    CD and PATH

    Enhancements here are mainly allowing specification of
    directories using wildcards.  This is a big help when typing
    long directory pathnames!

        NOTE: Old friends of ARP should note that the %P
    support has been removed from CD. (New friends of ARP who
    don't understand this shouldn't worry.) It is now in the
    shell where it belongs.

    ASH

    ARP is now distributing a shell replacement for Shell-Seg,
    the 1.3 Commodore supplied shell.  It is reasonably
    compatible with Shell-Seg, and also provides some very
    significant enhancements.  The best way to get acquainted
    with Ash is to read the short users manual included in this
    zoo file.

        One of the most significant features of ASH is it's use
    of the arp.library process functions and resident features.
    ARP's resident is superior to AmigaDOS's in terms of safety
    and memory usage. Other features include command
    substitution and piping, built-in batch language, and more!





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    3.  Disclaimer, warranty and distribution

    We make no warranty for fitness of use of any of the ARP
    commands, arp.library, Installation program (ArpInstall) or
    the accompanying documentation.  The user assumes all
    responsibility related to his or her use of any portion of
    the ARP distribution. We have made considerable efforts to
    insure that ARP works reliably and as documented but cannot
    assume any liability for problems that may be related to any
    use of ARP.

        ARP V1.3 may be freely redistributed in the form of the
    ZOO files which will be initially distributed by ARP Support
    onto BIX, Compuserve and People Link.  These files may be
    placed on other BBS's without charge provided the original
    contents and organization of these ZOO files are not altered
    in any way.

        You may make up to fifty (50) printed copies of the ARP
    documentation without specific permission from ARP Authors.
    ARP Authors reserve all commercial rights for printed
    versions of the documentation.

        For users groups and other vendors of public-domain
    diskettes, we request that you contact us to get the
    complete ARP release diskette.  The V1.3 ARP release
    diskette is not complete as of this writing, please send
    a SASE with your request and we will let you know when the
    complete V1.3 diskette is available.

        For applications developers who would like to use
    arp.library or include the ARP commands with their
    commercial software packages: We encourage this use of
    arp.library and place only minimal restrictions on your
    distribution intended to help insure that you distribute
    verified copies of the latest version of the ARP library and
    command programs.  If you would like to be registered as an
    ARP developer, please send a SASE to ARP Support and we will
    send you further details. You are also welcome to use
    arp.library without registering for support, but we request
    that you register with us if you want to include a copy of
    any part of the ARP distribution with your release.


    4.  CREDITS

    ARP - The AmigaDOS Resource Project - is a cooperative
    effort by a group of Amiga developers to enhance the Amiga.

        ARP has three main goals:




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      - Provide enhanced commands for Amiga users.

      - Provide a resource for Amiga developers to help build
        smaller, more consistent, more powerful applications
        using "arp.library"

      - Make this work available to Commodore in order to
        encourage enhancements to AmigaDOS.

    ARP V1.3 represents our third major release.  The first
    release was made in October 1987 (called V1.0).  The second
    release was in March 1988 (V1.1).  With Version 1.3 of ARP,
    we have addressed the limitations and incompatibilities of
    the ARP V1.1 commands compared with Commodore's V1.3
    enhancer release, also providing a much more complete
    command set, several new commands not found in the Commodore
    V1.3 set, and an ARP Shell.  At this time we do not have any
    specific plans for the next release of ARP, and we welcome
    feedback from users and developers which will help us choose
    our future directions.

        The ARP commands and arp.library were written in
    assembler, using Innovatronic's "CAPE" and Manx's "AS" for
    development. The ArpInstall program was written in Modula-2,
    using M2S Ltd's "M2Sprint".

        ARP is not ShareWare. If you would like to support the
    ARP project, the best ways to do it are to spread the word
    about ARP to other Amiga users, to write and distribute
    programs which use ARP, and to support the commercial and
    shareware products which take advantage of ARP's
    capabilities, many of which are also written by members of
    the ARP team. These include (but are not limited to):

      -  the TxEd Plus package from Microsmiths (this includes
        a printed version of the ARP manual).

      - Cape, a 68010 macro assembler from Innovatronics.

      - M2Sprint, an implementation of Modula-2 from M2S Ltd,
    which provides a full interface to arp.library.

    In addition, you might want to investigate Bill Hawe's
    products.  Bill has not been personally involved with ARP,
    but his work complements ARP, and he was also one of the
    first to distribute the ARP command set with his products.

        There have been many people who have helped with the
    development and testing of ARP, and I am sure I will miss a
    few who should be mentioned here.  The team has a rare
    quality of cooperation and excitement and it has been a joy
    to work with this group.


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    Charlie Heath, VP of Microsmiths, Inc. - ARP Coordinator
    Scott Ballantyne - one of the original ARP hackers.
    Martin Taillefer - wrote ArpInstall program (among other things).
    Ken Salmon - programmer for portions of V1.1 of ARP
    Willy Langeveld - developer and beta tester
    Bill Barton - beta tester for arp.library
    Les Noland - beta tester for ARP commands
    Chuck McManis - provided prototypes for V1.0 of ARP
    John Toebes - provided prototypes for arp.library
    Wes Howe - programmer
    Bill Hawes - contributed "LoadLib" for V1.3 of ARP

    Steve Tibbett, Joanne Dow, Justin McCormick, Andy Levy,
    Mike Scalora, John Spadafora, Jeff Blume,
    Marvin Weinstein, Warren Block, Eric Haberfellner,
    Michael Sinz, Paul Ockenden, Larry Phillips,
    Brian Waters - beta testers for V1.3 of ARP.




































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