The Business Master (3rd Edition)

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ The Business Master (3rd Edition) / The Business Master (3rd Edition).iso / files / utilfile / zdir100 / zdir.doc < prev next >

Wrap

Text File | 1988-10-10 | 37.8 KB | 1,160 lines

Zippy DIR - Version 1.00 Copyright (c) 1988, Ray Johns ALL Rights Reserved. - Contents - Disclaimer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Features of ZDIR . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Who is Ray Johns ? . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Registration information . . . . . . . . . 4 Why another DIR replacement ? . . . . . . 5 Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Command line format . . . . . . . . . . . 7,8,9 Function keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,11 The display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Future plans for ZDIR . . . . . . . . . . 13 Contacting me about ZDIR . . . . . . . . . 14 Customizing ZDIR . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Miscellaneous notes . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Revision history & Acknowledgments . . . . 17 - Disclaimer - Although Zippy DIR Version 1.00 has been extensively tested, you use it at your own risk. I, Ray Johns, shall not be held liable in any way, for any damages which may result from the use, or misuse, of this or any program which I have written. This program is delivered in an "as is" condition. Note that Zippy DIR does not write to the disk in any way and uses only the most standard DOS function calls. To be absolutely sure you have a valid copy of this program, you are welcome to call any one of the "distribution BBS numbers" listed later in this document to obtain a fresh or updated copy. Zippy DIR will run on any IBM or compatible computer using MS/PC DOS version 2.00 or greater. 1 - Features of ZDIR - Zippy DIR supports all standard DOS DIR commands. In addition it has many expanded features and options. Following is a brief list of this features : o All displayed numbers have commas for easy reading. o All directories include system and hidden files. o File attributes are included in display. o File date and time stamps are in easy to read formats. o Volume name of any disk is displayed in the root directory where it is actually stored by DOS. o Wide and normal display modes are supported. o Display can be paused automatically after each full screen of information. o Display can be easily controlled via function keys. Display controls include : Single step, pause/resume, search, mode toggle, display restart, and terminate. o Display can be limited to only executable, or non executable files. o Normal and reverse wild cards are supported in filename. o First letter searching is supported on filename. o Text string searches are supported within filename. o Bytes used by matching files as well as bytes remaining on drive are displayed. o Printer echoing and file routing is supported. o Internal help is available. o Standard ERRORLEVEL codes returned after execution for compatibility with .BAT files. o Program is written in 100% assembly language for maximum speed and minimum size. o User patchable bytes within program. o Requires MS/PC DOS Version 2.00 or greater. 2 - Who is Ray Johns ? - You may be familiar with my first Shareware program released earlier this year. A little program to check your disk's space allocation. The name is DMD200.ARC and is copyrighted under the name of P.C. Consulting. I am attempting to make my mark on the Shareware world with, what I believe, are high quality, easy to use programs. I've been writing programs and BBSing since 1980, and have been writing Shareware for IBM and compatible computers for a number of months now. Zippy DIR represents my second Shareware program. Starting with this program, I will be releasing all my Shareware under my own name, as opposed to P.C. Consulting, so that if you happen to see me on a BBS and you have a question about something I have written, you will know who "Ray Johns" is. All my Shareware is written in 8088 Assembly Language. There are two reasons why I use this language. One, it is the fastest language available, thus, programs written in assembly language run very quickly and very smoothly. Two, the executable files are much smaller than those produced by other methods, like a BASIC compiler for example, this means faster program loading and less memory requirements. 3 - Registration information - This program is not Public Domain, and it is not Freeware, what it is, is Shareware. As you probably already know, what Shareware means is this; you are welcome to share this program with others, as long as you follow a few simple rules. o No fee is charged for this program. This does not include fees such as Shareware houses and pay for use bulletin boards. o Zippy DIR must not be modified or altered in any way. o All files, READ-ME.1ST, ZDIR.COM, ZDIR.DOC, ZDIR.MSG, and ZDIR.REG MUST be distributed as a package. These files must not be modified and must have all copyright notices in place. Whenever possible distribute the ZDIR100.ARC file, and not the individual files. Shareware also means you, the user, can get software for no initial cost, unlike commercial software, and review it at your leisure. If you try out a program and discover, "this program is junk", then you are not out $29.95. You simply delete the program. No money lost - what a deal. Ah, but if you find, "Hey, this program is really good, I think I'll use it!", then, if you play by the rules, you are asked to send a small fee to cover the cost of developing the program. Not a bad deal. If you find Zippy DIR to be a useful program, and you would like to see me write more quality programs, then I ask that you register it for $ 5.00. What do you get in return? In addition to having a very flexible directory program, you get peace of mind, knowing that you are supporting Shareware, and helping to continue it's existence. In addition, when you register and include your name and address, I will notify you by mail of the next major upgrade (Version 2.00) of Zippy DIR, including a BBS number where you can immediately download it. See "future plans for ZDIR" for further information. To register Zippy DIR, print out the ZDIR.REG file and fill it out, or write your name, address and name of program you are registering on a sheet of paper, along with any comments or suggestions, and send cash, check or money order for $ 5.00 to the following address : Ray Johns Box 1440 Pebble Beach, CA. 93953-1440 4 - Why another DIR replacement ? - Probably one of the most common Shareware programs is the "DIR replacement" program. So why, you ask, did I spend my time writing another one? Well, when it came right down to it, I couldn't find a DIR replacement program that I liked better than the plain old DIR command in DOS. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of good directory type programs, but I have found that most of them are either too slow, or are of the "load and sort" variety. That's fine, but usually I just want to quickly look at my directory. I don't want it sorted and I don't want to wait while it's loaded. So for years, I just stuck with plain old DIR. The more times I used DIR, the more times I thought to myself, why didn't "they" put this in DIR, or that in DIR. Finally, I wrote my own! Zippy DIR represents my efforts to write a very easy to use, yet very powerful directory replacement program. I think that once you use Zippy DIR a few times, you'll never go back to using plain old DIR again. 5 - Installation - First thing you need to do is put ZDIR.COM in a pathed sub directory. If you aren't clear what a path is or does, refer to your DOS manual. For anyone who has "lost" their DOS manual, following is a brief explanation of the path command. As you may know, if you try to access a file, or program, which is not in the same directory as you are currently in, DOS will not find it. If you setup a path to the directory where the program you wish to access is, then DOS will find it no matter where you currently are. To see if you already have a path, simply type the word PATH and hit ENTER at the DOS prompt. If you do have a path, copy ZDIR.COM to any one of the sub directories listed in your path. If you find that you do not have a path, you must create one. First select a directory to put ZDIR.COM in, most any will do, something along the lines of "\DOS" or "\UTIL" is fine. For example, if you select "\DOS", you would copy ZDIR.COM to \DOS, and add the following line to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file : PATH = \DOS This can be done with any text editor or word processor. If you do not have an AUTOEXEC.BAT file, just create one in your root directory. Now anytime you turn on your computer, you will be able to see your directory by entering ZDIR, just like you could by entering DIR. During the testing of ZDIR.COM, a few of the Beta testers found it useful to rename ZDIR.COM to ZD.COM or even Z.COM, so they didn't have to type so much. Feel free to do this, but when you distribute the program, please leave the name as ZDIR.COM. I should also point out that if you rename ZDIR.COM to DIR.COM it won't run, as DOS will search in the COMMAND.COM file first, thus finding it's own DIR command and ignoring DIR.COM. There is a way around this problem, however, because it requires modifying copyrighted software (ie COMMAND.COM), I can not cover it in this document. 6 - Command line format - The command line for Zippy DIR is as follows : ZDIR [d:][Path\][Filemask][/Switch] All the information inside of [..] is optional, and breaks down in the following manner : (Do NOT type the [] characters.) [d:] - Drive Name This tells ZDIR what drive to look on. If omitted, ZDIR will look on the current drive you are logged to. For example, to do a directory of your floppy drive you would enter "ZDIR A:" Any drive from A: to Z: may be entered, however you will get "Drive d: invalid" if it is not a valid drive name in your system. The name of the drive can be before or after the [Path\][Filemask] section of the command line. This can come in particularly handy if you first do a directory of the default drive (ie no drive supplied) and then want to check a second drive. All you have to do is pop up the last command line with the F3 key and add the name of the drive to the end of the line. [Path\] - Directory path name This tells ZDIR where to look for files. If omitted, ZDIR will look in the current sub directory of the drive (set with the CD command.) If the Path\ given is invalid, you will get a "Path not found" error message. Any valid path name is supported, including path names with dot extensions. One thing you should note about the way directory path names are handled in Zippy DIR is, unlike the DIR command in DOS, ZDIR, does not automatically "expand" or "look into" sub directories. For example, with standard DIR, if you have a sub directory called \UTIL and you enter DIR \UTIL, you will see the contents of \UTIL, not just that UTIL is a directory. In some cases, this can be annoying, in other cases, it can save you typing an extra "\". In ZDIR, if you enter ZDIR \UTIL, it will not show you the contents of \UTIL. To see the files in the \UTIL sub directory you need to enter ZDIR \UTIL\. Just remember, in ZDIR to see what is inside of a sub directory ALL PATH NAMES MUST END WITH A SLASH "\". Don't worry, it isn't as big a deal as you may be thinking it is. The only stipulation on where the Path\ can appear on the command line is, if you supply a filemask, the path\ MUST come before the filemask. 7 [Filemask] - File name or string to search for In the Filemask section of the command line, two of the major uses of Zippy DIR are realized. Not only does it support any format which is allowable in DOS (refer to your DOS manual), but it supports two formats which are not supported by DOS (ie DIR). As mentioned under "Features of ZDIR", ZDIR supports, what I am calling (because no other program I know of supports it) "Reverse wildcards." As you probably know, a wildcard is a "?" or an "*". The "?" can be substituted for any character in the filename (mask) and DOS will return files regardless of the character in that (the "?") position. Likewise, the "*" means a group of characters. However, in DIR this group can ONLY be at the end of a filename. The filename "ZD*.*" will return any file with ZD as the first two letters followed by any amount of any letters after that. A very handy function to say the least. So why can't you say "*ES.*" to show you any filename ending with "ES" and having any amount of any letters before that? For some reason DOS chose to leave this option out. I have put it in ZDIR. You can now group your files, or find them, with reverse wildcards as well as normal wildcards. Note that this wildcard function is only supported on the filename and not the extension of the file. The other major use or capability of Zippy DIR, is to do text string searches within a filename. Referred to as "Zippy Scans", this function will find an occurrence for a string anywhere in the filename or the extension of a filename. For example, if you have a file in a specific sub directory and you can only remember that it has the word "SETUP" in it, then you can enter "SETUP" as the filemask and Zippy DIR will begin a zippy scan for "SETUP" anywhere in the filename. This can free you from having to remember every single letter of a filename. Now you can just remember a few "key" letters, and then do a zippy search. This function alone will make your life much, much easier, I promise! Keep this in mind, when Zippy DIR looks at a filemask, it assumes it to be a text string (zippy) search. If you enter ZDIR QMODEM, ZDIR will search for 'QMODEM'. If all you really wanted in that case was to see any filename called QMODEM ending with any extension, then you need to enter ZDIR QMODEM.* All this really isn't as hard as I'm making it out to be, just use common sense when it comes to filenames and extensions, the best way to learn Zippy DIR is to play with it for a while. Note, if the filemask is omitted, all files are shown by default. 8 [/Switch] - One or more program switches If omitted, the program works in it's default configuration. Any number of valid switches may be entered on the command line. They can be at the beginning or the end of the command line, in fact they can be just about anywhere. If you enter a duplicate or an unsupported switch you will receive the error message "Bad / Duplicate Switch." Following are the main program switches. Note that in the "Customizing ZDIR" section there is also information on what are called "override" switches, but for anyone using ZDIR in it's unmodified state, they are of no real importance. /H - display internal program Help This switch will show you a sort of "Quick Reference" menu or help screen of commands and information. Turn on your printer when you do this to print out a handy reference card. Entering "/?" will also display this help screen. /N - only show Non executable files From time to time, you find yourself looking at a sub directory with large numbers of .COM and .EXE or .BAT files and only a few actual "data" files or files that you are interested in. By including the "/N" switch, Zippy DIR will show only Non executable files, any file which doesn't end with .BAT, .COM or /P - Pause after each screen full of information I included this switch to be compatible with the standard DIR format. By entering /P the screen will pause every time it is filled with information. Pushing any key will continue until the next screen full. /W - show files in Wide (five across) mode This switch is here, you guessed it, to be compatible with DIR and because it's a handy option. By including /W, you can see just the filenames, five wide. /X - only show eXecutable files This switch does the opposite of the /N switch. By including it on the command line, Zippy DIR will show you only files ending in .BAT, .COM or .EXE (ie any file you can "run"). 9 - Function keys - Zippy DIR supports a number of "function keys." These keys may be pressed anytime ZDIR is displaying information (ie before it returns to the DOS prompt.) All the function keys work at anytime, including after or what would seem to be "during" the function of another key. Following is a list of keys you can use to control the way ZDIR displays information : SPACEBAR - Single step display While information is being displayed, pushing the spacebar will begin/continue "single stepping." This means the program will display one line each time you hit the spacebar. Holding down the spacebar will allow you to cruise through your directory at a pace equal to your key repeat rate. ENTER - Pause / Resume display Pushing the ENTER key while the program is displaying files, will pause the display, once it is paused, either with the ENTER key or another function, pushing this key again will resume the display. TAB - Toggle display modes This function key at first may seem pretty darn useless, however, the more you use it, the more you may find you like it. All it does is allow you to switch between the normal display mode and the wide (five across) display mode, and back again while information is being displayed. Try it. BACKSPACE - Restart display from the top How many times have you seen the file you were looking for go flying off the top of the screen ???? When this happens in ZDIR, pushing the backspace key will restart the display of files from the beginning. 10 ESCAPE - Terminate Zippy DIR If you are sick of trying to find Ctrl-Break or Ctrl-C to stop the standard DIR command, you'll love this. Just hit the escape key and you are back at the DOS prompt. A-Z Keys - Begin first letter file searching When you are looking for a specific file in your directory and you know the first letter, you can push that letter before the file is displayed, and when Zippy DIR comes to any file starting with the letter you pressed, it will pause. The scan letter can be cleared by pushing any other function key, the "." key works well also. During a first letter scan, the letter being scanned for is displayed in the scan column on the far right ("...") just after the file date & time. Note that first letter scans are also supported in the wide display mode, however the scan letter is not displayed. To continue scanning for the same letter after a match is found, simply push that letter again. 11 - The display - Below is a sample output from Zippy DIR : ----------------------------------------------[ Video Display ]- C:\DOS > C:\DOS >ZDIR \mac\zd Zippy DIR 1.00 - Copyright (c) 1988, Ray Johns Directory path - C:\MAC\*.*, 'ZD' ZDIR ASM 56,320 .a.. Oct-10-88 07:06 am ... ZDIR COM 5,899 .a.. Oct-10-88 07:07 am ... ZDIR DOC 38,656 .a.. Oct-10-88 07:21 am ... 3 Files 100,875 Bytes used by files 12,566,528 Bytes free on disk C:\DOS > C:\DOS > ---------------------------------------------------------------- Above is a sample of my development directory. In this example, ZDIR was searching for the string 'ZD' and found three files having such a string. After the copyright notice, you will see the "Directory path - " line, to the right of this will be : The drive, path, and filemask being used by Zippy DIR including any zippy scan text in '' and any other pertinent information. On the following line, the filename and extension is shown. Next to that the file size, in bytes, is shown with commas for easy viewing. Next is the attribute field. When no attributes are found this will be "...." or when all attributes are found this will be "rash" (Read only, Archive, System, Hidden). To the right of the attribute field is the date and time (stamp) of the file. The final field is the "first letter search" field. When searching for a filename by the first letter, the letter being searched for will appear in place of the second of the three dots "..." in lower case. For example, ".a." means Zippy DIR is searching for any filename starting with the letter "A". After all files are displayed, Zippy DIR will return the number of matching files, the bytes used by only those matching files, and the space remaining on the drive. If, for example, you are wondering how much space a specific group of files is using in your directory, simply do a Zippy DIR of them and the number of bytes used by the files will be displayed at the end of the directory. 12 - Future plans for ZDIR - Zippy DIR Version 1.00 is a complete program. To the best of my knowledge there are no bugs in it. I hope that you find ZDIR to be a valuable program and will support the growth of both Zippy DIR and shareware by registering it. If the response to Zippy DIR is good, I will continue plans for Version 2.00. Although the exact release date is has not been set, here are a few of the features I am planning on adding. If you see something listed that you would enjoy having in Zippy DIR, or something not listed, please make a note of it on the ZDIR.REG form. I value your suggestions about my shareware very highly. Features Planed for Version 2.00 of Zippy DIR : (Subject to change without notice) o A sort directory option. This will be a FAST sort, not the kind that takes all day just to sort a 1000 files. o A "Brief" display mode, to compliment the wide and normal display modes. This will list only filename, extension, file size and attribute, excluding the date and time stamp. The result will be a faster display. o The ability to pass a filename to a user definable program with a specific function key. For example, you could pause at a text file and by pushing a function key, invoke your favorite "file view" utility or word processor with file already loaded, then exit back to Zippy DIR. o A Global drive search option. This would allow Zippy DIR to act as a "Where is" program including the ability to search for reverse wildcards and text strings within filenames in any sub directory. o A user definable "show only files with theses extensions" switch. o The ability to do a directory inside of an archive type file. This will be compatible with the archive standard of the day. (Phil Katz we are waiting on ya... (grin)) o An easy to use setup type program to change the default configuration of Zippy DIR. ** Register Zippy DIR today! ** 13 - Contacting me about ZDIR - If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions about Zippy DIR, or experience any problems using it, you are welcome to contact me at one of the two following BBS number. I am the remote sysop at the first number, and I call the second number at least once a day. I will be more than happy to discuss Zippy DIR or any of my shareware with you. I am logged on both boards as "RAY JOHNS." The SURF BBS in Monterey, California. Phone (408) 649-6148. Up 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, running WildCat software supporting both 300 and 1200 baud. Sysops : Harry Johnson, Ray Johns, and Eric Magnus. The Cricket BBS in Pacific Grove, California. Phone (408) 373- 3773. Two nodes. Up 24 hours a day, 7 days a week running PCBoard supporting 1200 and 2400 baud. Sysop : Jim Robeson. Along with the two boards listed above, you can find the most current version of any of my Shareware at the following "Distribution BBS numbers." The Courier Connection - (602) 971-2454 Computer Connections - (202) 547-2008 VOR-BBS - (707) 778-8944 You are also welcome to write me at the following address, if you are not a registered user and require a reply, please include a SASE. Ray Johns Box 1440 Pebble Beach, CA. 93953-1440 14 - Customizing ZDIR - This section is intended for anyone who wishes to modify the default settings of Zippy DIR. For example, if you have very fast screen I/O and would like ZDIR to default to /P without having to supply /P on the command line, this section will tell you what bytes can be changed and what they control. If you are not planning on changing ZDIR's defaults, skip past this section. First, before you begin modifying ZDIR's internal flags, understand that when distributing Zippy DIR, you are asked to distribute only the non-modified version. PLEASE KEEP A NORMAL COPY FOR THAT PURPOSE. File offsets are listed in memory load / debug address format. If you are using a sector editor to do the changes subtract 100 hex from all addresses, this will be the "file offset" needed for such editors. In ZDIR.COM, you will find the following table at memory offset 0340 hex, it will look something like this : 0340 55 53 45 52 20 50 61 74-63 68 20 54 61 62 6C 65 USER Patch Table 0350 2D 2D 2D 2D 2D 2D 2D 2D-2D 2D 2D 2D 2D 2D 2D 2D ---------------- 0360 +00 2D 20 2F 4E 20 66 6C-61 67 20 30 31 3D 4F 6E .- /N flag 01=On 0370 +00 2D 20 2F 50 20 66 6C-61 67 20 30 31 3D 4F 6E .- /P flag 01=On 0380 +00 2D 20 2F 57 20 66 6C-61 67 20 30 31 3D 4F 6E .- /W flag 01=On 0390 +00 2D 20 2F 58 20 66 6C-61 67 20 30 31 3D 4F 6E .- /X flag 01=On 03A0 +18 2D 20 2F 50 20 23 20-6F 66 20 6C 69 6E 65 73 .- /P # of lines 03B0 +05 2D 20 2F 57 20 23 20-6F 66 20 66 69 6C 65 73 .- /W # of files 03C0 +00 2D 20 53 74 65 70 70-69 6E 67 20 66 6C 61 67 .- Stepping flag 03D0 2D 2D 2D 2D 2D 2D 2D 2D-2D 2D 2D 2D 2D 2D 2D 2D ---------------- 03E0 20 45 6E 64 20 6F 66 20-50 61 74 63 68 65 73 20 End of Patches User patchable bytes are shown here with "+" With any flag byte, 00 hex means off, 01 hex means on. For example to enable /P by default, change the zero at offset 0370 hex to 01 hex. The last three user patchable bytes are for Number of lines to pause after, Number of files to show across in wide mode, and stepping mode enabled. The number of lines for /P and files for /W are in hex. The stepping flag works in the following manner : 00 hex equals "free flow" display (ie the normal default), when the user pushes the space bar, signaling "single step mode" this byte is changed to 01 hex. If you enter 01 hex here (offset 03C0 hex), Zippy DIR will come up in the single step mode by default and only show one line, then pause. After changing the program defaults, you may need to use these "override" switches from time to time : /A - All files. Overrides /N and /X /C - Continuous display. Overrides /P when doing ^P or >OUTFILE /L - Long display mode. Overrides /W 15 - Miscellaneous Notes - ERRORLEVEL information : If you are calling ZDIR.COM from a Batch language file (.BAT), you will be happy to know that Zippy DIR returns error codes according to how it executed. Following is a list of the ERRORLEVEL numbers (E#) and their descriptions relative to ZDIR : E# - Description with regard to Zippy DIR -- ------------------------------------------------------------ 0 - No error, program finished or was terminated normally. 2 - File specified was not found. 3 - Path specified was not found. 11 - Command line was invalid, Bad switch for example. 15 - A drive was specified that was not valid in the system. -- ------------------------------------------------------------ Source code information : Allow though the source code for my first shareware program is available, the source code for Zippy DIR is not. If you have a question relating to the source code, I'll be happy to try and answer it on one of the two BBS numbers listed in this document. If you are a software developer and would be interested in having the reverse wildcard and Zippy scan functions in your Shareware program or utility, the code to do this is available in return for twenty five dollars and a note in your .DOC file about where it came from. The routine to parse the command line is very intelligent and took over 30 hours to develop. It is available and could save you MANY hours of programming as well as adding a whole new dimension of power to your command line. Hardware and OS bundling agreements : I would be more than happy to discuss the use of ZDIR.COM in any Hardware or Operation System package. Contact me at my BBS (listed in this document) and I will supply you with a voice phone number or further information. 16 - Revision history - October 10th, 1988 - Initial release of Version 1.00. Note : If any bugs are found, the corrected copy will be released under Version 1.01, 1.02, etc. - Acknowledgements - I would like to thanks all the people involved with Beta testing Zippy DIR and giving me suggestions for it. THANK YOU! David Dilworth Jim Robeson George Layton Karl Van Lear Harry Johnson Marty White Henry Paes Paul Ricketts Jeff Watkins Philip Childress - End of Document - 17