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1989-05-18
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\\ //
____\ /____
//~~\\ //~~\\
(( _ )}={( _ ))
\\(*// \\(*// Watch
~~~~ ~~~~ _|
-=(~))
||_____|+
( )
(_____)
| |
| +--\
Bird /
* WatchBird v1.00 *
The ultimate carrier-wise utility
(C) CopyRight 1989 by Angelo Besani
Co-SysOp on <AmnesiA CBCS> Varese - Italy
(FidoNet 2:331/101.0) 2400,V21,MNP,CM,XA #39-331-263425
Documentation by Alberto Morosi, SysOp of....well, the same board!
A lot of SysOps have always been complaining about the way
carrier watchers behaved: rebooting their system without leaving
any chance to save or to preserve what they or their users were
doing if they were running a multitasking environment.
As always happens, we never realized how much annoying it was
until we had to use this system on our board ;-).
Somebody gave us WatchKat, and we used it. The idea was really
great, but WaKat did *NOT* exit from COMMAND.COM, it was a nasty
limitation, so we wanted something more and ...after WatchDog and
WatchKat, why not to have also WATCHBIRD???
WatchBird really does what any SysOp ever wanted from a watchcd
utility: it runs outside programs, controls the carrier and if it
drops gets back to DOS without rebooting, uses a fossil driver but
also does something more. WatchBird will close all your files
while exiting, avoiding the creation of lost chains; will remember
the status of your screen and put it back from graphic to text
mode or vice-versa; will remember in which directory you were and
put you back there; will avoid your machine hanging for an "Abort,
Retry, Ignore?" request; will allow you to run programs either
through command.com either spawning them directly.
WatchBird is the ultimate "carrier-wise" utility!
Now, after the commercial spot (uh!) let's really talk about
WatchBird.
By typing WABIRD HELP on your keyboard you will see:
WatchBird v 1.00
(C) 1989 By Angelo Besani, AmnesiA CBCS 2:331/101 +39-331-263425 *ITALY*
Slogan: Do BirdWatching, not hunting!!
Usage: WABIRD [switches..]
where [Switches..] are:
/COMx Select com port (x in range 1 thru 9)
/IOAx Select serial port I/O address (x is an hex number)
/WBEx Wait x seconds before exiting after carrier loss (x in range 0 thru 9)
/NSR No Screen Re-Adjusting before exiting WatchBird
/NDR No Disk&Directory restoring before exiting WatchBird
/NFC No File Closing before exiting WatchBird
/LDT Lower DTR after carrier loss
/PBS Purge Input&Output Buffers before exiting WatchBird
(This switch requires a compatible fossil driver)
/NCE Intercept DOS critical errors and exit
/DKS Disable Keyboard Security (not recommended)
/DEVx Redirect StdIn, StdOut, StdErr to device 'x'
/PRGx Executes program 'x' instead of COMMAND.COM
/PRM Passes rest of line to the program as command line switches
This are all the "amazing" features of this little bird-watcher.
Now we will pass through all them giving a brief but, I hope,
quite useful description of their functions.
WatchBird v1.00 Page 1
WABIRD can be invoked by any of the commonly used outside bbs
doors (i.e. in Opus-CBCS you may use as a ^OC as any of the O)
options, including the ones of msg and file section).
Examples:
^OCWABIRD /switches
%
Outside Dos C:\Opus\Wabird.com /switches
%
%
Outside Run C:\Opus\Wabird.com
%
%
External Message_Management C:\Opus\Wabird.Com
%
Let's now analyze each command line switch:
/COMx Select Serial Port (x in range 1 to 9)
Tells to the FOSSIL driver which comm port to reset on exit. This
switch is necessary only if also /PBS (see below) is used.
Default value= /COM1
/IOAx Select serial port I/O address (x is an hex number)
This switch is necessary: it specifies the hexadecimal I/O address
of the port that WaBird will "watch".
Default values: /IOA3F8 if /COM1 is specified
/IOA2F8 if /COM2 is specified
There is no default for different values of /COMx
So, if you are using COM1 or COM2 you may not specify this switch.
/WBEx Wait x seconds before exiting on carrier loss
WatchBird has been fully tested under DESQview v2.01 and v2.23.
Under v2.23 we have noticed that if carrier dropped while DV was
beep-ing it sometimes caused the machine to hang. Setting up an
higher wait time (x has a range from 0 to 9) you may let DV stop
sending out beeps and allow WatchBird to exit without problems.
If you use values different than 0 for this switch, please take
care that your modem makes no echo to the characters it receives
(AT E0 in Hayes mode) because otherwise it may cause a strange
WatchBird v1.00 Page 2
loop: if, for example, the modem would respond NO CARRIER, the DOS
would echo it back to the modem, that would echo it back to DOS
that would echo it back to the modem and so on....
The value of this switch represents the minimum delay before
exiting and may generate a bit higher time under multitasking
systems or if there was something being performed by DOS.
Default value: /WBE2
/NSR No screen re-adjusting before exiting WatchBird
WatchBird when started will memorize the current display status
(40/80 colums, text or graphics etc.) and will by default get back
to that status when exiting after carrier is dropped or after a
normal termination. If you will specify this switch, WatchBird
will exit WITHOUT returning to the original display status.
/NDR No Disk&Directory restoring before exiting WaBird
WatchBird will by default put you back at the disk and path you
were when invoking it. In fact, this function works on the current
drive only.
Example (* indicates the current drive):
* C:\
D:\
I invoke WABIRD and then change dir (cd UTILS). I will have:
* C:\UTILS
D:\
Then I change disk (D:)...
C:\UTILS
* D:\
C:\UTILS
* D:\TEMP
the carrier drops (or I simply type EXIT) and WaBird exits...
I will find...
Without /NDR With /NDR
* C:\ C:\UTILS
D:\TEMP * D:\TEMP
/NFC No