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SAVE and LOAD File Utilities
October, 1989
Program Documentation
Copyright (C) 1989 Battelle
All Rights Reserved
Introduction
------------
The SAVE/LOAD programs were developed at Battelle because of a need
for a convenient file transfer mechanism between different MS-DOS
based computer systems. Surprising as it may seem, there doesn't
appear to be a convenient and reliable means of transferring files
between different computer systems, except in special circumstances
when all computer systems are configured the same or nearly the same.
There are several problems associated with transferring files between
different systems:
o Normal backup/restore software is not always convenient to
use because many of these packages set the 'archive' flag,
which then confuses your normal backup/restore procedures
(the next time you do a backup, your backup software thinks
that it has already backed up a modified file that was
involved in the transfer). Some backup packages provide a
means of not setting the 'archive' flag, but you have to
remember to go into your backup software, set this option,
perform the backup, and then reset the option. This often
can be time-consuming and confusing.
o Disregarding the problems associated with the above for the
moment, the DOS BACKUP/RESTORE might be a convenient
mechanism for file transfer except that the format of
backup files changed between versions 3.2 and 3.3 resulting
in version 3.2 not being able to read 3.3 backups. In
addition, version 3.3 BACKUP/RESTORE will not run under
version 3.2, etc.
o DOS's COPY or XCOPY are useful if you don't have files
larger than the capacity of the transfer media you are
using. However, sometimes you do have large files which
can't be accommodated by this
method.
o Third party backup/restore software might be a good
solution (disregarding the archive flag issue), except that
you must install these usually large programs on the
computer system you are transferring the files to if they're
not already there. This installation can involve a certain
amount of time because you sometimes have to "tune" it to
the machine.
For these reasons and others, the SAVE and LOAD programs were
developed. The basic criteria for these programs were:
o They should be convenient to use with little setup time.
o They had to be capable of transferring large files.
o They shouldn't disturb the normal backup process.
o They should be as small as possible to avoid carrying
around excess software.
o They should function on all DOS operating systems from 2.0
thru 4.x.
o They should be as reliable as possible.
o They should be fairly efficient although this wasn't of
utmost importance (reliability was the more important
factor).
The basic functioning of SAVE and LOAD is similar to DOS BACKUP and
RESTORE. This model was selected since many users are already
familiar with these utilities: SAVE is like BACKUP, LOAD is like
RESTORE. Much of the functions of BACKUP/RESTORE can be performed
under SAVE/LOAD. However, since the primary purpose of SAVE/LOAD was
not backup, the default options are somewhat different to
accommodate the criteria listed above. It was decided not to
incorporate a menu oriented system into SAVE/LOAD because typically
such systems increase the executable size considerably. In addition,
these systems sometimes make automatic batch execution difficult
(although they are certainly more user-friendly). The separation of
functions into two programs, SAVE and LOAD, was also convenient in
that only LOAD need be taken to install files on the destination
computer. There is a provision available to execute LOAD directly
from the transfer disk so no install is required.
Both SAVE and LOAD are documented in the following pages. Examples
of various options are also presented. Please refer to these
examples for specific requirements.
SAVE and LOAD have been tested extensively, although not all
possible configurations were available for test. Consequently, there
might be some cases in which the software doesn't function properly.
If you find this is the situation, we would appreciate your letting
us know so that we can fix the problem. Even if you don't find any
problems, we would still like to hear from you regarding future
enhancements that might make these utilities more useful.
Suggestions/problems can be posted to CompuServ ID [76117,2611] or
you can write directly to:
Battelle
P.O. Box 8399
Columbus, Ohio 43201
SAVE
----
The SAVE program may be used to save/backup one or more DOS files
from one disk to another. Typically, the disk to which the files are
transferred is a floppy disk, although hard disks may also be used.
When used in conjunction with the LOAD program, you have a quick and
convenient means of copying files from one computer system to another
without affecting current backup procedures.
The general syntax for executing SAVE is as follows:
SAVE <source-path> <destination-drive> <switches>
where:
<source-path> is any valid DOS file path specification
which specifies the files to be saved. This
specification may include the wildcard
characters '*' and '?'. The <source-path>
must include the source drive specification.
For example, a <source-path> specification
might be C:\XXX\*.COM which indicates that
all COM files on the C drive in the XXX sub-
directory are to be saved.
<destination-drive> is any valid DOS drive specification which
specifies where the files will be placed.
For example, a <destination-drive>
specification might be A: which indicates
that the A floppy disk is where SAVE should
place the saved files.
There are a number of <switches> which may be used to modify the
general behavior of SAVE. A short summary is given below with a more
complete explanation on the following pages:
/s Include all subdirectories.
/a Append to current save information.
/m Save only modified files.
/n Do not delete current files on destination disk.
/b Set backup up (archived) status in source files.
/c Compress source files while saving to destination
disk.
/e Estimate amount to be saved.
/x Don't prompt for first save disk.
/d:<mm-dd-yy> Save files modified on or after the date
<mm-dd-yy>.
/t:<hh:mm:ss> Save files modified on or after the time
<hh:mm:ss>.
/l:<filename> Create/update save log on <filename>.
This summary can be obtained by invoking SAVE without parameters.
SAVE Switches
-------------
Switch Function
---------- -------------------------------------------------
/s In addition to the files indicated by the source path
specification, all subdirectories beneath the source
path will also be searched using the file
specification given in <source-path>.
/a This switch indicates that files which match the
source path specification should be appended to
currently existing SAVE informatio