ftp.wwiv.com

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

/ ftp.wwiv.com / ftp.wwiv.com.zip / ftp.wwiv.com / pub / BBS / POWPP200.ZIP / POWERPPL.200 / PPHLP.HLP (.txt) < prev next >

Wrap

Borland Turbo Vision Help | 1994-12-30 | 166KB | 3,162 lines

FBHFU THelpTopic Power PPL 2.0 General Help File Editor Calculator Calendar Ascii Table Message Window PPL Reference Index THelpTopic Compiler Options There are two options for the compiler : Array Dimension Checking This option allow the compiler to check for mistakes when using the statement REDIM. for example : = DIM TABLE(5,5,5) ... REDIM TABLE,10,10 This will generate an error unless Array Dimension Checking has been disabled. User Variable Generation This allow the PPE to generate the user variables when starting... disable this option if you don't want to have the work done... { Usually, there is no need to change anything here... both options may be checked unless you have reasons to changed that. THelpTopic The File Editor The File Editor allows you to edit your .PPS files... ' here are the keys that you may press: Up Move up one line Down Move down one line Right Move right one column Left Move left one column PgUp Move one page up PgDn Move one page down Home Move right most column of line End Move left most column of line Ctrl-Right Move right one word Ctrl-Left Move left one word Ctrl-PgUp Move to top of text Ctrl-PgDn Move to bottom of text You can use blocks to move/delete/replace any block of text... simply hold the Shift key pressed and press: $ Up Resize the block one line up Down Resize the block one line down Right Resize the block one column right Left Resize the block one column left PgUp Resize the block one page up PgDn Resize the block one page down Home Resize the block to right most column of line End Resize the block to left most column of line Ctrl-Right Resize the block to next word Ctrl-Left Resize the block to previous word Ctrl-PgUp Resize the block to bottom of text Ctrl-PgDn Resize the block to end of text Del Delete the block (the block is lost, unless UNDO is pressed) Shift-Del Put the block in the current buffer and delete it Shift-Ins Fill the block with the current buffer Ctrl-Ins Put the block in the current buffer The File editor can be resized and moved using the Windows menu or the mouse. W It is possible to open many File Editors at a time, just open a file or create one... THelpTopic Calculator A calculator is very usefull when programming... you can have many calculators opened at a time, calculating different things... The calculator is a simple four-function calculator with add, subtract, multiply, and divide. To operate the calculator you can either use the keyboard or press the buttons on the calculator with the mouse. The 'C' key clears the calculator, the ' ' key will erases the last character typed, and the ' ' key toggles the value from positive to negative (the keyboard equivalent of ' ' is '_'). THelpTopic Message Window The Message Window is here to show you the result of the compilation procedure. Here are shown the line number of your errors or simply the confirmation of a perfect compilation, so you know you're the best PPL programmer all over the world <grin!> THelpTopic Calendar The calendar displays the current month, highlighting todays date. The next and previous months can be viewed using the '+' or '-' keys respectivly. The mouse can also be used to change the month by pressing the icons. THelpTopic ASCII Table An Ascii table is REALLY usefull when programming... we never know what's the code of the ' ' character for exemple... j The ASCII table displays the entire IBM PC character set. The current character is marked by a blinking block cursor, and the hexadecimal and decimal ASCII values of the character are displayed below the chart. A new character is selected by pressing it on the keyboard, by clicking the mouse on it in the chart, or by moving the cursor using the cursor keys. THelpTopic PCBoard Programming Language Reference Index PPL Source Syntax Data Types Constants Predifined Variables Predifined Constants Message Header Constants Expression Operators Accounting features DBase features @Xnn Color codes Compiler Options Compiler Directives Functions & Statements Functions Statements A Functions Statements Functions Statements C Functions Statements Functions Statements E Functions Statements Functions Statements G Functions Statements Functions Statements I Functions Statements Functions Statements K Functions Statements Functions Statements M Functions Statements Functions Statements O Functions Statements Functions Statements Q Functions Statements Functions Statements S Functions Statements Functions Statements U Functions Statements Functions Statements W Functions Statements Functions Statements THelpTopic Functions & Statements - A Abort Abs Account ActMsgNum AdjBytes AdjDBytes AdjTBytes AdjTFiles AdjTime Alias And AnsiOn AnsiPos Append Asc THelpTopic Function & Statements - B B2w Backup BitClear BitSet Blt Break Broadcast Bye THelpTopic Function & Statements - C Call CallID CallNum Carrier CcType CdCheckOff CdCheckOn CdOn Chat ChatStat Chr CloseCap ClrEol Cls Color ConfAlias ConfExp ConfFlag ConfMw ConfReg ConfSel ConfSys ConfUnFlag Continue Copy Crc32 CurColor CurConf CurSec CurUser THelpTopic Function & Statements - D Date Day DbgLevel Dec Declare DefAns DefColor Delay Delete DelUser Dir DispFile DispStr DispText DNext DoIntr Dow Download DriveSpace DtrOff DtrOn THelpTopic Function & Statements - E End ErrorCorrect EvtTimeAdj Exist THelpTopic Function & Statements - F FAppend FClose FCloseAll FCreate FDefIn FDefOut FDGet FDPut FDPutLn FDPutPad FDRead FDWrite Ferr FFlush FGet FileInf Flag FlagCnt FmtCC FmtReal FNext FOpen ForNext Forward FPut FPutLn FPutPad FRead FReAltUser FreshLine FRewind FSeek Function FWrite THelpTopic Function & Statements - G GetAltUser GetEnv GetToken GetUser GetX GetY Goodbye GoSub GoTo GrafMode THelpTopic Function & Statements - H Hangup HelpPath HiConfNum HiMsgNum Hour THelpTopic Function & Statements - I I2s IfThen InBytes Inc Inkey Input InputCC InputDate InputInt InputMoney InputStr InputText InputTime InputYN Instr IsBitSet IsNonStop THelpTopic Function & Statements - J Join THelpTopic Function & Statements - K KbdBufSize KbdChkOff KbdChkOn KbdFile KbdFileUsed KbdFlush KbdString KbdStuff KeyFlush KInkey THelpTopic Function & Statements - L Lang LangExt LastAns LastIn Left Len Let Log LoggedOn LoMsgNum Loop Lower Lprinted Ltrim THelpTopic Function & Statements - M Mask_Alnum Mask_Alpha Mask_Ascii Mask_File Mask_Num Mask_Path Mask_Pwd MaxNode MdmFlush MegaNum Message MGetByte Mid Min MInkey MinLeft MinOn Mixed MkAddr MkDate Modem Month More MouseReg MPrint MPrintLn MsgToFile THelpTopic Function & Statements - N NewLine NewLines NoChar Not THelpTopic Function & Statements - O OnLocal OpenCap Operators OpText OutBytes THelpTopic Function & Statements - P PageOff PageOn PageStat PCBAccount PcbAccStat PcbDat PcbMac PcbNode PeekB PeekDW PeekW PokeB PokeDW PokeW Pop PPEName PPEPath PPLBufSize PRFound Print PrintLn Procedure PromptStr Psa Push PutAltUser PutUser THelpTopic Function & Statements - Q Quest Quit QwkLimits THelpTopic Function & Statements - R Random RdUnet RdUsys ReadLine RecordUsage ReDim RegAh RegAl RegAx RegBh RegBl RegBx RegCf RegCh RegCl RegCx RegDh RegDi RegDl RegDs RegDx RegEs RegF RegSi Rename Replace ReplaceStr ResetDisp RestScrn Return Right Rtrim THelpTopic Function & Statements - S S2i SaveScrn ScanMsgHdr ScrFile ScrText SearchFind SearchInit SearchStop Sec Select SendModem SetEnv SetLmr Shell ShowOff ShowOn ShowStat SlPath Sort Sound Space SPrint SPrintLn StackAbort StackErr StackLeft StartDisp Stop String Strip StripAtx StripStr Syntax SysopSec THelpTopic Function & Statements - T TempPath Time TimeAP ToDDate TokCount Tokenize TokenStr ToType TPACGet TPACPut TPACRead TPACWrite TPAGet TPAPut TPARead TPAWrite Trim THelpTopic Function & Statements - U Un_City Un_Name Un_Oper Un_Stat Upper UserAlias U_Bdl U_BdlDay U_Bul U_Fdl U_Ful U_InConf U_LDate U_LDir U_Lmr U_Logons U_LTime U_MsgRd U_MsgWr U_Name U_PwdHist U_PwdLc U_PwdTc U_RecNum U_Stat U_TimeOn THelpTopic Function & Statements - V ValCC ValDate ValTime VarAddr VarOff VarSeg Ver THelpTopic Function & Statements - W Wait WaitFor While WrUnet WrUsys WrUsysDoor THelpTopic Function & Statements - X Xor THelpTopic Function & Statements - Y Year YesChar THelpTopic PPL SOURCE SYNTAX Each line of a PPL source file may contain none, one, some or all of the following sections: 5 [KEYWORD ][EXPR|VAR][,EXPR|VAR][;|'][COMMENT TEXT] 9 KEYWORD - A PPL statement used to accomplish some task. J EXPR - A PPL expression which may contain VARs, CONSTs, and/or FUNCs. 9 VAR - A PPL variable with optional array subscript. CONST - A PPL constant. 0 FUNC - A PPL function that returns a value. > ; - Used to start a comment. Ignored by the compiler. > ' - Used to start a comment. Ignored by the compiler. C * - Used to start a comment if first character of the line. G COMMENT - Comment text following the ; or '. Ignored by the compiler. if a line is blank or contains only a comment, it is skipped. if it contains a KEYWORD, that line is compiled into a tokenized format. If it doesn't contain a KEYWORD but some argument, it is assumed to be an assignement statement (LET). % A double quote ("") may be embedded within a string constant to tell the compiler that a single literal quote is desired In other words, "THIS""IS""A""TEST" would evaluate to THIS"IS"A"TEST after the leading and trailing quotes are removed and the double quotes were folded to single quotes. Labels and variable names may now include the following characters in addition to A-Z, 0-9, and the _ (underscore) character: $ (dollar sign), @ (commercial at), # (pound sign), (cents), (british pound), (japanese yen) A \ (backslash) character as the last character on a line (before any comments) will now allow continuing a logical line from one to the next physical line ` A : (colon) character may be used to separate multiple logical lines on a single physical line THelpTopic& DATA TYPES SYNTAX TYPE var[(dim[,dim[,dim]])][,var...] ) PPL utilizes the following data types: BOOLEAN unsigned character (1 byte) 0 = FALSE, non-0 = TRUE DATE unsigned integer (2 bytes) PCBoard julian date (count of days since 1/1/1900) DDATE Signed long integer for julian date. DDATE is for use with DBase date fields. It holds a long integer for julian dates. When coerced to string type it is in the format CCYYMMDD or 19940527 ! INTEGER / SDWORD / LONG signed long integer (4 bytes) Range: -2,147,483,648 -> +2,147,483,647 MONEY signed long integer (4 bytes) Range: -$21,474,836.48 -> +$21,474,836.47 STRING far character pointer (4 bytes) NULL is an empty string non-NULL points to a string of some length less than or equal to 256 TIME signed long integer (4 bytes) Count of seconds since midnight BIGSTR Allows up to 2048 characters per big string (up from 256 for STRING variables) May include CHR(0) characters in the middle of the big string (unlike STRING variables which may not) EDATE Julian date in earth date format Deals with dates formatted YYMM.DD Range: Same as DATE REAL / FLOAT 4-byte floating point number Range: +/-3.4E-38 - +/-3.4E+38 (7-digit precision) DREAL / DOUBLE 8-byte floating point number Range: +/-1.7E-308 - +/-1.7E+308 (15-digit precision) $ UNSIGNED / DWORD / UDWORD 4-byte unsigned integer Range: 0 - 4,294,967,295 BYTE / UBYTE 1-byte unsigned integer Range: 0 - 255 WORD / UWORD 2-byte unsigned integer Range: 0 - 65,535 SBYTE / SHORT 1-byte signed integer Range: -128 - 127 SWORD / INT 2-byte signed integer Range: -32,768 - 32,767 NOTES Any type may be assigned to any other type. This is the simplest way to accomplish type conversion. BOOLEAN, DATE, INTEGER, MONEY and TIME are all integer types and may be assigned to each other. Assignment from a larger data type to a smaller data type automatically converts the data to a format suitable for the smaller data type. Conversion to and from STRINGs is dependent on the other data type. DATEs are imported/exported as "MM-DD-YY". TIMEs are imported/exported as "HH:MM:SS". MONEYs are imported/exported as "#.##" without embedded dollar signs or commas, and using as many characters as needed to the left of the decimal point. All variables must be declared before use. THelpTopic CONSTANTS PPL allows user defined constants in the following formats: $#.## A MONEY constant (dollar sign followed by optional dollars followed by decimal point followed by cents; # = 0-9) #h An INTEGER hexadecimal constant (# = 0-9 & A-F) #d An INTEGER decimal constant (# = 0-9) #o An INTEGER octal constant (# = 0-7) #b An INTEGER binary constant (# = 0-1) # An INTEGER constant (# = 0-9) "X" A STRING constant (X = any displayable text) @X## An INTEGER @X constant (# = 0-9 & A-F) THelpTopicY PREDEFINED CONSTANTS PPL predefines the following constants: AUTO = 2000h Parameter passed to INPUTSTR and PROMPTSTR statements (automatically press enter after 10 seconds of no user input) BELL = 800h Parameter passed to DISPTEXT statement (sound a bell when prompt displayed) CRC_FILE - CRC_STR These constants were added to avoid confusion when telling the function CRC32 what it is taking the CRC of. CRC_FILE tells CRC32 to calculate the CRC of the file contained within the string argument. CRC_STR tells CRC32 to calculate the CRC of the string argument itself. CRC_FILE has a value of 1 (TRUE) CRC_STR has a value of 0 (FALSE) CUR_USER = 0 Parameter passed to CURUSER() DEFS = 0 Parameter passed to various statements for default values ECHODOTS = 1h Parameter passed to INPUTSTR and PROMPTSTR statements (echo dots instead of user input) ERASELINE = 20h Parameter passed to INPUTSTR and PROMPTSTR statements (erase the current line when user presses enter) FALSE = 0 BOOLEAN FALSE value FCL = 2 Value passed to STARTDISP to force line counting display FIELDLEN = 2h Parameter passed to INPUTSTR and PROMPTSTR statements (displays parenthesis to show input field width if ANSI enabled) FNS = 1 Value passed to STARTDISP to force non-stop display F_EXP = 2h Expired subscription access allowed flag for CONFFLAG and CONFUNFLAG F_MW = 10h Mail waiting flag for CONFFLAG and CONFUNFLAG F_REG = 1h Registered access allowed flag for CONFFLAG and CONFUNFLAG F_SEL = 4h Conference selected flag for CONFFLAG and CONFUNFLAG F_SYS = 8h Conference SysOp access flag for CONFFLAG and CONFUNFLAG GRAPH = 1h Parameter passed to DISPFILE statement to search for graphics specific files GUIDE = 4h Parameter passed to INPUTSTR and PROMPTSTR statements (displays parenthesis above current line if FIELDLEN used and ANSI not enabled) HIGHASCII = 1000h Parameter passed to INPUTSTR and PROMPTSTR statements (allow high ascii characters, regardless of current valid character set, if disable high ascii filter set to yes) LANG = 4h Parameter passed to DISPFILE statement to search for language specific files LFAFTER = 100h Parameter passed to INPUTSTR, PROMPTSTR and DISPTEXT statements (send an extra line feed after user presses enter) LFBEFORE = 80h Parameter passed to INPUTSTR, PROMPTSTR and DISPTEXT statements (send an extra line feed before prompt display) LOGIT = 8000h Parameter passed to DISPTEXT statement (log text to callers log) LOGITLEFT = 10000h Parameter passed to DISPTEXT statement (log text to callers log, forcing left justification) NC = 0 Value passed to STARTDISP to not change display mode NEWLINE = 40h Parameter passed to INPUTSTR, PROMPTSTR and DISPTEXT statements (send a line feed after user presses enter) NOCLEAR = 400h Parameter passed to INPUTSTR and PROMPTSTR statements (don't clear field at first keypress regardless of ANSI) NO_USER = -1 Parameter passed to CURUSER() O_RD = 0 Parameter passed to FCREATE/FOPEN/FAPPEND to open a file in read only mode O_RW = 2 Parameter passed to FCREATE/FOPEN/FAPPEND to open a file in read and write mode O_WR = 1 Parameter passed to FCREATE/FOPEN/FAPPEND to open a file in write only mode SEC = 2h Parameter passed to DISPFILE statement to search for security specific files STACKED = 10h Parameter passed to INPUTSTR and PROMPTSTR statements (allow semi-colons and spaces in addition to valid character set passed) S_DB = 3h Parameter passed to FCREATE/FOPEN/FAPPEND to deny read and write (both) access from other processes S_DN = 0h Parameter passed to FCREATE/FOPEN/FAPPEND to allow read and write (deny none) access from other processes S_DR = 1h Parameter passed to FCREATE/FOPEN/FAPPEND to deny read access from other processes S_DW = 2h Parameter passed to FCREATE/FOPEN/FAPPEND to deny write access from other processes TRUE = 1 BOOLEAN TRUE value UPCASE = 8h Parameter passed to INPUTSTR and PROMPTSTR statements (force user input to upper case) WORDWRAP = 200h Parameter passed to INPUTSTR and PROMPTSTR statements (if user hits end of line, save the text at the end of the line for future use) YESNO = 4000h Parameter passed to INPUTSTR and PROMPTSTR statements (Only allow international yes/no responses) NO_USER = -1 Return by GetUser - variables are currently undefined CUR_USER = 0 Return by GetUser - User variables are for the current user " See also : Predefined Variables THelpTopic5 PREDEFINED VARIABLES PPL predefines the following variables for user record access: BOOLEAN U_CLS Clear screen between messages status BOOLEAN U_DEF79 79 column message editor default BOOLEAN U_EXPERT Users current expert status BOOLEAN U_FSE Users full screen editor default BOOLEAN U_FSEP Prompt for full screen editor status BOOLEAN U_LONGHDR 6 line vs 4 line message header status BOOLEAN U_SCROLL Scroll multi-screen message status DATE U_EXPDATE The users subscription expiration date DATE U_PWDEXP The date that the users password expires and must be changed INTEGER U_EXPSEC The users expired security level INTEGER U_PAGELEN The users page length INTEGER U_SEC The users security level STK_LIMIT This constant was added so the PPL programmer could determine how close they are getting to the stack limit when using recursion. STRING U_ADDR(5) The users address information (if the SysOp has enabled address recording) Subscript 0 = First street line 1 = Second street line 2 = City 3 = State 4 = Zip 5 = Country STRING U_ALIAS The users alias (if the SysOp has enabled alias use) STRING U_BDPHONE The users business/data phone number STRING U_CITY The users city/state information STRING U_CMNT1 The users comment field STRING U_CMNT2 The SysOps comment field STRING U_HVPHONE The users home/voice phone number STRING U_NOTES(4) Notes about the user (if the SysOp has enabled the note capability) $ Subscripts 0-4 hold lines 1-5 STRING U_PWD The users password STRING U_TRANS The users default transfer protocol STRING U_VER The users verification string (if the SysOp has enabled user verification) " See also : Predefined Constants THelpTopic EXPRESSION OPERATORS PPL allows the following operators to be used in expressions (lvalue and rvalue are simply the values to the left and right, respectively, of binary operators): Z ( - Start sub-expression (also allows [ to be used) ) - End sub-expression (also allows ] to be used) ^ - Raise lvalue to the power of rvalue (also allows ** to be used) * - Multiply lvalue by rvalue / - Divide lvalue by rvalue % - Remainder of lvalue divided by rvalue + - Add rvalue to lvalue - - Subtract rvalue from lvalue = - Is lvalue equal to rvalue (also allows ==) <> - Is lvalue not equal to rvalue (also allows != and ><) < - Is lvalue less than rvalue <= - Is lvalue less than or equal to rvalue (also allows =<) > - Is lvalue greater than rvalue >= - Is lvalue greater than or equal to rvalue (also allows =>) ! - Logical not of rvalue & - Logical and of lvalue with rvalue (also allows &&) | - Logical or of lvalue with rvalue (also allows ||) THelpTopic ABORT() :BOOLEAN Returns a flag indicating whether or not the user aborted the display of data via ^K/^X or answering no to a MORE? prompt THelpTopic ABS(var:integer) :INTEGER Returns the absolute value of "var" THelpTopic AND(var1:integer,var2:integer) :INTEGER Returns the bitwise and of two integer expressions See also : Or Xor Not THelpTopic ANSION() :BOOLEAN Returns TRUE if the user has ANSI capabilities See also : OnLocal GrafMode THelpTopic ASC(var:string) :INTEGER Returns the ASCII value (0-255) of the first character of "var" See also : Chr THelpTopic B2W(var1:integer,var2:integer) :INTEGER Returns a word built from two byte sized values by the formula: (var1*0100h+var2) THelpTopic CALLID() :STRING Returns the caller ID string THelpTopic CALLNUM() :INTEGER Returns the caller number of the current user. THelpTopic CARRIER() :INTEGER Returns the carrier speed as reported by the modem to PCBoard See also : ErrCorrect THelpTopic CCTYPE(var:string) :STRING Returns the issuer of credit card number "var" ! See also : FmtCC InputCC ValCC THelpTopic CDON() :BOOLEAN Returns TRUE if the carrier detect signal is on " See also : CdCheckOn CdCheckOff THelpTopic CHATSTAT() :BOOLEAN Return the current users chat availability status (TRUE means available, FALSE means unavailable). See also : PageStat THelpTopic CHR(var:integer) :BIGSTR Returns a single character long string of the character represented by ASCII code "var" (0-255) See also : Asc THelpTopic CONFREG(confNum:integer) :BOOLEAN Returns TRUE if users registered flag is set, FALSE otherwise u See also : ConfSel ConfSys ConfMw CurConf ConfExp CurConf ConfFlag ConfUnFlag Join ConfAlias LastIn THelpTopic CONFEXP(confNum:integer) Returns TRUE if users expired flag is set, FALSE otherwise NOTE: h ConfReg() = FALSE & CONFEXP = TRUE, user locked out ConfReg() = TRUE & CONFEXP = TRUE, user reg & exp See also : ConfSel ConfSys ConfMw CurConf CurConf ConfFlag ConfUnFlag Join ConfAlias LastIn ConfReg THelpTopic CONFSEL(confNum:integer) :BOOLEAN Returns TRUE if user has selected the conference, FALSE otherwise See also : ConfSys ConfMw CurConf ConfExp CurConf ConfFlag ConfUnFlag Join ConfAlias LastIn ConfReg THelpTopic CONFSYS(confNum:integer) :BOOLEAN Returns TRUE if user has conference SysOp access, FALSE otherwise See also : ConfSel ConfMw CurConf ConfExp CurConf ConfFlag ConfUnFlag Join ConfAlias LastIn ConfReg THelpTopic CONFMW(confNum:integer) :BOOLEAN Returns TRUE if user has mail waiting in conference "confnum", FALSE otherwise See also : ConfSel ConfSys CurConf ConfExp CurConf ConfFlag ConfUnFlag Join ConfAlias LastIn ConfReg THelpTopic CURCOLOR() :INTEGER Returns the current color (0-255) in use by the ANSI driver See also : DefColor THelpTopic CURCONF() :INTEGER Returns the current conference number See also : ConfSel ConfSys ConfMw ConfExp CurConf ConfFlag ConfUnFlag Join ConfAlias LastIn ConfReg THelpTopic CURSEC() :INTEGER Returns the users current security level See also : SysopSec THelpTopic DATE() :DATE Returns todays date See also : Time THelpTopic DAY(datevar:date) :INTEGER Returns the day of the month (1-31) of "datevar" See also : Month Year Dow THelpTopic DBGLEVEL() :INTEGER Returns the debug level in effect / DBGLEVEL dbg:integer Set the debug level to "dbg" THelpTopic DEFANS() :BIGSTR Returns the last default answer passed to an Input statement. For example, this allows a PPE to determine what the default answer would have been had a PCBTEXT prompt not been replaced with a PPE. See also : LastAns THelpTopic DEFCOLOR() :INTEGER Returns the default color as specified in PCBSetup DEFCOLOR Resets the current color to the system default See also : CurColor THelpTopic DOW(day:date) :INTEGER Returns the day of the week (0 = Sunday, 6 = Saturday) that "day" fell on See also : Date Month Year THelpTopic ERRCORRECT() :BOOLEAN Returns TRUE if a session is determined to be error corrected (or FALSE for non-error corrected sessions). See also : Carrier THelpTopic EVTTIMEADJ() :BOOLEAN Detects if the users time has been adjusted for an upcoming event. This is useful to detect if a users time left can be increased with the AdjTime statement. See also : AdjTime THelpTopic EXIST(file:string) :BOOLEAN Returns a boolean TRUE value if the file "file" exists / See also : Delete Copy Append FileInf Rename THelpTopic FERR(channel:integer) :BOOLEAN Returns TRUE if a file access error occurred on channel "channel" since the file was opened or FERR was last called See also : FOpen THelpTopic FILEINF(file:string,option:integer) :MULTITYPE Returns a piece of information (specified by "option") about the file "file" Valid values for "options": 1 = Return TRUE if file exists 2 = Return file date stamp 3 = Return file time stamp 4 = Return file size 5 = Return file attributes 01h = Read Only 02h = Hidden 04h = System 20h = Archive 6 = Return file drive 7 = Return file path 8 = Return file base name 9 = Return file extension Return value type is depending on the info requested. It may be BOOLEAN, DATE, INTEGER, STRING and TIME - See also : Delete Copy Append Exist Rename THelpTopic FMTCC(format:strinf) :STRING Returns a formatted credit card number based on "format" See also CcType ValCC InputCC THelpTopic FMTREAL(realExp:real/dreal,fieldWidth:integer,decimalPlaces:integer) Formats REAL/DREAL values for display purposes. realExp = A REAL/DREAL floating point expression fieldWidth = The minimum number of characters to display decimalPlaces = The number of characters to display to the right of the decimal point THelpTopic GETENV(var:string) :STRING Returns the value of the environment variable named by "var" THelpTopic GETTOKEN() :STRING Returns the next string token from a prior call to Tokenize (Same as the GETTOKEN statement but can be used in an expression without prior assignement to a variable) s GETTOKEN VAR Get a token from a previous call to Tokenize and assign it to VAR See also : Tokenize TokenStr TokCount THelpTopic GETX() :INTEGER Returns the current column (X position) of the cursor on the display See also : GetY AnsiPos THelpTopic GETY() :INTEGER Returns the current row (Y position) of the cursor on the display See also : GetX AnsiPos THelpTopic GRAFMODE() :STRING Returns a character indicating the users graphics status R = RIPscrip supported G = ANSI graphics (color and positioning) supported A = ANSI positioning (no color) supported N = No graphics (RIP or ANSI) supported See also : AnsiOn OnLocal THelpTopic HELPPATH() :STRING Returns the path, as specified in PCBSetup, to the help files % See also : PPEPath SlPath TempPath THelpTopic HIMSGNUM() :INTEGER Returns the high message number for the current conference. See also : LoMsgNum THelpTopic HOUR(dayhour:time) :INTEGER Returns the hour of the day (0-23) of "dayhour" See also : Min Sec THelpTopic I2S(var1:integer,var2:integer) :STRING Returns a string representing the integer value "var1" converted to base "var2" See also : S2i String THelpTopic INKEY() :STRING Returns the next keypress as a single character long string, or a string with the name of the function or cursor control key $ See also : KInkey MGetByte MInkey THelpTopic INSTR(var1:bigstr,var2:bigstr) :INTEGER Returns the position of "var2" in "var1" (1-LEN(var1)) or 0 if "var2" not in "var1" THelpTopic ISBITSET(var:multitype, bit:integer) :BOOLEAN Check the status of a specified bit in a variable. This function is primarily intended to be used with BIGSTR variables which can be up to 2048 bytes long. However, it will work with other data types (and expressions) as well if desired. See also : BitSet BitClear THelpTopic ISNONSTOP() :BOOLEAN Return whether or not the display is currently in non-stop mode ( ie, did the user type NS as part of their command line) See also : StartDisp THelpTopic KBDBUFSIZE() :INTEGER Return the number of key presses pending in the KbdString buffer p See also : PPLBufSize KbdFlush KbdStuff KbdFile KbdString KbdFileUsed MdmFlush KeyFlush KbdFlush THelpTopic KBDFILEUSED() :BOOLEAN Return TRUE if key presses are being stuffed via a KbdFile statement. s See also : KbdBufSize PPLBufSize KbdFlush KbdStuff KbdFile MdmFlush KeyFlush KbdFlush KbdString THelpTopic KINKEY() :STRING Returns the next keypress from the BBS keyboard as a single character long string, or a string with the name of the function or cursor control key # See also : Inkey MInkey MGetByte THelpTopic LANGEXT() :STRING Returns the file extension for the users language selection See also : Lang THelpTopic LASTANS() :STRING function to return the last answer accepted by an Input statement. See also : DefAns THelpTopic LEFT(var1:string,var2:integer) :BIGSTR Returns the left-most "var2" characters of "var1" See also : Right Mid THelpTopic LEN(var:bigstr) :INTEGER Returns the length of "var" THelpTopic LOGGEDON() :BOOLEAN Returns TRUE if the user has already logged on to the BBS, FALSE otherwise THelpTopic LOMSGNUM() :INTEGER Returns the low message number for the current conference. See also : HiMsgNum THelpTopic LOWER(var:bigstr) :BIGSTR Returns a string of "var" with all uppercase characters converted to lowercase characters See also : Upper Mixed THelpTopic LPRINTED() :INTEGER Return the number of lines printed on the display See also : StartDisp THelpTopic LTRIM(var1:bigstr,var2:string) :BIGSTR Returns a string of "var1" with the first character of "var2" trimmed from the left See also : Rtrim Trim THelpTopic MASK_ALNUM() :STRING Returns a valid character mask for input statements of A through Z, a through z, and 0 through 9 I See also : Mask_Alpha Mask_Ascii Mask_File Mask_Num Mask_Path Mask_Pwd THelpTopic MASK_ALPHA() :STRING Returns a valid character mask for input statements of A through Z and a through z I See also : Mask_Alnum Mask_Ascii Mask_File Mask_Num Mask_Path Mask_Pwd THelpTopic MASK_ASCII() :STRING Returns a valid character mask for input statements of space (" ") through tilde ("~") I See also : Mask_Alpha Mask_Alnum Mask_File Mask_Num Mask_Path Mask_Pwd THelpTopic MASK_FILE() :STRING Returns a valid character mask for input statements of file names J See also : Mask_Alpha Mask_Ascii Mask_Alnum Mask_Num Mask_Path Mask_Pwd THelpTopic MASK_NUM() :STRING Returns a valid character mask for input statements of 0 through 9 K See also : Mask_Alpha Mask_Ascii Mask_File Mask_Alnum Mask_Path Mask_Pwd THelpTopic MASK_PATH() :STRING Returns a valid character mask for input statements of path names J See also : Mask_Alpha Mask_Ascii Mask_File Mask_Num Mask_Alnum Mask_Pwd THelpTopic MASK_PWD() :STRING Returns a valid character mask for input statements of passwords K See also : Mask_Alpha Mask_Ascii Mask_File Mask_Num Mask_Path Mask_Alnum THelpTopic MAXNODE() :INTEGER Returns the maximum node possible with the current software (ie, /2 would return 2, /10 would return 10, etc) See also : PcbNode THelpTopic MEGANUM(number:integer) Converts a decimal number (from 0 to 1295) to a hexa-tri-decimal number, or meganum. THelpTopic MGETBYTE() :INTEGER Returns the value of the next byte from the modem (0-255) or -1 if there are no bytes waiting for input ! See also : Inkey KInkey MInkey THelpTopic MID(var1:bigstr,var2:integer,var3:integer) :BIGSTR Returns a string from "var1" starting at the "var2" position of "var1" and containing "var3" characters of "var1" See also : Right Left THelpTopic MIN(var1:time) :INTEGER Returns the minute of the hour (0-59) of "var1" See also : Hour Sec THelpTopic MINKEY() :STRING Returns the next keypress from the remote caller as a single character long string, or a string with the name of the function or cursor control key # See also : Inkey KInkey MGetByte THelpTopic MINLEFT() :INTEGER Returns the current callers minutes left to use online See also : MinOn THelpTopic MINON() :INTEGER Returns the current callers minutes online so far this session See also : MinLeft THelpTopic MIXED(var1:string) Converts a string to mixed (or proper name) case See also : Upper Lower THelpTopic MKADDR(seg:integer, off:integer) :INTEGER Returns a segment:offset address as a long integer built from two word sized values by the formula: (var1*00010000h+var2) # See also : VarSeg VarOff VarAddr THelpTopic MKDATE(year:integer, month:integer, day:integer) :DATE Returns a date with the year specified by "year" (1900-2079), month specified by "month" (1-12), and day specified by "day" (1-31). See also : Year Month Day THelpTopic MODEM() :STRING Returns the modem connect string as reported by the modem to PCBoard See also : Carrier THelpTopic MONTH(var1:date) :INTEGER Returns the month of the year (1-12) of "var1" See also : Year Day Dow THelpTopic NOCHAR() :STRING Returns the current language no character See also : YesChar THelpTopic NOT(var1:integer) :INTEGER Returns the bitwise complement (all bits inverted) of an integer expression See also : Or And Xor THelpTopic ONLOCAL() :BOOLEAN Returns TRUE if the user is on locally See also : AnsiOn GrafMode THelpTopic OR(var1:integer, var2:integer) :INTEGER Returns the bitwise or of two integer expressions See also Xor And Not THelpTopic PAGESTAT() :BOOLEAN Returns TRUE if the user has paged the SysOp (or PageOn has been issued), FALSE otherwise (or PageOff has been issued) See also : ChatStat THelpTopic PCBDAT() :STRING Returns a string with the path and file name of PCBOARD.DAT THelpTopic PCBNODE() :INTEGER Returns the node number See also : MaxNode THelpTopic PEEKB(var:integer) :INTEGER Returns a byte value (0-255) located at memory address "var" (PEEK is a synonym) - See also : PeekDW PeekW PokeB PokeW PokeDW THelpTopic PEEKDW(var:integer) :INTEGER Returns a signed integer value (-2147483648 - +2147483647) located at memory address "var" , See also : PeekB PeekW PokeB PokeW PokeDW THelpTopic PEEKW(var:integer) :INTEGER Returns a word value (0-65535) located at memory address "var" - See also : PeekDW PeekB PokeB PokeW PokeDW THelpTopic PPENAME() :STRING Returns the name of the currently executing PPE file minus the path and extension See also : PPEPath THelpTopic PPEPATH() :STRING Returns a string with the path (no file name) of the currently executing PPE file See also : PPEName THelpTopic PPLBUFSIZE() :INTEGER Returns the number of key presses pending in the KbdStuff buffer. o See also : KbdBufSize KbdFlush KbdStuff KbdFile KbdString KbdFileUsed MdmFlush KeyFlush KbdFlush THelpTopic PSA(var:integer) :BOOLEAN Returns TRUE if the feature specified by "var" is enabled, FALSE if the feature specified by "var" is disabled n Valid values for var: 1 = Alias Support Enabled 2 = Verify Support Enabled 3 = Address Support Enabled 4 = Password Support Enabled 5 = Statistics Support Enabled 6 = Notes Support Enabled See also : TPAGet THelpTopic RANDOM(var:integer) :INTEGER Returns a random number between 0 and "var" inclusive THelpTopic READLINE(file:string, line:integer) :STRING Read and return line number "line" from file "file" THelpTopic REGAH() :INTEGER Returns the value of the AH register after a DoIntr statement + See also : RegAl RegAx DoIntr THelpTopic REGAL() :INTEGER Returns the value of the AL register after a DoIntr statement + See also : RegAh RegAx DoIntr THelpTopic REGAX() :INTEGER Returns the value of the AX register after a DoIntr statement + See also : RegAh RegAl DoIntr THelpTopic REGBH() :INTEGER Returns the value of the BH register after a DoIntr statement + See also : RegBl RegBx DoIntr THelpTopic REGBL() :INTEGER Returns the value of the BL register after a DoIntr statement + See also : RegBh RegBx DoIntr THelpTopic REGBX() :INTEGER Returns the value of the BX register after a DoIntr statement + See also : RegBh RegBl DoIntr THelpTopic REGCF() :BOOLEAN Returns the state of the carry flag after a DoIntr statement $ See also : RegF DoIntr THelpTopic REGCH() :INTEGER Returns the value of the CH register after a DoIntr statement + See also : RegCl RegCx DoIntr THelpTopic REGCL() :INTEGER Returns the value of the CL register after a DoIntr statement + See also : RegCh RegCx DoIntr THelpTopic REGCX() :INTEGER Returns the value of the CX register after a DoIntr statement + See also : RegCh RegCl DoIntr THelpTopic REGDH() :INTEGER Returns the value of the DH register after a DoIntr statement + See also : RegDl RegDx DoIntr THelpTopic See also : DoIntr REGDI() :INTEGER Returns the value of the DI register after a DoIntr statement See also : DoIntr THelpTopic REGDL() :INTEGER Returns the value of the DL register after a DoIntr statement + See also : RegDh RegDx DoIntr THelpTopic REGDS() :INTEGER Returns the value of the DS register after a DoIntr statement See also : DoIntr THelpTopic REGDX() :INTEGER Returns the value of the DX register after a DoIntr statement + See also : RegDh RegDl DoIntr THelpTopic REGES() :INTEGER Returns the value of the ES register after a DoIntr statement See also : DoIntr THelpTopic REGF() :INTEGER Returns the value of the flags register after a DoIntr statement Seea also : RegCf DoIntr THelpTopic REGSI() :INTEGER Returns the value of the SI register after a DoIntr statement See also : DoIntr THelpTopic REPLACE(str:bigstr, search:string, replace:string) :BIGSTR Returns a string of "str" with all occurences of the first character of "search" replaced by the first character of "replace" See also : ReplaceStr THelpTopic REPLACESTR(str:bigstr, search:string, replace:string) :BIGSTR It functions just like the Replace function except that a complete sub-string may be specified for both search and replace q str is the string to work on search is the string to search for replace is the string to replace search with See also : Replace THelpTopic RIGHT(str:bigstr, len:integer) :BIGSTR Returns the right-most "len" characters of "str" See also : Left THelpTopic RTRIM(str1:bigstr, trim:string) :BIGSTR Returns a string of "str1" with the first character of "trim" trimmed from the right See also : Ltrim THelpTopic S2I(str:string, base:integer) :INTEGER Returns an integer representing the string "str" converted from base "base" See also : I2s THelpTopic SCRTEXT(col:integer, row:integer, len:integer, code:boolean) :STRING Returns a string with the text (and color information in the form of @X codes if "code" is TRUE) from column "col", row "row", and of length "len" See also : ScrFile THelpTopic SEC(var:time) :INTEGER Returns the second of the minute (0-59) of "var" See also : Hour Min THelpTopic SHOWSTAT() :BOOLEAN Returns TRUE if writing to the display is active, FALSE if writing to the display is disabled See also : ShowOff ShowOn THelpTopic SLPATH() :STRING Returns the path, as specified in PCBSetup, to the login security files ' See also : HelpPath PPEPath TempPath THelpTopic SPACE(len:integer) :BIGSTR Returns a string of spaces "len" characters long THelpTopic STRING(var:multitype) :STRING Returns "var" converted to a string See also : I2s THelpTopic STRIP(str:bigstr, char:string) :BIGSTR Returns a string of "str" with all occurrences of the first character of "char" removed See also : StripAtx StripStr THelpTopic STRIPATX(str:bigstr) :BIGSTR Returns a string of "str" with all @X codes removed See also : Strip StripStr THelpTopic STRIPSTR(str:bigstr, search:string) :BIGSTR Functions just like the Strip function except that a complete sub-string may be specified for search C str is the string to work on search is the string to search for See also : Strip StripAtx THelpTopic SYSOPSEC() :INTEGER Returns the SysOp security defined in PCBOARD.DAT See also : CurSec THelpTopic TEMPPATH() :STRING Returns the path, as specified in PCBSetup, to the temporary work directory % See also : SlPath HelpPath PPEPath THelpTopic TIME() :TIME Returns the current time See also : TimeAP Date THelpTopic TIMEAP(var:time) :STRING Returns a string representing the time "var" in civilian format (XX:XX:XX AM) See also : Time THelpTopic TOKCOUNT() :INTEGER Returns the number of tokens available via the GetToken statement and/or function ( See also : Tokenize GetToken TokenStr THelpTopic TOKENSTR() :STRING Returns a previously tokenized string reconstructed with semi-colons separating the component tokens ( See also : Tokenize GetToken TokCount THelpTopic TOtype(exp) TOBOOLEAN, TOMONEY, TOSTRING, TOBIGSTR, TOINTEGER, TOUNSIGNED, TOREAL, TODREAL, TOFLOAT, TODOUBLE, TODATE, TOEDATE, TOTIME, TOBYTE, TOWORD, TODWORD, TOUBYTE, TOUWORD, TOUDWORD, TOSBYTE, TOSWORD, TOSDWORD, TOSHORT, TOINT, & TOLONG > Used to force the result of an expression to a specific type ) Usage: TOtype(exp) (returns type) type is the actual type to force (BIGSTR, BOOLEAN, etc.) exp is an expression of any type See also : S2i I2s String THelpTopic TRIM(str:bigstr, char:string) :BIGSTR Returns a string of "str" with the first character of "char" trimmed from both ends See also : Rtrim Ltrim THelpTopic UPPER(str:bigstr) :BIGSTR Returns a string of "str" with all lowercase characters converted to uppercase characters See also : Lower Mixed THelpTopic UN_CITY() :STRING Returns a nodes city from USERNET.XXX after a RdUnet statement % See also : Un_Name Un_Oper Un_Stat THelpTopic UN_NAME() :STRING Returns a nodes user name from USERNET.XXX after a RdUnet statement % See also : Un_City Un_Oper Un_Stat THelpTopic UN_OPER() :STRING Returns a nodes operation text from USERNET.XXX after a RdUnet statement % See also : Un_City Un_Name Un_Stat THelpTopic UN_STAT() :STRING Returns a nodes status from USERNET.XXX after a RdUnet statement % See also : Un_City Un_Name Un_Oper THelpTopic U_BDL() :INTEGER Returns the current users number of bytes downloaded See also : U_BdlDay U_Bul U_Fdl U_Ful U_InConf U_LDate U_LDir U_Lmr U_Logons U_LTime U_MsgRd U_MsgWr U_Name U_PwdHistU_PwdLc U_PwdTc U_RecNum U_Stat U_TimeOn THelpTopic U_BDLDAY() :INTEGER Returns the current users number of bytes downloaded today See also : U_Bdl U_Bul U_Fdl U_Ful U_InConf U_LDate U_LDir U_Lmr U_Logons U_LTime U_MsgRd U_MsgWr U_Name U_PwdHistU_PwdLc U_PwdTc U_RecNum U_Stat U_TimeOn THelpTopic U_BUL() :INTEGER Returns the current users number of bytes uploaded See also : U_Bdl U_BdlDay U_Fdl U_Ful U_InConf U_LDate U_LDir U_Lmr U_Logons U_LTime U_MsgRd U_MsgWr U_Name U_PwdHistU_PwdLc U_PwdTc U_RecNum U_Stat U_TimeOn THelpTopic U_FDL() :INTEGER Returns the current users number of files downloaded See also : U_Bdl U_BdlDay U_Bul U_Ful U_InConf U_LDate U_LDir U_Lmr U_Logons U_LTime U_MsgRd U_MsgWr U_Name U_PwdHistU_PwdLc U_PwdTc U_RecNum U_Stat U_TimeOn THelpTopic U_FUL() :INTEGER Returns the current users number of files uploaded See also : U_Bdl U_BdlDay U_Bul U_Fdl U_InConf U_LDate U_LDir U_Lmr U_Logons U_LTime U_MsgRd U_MsgWr U_Name U_PwdHistU_PwdLc U_PwdTc U_RecNum U_Stat U_TimeOn THelpTopic U_INCONF(record:integer, conf:integer) :BOOLEAN Returns TRUE if user record number "record" is registered in conference "conf" See also : U_Bdl U_BdlDay U_Bul U_Fdl U_Ful U_LDate U_LDir U_Lmr U_Logons U_LTime U_MsgRd U_MsgWr U_Name U_PwdHistU_PwdLc U_PwdTc U_RecNum U_Stat U_TimeOn THelpTopic U_LDATE() :DATE Returns the current users last date on the system See also : U_Bdl U_BdlDay U_Bul U_Fdl U_Ful U_InConf U_LDir U_Lmr U_Logons U_LTime U_MsgRd U_MsgWr U_Name U_PwdHistU_PwdLc U_PwdTc U_RecNum U_Stat U_TimeOn THelpTopic U_LDIR() :DATE Returns the current users last directory scan date See also : U_Bdl U_BdlDay U_Bul U_Fdl U_Ful U_InConf U_LDate U_Lmr U_Logons U_LTime U_MsgRd U_MsgWr U_Name U_PwdHistU_PwdLc U_PwdTc U_RecNum U_Stat U_TimeOn THelpTopic U_LMR(confNum:integer) :INTEGER function to return the number of the last message read for the specified conference. See also : U_Bdl U_BdlDay U_Bul U_Fdl U_Ful U_InConf U_LDate U_LDir U_Logons U_LTime U_MsgRd U_MsgWr U_Name U_PwdHistU_PwdLc U_PwdTc U_RecNum U_Stat U_TimeOn THelpTopic U_LOGONS() :INTEGER Returns the current users number of times logged on See also : U_Bdl U_BdlDay U_Bul U_Fdl U_Ful U_InConf U_LDate U_LDir U_Lmr U_LTime U_MsgRd U_MsgWr U_Name U_PwdHistU_PwdLc U_PwdTc U_RecNum U_Stat U_TimeOn THelpTopic U_LTIME() :TIME Returns the current users last time on the system See also : U_Bdl U_BdlDay U_Bul U_Fdl U_Ful U_InConf U_LDate U_LDir U_Lmr U_Logons U_MsgRd U_MsgWr U_Name U_PwdHistU_PwdLc U_PwdTc U_RecNum U_Stat U_TimeOn THelpTopic U_MSGRD() :INTEGER Returns the number of messages the user has read See also : U_Bdl U_BdlDay U_Bul U_Fdl U_Ful U_InConf U_LDate U_LDir U_Lmr U_Logons U_LTime U_MsgWr U_Name U_PwdHistU_PwdLc U_PwdTc U_RecNum U_Stat U_TimeOn THelpTopic U_MSGWR() :INTEGER Returns the number of messages the user has written See also : U_Bdl U_BdlDay U_Bul U_Fdl U_Ful U_InConf U_LDate U_LDir U_Lmr U_Logons U_LTime U_MsgRd U_Name U_PwdHistU_PwdLc U_PwdTc U_RecNum U_Stat U_TimeOn THelpTopic U_NAME() :STRING Returns the current users name See also : U_Bdl U_BdlDay U_Bul U_Fdl U_Ful U_InConf U_LDate U_LDir U_Lmr U_Logons U_LTime U_MsgRd U_MsgWr U_PwdHistU_PwdLc U_PwdTc U_RecNum U_Stat U_TimeOn THelpTopic U_PWDHIST(hist:integer) :STRING Returns the specified password from the password history Valid values for "hist" are 1 through 3 See also : U_Bdl U_BdlDay U_Bul U_Fdl U_Ful U_InConf U_LDate U_LDir U_Lmr U_Logons U_LTime U_MsgRd U_MsgWr U_Name U_PwdLc U_PwdTc U_RecNum U_Stat U_TimeOn THelpTopic U_PWDLC() :DATE Returns the date of the last password change See also : U_Bdl U_BdlDay U_Bul U_Fdl U_Ful U_InConf U_LDate U_LDir U_Lmr U_Logons U_LTime U_MsgRd U_MsgWr U_Name U_PwdHist U_PwdTc U_RecNum U_Stat U_TimeOn THelpTopic U_PWDTC() :INTEGER Returns the number of times the password has been changed See also : U_Bdl U_BdlDay U_Bul U_Fdl U_Ful U_InConf U_LDate U_LDir U_Lmr U_Logons U_LTime U_MsgRd U_MsgWr U_Name U_PwdHist U_PwdLc U_RecNum U_Stat U_TimeOn THelpTopic U_RECNUM(user:string) :INTEGER Returns the user record number (0-65535) for user name "user" or -1 if "user" is not registered on this system. See also : U_Bdl U_BdlDay U_Bul U_Fdl U_Ful U_InConf U_LDate U_LDir U_Lmr U_Logons U_LTime U_MsgRd U_MsgWr U_Name U_PwdHist U_PwdLc U_PwdTc U_Stat U_TimeOn THelpTopic U_STAT(option:integer) :DATE or :INTEGER Returns a statistic about the user that is tracked by PCBoard 5 Valid values for "option" are 1 through 15 1 - Returns the first date the user called the system 2 - Returns the number of SysOp pages the user has requested 3 - Returns the number of group chats the user has participated in 4 - Returns the number of comments the user has left 5 - Returns the number of 300 bps connects 6 - Returns the number of 1200 bps connects 7 - Returns the bumber of 2400 bps connects 8 - Returns the number of 9600 bps connects 9 - Returns the number of 14400 bps connects 10 - Returns the number of security violations 11 - Returns the number of "not registered in conference" warnings 12 - Returns the number of times the users download limit has been reached 13 - Returns the number of "file not found" warnings 14 - Returns the number of password errors the user has had 15 - Returns the number of verify errors the user has had See also : U_Bdl U_BdlDay U_Bul U_Fdl U_Ful U_InConf U_LDate U_LDir U_Lmr U_Logons U_LTime U_MsgRd U_MsgWr U_Name U_PwdHist U_PwdLc U_PwdTc U_RecNum U_TimeOn THelpTopic U_TIMEON() :INTEGER Returns the current users time online today in minutes See also : U_Bdl U_BdlDay U_Bul U_Fdl U_Ful U_InConf U_LDate U_LDir U_Lmr U_Logons U_LTime U_MsgRd U_MsgWr U_Name U_PwdHist U_PwdLc U_PwdTc U_RecNum U_Stat THelpTopic VALCC(CCnum:string) :BOOLEAN Returns TRUE if "CCnum" is a valid credit card number " See also : ValCC InputCC CcType THelpTopic VALDATE(date:string) :BOOLEAN Returns TRUE if "date" is in a valid date format See also : ValTime THelpTopic VALTIME(time:string) :BOOLEAN Returns TRUE if "time" is in a valid time format See also : ValDate THelpTopic VER() :INTEGER Returns the version number of PCBoard that is running THelpTopic XOR(var1:integer, var2:integer) :INTEGER Returns the bitwise exclusive-or of two integer expressions See also : Or And Not THelpTopic YEAR(var:date) :INTEGER Returns the year (1900-2079) of "var" See also : Month Day Dow THelpTopic YESCHAR() :STRING Returns the current language yes character See also : NoChar THelpTopic ADJTIME min:integer Add or subtract "min" minutes to the users time available this session See also : EvtTimeAdj THelpTopic ANSIPOS col:integer, row:integer If ANSI is available, position the cursor in column "col" and in row "row" Legal ranges: 1 <= col <= 80 1 <= row <= 23 (Because of the status lines) (1,1) is the top left corner of the screen Note : Be aware that the user may have a different number of lines on his screen... if the user has 50 lines for exemple and that you do an ANSIPOS sentence to position the cursor on the 23rd line, the user will have a prompt in the middle of his screen... See also : GetX GetY THelpTopic BACKUP var:integer Backup (move the cursor to the left) "var" columns without going past column 1 See also : Forward THelpTopic BITCLEAR variable:multitype, bit:integer Clears a specified bit from a variable. This statement is primarily intended to be used with BIGSTR variables which can be up to 2048 bytes long. However, it will work with other data types as well if desired. Just be aware of the potential problems in 'bit twidling' non-string buffers and then trying to access them later as their 'intended' type without re-initializing the variable. If the bit parameter (an integer from 0 to the number of bits in the object) is invalid no processing takes place. See also : BitSet IsBitSet THelpTopic BITSET variable:multitype, bit:integer Set a specified bit from a variable. This statement is primarily intended to be used with BIGSTR variables which can be up to 2048 bytes long. However, it will work with other data types as well if desired. Just be aware of the potential problems in 'bit twidling' non-string buffers and then trying to access them later as their 'intended' type without re-initializing the variable. If the bit parameter (an integer from 0 to the number of bits in the object) is invalid no processing takes place. See also : BitClear IsBitSet THelpTopic BLT bltnr:integer Display bulletin number "bltnr" THelpTopic BROADCAST var1:integer, var2:integer, message:string Broadcast message "message" to nodes from "var1" to "var2" inclusive THelpTopic BYE Same as having the user type BYE from the command prompt # See also : Goodbye Hangup DtrOff THelpTopic CALL ppename Load and execute PPE filename specified by "ppename" See also : Shell THelpTopic CDCHKOFF Turn off carrier detect checking See also : CdCheckOn CdOn THelpTopic CDCHKON Turn on carrier detect checking See also : CdCheckOff CdOn THelpTopic CHAT Initiate SysOp chat mode See also : ChatStat PageStat THelpTopic CLOSECAP Close the capture file previously opened with OpenCap See also OpenCap THelpTopic CLREOL Clear to the end of the line, with the current color if in ANSI mode See also : Cls THelpTopic CLS Clear the screen, with the current color if in ANSI mode See also : ClrEol THelpTopic COLOR clr:integer Change the current color to "clr" See also : CurColor DefColor THelpTopic CONFFLAG conf:integer, flags:integer Turn on the conference "conf" flags specified by "flags" ~ See also : ConfSel ConfSys ConfMw CurConf ConfExp CurConf ConfUnFlag Join ConfAlias LastIn ConfReg THelpTopic CONFUNFLAG conf:integer, flags:integer Turn off the conference "conf" flags specified by "flags" z See also : ConfSel ConfSys ConfMw CurConf ConfExp CurConf ConfFlag Join ConfAlias LastIn ConfReg THelpTopic DEC var:multitype Decrement the value of var See also : Inc THelpTopic DELAY dlay:integer Pause for "dlay" clock ticks (1 clock tick = 1/18.2 second) See also : Wait THelpTopic DELETE file:string Deletes the filename specified by "file" (ERASE is a synonym) . See also : Copy Append Exist FileInf Rename THelpTopic DELUSER Flags the current user record for deletion THelpTopic DIR arg:string Performs a file directory command, passing it "arg" as arguments THelpTopic DISPFILE file:string, flag:integer Display file "file" with "flag" alternate file flags X valid flags : GRAPH SEC LANG See also : DispStr THelpTopic DISPSTR var:string Display file if "var" is "%filename", execute PPE if "var" is "!filename", or display string "var" THelpTopic DISPTEXT promptnr:integer, flagson:integer Display PCBTEXT prompt "promptnr" using flags "flagson" valid flags : NEWLINE LFBEFORE LFAFTER BELL LOGIT LOGITLEFT See also : DispFile THelpTopic DOINTR intr, ax, bx, cx, dx, si, di, flags, ds, es (all is integer) Generate interrupt number "intr" (0-255) with the register values passed as parameters ( Note : Use DoIntr at your own risks ! See also : RegAx RegAh RegAl RegBx RegBh RegBl RegCx RegCh RegCl RegDx RegDh RegDl RegDi RegEs RegSi RegDs RegCf RegF THelpTopic DTROFF Turn off the DTR signal Note : on most modems, lowering DTR will cause modem to hangup... this is a good way if you want to simulate a bad connection, and then hangup without goodbye screens... This is the best way for you, the nice sysop, to free your line quickly... :) & See also : DtrOn Goodbye Bye Hangup THelpTopic DTRON Turn on the DTR signal See also : DtrOff THelpTopic END End PPE execution See also : End If End While THelpTopic FAPPEND chnl:integer, file:string, access:integer, shrmod:integer Use channel "chnl" to open file "file" in append mode with access mode "access" and share mode "shrmod" valid channels : 0 - 7 [0 is used for script questionnaires] valid access modes : O_RD, O_WR, O_RW [should use O_RW] valid share modes : S_DN, S_DR, S_DW, S_DB See also : FOpen FClose FCreate THelpTopic FCLOSE chnl:integer Close channel "chnl" E Accept channel -1 as the ReadLine() function 'channel' and close it + See also : FAppend FClose FCreate FFlush THelpTopic FCREATE chnl:integer, file:string, access:integer, shrmod:integer Use channel "chnl" to create and open file "file" in access mode "access" and share mode "shrmod" valid channels : 0 - 7 [0 is used for script questionnaires] valid access modes : O_RD, O_WR, O_RW [should use O_WR] valid share modes : S_DN, S_DR, S_DW, S_DB See also : FOpen FClose FAppend THelpTopic FGET chnl:integer, var:multitype Read a line from channel "chnl" and assign it to "var" ' See also : FPut FPutLn FPutPad FRead THelpTopic FOPEN chnl:integer, file:string, access:integer, shrmod:integer Use channel "chnl" to open file "file" in access mode "access" and share mode "shrmod" valid channels : 0 - 7 [0 is used for script questionnaires] valid access modes : O_RD, O_WR, O_RW valid share modes : S_DN, S_DR, S_DW, S_DB See also : FCreate FClose FAppend FDefIn FDefOut THelpTopic FOR ... NEXT Usage : FOR VAR = start:integer TO stop:integer [STEP incstep:integer] NEXT FOR - Initializes a loop by assigning "start" to VAR and continuing while VAR <= "stop" (if "incstep" >= 0) or VAR >= "stop" (if "incstep" < 0) (TO is required to separate "start" and "stop". If STEP (optional) is not specified "incstep" defaults to 1) q NEXT - Adds "incstep" to VAR, transfers control to the closest FOR statement, and marks the end of the FOR loop ( See also : While...EndWhile If...Then THelpTopic FORWARD var:integer Move the cursor forward (to the right) "var" columns without going past column 80 See also : Backup THelpTopic FPUT chnl:integer, str:string[, str:string...] Write one or more "str" out to channel "chnl" / See also : FGet FPutLn FPutPad FWrite FWrite THelpTopic FPUTLN chnl:integer[, str:string[, str:string...]] Write zero or more "str" out to channel "chnl" and terminate with a carriage return/line feed pair , See also : FGet FPut FPutPad FRead FWrite THelpTopic FPUTPAD chnl:integer, str:string, len:integer Write out "str", padding or truncating to length "len" as needed, to channel "chnl" + See also : FGet FPut FPutLn FRead FWrite THelpTopic FRESHLINE If the cursor is not in column 1, do a newline See also : NewLine NewLines THelpTopic FREWIND chnl:integer Rewind channel "chnl" after flushing buffers and committing the file to disk. See also : FSeek THelpTopic GETUSER Fill the predefined variables (U_...) with current information from the user record THelpTopic GOSUB LABEL Transfer control to LABEL, marking the current PPE location for a future Return statement (GO SUB is a synonym) See also : GoTo THelpTopic GOTO LABEL Transfer control to LABEL (GO TO is a synonym) See also : GoSub THelpTopic GOODBYE Same as having the user type G from the command prompt See also : Bye DtrOff Hangup THelpTopic HANGUP Hangup on the user without any notification See also : Bye Goodbye DtrOff THelpTopic IF ... THEN ... ELSE Usage 1: IF (exp:boolean) statement ... Evaluate "exp" and, if true, execute statement; otherwise skip to the next statement Usage 2: IF (exp:boolean) THEN ... ELSEIF (exp2:boolean) THEN ... ELSE ... ENDIF IF - If expression cond is TRUE then this statement transfers control to the statement(s) following it, otherwise control is tranferred to the next ELSEIF, ELSE or ENDIF statement (requires THEN [or DO] after the condition) ELSEIF - (optional) If expression cond is TRUE then this statement transfers control to the statements following it, otherwise control is tranferred to the next ELSEIF, ELSE or ENDIF statement There may be multiple ELSEIF statements between the IF and ELSE statements (ELSE IF is a synonym; nothing is required to come after the condition, although THEN [or DO] may appear for clarification and consistency in the source code) _ ELSE - (optional) Separates the false portion of an IF/ELSEIF statement from the true portion F ENDIF - Ends an IF/ELSEIF/ELSE statement block (END IF is a synonym) ) See also : While...EndWhile For...Next THelpTopic INC var:multitype Increment the value of "var" See also : Dec THelpTopic INPUT prompt:string, var:string Display "prompt" and get input from user, assigning it to "var" (60 characters maximum) f See also : InputCC InputDate InputInt InputMoney InputStr InputText InputTime InputYN THelpTopic INPUTCC prompt:string, var:string, color:integer Display "prompt" in color "color" and get a credit card formatted string from the user, assigning it to "var" (16 characters maximum, valid characters 0-9) f See also : Input InputDate InputInt InputMoney InputStr InputText InputTime InputYN THelpTopic INPUTDATE prompt:string, var:string, color:integer Display "prompt" in color "color" and get a date formatted string from the user, assigning it to "var" (8 characters maximum, valid characters 0-9 - /) f See also : Input InputCC InputInt InputMoney InputStr InputText InputTime InputYN THelpTopic INPUTINT prompt:string, var:string, color:integer Display "prompt" in color "color" and get an integer formatted string from the user, assigning it to "var" (11 characters maximum, valid characters 0-9) g See also : Input InputCC InputDate InputMoney InputStr InputText InputTime InputYN THelpTopic INPUTMONEY prompt:string, var:string, color:integer Display "prompt" in color "color" and get a money formatted string from the user, assigning it to "var" (13 characters maximum, valid characters 0-9 $ .) e See also : Input InputCC InputDate InputInt InputStr InputText InputTime InputYN THelpTopic INPUTSTR... Usage : INPUTSTR prompt:string, var:string, color:integer, len:integer, valid:string, flags:string Display "prompt" in color "color" and get a string (maximum length "len", valid characters "valid", flags "flags") from the user, assigning it to "var" valid length : 1-256 valid characters : any string valid flags : ECHODOTS FIELDLEN GUIDE UPCASE STACKED ERASELINE NEWLINE LFBEFORE LFAFTER WORDWRAP NOCLEAR HIGHASCII AUTO YESNO See also : Input InputCC InputDate InputInt InputMoney InputText InputTime InputYN THelpTopic INPUTTEXT prompt:string, var:string, color:integer, len:integer Display "prompt" in color "color" and get a string (maximum length "len") from the user, assigning it to "var" h See also : Input InputCC InputDate InputInt InputMoney InputStr InputTime InputYN THelpTopic INPUTTIME prompt:string, var:string, color:integer Display "prompt" in color "color" and get a time formatted string from the user, assigning it to "var" (8 characters maximum, valid characters 0-9 :) e See also : Input InputCC InputDate InputInt InputMoney InputStr InputText InputYN THelpTopic INPUTYN prompt:string, var:string, color:integer Display "prompt" in color "color" and get a yes/no response from the user, assigning it to "var" (1 characters maximum, valid characters determined by language) h See also : Input InputCC InputDate InputInt InputMoney InputStr InputText InputTime THelpTopic JOIN conf:integer Performs a join conference command, passing it "conf" as arguments See also : ConfSel ConfSys ConfMw CurConf ConfExp CurConf ConfFlag ConfUnFlag ConfAlias LastIn ConfReg THelpTopic KBDCHKOFF Turn off keyboard time out checking THelpTopic KBDCHKON Turn on keyboard time out checking THelpTopic KBDFILE file:string Stuff the keyboard buffer with the contents of file "file" t See also : KbdBufSize PPLBufSize KbdFlush KbdStuff KbdString KbdFileUsed MdmFlush KeyFlush KbdFlush THelpTopic KBDSTUFF str:string Stuff the keyboard buffer with the contents of "str" s See also : KbdBufSize PPLBufSize KbdFlush KbdFile KbdString KbdFileUsed MdmFlush KeyFlush KbdFlush THelpTopic LET var:multitype = EXP Evaluate expression "EXP", convert and assign to "VAR" . NOTE: LET is the only optional keyword. If no keyword is found, LET is assumed. There are certain circumstances where it may be required, such as assignment to a variable named the same as a statement. PRINT, for example, would require a line such as LET PRINT = TRUE instead of just PRINT = TRUE) THelpTopic LOG str:string, just:boolean Write string "str" to the callers log, left justified if "just" is TRUE THelpTopic MESSAGE... Usage : MESSAGE conf:integer, to:string, from:string, subject:string, sec:string, msgdate:date, retreceipt:boolean, echo:boolean, file:string Write a message in conference "conf", to user "to" (empty string defaults to current caller), from user "from" (empty string defaults to current caller), subject "subject", security in "sec" (N or R; N is the default), pack out date in "msgdate" (0 for no pack out date), "retreceipt" True if return receipt desired, "echo" TRUE if message should be echoed, and "file" is the filename to use for the message text THelpTopic MORE Displays a MORE? prompt See also : Wait Delay THelpTopic MOUSEREG num,x1,y1,x2,y2,fontX,fontY,invert,clear,text Set up a RIP mouse region on the remote terminal. $ num = Is the RIP region number x1,y1 = The (X,Y) coordinates of the upper-left of the region x2,y2 = The (X,Y) coordinates of the lower-right of the region fontX = The width of each character in pixels fontY = The height of each character in pixels invert = A boolean flag (TRUE to invert the region when clicked) clear = A boolean flag (TRUE to clear and full screen the text window) text = Text that the remote terminal should transmit when the region is clicked See also : GrafMode THelpTopic MPRINT str:string[, str:string...] Display one or more string expressions on the callers screen only (this statement does not send anything to the BBS screen) 4 See also : MPrintLn Print PrintLn SPrint SPrintLn THelpTopic MPRINTLN [str:string[, str:string...]] Display zero or more string expressions on the callers screen only and follow with a newline (this statement does not send anything to the BBS screen) 2 See also : MPrint Print PrintLn SPrint SPrintLn THelpTopic NEWLINE Write a newline to the display See also : NewLines FreshLine THelpTopic NEWLINES var Write "var" newlines to the display See also : NewLine FreshLine THelpTopic OPENCAP captfile:string, error:boolean Open "captfile" and capture all screen output to it. o If an error occurs creating or opening "captfile", "error" is set to TRUE, otherwise "error" is set to FALSE. See also : CloseCap THelpTopic OPTEXT str:string Writes string "str" into the @OPTEXT@ macro THelpTopic PAGEOFF Turn off the SysOp paged indicator (flashing p on status line) See also : PageOn THelpTopic PAGEON Turn on the SysOp paged indicator (flashing p on status line) See also : PageOff THelpTopic POKEB addr:integer, val:integer Assign the value "val" (0-255) to memory address "addr" (POKE is a synonym) - See also : PeekB PeekDW PeekW PokeW PokeDW THelpTopic POKEDW addr:integer, val:integer Assign the value "val" (-2147483648 - +2147483647) to memory address "addr" , See also : PeekB PeekDW PeekW PokeB PokeW THelpTopic POKEW addr:integer, val:integer Assign the value "val" (0-65535) to memory address "addr" - See also : PeekB PeekDW PeekW PokeB PokeDW THelpTopic POP var[,var...] Pop values (previously pushed onto the stack) into a list of variables See also : Push THelpTopic PRFOUND & PRFOUNDLN These work just like Print and PrintLn but, if the last SearchFind statement resulted in a match, it will automatically highlight found words. See also : SearchFind THelpTopic PRINT str:string[, str:string...] Display one or more string expressions 5 See also : MPrint MPrintLn PrintLn SPrint SPrintLn THelpTopic PRINTLN [str:string[, str:string...]] Display zero or more string expressions and follow with a newline 3 See also : MPrint MPrintLn Print SPrint SPrintLn THelpTopic PROMPTSTR prompt:integer, var:string, len:integer, valid:string, flags:integer Display PCBTEXT entry "prompt" and get a string (maximum length "len", valid characters "valid", flags "flags") from the user, assigning it to "var" B valid length : 1-256 valid characters : any string valid flags : ECHODOTS FIELDLEN GUIDE UPCASE STACKED ERASELINE NEWLINE LFBEFORE LFAFTER WORDWRAP NOCLEAR HIGHASCII AUTO YESNO See also : DispText THelpTopic PUSH var[,var...] Push a list of evaluated expressions onto the stack See also : Pop THelpTopic PUTUSER Write the information from the predefined variables (U_...) to the user record This statement is only intended to update user information if a successful GetUser or GetAltUser was issued previously. This was done to ensure that information for the current user wasn't written to another user or vice versa. See also : GetUser THelpTopic QUEST nr:integer Do script questionnaire "nr" THelpTopic RDUNET node:integer Read information from USERNET.XXX for node "node" " See also : RdUsys WrUnet WrUsys THelpTopic RDUSYS Reads a USERS.SYS file, if present, and updates the users record " See also : RdUnet WrUnet WrUsys THelpTopic RENAME oldname:string, newname:string Rename file "oldname" to "newname" . See also : Delete Copy Append Exist FileInf THelpTopic RESETDISP Reset the display after an user abort THelpTopic RESTSCRN Restore the screen from the buffer previously saved with SaveScrn See also : SaveScrn THelpTopic RETURN Return to the statement after the last GoSub or, if no GoSub is waiting for a RETURN, End the PPE THelpTopic SAVESCRN Save the current screen in a buffer for later restoration with the RestScrn See also : RestScrn THelpTopic SCRFILE lineVar, filenameVar Find a file name and line number that is currently on the screen. lineVar = Should be set before calling to the line number to start searching on (1 is the top line); Will be set to the line number where the file name was found or 0 if no file name was found filenameVar = Will be set to the file name if one is found on screen See also : ScrText THelpTopic SENDMODEM str:string Send the text in "str" out to the modem THelpTopic SEARCHINIT criteria, caseSensitive Initialize search parameters for a faster BOYER-MOORE search algorithm. criteria = A string expression with the search criteria in the same format used by PCBoard (ie, "THIS & THAT | BOB") caseSensitive = A boolean flag (TRUE to force a case sensitive search, FALSE otherwise) 5 See also : SearchFind PRFound/PRFoundLn SearchStop THelpTopic SEARCHFIND bufferExpr, foundVar Execute a BOYER-MOORE search on a text buffer using criteria previously defined with a SearchInit statement. x bufferExpr = The buffer to search foundVar = Set to TRUE if bufferExpr contains the search criteria, FALSE otherwise 5 See also : SearchInit PRFound/PRFoundLn SearchStop THelpTopic SEARCHSTOP Clears out previously entered search criteria. It takes no parameters. 5 See also : SearchInit SearchFind PRFound/PRFoundLn THelpTopic SHELL com:boolean, code:integer, prog:string, arg:string Shell (via COMMAND.COM if "com" is TRUE) to program/command "prog" with arguments "arg", saving the return value in "var" j NOTE: If "com" is TRUE, the value assigned to "var" will be the return code of COMMAND.COM, not "prog") See also : Call THelpTopic SHOWOFF Turns off display of information to the screen See also : ShowStat ShowOn THelpTopic SHOWON Turns on display of information to the screen See also : ShowStat ShowOff THelpTopic SORT sortArry, pointerArray Sort the contents of an array into a pointer array. G sortArray = The data to sort (Any type may be used for this array) pointerArray = An integer array which will be used as an array of pointers into sortArray for accessing sortArray in sorted order (This array should be of type INTEGER) U Note that sortArray and pointerArray are restricted to one (1) dimensional arrays. R The following is an example of displaying an array in unsorted and sorted order: STRING s(999) ; Remember that arrays are 0-based, so these statements INTEGER p(999) ; will allocate 1000 elements each ; Do something here to read data into s SORT s,p INTEGER i FOR i = 0 TO 999 ; This loop will display in unsorted order PRINTLN s(i) NEXT FOR i = 0 TO 999 ; This loop will display in sorted order PRINTLN s(p(i)) NEXT THelpTopic SOUND freq:integer Turn on the BBS PC speaker at the frequency (1-65535) specified by "freq" (or turn it off if the frequency is 0) THelpTopic SPRINT str:string[, str:string...] Display one or more string expressions on the BBS screen only (this statement does not send anything to the modem) 4 See also : MPrintLn MPrint Print PrintLn SPrintLn THelpTopic SPRINTLN [str:string[, str:string...]] Display zero or more string expressions on the BBS screen only and follow with a newline (this statement does not send anything to the modem) 2 See also : MPrintLn MPrint Print PrintLn SPrint THelpTopic STARTDISP mode:integer Start display monitoring in mode "mode" N valid modes : NC FNS FCL THelpTopic STOP Abort PPE execution without appending answers (channel 0) to the answer file See also : End THelpTopic TOKENIZE str:string Tokenize string "string" into individual items separated by semi-colons or spaces ( See also : GetToken TokenStr TokCount THelpTopic TPAGET keyWord, infoVar Get static information from a named TPA in string format. ) keyword = The keyword of the TPA to use < infoVar = The variable into which to store the information f See also : Psa TPAPut TPACGet TPACPut TPARead TPAWrite TPACRead TPACWrite THelpTopic TPAPUT keyWord, infoExpr Put static information to a named TPA in string format. * keyword = The keyword of the TPA to use 5 infoExpr = The expression to write to store the TPA c See also : Psa TPACGet TPACPut TPARead TPAWrite TPACRead TPACWrite TPAGet THelpTopic TPACGET keyWord, infoVar, confNum Get information from a named TPA for a specified conference in string format. ) keyword = The keyword of the TPA to use < infoVar = The variable into which to store the information C confNum = The conference number for which to retrieve information c See also : Psa TPAPut TPACPut TPARead TPAWrite TPACRead TPACWrite TPAGet THelpTopic TPACPUT keyWord, infoExpr, confNum Put information to a named TPA for a specified conference in string format. * keyword = The keyword of the TPA to use 5 infoExpr = The expression to write to store the TPA D confNum = The conference number for which to retrieve information c See also : Psa TPAPut TPACGet TPARead TPAWrite TPACRead TPACWrite TPAGet THelpTopic TPAREAD keyWord, infoVar Get static information from a named TPA. ) keyword = The keyword of the TPA to use < infoVar = The variable into which to store the information c See also : Psa TPAPut TPACGet TPACPut TPAWrite TPACRead TPACWrite TPAGet THelpTopic TPAWRITE keyWord, infoExpr Put static information to a named TPA. * keyword = The keyword of the TPA to use 5 infoExpr = The expression to write to store the TPA c See also : Psa TPAPut TPACGet TPACPut TPARead TPACRead TPACWrite TPAGet THelpTopic TPACREAD keyWord, infoVar, confNum Get information from a named TPA for a specified conference. ) keyword = The keyword of the TPA to use < infoVar = The variable into which to store the information C confNum = The conference number for which to retrieve information c See also : Psa TPAPut TPACGet TPACPut TPARead TPAWrite TPACWrite TPAGet THelpTopic TPACWRITE keyWord, infoExpr, confNum Put information to a named TPA for a specified conference. * keyword = The keyword of the TPA to use 5 infoExpr = The expression to write to store the TPA D confNum = The conference number for which to retrieve information c See also : Psa TPAPut TPACGet TPACPut TPARead TPAWrite TPACRead TPAGet THelpTopic VARADDR var1:multitype, var2:integer Assign the address (segment and offset) of "var1" to "var2" " See also : VarSeg VarOff MkAddr THelpTopic VAROFF var1:multitype, var2:integer Assign the offset address of "var1" to "var2" # See also : VarSeg VarAddr MkAddr THelpTopic VARSEG var1:multitype, var2:integer Assign the segment address of "var1" to "var2" " See also : VarOff VarOff MkAddr THelpTopic WAIT Displays a PRESS ENTER TO CONTINUE? prompt ! See also : More Delay Wait THelpTopic WAITFOR prompt:string, var:boolean, time:integer Wait up to "time" seconds for the string "prompt", assigned TRUE to "var" if the string is found in the time specified or FALSE if the string is not found (WAIT FOR is a synonym) See also : Wait THelpTopic WHILE... Usage 1: WHILE (exp:boolean) statement ... While "exp" is true execute statement; when "exp" is false execute following statements Usage 2: WHILE (exp) DO ... ENDWHILE WHILE - While "exp" is true execute statement(s); when "exp" is false transfer control to the first statement following the ENDWHILE statement (requires DO [or THEN] after the expression) z ENDWHILE - Transfers control to the closest WHILE statement and marks the end of the WHILE loop (END WHILE is a synonym) ! See also : If..Then For...Next THelpTopic WRUNET... Usage : WRUNET node:integer, nodestat:string, nodeusername:string,newnodecity:string, newoptext:string,broacasttext:string Write information to USERNET.XXX for node "node", where "nodestat" is the new node status, "nodeusername" is the new node user name, "newnodecity" is the new node city, "newoptext" is the new node operation text, and "broadcasttext" is broadcast text " See also : RdUnet RdUsys WrUsys THelpTopic WRUSYS Writes (creates) a USERS.SYS file which can be used by a SHELLed application " See also : RdUnet RdUsys WrUnet THelpTopic BREAK Can be used to break out of a WHILE or FOR loop without the use of a GOTO statement See also : Continue Quit THelpTopic QUIT Can be used to break out of a WHILE or FOR loop without the use of a GOTO statement (alias for BREAK) See also : Continue Quit THelpTopic CONTINUE Can be used to abort the current iteration of a WHILE or FOR loop and resume with the next iteration of the loop See also : Quit Break Loop THelpTopic LOOP Can be used to abort the current iteration of a WHILE or FOR loop and resume with the next iteration of the loop (alias for CONTINUE) ! See also : Quit Break Continue THelpTopic FFLUSH chnl:integer flush a specified channels changes to disk See also : FClose THelpTopic FSEEK chnl:integer, byte:integer, position:integer Position to any random location within a file A bytes is the number of bytes to move (+/-) relative to position 8 position is the base location to start the seek from : SEEK_SET (0) for the beginning of the file SEEK_CUR (1) for the current file pointer location SEEK_END (2) for the end of the file See also : FRewind THelpTopic FREAD chnl:integer, var:multitype, size:integer Read binary data from a file 4 var is the variable into which data should be read 6 size is the size of data to read into var (0 - 2048) See also : FGet THelpTopic FWRITE chnl:integer, exp:multitype, size:integer Write binary data to a file 6 exp is the expression whose result should be written * size is the size of data to write to var ! See also : FPut FPutPad FPutLn THelpTopic FDEFIN chnl:integer Specify a default input file channel (used to speed up file input) See also : FOpen THelpTopic FDEFOUT chnl:integer Specify a default output file channel (used to speed up file output) See also : FOpen THelpTopic FDGET var:multitype Default channel input statement: use the exact same arguments as FGet except a channel parameter (the channel specified by FDefIn is assumed) 3 See also : FDPut FDPutPad FDPutLn FDRead FDWrite THelpTopic FDREAD var:multitype, size:integer Default channel input statement: use the exact same arguments as FRead except a channel parameter (the channel specified by FDefIn is assumed) 2 See also : FDPut FDPutPad FDPutLn FDGet FDWrite THelpTopic FDPUT str:string[, str:string...] Default channel output statement: use the exact same arguments as FPut except a channel parameter (the channel specified by FDefOut is assumed) 3 See also : FDRead FDPutPad FDPutLn FDGet FDWrite THelpTopic FDPUTLN str:string[, str:string...] Default channel output statement: use the exact same arguments as FPutLn except a channel parameter (the channel specified by FDefOut is assumed) 1 See also : FDRead FDPutPad FDPut FDGet FDWrite THelpTopic FDPUTPAD str:string, len:integer Default channel output statement: use the exact same arguments as FPutPad except a channel parameter (the channel specified by FDefOut is assumed) 0 See also : FDRead FDPutLn FDPut FDGet FDWrite THelpTopic FDWRITE exp:multitype, size:integer Default channel output statement: use the exact same arguments as FWrite except a channel parameter (the channel specified by FDefOut is assumed) 2 See also : FDRead FDPutPad FDPut FDGet FDPutPad THelpTopic REDIM Dynamically redimension an array at run-time. To use it you must declare the array in advance with the number subscripts desired. This allows the compiler to perform it's standard error checking on subscripts. For example: c STRING s(1,1,1) REDIM s,5,5,5 LET s(4,4,4) = "Hello, World!" PRINTLN s(4,4,4) If an attempt is made to redimension an array with a different number of dimensions, an error or warning (as appropriate) will be generated. ! See also : Compilation Options THelpTopic APPEND srcfile:string, destfile:string Append the contents of one file to another file. APPEND "SRCFILE","DSTFILE" See also : Delete Copy Exist FileInf Rename THelpTopic COPY srcfile:string, destfile:string Copy the contents of one file to another file. COPY "SRCFILE","DSTFILE" See also : Delete Append Exist FileInf Rename THelpTopic LASTIN conf:integer Set the users last conference in value. It can be used during the logon process to force the user into a particular conference at start up (for example, from a logon script). v See also : ConfSel ConfSys ConfMw CurConf ConfExp CurConf ConfFlag ConfUnFlag Join ConfAlias ConfReg THelpTopic FLAG filepath:string Allow flagging files for download directly from a PPE. FLAG "C:\PATH\FILENAME.ZIP" ; Or whatever file name desired Note that FLAG does not attempt to honor restrictions in the FSEC and/or DLPATH.LST files. This allows you to flag up any file desired. See also : FlagCnt Download THelpTopic DOWNLOAD cmd:string Downloading files from PPL. DOWNLOAD "CMD;CMD;CMD" The string passed to DOWNLOAD is a list of commands in the same format as what a user would type after a D or DB command. If a file name for download is specified here it must be downloadable according to the criteria established in the FSEC and DLPATH.LST files. If it is necessary to download a file not normally available via the FSEC and/or DLPATH.LST files the FLAG statement may be used to force it into the list of files to download. See also : Flag THelpTopic FLAGCNT() Return the number of files flagged for download. See also : Flag THelpTopic WRUSYSDOOR str:string Write a USERS.SYS file with a TPA record for a DOOR application. WRUSYSDOOR "DOORNAME" See also : WrUsys THelpTopic KBDSTRING str:string Stuff strings to the keyboard (just like KbdStuff except 'keystrokes' are echoed to the display) r See also : KbdBufSize PPLBufSize KbdFlush KbdStuff KbdFile KbdFileUsed MdmFlush KeyFlush KbdFlush THelpTopic KBDFLUSH Flush the local keyboard buffer and any stuffed keystroke buffers. It takes no arguments. s See also : KbdBufSize PPLBufSize KbdFlush KbdStuff KbdFile KbdFileUsed MdmFlush KbdFlush KbdString THelpTopic MDMFLUSH Flush the incoming modem buffer. It takes no arguments. s See also : KbdBufSize PPLBufSize KbdFlush KbdStuff KbdFile KbdFileUsed KeyFlush KbdFlush KbdString THelpTopic KEYFLUSH Flush both the local buffers and the incoming modem buffer. It takes no arguments. s See also : KbdBufSize PPLBufSize KbdFlush KbdStuff KbdFile KbdFileUsed MdmFlush KbdFlush KbdString THelpTopic ALIAS yesno:boolean Allow PPE control of whether or not the user is using an alias See also : PSA(1) UserAlias ALIAS() :BOOLEAN Return the users current ALIAS setting (TRUE = alias use on, FALSE = alias use off) See also : TPAGet THelpTopic CONFALIAS() Return TRUE if the current conference is configured to allow aliases v See also : ConfSel ConfSys ConfMw CurConf ConfExp CurConf ConfFlag ConfUnFlag Join LastIn ConfReg THelpTopic USERALIAS() :BOOLEAN Return TRUE if the current user is allowed to use an alias See also : Alias THelpTopic LANG Change the language in use by the current user. LANG langNum See also : LangExt THelpTopic ADJBYTES bytes:integer Adjust the users total and daily download X To subtract bytes use a negative number for bytes. To add bytes use a positive number. + See also : AdjDBytes AdjTBytes AdjTFiles THelpTopic ADJDBYTES bytes:integer Adjust the users daily download bytes. X To subtract bytes use a negative number for bytes. To add bytes use a positive number. * See also : AdjTBytes AdjTFiles AdjBytes THelpTopic ADJTBYTES bytes:integer Adjust the users total download bytes. X To subtract bytes use a negative number for bytes. To add bytes use a positive number. * See also : AdjDBytes AdjTFiles AdjBytes THelpTopic ADJTFILES files:integer Adjust the users total download files. X To subtract files use a negative number for files. To add files use a positive number. * See also : AdjDBytes AdjTBytes AdjBytes THelpTopic PUTALTUSER Put user information. It is merely an alias for PutUser and may be used anywhere that PUTUSER would be used. See also : GetAltUser THelpTopic GETALTUSER user:integer Get the information for an alternate user. It will fill the user variables with information from the specified user record as well as redirect user statements and functions. GETALTUSER userRecordNumber If an attempt is made to get a record number that doesn't exist, the user functions will revert to the current user and the user variables will be invalidated as though no GetUser/GetAltUser statement had been issued (though they will continue to maintain any value held). PutUser/PutAltUser should be issued to commit any variable changes to the user record. Additionally, there is at least one statement that will not affect alternate users: AdjTime. It is restricted to the current user online. Also, if the alternate user is online, changes to the record won't take hold until after the user has logged off. Also, if there is not enough memory available (primarily for the last message read pointers) this statement will fail. See also : PutAltUser THelpTopic CURUSER() :INTEGER Determine what users information, if any, is available via the user variables. It takes no arguments and returns one of the following values: NO_USER (-1) - User variables are currently undefined CUR_USER (0) - User variables are for the current user Other - The record number of an alternate user for whom user variables are defined THelpTopic Compilation Directives ;$INCLUDE: Source files can be included from other source files. This is accomplished with a compiler directive in a comment like this: ;$INCLUDE:FILESPEC.EXT Note that the first character need not be the semi-colon. An apostrophe ['] or asterisk [*] may also be used where appropriate. This allows you to include subroutines from a source code 'library'. This should help in starting reusable code fragments. When the file is included, it is compiled as though it were in the main source file. For example: S FOO.INC ------- :subroutine PRINTLN "Hello!" RETURN FOO.PPS ------- PRINTLN "Running FOO.PPS" GOSUB subroutine END ' This line is important! *$INCLUDE:FOO.INC Note the use of END in FOO.PPS. It is important in this case to ensure that you don't accidentally run subroutine twice by just falling through to it. ;$USEFUNCS Allow you to specifiy that you want to use user-defined functions and procedures. This makes the code more flexible by allowing you to put your main code (code between Begin and End) anywhere in your program (usefull if you have to incude some user-defined functions with an include directive at the beginning of your code) THelpTopic This word is not a PPL keyword... / Press enter to jump to PPL Reference Index... THelpTopic @Xnn Color Codes PCBoard defines some macros to change color if user has ANSI capabilities. If user doesn't support ANSI, PCB just skip those codes. It is a good way to colorize your screens and prompt because you don't have to check the ANSI flag, PCB deal with it automatically. Color codes are made of 4 bytes. the first byte is used to enter in macro mode. The second indicates that we want to pass a color code. Next byte is the background color and the last is the foreground color. BackGround codes : 0 - Black 1 - Blue 2 - Green 3 - Cyan 4 - Red 5 - Magenta 6 - Brown 7 - LightGray 8 - Black 9 - Blinking foreground on Blue background A - Blinking foreground on Green background B - Blinking foreground on Cyan background C - Blinking foreground on Red background D - Blinking foreground on Magenta background E - Blinking foreground on Brown background F - Blinking foreground on LightGray background Foreground codes : 0 - Black 1 - Blue 2 - Green 3 - Cyan 4 - Red 5 - Magenta 6 - Brown 7 - LightGray 8 - DarkGray 9 - LightBlue A - LightGreen B - LightCyan C - LightRed D - LightMagenta E - Yellow F - White THelpTopic GO ... See : Go Sub Go THelpTopic ... TO See : Go To For...To...Next THelpTopic PROCEDURE [DECLARE] PROCEDURE proc( [TYPE var1 [VAR] ],...) z The keyword PROCEDURE is used in conjonction with the keyword DECLARE in the declaration of a user-defined procedure... The optionnal VAR keyword tells PPL to copy the contents of the local variable back into the original variable when the procedure is finished processing. The compiler directive ";$USEFUNCS" may be used in order to allow your main code (code between BEGIN & END) to be located anywhere within your file... Example : ;$USEFUNCS DECLARE PROCEDURE proc1(INTEGER i, STRING str, VAR INTEGER j) INTEGER int1,int2 STRING s1 BEGIN int1 = 1 int2 = 2 s1 = "HELLO" proc1(int1,s1,int2) PRINTLN "int1 =",int1 PRINTLN "int2 =",int2 PRINTLN "s1 =",s1 PROCEDURE proc1(INTEGER i,STRING str, VAR INTEGER j) PRINTLN "I'm in proc1" LET i = 30 LET j = 15 ENDPROC See also : Function THelpTopic FUNCTION [DECLARE] FUNCTION func(TYPE var1, ...) TYPE z The keyword PROCEDURE is used in conjonction with the keyword FUNCTION in the declaration of a user-defined function... The compiler directive ";$USEFUNCS" may be used in order to allow your main code (code between BEGIN & END) to be located anywhere within your file... r The big difference between functions and procedures is that functions return a value. To assign the return value inside a function, simple use the name of the function just like a variable. You do not need to declare this variable, it is done for you. When the function is finished executing the value in the return variable will be made available as the return value. Note that function calls can take place anywhere inside of an expression as well as stand-alone statements. This can be useful in situations when the functions return value is not needed, but the functions side effects are. Example : ;$USEFUNCS DECLARE FUNCTION Xto_theY(INTEGER x, INTEGER y) INTEGER DECLARE FUNCTION square(INTEGER x) INTEGER FUNCTION Xto_theY(INTEGER x, INTEGER y) INTEGER INTEGER i Xto_theY = x for i = 2 to y Xto_theY = Xto_theY * x next i ENDFUNC FUNCTION square(INTEGER x) INTEGER square = x * x ENDFUNC BEGIN PRINTLN "4 to the 3rd power = ",Xto_theY(4,3) PRINTLN "4 squared = ",square(4) See also : Procedure THelpTopic DECLARE See : Function Procedure THelpTopic SELECT CASE SELECT CASE var CASE const1 [, const2..const3 [, expr ] ] . . . DEFAULT (or CASE ELSE) END SELECT The SELECT CASE construct allows you to organize multiple execution paths into a clean, easy to read format. X Each CASE contains one or more expressions delimited by commas. Each CASE expression is compared to the SELECT CASE expression logically. If it is TRUE the body of the CASE is executed. The CASE body can contain as many statements as needed, including function calls. Note that ranges include the boundry values. eg 11..35 includes 11 and 35. The DEFAULT case will be executed when none of the other CASE expressions evaluate to TRUE. For BASIC programmers, the CASE ELSE is also valid instead of DEFAULT. Example : INTEGER i LET i = 3 SELECT CASE (i) CASE 1 PRINTLN "i = 1" proc1(i) CASE 2,6,10 PRINTLN "i is 2,6 or 10" proc2(i) CASE 3 PRINTLN "i is 3" CASE 11..35 PRINTLN "i is between 11 and 35" CASE 50..60,64,78 PRINTLN "I is between 50 and 60 or 64 or 78 DEFAULT PRINTLN "i is not a valid value" END SELECT THelpTopic DBASE III FUNCTIONS & STATEMENTS PPL provide a load of functions & statements to access DBase III files... STATEMENTS DCREATE channel,name,exclusive,fieldInfo ; create DBF file DOPEN channel,name,exclusive ; open DBF file DCLOSE channel ; close DBF file DSETALIAS channel,name ; set DBF alias DPACK channel ; pack DBF file DLOCK channel ; lock DBF file DLOCKF channel ; lock DBF file (same as DLOCK) DLOCKR channel,recno ; lock a record DLOCKG channel,recnos,count ; lock a group of records DUNLOCK channel ; unlock any current locks DNCREATE channel,name,expression ; create NDX file DNOPEN channel,name ; open NDX file DNCLOSE channel,name ; close NDX file DNCLOSEALL channel ; close all NDX files DNEW channel ; start a new record DADD channel ; add the new record DAPPEND channel ; append a blank record DTOP channel ; go to top record DGO channel,recno ; go to specific record DBOTTOM channel ; go to bottom record DSKIP channel,number ; skip +/- a number of records DBLANK channel ; blank the record DDELETE channel ; delete the record DRECALL channel ; recall the record DTAG channel,name ; select a tag DSEEK channel,expression ; string or double DFBLANK channel,name ; blank a named field DGET channel,name,var ; get a value from a named field DPUT channel,name,expression ; put a value to a named field DFCOPY channel,name,channel,name ; copy a field to a field DCLOSEALL ; close all DBF files FUNCTIONS DRECCOUNT (channel) (INTEGER) ; return the number of records DRECNO (channel) (INTEGER) ; return the current record number DBOF (channel) (BOOLEAN) ; return the begin of file status DEOF (channel) (BOOLEAN) ; return the end of file status DDELETED (channel) (BOOLEAN) ; return the deleted flag DCHANGED (channel) (BOOLEAN) ; return the changed flag DFIELDS (channel) (INTEGER) ; return count of fields DNAME (channel,number) (STRING) ; return name of numbered field DTYPE (channel,name) (STRING) ; return type of named field DLENGTH (channel,name) (INTEGER) ; return length of named field DDECIMALS (channel,name) (INTEGER) ; return decimals of named field DSELECT (alias) (INTEGER) ; returns channel assiciated with alias DSEEK (channel,expression) (INTEGER) ; returns error status ( 0|1 ) ; or seek success (0 = Error ; 1 = success, 2 = following record ; 3 = end of file ) DGETALIAS (channel) (STRING) ; return the current alias DCLOSEALL (BOOLEAN) error status ; close all DBF files DOPEN (channel,name,exclusive)(BOOLEAN) error ; open DBF file DCLOSE (channel) (BOOLEAN) error status ; close DBF file DSETALIAS (channel,name) (BOOLEAN) error status ; set DBF alias DPACK (channel) (BOOLEAN) error status ; pack DBF file DLOCK (channel) (BOOLEAN) error status ; lock DBF file DLOCKR (channel,recno) (BOOLEAN) error status ; lock a record DUNLOCK (channel) (BOOLEAN) error status ; unlock any current locks DNOPEN (channel,name) (BOOLEAN) error status ; open NDX file DNCLOSE (channel,name) (BOOLEAN) error status ; close NDX file DNCLOSEALL(channel) (BOOLEAN) error status ; close all NDX files DNEW (channel) (BOOLEAN) error status ; start a new record DADD (channel) (BOOLEAN) error status ; add the new record DAPPEND (channel) (BOOLEAN) error status ; append a blank record DTOP (channel) (BOOLEAN) error status ; go to top record DGO (channel,recno) (BOOLEAN) error status ; go to specific record DBOTTOM (channel) (BOOLEAN) error status ; go to bottom record DSKIP (channel,number) (BOOLEAN) error status ; skip +/- a number of records DBLANK (channel) (BOOLEAN) error status ; blank the record DDELETE (channel) (BOOLEAN) error status ; delete the record DRECALL (channel) (BOOLEAN) error status ; recall the record DTAG (channel,name) (BOOLEAN) error status ; select a tag DFBLANK (channel,name) (BOOLEAN) error status ; blank a named field DGET (channel,name) (STRING) ; get a value from a named field DPUT (channel,name,expression)(BOOLEAN) error ; put a value to a named field DFCOPY (channel,name,channel,name)(BOOLEAN) error; copy a field to a field DERR (channel) (BOOLEAN) ; return error flag for channel DERRMSG (errcode) (STRING) ; returns last DBase error text. CAUTION: DBase functions that return the error status actually return !ERROR. This is to provide a consistent way to express an error in an expression. For example: if ( DERR (...)) println "Error!" ;DERR returns 1 or TRUE on an error. if (!DSEEK(...)) println "Seek failed!" ;DSEEK returns 0 or FALSE on an error. NOTE: Where file names are used, file extensions are optional. Any extension you provide will be ignored. DBF and IDX are the default. channel : Any value between 0 and 7 name : Char string exclusive: Integer (TRUE || FALSE) fieldinfo: Character string with the following fields 1- Field name 2- Field Type C = Character N = Numeric F = Floating Point D = Date L = Logical M = Memo 3- Field Length 4- Decimal (number of digits to the right of the decimal) EXAMPLE: string finfo(3) let finfo(0) = "First,C,20,0" let finfo(1) = "Last,C,20,0" let finfo(2) = "Phone,C,15,0" NOTE: multiple fields require an array of strings. 1 string for each field. @ expression : Character String with search criteria on a field. EXAMPLE: " string expr let expr = "First" recno,recnos,number,count : integers THelpTopic DRIVESPACE () Usage: DRIVESPACE(drivespec) Return Val: Amount of divespace left of drive drivespec. Example: integer left left = DRIVESPACE("c:\") println "There are ",tostring(left)," bytes on drive C." drivespec must include at least a drive letter AND a colon. Backslash is optional. With directory specs it will work also. valid drivespecs are C: C:\ C:\PCB These will all return drivespace left on dirve C s *NOTE On LANTASTIC this will return drivespace of the current physical drive even if it is mapped as a directory. See also : FileInf Delete THelpTopic SETLMR SETLMR conf#,msg# : Set the last read pointers for the specified conference. Example : Integer conf,msg 9 if(newuser == TRUE) then ; If new user while(conf < HICONFNUM() ) DO ; set all LMR's to join conf ; HI_MSG - 10 SETLMR conf,HIMSGNUM()-10 INC conf endwhile endif If conf# is greater than the number of actual confrences conf# will default to the highest conference number If msg# is greater than the highest message number in that conference, it will default to the highest message number in that conference. This could be used to set a new users mesg pointers to recent messages so they aren't replying to 3 years old messages. A useful feature would be to get the high conference number. 4 See also : HiConfNum HiMsgNum ActMsgNum LoMsgNum THelpTopic SETENV SETENV env_var Set an environment variable Example: string s let s = "stan=Stan" SETENV s if (GETENV("stan") = "Stan") then Println "Environment variable stan = Stan " endif Used to set DOS environment variable. This can be used for PPE's to communicate with other PPE's. The environment variables set within PPL will NOT be available to DOORs. Environment variables set within PPL will be cleared the next time PCBoard recycles through DOS. ! See also : GetEnv, Shell, Call THelpTopic FCLOSEALL Closes all file channels Example: E fopen 1, "Autoexec.bat" fopen 2, "Config.sys" fcloseall See also : FOpen FClose FCreate FAppend FRewind FNext THelpTopic FNEXT() Returns an availble file channel. -1 when none are available. Example: 8 println "The next available file channel is ",FNEXT() FNEXT was created in order to better support code libraries made possible by functions and procedures. File channel numbers can now be determined at runtime. Y CAUTION: Until you actually OPEN a file FNEXT will return the same value over and over. @ chan1 = FNEXT() chan2 = FNEXT() WRONG! chan1 will equal chan2 ) another gotcha: FOPEN FNEXT(),blah blah F There is no way to determine what channel was used to open the file! - Here's an example of how it should be used: # chan1 = FNEXT() FOPEN chan1,... # chan2 = FNEXT() FOPEN chan2,... = See also : FOpen FClose FCreate FAppend FRewind FCloseAll THelpTopic HICONFNUM() Returns the highest conference number available on the board Example: H integer i println "The highest conference available is ",HICONFNUM() If a conference is installed it will be counted, even if it is not being used. 1 See also : SetLmr HiMsgNum ActMsgNum LoMsgNum THelpTopic OUTBYTES() Returns the number of bytes waiting in the modems output buffer Not available in local mode. Example: L integer i println "Bytes waiting in the modem output buffer ",OUTBYTES() See also : InBytes MGetByte SendModem MPrint MPrintLn MdmFlush THelpTopic INBYTES() Returns number of bytes waiting in the modem input buffer Not available in local mode. Example: @ integer i Println "Bytes in modem input buffer = ",INBYTES() See also : OutBytes MGetByte SendModem MPrint MPrintLn MdmFlush THelpTopic PCBMAC() Returns a BIGSTR containing the expanded text of a PCB MACRO Example: } integer i,j, res j = PCBMAC("@Timelimit@") i = PCBMAC("@Timeused@") res = j-i println "You have ",res, " Minutes left" PCB MACROS not supported: @automore@ @beep@ @clreol@ @cls@ @delay@ @more@ @pause@ @poff@ @pon@ @pos@ @qoff@ @qon@ @wait@ @who@ @x@ THelpTopic CRC32() UNSIGNEDTYPE = CRC32(CRC_FILE,"C:\AUTOEXEC,BAT") 3 = CRC32(CRC_STR,"Stan is super cool") Returns an UNSIGNED value of the CRC of a file or string. Example: O Println "CRC on the file AUTOEXEC.BAT is", CRC32(CRC_FILE,"C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT") The constants CRC_FILE and CRC_STR are the same as TRUE and FALSE. They were added to make it easier to see if a file or string was being processed. THelpTopic ACTMSGNUM() Returns number of active messages in current conference Example: S integer i println "There are ",ACTMSGNUM()," messages in conference ",CURCONF() See also : Join HiConfNum LoMsgNum HiMsgNum THelpTopic STACKLEFT() Returns the number of bytes left on the *system* stack. Example: > println "There are ",STACKLEFT()," bytes left on the stack" ;recursive call support function stan(integer i,string str) if(stackleft() > STK_LIMIT) stan(i,"Debra") endfunc This function was added to support nested and recursive function calls. Since function calls take a lot of stack space. As of now only about 26 nested or recursive calls can eat up the stack. This lets the programmer know when he/she is running out of stack space as to avoid a runtime error. Both recursion and nested function calls should check this value if more than just a few calls are to be executed. " See also : StackErr StackAbort THelpTopic STACKERR() Returns a boolean value which indicates a stack error has occured if TRUE. Example: L if (STACKERR()) then println "An error has occured " end endif Because of the limited stack space for recursive function calls this function was created. It allows the programmer to determine if a stack error has occured while executing a PPE. This is in addition to the error message when the error occurs. The only way this will be useful is if the PPL programmer has told PPL not to abort on stack errors. PPL will *not* allow system memory to be corrupted when stack space has been exausted. It will disallow any more function calls when there is no system stack space left. *Note nested/recursive procedure calls are limited by heap space, not stack space. # See also : StackLeft StackAbort THelpTopic STACKABORT STACKABORT TRUE | FALSE Example: # STACKABORT TRUE ;Default is TRUE This allows the programmer to tell the runtime module to try its best to continue executing after a stack error has occurred. If it is passed FALSE, it will abort execution after a stack error. If it is passed TRUE the PPE will continue to run. CAUTION! If you continue to execute after a stack error, program execution will be unpredictable. PPL will not allow system memory to be corrupted because of a stack error. ! See also : StackLeft StackErr THelpTopic DNEXT() Returns an available dbase file channel. -1 when none are available. Example: > println "The next available dbase file channel is ",DNEXT() DNEXT was created in order to better support code libraries made possible by functions and procedures. File channel numbers can now be determined at runtime. Y CAUTION! Until you actually OPEN a file DNEXT will return the same value over and over. @ chan1 = DNEXT() chan2 = DNEXT() WRONG! chan1 will equal chan2 # another gotcha: FOPEN DNEXT(),... F There is no way to determine what channel was used to open the file! - Here's an example of how it should be used: # chan1 = DNEXT() FOPEN chan1,... # chan2 = DNEXT() FOPEN chan2,... See also : DBase functions THelpTopic TODDATE (DATE date) Converts any PPL type to DDATE type. Example: DATE d1 DDATE d2 d2 = TODDATE(d1) This is an explicit type conversion. Implicit type conversion is also valid as with all other PPL types. * See also : Date DDate type MkDate THelpTopic FREALTUSER Since only one GETALTUSER can be active at one time, FREALTUSER can allow other processes which need to use GETALTUSER (such as the MESSAGE commend) to do so. Example: N string name GETALTUSER 20 name = U_NAME() FREALTUSER message 1,name,... See also : GetAltUser GetUser PutAltUser PutUser THelpTopic ACCOUNTING Several functions and statements have been added to support PCBoard accounting features. Also, many system constants have been added to make using these funtions and statements easier for the PPL programmer. CONSTANTS There are three new functions which return accounting information. Each function will return a value based on a parameter passed to it. Several constants have been added to make accessing these values easier. The following list details these consts and what they are used for. ! for use with PCBACCOUNT() only! val const Associated value ------------------------------------------------------------------- 0 NEWBALANCE Credits Given to a new user account 1 CHRG_CALL Credits charged for a call 2 CHRG_TIME Credits charged for time used (in minutes) 3 CHRG_PEAKTIME Credits charged for peak time used 4 CHRG_CHAT Credits charged for chat session 5 CHRG_MSGREAD Credits charged for reading a message 6 CHRG_MSGCAP Credits charged for capturing a message 7 CHRG_MSGWRITE Credits charged for writing a message 8 CHRG_MSGECHOED Credits charged for writing an echoed message 9 CHRG_MSGPRIVATE Credits charged for writing a private message 10 CHRG_DOWNFILE Credits charged for downloading a file 11 CHRG_DOWNBYTES Credits charged for downloading bytes 12 PAY_UPFILE Credits given for uploading a file 13 PAY_UPBYTES Credits given for uploading bytes 14 WARN_LEVEL Credit threshold for low credit warning The following are for use with PCBACCSTAT() only! val constant Associated value ------------------------------------------------------------------- 0 ACC_STAT Returns status of the "Enable Accounting" switch in the PWRD file. 0=Accounting disabled (N), 1=Tracking (T), and 2=Enabled (Y). 1 ACC_TIME The amount of ADDITIONAL units to charge per minute while in the current conference. 2 ACC_MSGR The amount to charge in ADDITION for each message read in the current conference. 3 ACC_MSGW The amount to charge in ADDITION for each message entered in the current conference. The following are for use with ACCOUNT(), ACCOUNT and RECORDUSAGE only! val constant description example ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 0 START_BAL Users starting balance. 1 START_SESSION Users starting balance for this session 2 DEB_CALL Debit for this call 3 DEB_TIME Debit for time on 4 DEB_MSGREAD Debit for reading message 5 DEB_MSGCAP Debit for capturing a message 6 DEB_MSGWRITE Debit for writing a message 7 DEB_MSGECHOED Debit for echoed message 8 DEB_MSGPRIVATE Debit for writing private message 9 DEB_DOWNFILE Debit for downloading a file 10 DEB_DOWNBYTES Debit for downloading bytes 11 DEB_CHAT Debit for chat 12 DEB_TPU Debit for TPU 13 DEB_SPECIAL Debit special 14 CRED_UPFILE Credit for uploading a file 15 CRED_UPBYTES Credit for uploading bytes 16 CRED_SPECIAL Credit special 17 SEC_DROP Security level to drop to at 0 credits This group of constants can be used to access or modify user account information using the ACCOUNT() function, ACCOUNT statement and/or RECORDUSAGE. The ACCOUNT() function returns the current value and the ACCOUNT statement is used to modify a value. Record usage also modifies a value with more information stored in a usage file. " See also : Account RecordUsage THelpTopic ACCOUNT(INTEGER field) ACCOUNT INTEGER field, INTEGER value 1) the ACCOUNT() function V Returns amount of credits charged for services corresponding to the field parameter. Example: A println "You have been charged ",ACCOUNT(DEB_CHAT)," for chat" field is the field number to access (1-14) or using DEB_ constants c See the Accounting section for a list of constants witch can be used with the ACCOUNT() function. The account function is used to retrieve account information from PCBoard. These are the constants which can be used with the ACCOUNT() function. 2) The ACCOUNT Statement field is a value between 0-14. Using system constants is reccomended. value is the amount of credits to add or subtract to field the field Example: ACCOUNT DEB_CHAT,10 The ACCOUNT statement is used to modify accounting information for a user. This statement will simply modify a debit value whereas the RECORDUSAGE will do the same thing as well as record information in the accounting file. The valid constants for this statement are the same as those used for the ACCOUNT() Function. See the Accounting section for a list of those consts % See also : Accounting RecordUsage THelpTopic RECORDUSAGE ... Usage : RECORDUSAGE INTEGER field,STRING desc1,STRING desc2,DWORD unitcost,INTEGER value Example: ; RECORDUSAGE DEB_CHAT,"Debit for chat", "Using PPE",10,10 field is the field number to access (using DEB_... consts) descr1 is the descripttion of the charge descr2 is a subdescription of the charge unitcost is the cost per unit value is the number of units } Recordusage will update debit values in PCBoard as well as record descriptions and other information in an accounting file. Valid values for the field parameter are 2-16. The constants corresponding with these values (DEB_???) could and should be used here. (see the Accounting section for a list of consts) 7 See also : Accounting Account PCBAccount PcbAccStat THelpTopic PCBACCOUNT(INTEGER field) Returns what PCBoard will charge a user for a certain activity. These are values the SysOp assigns in PCBsetup when accounting is configures and enabled. Example: C println "You will be charged ",PCBACCOUNT(CHRG_CHAT)," for chat" Valid values for the field paramter are 0-14. Use of the corresponding constants is encouraged. (see the Accounting section) 8 See also : Accounting Account RecordUsage PcbAccStat THelpTopic PCBACCSTAT(INTEGER field) Returns value in status field Example: ; PRINTLN "Mutiplier for credits is ",PCBACCSTAT(ACC_STAT) This function can and should be used in conjunction with the ACC_??? constants as the field parameter. Valid values for field are 0-3. (see the Accounting section) 9 See also : Accounting Account RecordUsage RecordUsage THelpTopic MESSAGE HEADER FIELD ACCESS CONSTANTS Field Value hex dec Field Description ------------------------------------------------------------------- HDR_ACTIVE 0x0E 14 Message active flag field HDR_BLOCKS 0x04 4 Number of 128 byte blocks in message HDR_DATE 0x05 5 Date message was written HDR_ECHO 0x0F 15 Echoed message flag HDR_FROM 0x0B 11 Who the message is from HDR_MSGNUM 0x02 2 Message number HDR_MSGREF 0x03 3 Reference message HDR_PWD 0x0D 13 Message password HDR_REPLY 0x0A 10 Message reply flag HDR_RPLYDATE 0x08 8 Reply message date HDR_RPLYTIME 0x09 9 Reply message time HDR_STATUS 0x01 1 Message status HDR_SUBJ 0x0C 12 Message subject HDR_TIME 0x06 6 Message time HDR_TO 0x07 7 Who the message is to. These constants are for use with SCANMSGHDR(conf_num,start_msg,field,text) in the FIELD parameter. See also : ScanMsgHdr THelpTopic SCANMSGHDR(conf,start_msg,field,test) Returns the first message number in the message base which matches the search criteria. Example: 7 integer msgno msgno = SCANMSGHDR(0,1,HDR_TO,"Stan") This function can be used to scan PCBoard message bases for certain information. All fields in the standard header can be searched. There are 15 fields in the standard header. Valid values for field are 1-15. See the list of constants related to this function. 0 See also : MsgToFile Message Header Constats THelpTopic MSGTOFILE conf,msg_no,filename Writes a message into a file. Example: h ;Using SCANMSGHDR to search for a message MSGTOFILE 0,200,"d:\msg1.txt" DISPFILE "D:\msg1.txt",DEFS This statement will take the given message and write it to a text file. The file's first 15 lines will contain standard header information. (One field per line) The headers are formatted to make parsing easier. The 16th line will state how many extended headers are present. The following line(s) will contain extended headers. (one per line) Finally, after the extended headers, will be a line containing "Message body:". Everything after that is the body of the message. 3 See also : ScanMsgHdr, DispFile, HDR_... Consts THelpTopic QWKLIMITS field,limit QWKLIMITS(field) 1) The QWKLIMITS Statement z This statement allows the PPL programmer to modify a users QWK limits. Four fields can be modified with their statement. O Important note. You *must* use GET USER AND PUTUSER with these QWK functions. Example: * GETUSER QWKLIMITS MAXMSGS,500 PUTUSER - Max Messages: Maximum messages allowed in a qwk packet * Note: If you specify a number higher than that contained in PCBSETUP the values in PCBSETUP will be used. - Max Messages per Conference: Maximum messages allowed in a qwk packet per conference. * Note: If you specify a number higher than that contained in PCBSETUP the values in PCBSETUP will be used. - Personal Attach Limit: Maximum number of bytes in attached files for the user. P - Public Attach Limit: Maximum number of bytes in attached files for the user. ? Four constants have been defined to identify the FIELD value. Constant Value Field MAXMSGS 0 Max messages per qwk packet CMAXMSGS 1 Max Messages per conference ATTACH_LIM_U 2 Personal attach bytes limit ATTACH_LIM_P 3 Public attach bytes limit 2) The QWKLIMITS() function This functions returns the values contained in the users QWK configuration. The same constants used in the QWKLIMITS statements can be used with the field parameter. Example: ' GETUSER PRINTLN QWKLIMITS(MAXMSGS) THelpIndex ] in conjunction with the ACC_??? constants as the field parameter. Valid values for field are 0-3. (see the Accounting section) THelpTopic MESSAGE HEADER FIELD ACCESS CONSTANTS Field Value hex dec Field Description ------------------------------------------------------------------- HDR_ACTIVE 0x0E 14 Message active flag field HDR_BLOCKS 0x04 4 Number of 128 byte blocks in message HDR_DATE 0x05 5 Date message was written HDR_ECHO 0x0F 15 Echoed message flag HDR_FROM 0x0B 11 Who the message is from HDR_MSGNUM 0x02 2 Message number HDR_MSGREF 0x03 3 Reference message HDR_PWD 0x0D 13 Message password HDR_REPLY 0x0A 10 Message reply flag HDR_RPLYDATE 0x08 8 Reply message date HDR_RPLYTIME 0x09 9 Reply message time HDR_STATUS 0x01 1 Message status HDR_SUBJ 0x0C 12 Message subject HDR_TIME 0x06 6 Message time HDR_TO 0x07 7 Who the message is to. These constants are for use with SCANMSGHDR(conf_num,start_msg,field,text) in the FIELD parameter. THelpTopic SCANMSGHDR(conf,start_msg,field,test) Returns the first message number in the message base which matches the search criteria. Example: 5 integer msgno msgno = SCANMSGHDR(0,1,HDR_TO,"Stan") This function can be used to scan PCBoard message bases for certain information. All fields in the standard header can be searched. There are 15 fields in the standard header. Valid values for field are 1-15. See the list of constants related to this function. See also : MsgToFile THelpTopic MSGTOFILE conf,msg_no,filename Writes a message into a file. Example: e ;Using SCANMSGHDR to search for a message MSGTOFILE 0,200,"d:\msg1.txt" DISPFILE "D:\msg1.txt",DEFS This statement will take the given message and write it to a text file. The file's first 15 lines will contain standard header information. (One field per line) The headers are formatted to make parsing easier. The 16th line will state how many extended headers are present. The following line(s) will contain extended headers. (one per line) Finally, after the extended headers, will be a line containing "Message body:". Everything after that is the body of the message. 3 See also : ScanMsgHdr, DispFile, HDR_... Consts THelpTopic QWKLIMITS field,limit QWKLIMITS(field) 1) The QWKLIMITS Statement { This statement allows the PPL programmer to modify a users QWK limits. Four fields can be modified with their statement. O Important note. You *must* use GET USER AND PUTUSER with these QWK functions. Example: ' GETUSER QWKLIMITS MAXMSGS,500 PUTUSER ; - Max Messages: Maximum messages allowed in a qwk packet * Note: If you specify a number higher than that contained in PCBSETUP the values in PCBSETUP will be used. - Max Messages per Conference: Maximum messages allowed in a qwk packet per conference. * Note: If you specify a number higher than that contained in PCBSETUP the values in PCBSETUP will be used. - Personal Attach Limit: Maximum number of bytes in attached files for the user. P - Public Attach Limit: Maximum number of bytes in attached files for the user. ? Four constants have been defined to identify the FIELD value. # Constant Value Field MAXMSGS 0 Max messages per qwk packet CMAXMSGS 1 Max Messages per conference ATTACH_LIM_U 2 Personal attach bytes limit ATTACH_LIM_P 3 Public attach bytes limit 2) The QWKLIMITS() function ' This functions returns the values contained in the users QWK configuration. The same constants used in the QWKLIMITS statements can be used with the field parameter. - Example: GETUSER PRINTLN QWKLIMITS(MAXMSGS) THelpIndex