GASS Operations
Thanks you very much for using MSI.
.OP
OPERATION 225 - DISABLE PAGE HEADERS
OPERATION 225 DISABLES THE PAGE HEADER FEATURE WHICH MAY HAVE BEEN
ENABLED BY SOME PREVIOUS OPERATION 224. IT MUST BE EXECTUED ON THE PRINT
DEVICE.
FLD FMT COMMENTS \^ OPERATIONS
----I------I----------------------------------------I---I----------
1 I A1 I I I 225 N
I I I I
I I I I
THE REPORT DISABLES THE HEADER FROM PRINTING ON EACH FORM FEED CHARACTER
TRANSMITTED.
HEX FOR EDIT: 00E1
A-225
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OPERATION 226 - LOAD DATE/TIME FROM PC DOS INTO MEMORY
OPERATION 226 CAUSES THE FIRST 20 DATA POSITIONS OF MEMORY TO BE LOADED
FROM PC DOS. IT MAY BE THEN BROUGHT INTO THE CURRENT FIELD USING OPERATION
104. IF 104 IS PRECEDED BY 62, THE DATE/TIME WILL BE FLASHED. THIS MAY BE
USED FOR DATE/STAMPING. THIS CLOCK AND DATE ARE NOT THE SAME AS THE GASS
CLOCK AND DATE. THIS CLOCK IS A 24 HOUR CLOCK AND SECONDS AND HUNDREDS OF
SECONDS ARE LOADED INTO MEMORY.
EXAMPLE: O226
FLD FMT COMMENTS \^ OPERATIONS
---I-------I--------------------------------I---I-----------------------------
1 I A1 I (CTL Z) I I 40 Y 55 N
2 I A20 I I I 226 Y 62 Y 104 N
3 I A1 I (CTL K) I ^ I 196 Y 55 Y 143(6,2) N
THE EXAMPLE WILL CAUSE THE DATE/TIME TO FLASH CONTINUOUSLY. FIELD 1
CLEARS THE SREEN, FIELD 2 READS THE DATE/TIME AND FLASHES IT. THE CONTROL K IN
FIELD 3 CAUSES THE CURSOR TO MOVE UP TO THE PREVIOUS LINE. LOOPING BETWEEN
FIELDS 2 AND 3 MAY BE TERMINATED BY THE F10 KEY ON THE PC CONSOLE OR A CONTROL
Q ON KSR'S.
THE FORMAT OF MEMORY AFTER OPERATION 226 IS:
11111111112------I MEMORY DATA POINTS
12345678901234567890------I
MM/DD/YY HH:MN:SS.FF
WHERE MM - 2 DIGIT MONTH (1-12) HH - 2 DIGIT HOUR (0-24)
DD - 2 DIGIT DAY (1-31) MN - 2 DIGIT MINUTE (0-59)
YY - 2 DIGIT YEAR (0-99) SS - 2 DIGIT SECOND (0-59)
FF - 2 DIGIT SECOND/100 (0-99) /: AND . - LEGIBILITY
FIELD 2 MAY BE CHANGED TO AN A14 TO PICK UP THROUGH THE MINUTES. USE
OPERATION 64 WITH 104 TO PICK UP ANY VALUE IN THE GROUP. DATA POINTS 19 AND 20
FORM A FAIRLY GOOD RANDOM NUMBER BETWEEN 0 AND 99 AND MAY BE USED AS A SEED
FOR RANDOM NUMBERS OF OTHER RANGES.
HEX FORMAT FOR EDIT: 00E2
A-226
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OPERATION 227 - VIEW LINE-FEEDS ACCORDING TO THE VALUE OF THIS I-FIELD
OPERATION 227 IS THE EQUIVALENT OF OPERATION 23 EXCEPT IT IS EXECUTED ON
THE PROCESS SIDE OF THE SYSTEM AND ITS NUMBER OF LINE-FEEDS IS THE VALUE OF
THE CURRENT I-FIELD. IT ACTUALLY VIEWS THE NUMBER OF L/F'S.
EXAMPLE:
FIELD FMT COMMENT /^ OPERATIONS
-----I--------I----------------------------I--I------------------------------
1 I A1 I HEADER LINE I I 55 N
2 I I2 I I I 18(5) Y 227 N
3 I A1 I LINE AFTER 5 BLANK LINES I I 55 N
WHEN THE EXAMPLE IS UPDATED, "HEADER LINE" WILL BE VIEWED FOLLOWED BY 5
BLANK LINES AND "LINE AFTER 5 BLANK LINES".
HEX FORMAT FOR EDIT: 00E3
A-227
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OPERATION 228 - VIEW A FORM-FEED
OPERATION 228 CAUSES A FORM-FEED (TOP OF FORM) TO BE VIEWED ON THE PROCESS
SIDE OF THE SYSTEM. IT IS SIMILAR TO OPERATION 24 EXCEPT IT IS ON THE PROCESS
SIDE AND IT IT CAN BE IN ANY TYPE FIELD AND CAN COEXEST WITH OTHER OPERATIONS.
EXAMPLE:
FIELD FMT COMMENT /^ OPERATIONS
-----I--------I----------------------------I--I------------------------------
1 I A1 I YOU ARE FIXING TO SEE A FF I I 55 Y 228 N
2 I A1 I NOW YOU ARE ON PAGE 2 I I 55
THE EXAMPLE WILL PRINT "YOU ARE FIXING TO SEE A FF" ON THE BOTTOM OF THE
CURRENT PAGE AND "NOW YOU ARE ON PAGE 2" ON THE NEXT PAGE.
HEX FORMAT FOR EDIT: 00E4
A-228
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OPERATION 229 - SET NO-BREAK
OCCASIONALLY WHEN WRITING MULTI-USER SYSTEMS IT IS NECESSARY TO PREVENT
THE OTHER USERS OF THE SYSTEM FROM PROCESSING. THIS IS PARTICULARLY NEEDED
WHEN THE SOFTWARE MAKES USE OF GLOBAL SYSTEM VARIABLES, SUCH AS SYSTEM MEMORY
OR SYSTEM REGISTERS. OPERATION 229 TELLS THE SYSTEM TO LET ONLY THE CURRENT
DEVICE AND ITS ASSOCIATED PR DEVICE PROCESS, UNTIL EITHER OF THEM PROCESSES AN
OPERATION 230.
THE EXAMPLE BELOW DEMONSTRATES THE USE OF THIS. IN FIELD 1 THE PROGRAM
SETS OP.229, THEN TESTS FOR PR DEVICE READY. IF THE PR DEVICE IS NOT READY, A
JUMP IS PERFORMED TO FIELD 4, WHICH RELEASES THE OP.229 WITH AN OP.230 AND
THEN RETURNS TO FIELD 1 TO CHECK ON THE PR DEVICE AGAIN. IF THE PR DEVICE IS
READY, THE PROGRAM FALLS THROUGH TO FIELD 2, WHERE THE GENNING DEVICE'S PR
NUMBER IS PLACED IN MEMORY AND THEN DEVICE MEMORY IS PLACED IN SYSTEM MEMORY.
FIELD 3 THEN STARTS test ON THE PR DEVICE, WHICH CAPTURES SYSTEM MEMORY FOR
VIEWING AND THEN RELEASES THE OP.229 WITH AN OP.230 SO THAT THE OTHER DEVICES
ON THE SYSTEM MAY CONTINUE PROCESSING.
CAUTION IN THE USE OF THESE OPERATIONS IS URGED ON THE PROGRAMMER; YOU
DON'T WANT TO WRITE A BAD-NATURED PROGRAM WHICH WILL LOCK THE OTHER USERS FROM
THE SYSTEM FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME, OR EVEN INDEFINITELY.
TEST
FIELD I FMT I COMMENTS I\^I OPERATIONS
------I-----I-----------------------I--I-------------------------------------
1 I A2 I PR I I 40 Y 65 Y 103 Y 229 Y 219 Y 143(3,4)N
2 I I2 I I I 173 Y 105(3,2) Y 164 N
3 I A6 I test I I 65 Y 72 Y 170 Y 209 Y 143(6,1) N
4 I A1 I SKIP I I 55 Y 230 Y 143(6,1) N
test
FIELD I FMT I COMMENTS I\^I OPERATIONS
------I-----I-----------------------I--I-------------------------------------
1 I A4 I I I 40 Y 165 Y 230 Y 62 Y 104 Y 210 N
A-229
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OPERATION 230 - CLEAR NO-BREAK
OPERATION 230 IS THE OPPOSITE OF OPERATION 229. IT CLEARS THE SYSTEM
NO-BREAK FLAG SO THAT PROCESSING MAY CONTINUE ON OTHER DEVICES. SEE THE
DISCUSSION PERTAINING TO OP.229 FOR AN EXPLANATION AND EXAMPLE OF THE USE OF
THESE TWO COMPLEMENTARY OPERATIONS.
NOTE THAT OPERATION 230 MAY BE PROCESSED ON THE DEVICE WHICH SET THE
OPERATION 229 OR ITS PR DEVICE ONLY. IF A DEVICE IS ITS OWN PR DEVICE, THEN
ALL OTHER SYSTEM RESOURCES ARE UNABLE TO PROCESS UNTIL AN OP.230 IS PROCESSED
ON THE CURRENT DEVICE.
A-230
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OPERATION 231 - XON/XOFF INTERFACE
OPERATION 231 WORKS LIKE OPERATION 171, EXCEPT THAT THE XON/XOFF PROTOCOL
IS USED FOR HANDSHAKING BETWEEN THE TWO DEVICES, INSTEAD OF RTS/CTS HARDWARE
HANDSHAKING. THIS WAS NECESSARY TO IMPLEMENT A SPECIAL INTERFACE FOR A
CUSTOMER. REFER TO THE WRITE-UP ON OPERATION 171 FOR A DISCUSSION OF THE
COMPUTER-COMPUTER LINK.
A-231
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OPERATION 232 - SET RS-232 PARAMETERS
OPERATION 232 IS USED TO SET THE OPERATIONAL PARAMETERS OF THE RS-232
PORT FOR THE PR DEVICE. THE SYSTEM REGISTERS USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH OP.232
ARE:
83 VALUE: SETS THE BAUD RATE ACCORDING TO:
0 = 110 BAUD, 1 = 150 BAUD, 2 = 300 BAUD,
3 = 600 BAUD, 4 = 1200 BAUD, 5 = 2400 BAUD,
6 = 4800 BAUD, 7 = 9600 BAUD
51 VALUE: SETS THE PARITY ACCORDING TO:
0 = NONE, 1 = ODD, 2 = EVEN
38 VALUE: SETS THE STOP BITS ACCORDING TO:
0 = ONE, 1 = TWO
81 VALUE: SETS THE WORD LENGTH ACCORDING TO:
2 = 7 BITS, 3 = 8 BITS
THESE VALUES MUST BE SET-UP, THEN OPERATION WHEN OP.232 IS PROCESSED, THE
NEW PARAMETERS ARE MADE EFFECTIVE.
EXAMPLE 232
FIELD | FMT | COMMENTS |\^| OPERATIONS
------|-----|------------------------------------|--|------------------------
1 | I6 | BAUD RATE CODE? | | 40 Y 0 Y 83 N
2 | I6 | PARITY CODE? | | 0 Y 51 N
3 | I6 | STOP BITS CODE? | | 0 Y 38 N
4 | I6 | WORD LENGTH CODE? | | 0 Y 81 Y 232 N
THE ABOVE EXAMPLE, IF GIVEN VALUES FROM THE CHOICES ABOVE, WILL SET THE
PARAMETERS FOR THE PR DEVICE'S RS-232 COMMUNICATIONS. NOTE THAT ANY VALUES
OTHER THAN THE ONES GIVEN WILL HAVE UNPREDICTABLE EFFECTS. BE CAREFUL! NOTE
ALSO THAT SETTING THESE PARAMETERS FOR NON-RS-232 DEVICES WILL HAVE POSSIBLY
DELETERIOUS AFFECTS ON YOUR COMPUTER AND PROGRAMS.
A-232
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OPERATION 233 - MODIFY FOR DIRECT FILE WRITE
OPERATIONS 203 AND 206 ARE USED TO OPEN MS-DOS FILES FOR READ OR WRITE.
IN THEIR UNMODIFIED FORM THEY WRITE MS-DOS SEQUENTIAL OR TEXT FILES. SUCH
FILES HAVE A VARIABLE RECORD LENGTH, USING THE LF/CR SEQUENCE AS RECORD
SEPARATORS AND THE CONTROL-Z CHARACTER AS END-OF-FILE MARKER.
MS-DOS ALSO USES DIRECT, OR RANDOM-ACCESS FILES, WHICH ARE CHARACTERIZED
BY A FIXED RECORD LENGTH, WHICH MS-DOS USES TO DETERMINE WHERE ONE LOGICAL
RECORD ENDS AND ANOTHER BEGINS. OPERATION 233 MODIFIES OPERATION 203 AND/OR
206 TO READ OR WRITE FIXED-LENGTH RECORDS, USING THE INTEGER DATA IN THE
OP.233 FIELD AS THE RECORD LENGTH.
SEE THE SECTIONS ON THE APPROPRIATE OPERATION(S) FOR EXAMPLES.
A-233
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OPERATION 234 - HARDWARE OUTPUT
OPERATION 234 CAUSES THE LEAST SIGNIFICANT BYTE OF THE CURRENT FIELD'S
INTEGER REGISTER TO BE OUTPUT TO THE PC I/O ADDRESS NAMED BY THE LAST
OPERATION 51. THIS MAY BE USED BY THE KNOWLEGABLE PROGRAMMER TO DO HARDWARE-
SPECIFIC PROGRAMMING. THE CASUAL USER IS WARNED AGAINST DOING HARDWARE OUTPUTS
UNLESS HE HAS A THOUROUGH KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT THE CONSEQUENCES MAY BE. THEY CAN
POSSIBLY BE VERY SERIOUS!
EXAMPLE 234
FIELD | FMT | COMMENTS |\^| OPERATIONS
------|-----|----------------------------------|--|--------------------
1 | I6 | PORT#? | | 40 Y 0 Y 51 N
2 | I6 | DATA TO OUTPUT? | | 0 Y 234 N
A-234
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OPERATION 235 - HARDWARE INPUT
OPERATION 235 CAUSES THE CURRENT FIELD'S INTEGER REGISTER TO BE REPLACED
WITH THE BYTE OBTAINED BY DOING A HARDWARE INPUT FROM THE PC I/O ADDRESS NAMED
BY THE LAST OPERATION 38. IT IS THEREFORE THE REVERSE OF OPERATION 234 AND IS
TO BE USED BY GASS PROGRAMMERS WHO NEED TO DO HARDWARE-SPECIFIC ROUTINES
WITHIN THEIR GASS REPORTS.
EXAMPLE 235
FIELD | FMT | COMMENTS |\^| OPERATIONS
------|-----|----------------------------------|--|--------------------
1 | I6 | PORT#? | | 40 Y 0 Y 38 N
2 | I6 | | | 235 Y 10(2,150) Y 103 N
3 | I6 | | | 62 Y 104 N
THE ABOVE EXAMPLE MAY BE USED TO PROBE THE PC I/O CHANNEL, VIEWING THE
DATA TRANSFERRED FROM THE PORT CHOSEN BY THE OPERATOR. NO DAMAGE IS LIKELY TO
OCCUR FROM ITS USE, BUT TECHNICAL MANUALS AND INTEGER TO HEX CONVERSIONS WILL
BE NECESSARY TO UNDERSTAND THE VALUES OBTAINED.
A-235
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OPERATION 236 - LOGICAL AND
OPERATION 236 DOES A LOGICAL "AND" OF THE VALUES IN THE OP.51 AND OP.38
REGISTERS. THE RESULT IS PLACED IN THE CURRENT FIELD'S INTEGER REGISTER AND
THE OP.33 FLAG IS SET IF THE RESULT IS NON-ZERO OR CLEARED IF IT IS ZERO.
THIS AND THE FOLLOWING BIT-FIELD OPERATIONS MAY BE USED FOR MANY
PURPOSES AND HAVE SPECIAL UTILITY IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE HARDWARE I/O
OPERATIONS 234 AND 235.
EXAMPLE 236
FIELD | FMT | COMMENTS |\^| OPERATIONS
------|-----|---------------------------------|--|--------------------
1 | I6 | VALUE1 | | 40 Y 0 Y 38 N
2 | I6 | VALUE2 | | 0 Y 51 N
3 | I6 | | | 236 Y 10(3,150) Y 103 N
4 | I6 | | | 62 Y 104 N
THE ABOVE EXAMPLE VIEWS THE RESULT OF THE LOGICAL "AND" OF THE VALUES
ENTERED IN FIELDS 1 AND 2.
A-236
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OPERATION 237 - LOGICAL OR
OPERATION 237 DOES A LOGICAL "OR" OF THE VALUES IN THE OP.51 AND OP.38
REGISTERS. THE RESULT IS PLACED IN THE CURRENT FIELD'S INTEGER REGISTER AND
THE OP.33 FLAG IS SET IF THE RESULT IS NON-ZERO OR CLEARED IF IT IS ZERO.
THIS AND THE FOLLOWING BIT-FIELD OPERATIONS MAY BE USED FOR MANY
PURPOSES AND HAVE SPECIAL UTILITY IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE HARDWARE I/O
OPERATIONS 234 AND 235.
EXAMPLE 237
FIELD | FMT | COMMENTS |\^| OPERATIONS
------|-----|---------------------------------|--|--------------------
1 | I6 | VALUE1 | | 40 Y 0 Y 38 N
2 | I6 | VALUE2 | | 0 Y 51 N
3 | I6 | | | 237 Y 10(3,150) Y 103 N
4 | I6 | | | 62 Y 104 N
THE ABOVE EXAMPLE VIEWS THE RESULT OF THE LOGICAL "OR" OF THE VALUES
ENTERED IN FIELDS 1 AND 2.
A-237
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OPERATION 238 - LOGICAL XOR
OPERATION 238 DOES A LOGICAL "XOR" OF THE VALUES IN THE OP.51 AND OP.38
REGISTERS. THE RESULT IS PLACED IN THE CURRENT FIELD'S INTEGER REGISTER AND
THE OP.33 FLAG IS SET IF THE RESULT IS NON-ZERO OR CLEARED IF IT IS ZERO.
THIS AND THE FOLLOWING BIT-FIELD OPERATIONS MAY BE USED FOR MANY
PURPOSES AND HAVE SPECIAL UTILITY IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE HARDWARE I/O
OPERATIONS 234 AND 235.
EXAMPLE 238
FIELD | FMT | COMMENTS |\^| OPERATIONS
------|-----|---------------------------------|--|--------------------
1 | I6 | VALUE1 | | 40 Y 0 Y 38 N
2 | I6 | VALUE2 | | 0 Y 51 N
3 | I6 | | | 238 Y 10(3,150) Y 103 N
4 | I6 | | | 62 Y 104 N
THE ABOVE EXAMPLE VIEWS THE RESULT OF THE LOGICAL "XOR" OF THE VALUES
ENTERED IN FIELDS 1 AND 2.
A-238
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OPERATION 239 - LOGICAL SHIFT LEFT
OPERATION 239 PERFORMS A LOGICAL LEFT SHIFT OF THE CURRENT FIELD'S
INTEGER REGISTER, USING THE OP.83 VALUE AS THE NUMBER OF PLACES TO SHIFT. THE
OPERATION 33 FLAG IS SET IF THE SHIFT RESULTS IN CARRY BEING SET. THIS IS
ANOTHER BIT-FIELD OPERATION WITH MANY USES.
EXAMPLE 239
FIELD | FMT | COMMENTS |\^| OPERATIONS
------|-----|---------------------------------|--|-----------------------
1 | I6 | BASE VALUE | | 40 Y 0 N
2 | I6 | 2^N? | | 0 Y 83 N
3 | I6 | | | 10(1,150) Y 239 N
4 | I6 | | | 10(3,150) Y 103 Y 143(0,6)N
5 | A1 | OVERFLOW | | 55 N
6 | I6 | | | 62 Y 104 N
THE EXAMPLE GIVEN WILL MULTIPLY THE VALUE ENTERED INTO FIELD 1 BY THE
POWER OF 2 ENTERED IN FIELD 2, BY DOING A LEFT SHIFT IN FIELD 3. FIELD 4 ADDS
THE RESULT AND PUTS IT IN MEMORY AND THE JUMPS TO FIELD 6 TO VIEW THE RESULT
IF NO OVERFLOW OCCURRED. IF OVERFLOW DID OCCUR FIELD 5 WARNS THE OPERATOR THAT
THE RESULT IS INVALID. THIS PROGRAM MAKES USE OF A PROPERTY OF THE SHIFT THAT
IS OFTEN USED AS A PROGRAMMING SHORTCUT, SINCE SHIFTS TAKE FEWER PROCESSOR
CLOCKS THAN MULTIPLIES DO.
A-239
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OPERATION 240 - LOGICAL SHIFT RIGHT
OPERATION 240 PERFORMS A LOGICAL RIGHT SHIFT OF THE CURRENT FIELD'S
INTEGER REGISTER, USING THE OP.83 VALUE AS THE NUMBER OF PLACES TO SHIFT. THE
OPERATION 33 FLAG IS SET IF THE SHIFT RESULTS IN CARRY BEING SET. THIS IS
ANOTHER BIT-FIELD OPERATION WITH MANY USES.
EXAMPLE 240
FIELD | FMT | COMMENTS |\^| OPERATIONS
------|-----|---------------------------------|--|-----------------------
1 | I6 | BASE VALUE | | 40 Y 0 N
2 | I6 | 2^N? | | 0 Y 83 N
3 | I6 | | | 10(1,150) Y 240 N
4 | I6 | | | 10(3,150) Y 103 Y 143(0,6)N
5 | A1 | OVERFLOW | | 55 N
6 | I6 | | | 62 Y 104 N
THE EXAMPLE GIVEN WILL DIVIDE THE VALUE ENTERED INTO FIELD 1 BY THE
POWER OF 2 ENTERED IN FIELD 2, BY DOING A RIGHT SHIFT IN FIELD 3. FIELD 4 ADDS
THE RESULT AND PUTS IT IN MEMORY AND THE JUMPS TO FIELD 6 TO VIEW THE RESULT
IF NO OVERFLOW OCCURRED. IF OVERFLOW DID OCCUR FIELD 5 WARNS THE OPERATOR THAT
THE RESULT IS INVALID. THIS PROGRAM MAKES USE OF A PROPERTY OF THE SHIFT THAT
IS OFTEN USED AS A PROGRAMMING SHORTCUT, SINCE SHIFTS TAKE FEWER PROCESSOR
CLOCKS THAN MULTIPLIES DO.
A-240
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OPERATION 241 - SEARCH MEMORY FOR ASCII STRING IN THIS A-FIELD.
OPERATION 241 WILL SEARCH MEMORY STARTING AT THE DATA POINT CONTAINED IN
OPERATION 38 GOING TO THE DATA POINT CONTAINED IN OPERATION 83 (LESS 1) AND
WILL USE THE DATA IN THIS A-FIELD AS SEARCH DATA. THE DATA POINT OF THE FIRST
MATCH WILL BE PLACED IN THIS FIELD'S FIXED POINT REGISTER AND IF NO MATCH WAS
FOUND ZERO WILL BE PLACED THERE. OPERATION 33 FLAG WILL BE SET ACCORDING TO
THIS VALUE.
EXAMPLE 241
FIELD | FMT | COMMENTS |\^| OPERATIONS
------|-----|---------------------------------|--|-----------------------
1 | A78 | ENTER 78 CHARACTERS | | 0 Y 103 N
2 | I6 | | | 18(1) Y 38 N
3 | I6 | | | 18(78) Y 83 N
4 | A6 | DUMB | | 65 Y 241 Y 143(0,9) N
5 | A1 | YOU TYPED "DUMB" ON THE | | 196 Y 55 N
6 | I4 | | | 10(4,150) Y 103 N
7 | I4 | | | 62 Y 196 Y 104 N
8 | A1 | TH KEYSTROKE. | | 55 Y 143(6,150) N
9 | A1 | YOU DID'NT EVEN TYPE "DUMB". | | 55 N
THE EXAMPLE WILL ASK THE OPERATOR TO ENTER 78 CHARACTERS, THEN PUT THEM
INTO MEMORY. MEMORY WILL THEN BE SEARCHED FOR "DUMB" AND IF NO MATCH IS FOUND,
"YOU DID'NT EVEN TYPE "DUMB" " WILL BE VIEWED. OTHERWISE THE KEYSTROKE NUMBER
IS VIEWED.
A-241
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OPERATION 242 - CHANGE ALL CHARACTERS IN THIS A-FIELD TO UPPER CASE.
SOME APPLICATIONS REQUIRE ONLY UPPER CASE CHARACTERS. OPERATION 242 SOLVES
THIS PROBLEM.
EXAMPLE 242
FIELD | FMT | COMMENTS |\^| OPERATIONS
------|-----|---------------------------------|--|-----------------------
1 | A20 | ENTER ANY CHARACTER | | 0 Y 242 N
THE EXAMPLE REPORT WILL HAVE ALL UPPER CASE ALPHABETICAL CHARACTERS NO
MATTER WHAT CASE IS KEYED IN. NOTE: ALL OTHER NUMBERS AND SYMBOLS STAY AS THEY
ARE.
A-242
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OPERATION 243 - SET PRINTER LINE-FEED PROTOCOL
SOME PRINTERS REQUIRE THAT A LINE FEED BE SENT ALONG WITH EVERY CARRIAGE
RETURN, AND OTHERS SUPPLY THEIR OWN AUTOMATICALLY. THIS CAN CAUSE CONFUSION
WHEN THE PRINTER'S REQUIREMENTS DIFFER FROM THE DATA WHICH THE SYSTEM
SUPPLIES. THERE ARE FILE MANAGEMENT CODES TO TAKE CARE OF THIS, BUT IN ORDER
TO PROVIDE END-USERS WITH TURN-KEY SYSTEMS, THE PROGRAMMER MAY WRITE A SYSTEM
REPORT WHICH WILL SET THIS PARAMETER FOR THE USERS. OPERATION 243 SHOULD BE IN
AN I-FORMAT FIELD, AND IS SET UP SO THAT IF THE VALUE IN THE FIELD WITH THE
OP.243 IS ZERO, THEN THE AUTOMATIC LINE FEEDS ARE INHIBITED, AND IF THE VALUE
IN THE FIELD IS 1, THEN A LINE FEED WILL FOLLOW EVERY CARRIAGE RETURN
TRANSMITTED BY THE SYSTEM. NOTE THAT THIS ONLY WORKS FOR RECEIVE-ONLY (RO) OR
PRINTER DEVICES, AND IS NOT EFFECTIVE FOR CRT LINES.
EXAMPLE 243
FIELD | FORMAT | COMMENTS |\^| OPERATIONS
------|--------|---------------------------------|--|----------------------
1 | I6 | 0=DISABLE; 1=ENABLE: | | 40 Y 0 Y 243 N
THE ABOVE EXAMPLE WILL ALLOW OPERATOR ENTRY OF THE CODE TO DETERMINE
WHETHER THE SYSTEM AUTOMATICALLY SUPPLIES A LINE FEED WITH EACH CARRIAGE
RETURN.
A-243
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OPERATION 244 - INHIBIT SYSTEM MESSAGE ON F10
FOR THE PC CONSOLE ONLY, ENTRY OF FUNCTION KEY 10 (F10) WILL CAUSE A
CURRENTLY OPERATING PROCESS TO BE INTERRUPTED. THE SYSTEM WILL THEN FLASH A
MESSAGE SAYING "XXXXXX WILL BE STOPPED IF YOU ENTER...", WHERE XXXXXX
REPRESENTS THE NAME OF THE CURRENTLY PROCESSING REPORT AND THE RESPONSE OF TWO
LOWER-CASE Q'S (qq) WILL CAUSE THE PROCESS TO BE HALTED. THIS WAS INTENDED
PRIMARILY FOR DEBUGGING PURPOSES AND CAUSED SEVERAL USERS TO HAVE PROBLEMS
WHEN THEY INADVERTENTLY KEYED F10, HENCE THE REQUIREMENT OF THE ADDITIONAL qq
RESPONSE BEFORE QUITTING. UNFORTUNATELY, PROGRAMMERS HAD WRITTEN THE USE OF
THE F10 INTO THEIR APPLICATION CODE, THEREBY COMPOUNDING THE PROBLEM. OP.244
AND OP.245 HAVE BEEN ADDED TO THE SYSTEM TO DISABLE (OP.244) OR ENABLE
(OP.245) THE TRANSMISSION OR THE SECONDARY QUERY WHICH ASKS FOR THE RESPONSE
OF qq.
SYSTEMS WHERE THE ENTRY OF F10 IS A NORMAL PART OF THE OPERATOR'S WORK
(AS DETERMINED BY THE APPLICATIONS CODE WRITTEN) SHOULD HAVE SOME WAY OF
PROCESSING A REPORT CONTAINING AN OP.244 BEFORE THE DAY'S PROCESSING BEGINS.
THIS WILL DISABLE THE ADDITIONAL QUERY BEFORE STOPPING A PROCESS.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS REALLY A KLUDGE TO WORK OUR WAY AROUND A PROBLEM
WHICH HAD MANY SIDE EFFECTS. IT IS A BAD IDEA TO USE AN OPERATING SYSTEM
FUNCTION LIKE THIS F10 BREAK AS A FEATURE OF AN APPLICATION, SINCE THAT PLACES
THE FUNCTION OUT OF THE IMMEDIATE CONTROL OF THE APPLICATION PROGRAMMER. BE
AWARE THAT A F10 BREAK IN THE MIDDLE OF SOME PROCESS CAN CAUSE GREAT PROBLEMS
WITH PARTIAL RECORDS, ETC.
SEE THE NEXT PAGE FOR AN EXAMPLE OF THE USE OF OPERATION 244.
A-244
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OPERATION 245 - ENABLE SYSTEM MESSAGE ON F10
OPERATION 245 ENABLES THE SYSTEM MESSAGE WHICH OPERATION 244 MAY HAVE
DISABLED. THE ENABLED STATE IS THE SYSTEM'S DEFAULT. SEE THE DISCUSSION ON THE
PROCEEDING PAGE.
EXAMPLE 244
FIELD | FORMAT | COMMENTS |\^| OPERATIONS
------|--------|----------------------------------|--|-----------------------
1 | A1 | SYSTEM MESSAGE DISABLED! | | 40 Y 55 Y 244 N
EXAMPLE 245
FIELD | FORMAT | COMMENTS |\^| OPERATIONS
------|--------|----------------------------------|--|-----------------------
1 | A1 | SYSTEM MESSAGE ENABLED! | | 40 Y 55 Y 245 N
THE ABOVE EXAMPLES ARE THE SIMPLEST POSSIBLE TO APPLY OPERATIONS 244 AND
245. THEY HAVE THE AFFECT ON THE SYSTEM THAT THEIR COMMENTS SAY.
A-245
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OPERATION 246 - PUT THIS DEVICE INTO CBI MODE
WHEN A PR NUMBER IS READ ONLY AND IT IS USED AS A COMPUTER-COMPUTER LINK,
SOMETIMES IT IS ADVANTAGIOUS TO SEND IT INTO CBI (CIRCULAR BUFFER INPUT) MODE.
THE ADVANTAGE IS THAT THE I/P INTERRUPTS ARE NEVER DISABLED AND WHEN THE
CHARACTER STRINGS BEING I/P REACH THE END OF THE I/P BUFFER, THE TAIL OF THE
BUFFER BECOMES THE HEAD AND THE LIKELY HOOD OF DATA LOSE DUE TO OVERWRITE IS
REDUCED. IN A CIRCULAR BUFFER I/P SYSTEM THE I/P BUFFER HEAD CHASES ITS TAIL
WITH INTERUPT DRIVEN I/P DRIVING THE HEAD AND THE APPLICATION PROGRAM PICKING
DATA FROM THE BUFFER DRIVING THE TAIL.
OPERATION 246 CAUSES DATA TO BE READ BY OPERATION 0 A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY
THAN NORMAL. UNDER CBI MODE, IF THE NUMBER OF CHARACTERS SPECIFIED BY THE
FIELD'S FORMAT IS REACHED, THAT WILL CAUSE DATA TO BE RETURNED TO OPERATION 0.
NATURALLY A CARRIAGE RETURN WILL ALSO RETURN THE I/P DATA AS WELL AS ANY
DELIMITERS THAT HAVE BEEN SET UP.
EXAMPLE
FIELD | FORMAT | COMMENTS |\^| OPERATIONS
------|--------|---------------------------------|\^|----------------------
A6 | A6 | 246 |^ | 246 Y 65 Y 72 Y 170 N
THE EXAMPLE PUTS THE PR DEVICE INTO CBI MODE AND TURNS THE REPORT NAMED
246 OVER TO IT.
EXAMPLE 246
FIELD | FORMAT | COMMENTS |\^| OPERATIONS
------|--------|---------------------------------|--|----------------------
1 | A3 | #$% | | 40 Y 65 Y 152 Y
2 | I6 | | | 10(-1,1) Y 51 N
3 | A78 | |^ | 0 Y 117(10,0) Y
| | | | 143(6,2) N
IN EXAMPLE 246, FIELD ONE SETS UP DELIMTERS #,$ AND %. INPUT IS
RECEIVED VIA THE CIRCULAR BUFFER AND PLACED IN SUCCESSIVE ROWS OF TABLE 10.
A-246
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OPERATION 247 - WAIT FOR STRING
OPERATION 247 SHOULD ONLY BE USED IN A-FORMAT FIELDS. OPERATION 247 USES
THE STRING DATA IN THE FIELD AS THE PATTERN TO MATCH AGAINST THE INCOMING DATA
STREAM. THE PROCESS WILL WAIT (AS IN OPERATION 0) UNTIL A STRING MATCHING THE
PATTERN IS RECEIVED. NOTE THAT THE CARET (^) MAY BE USED AS A MASK CHARACTER
IN THE PATTERN STRING FOR ANY CHARACTER POSITION WHERE ANY CHARACTER WILL
MATCH.
EXAMPLE: 247
FIELD | FORMAT | COMMENTS |^\| OPERATIONS
------|--------|---------------------------------|--|------------------------
1 | A1 | LOGIN: | | 40 Y 196 Y 55 N
2 | A9 | I WANT IN | | 65 Y 247 N
3 | A6 | MENU | | 65 Y 72 Y 212 N
THE EXAMPLE VIEWS "LOGIN:" AND THEN WAITS UNTIL THE OPERATOR KEYS "I WANT
IN". THE PROCESS THEN CONTINUES BY TRANSFERRING CONTROL TO "MENU".
A-247
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OPERATION 248 - COPY A FILE
OPERATION 248 WORKS IN CONJUNCTION WITH OPERATIONS 111 AND 112. IT COPIES
THE CURRENT FILE TO THE UNIT AND FILE SPECIFIED BY THE LAST OPS. 111 & 112.
THIS ALLOWS BACKUP ROUTINES TO BE PLACED UNDER MENU CONTROL BY THE GASS
PROGRAMMER.
EXAMPLE 248
FIELD | FORMAT | COMMENTS |\^| OPERATIONS
------|--------|----------------------------------|--|------------------------
1 | I6 | | | 18(2) Y 111 N
2 | I6 | | | 18(1) Y 112 Y 248 N
3 | I6 | |^ | 185 N
THE EXAMPLE REPORT, WHEN GENNED, WILL CAUSE THE CURRENT FILE TO BE COPIED
(BACKED-UP) TO UNIT 2 FILE 1, AND WILL LOG THIS BACKUP BY PUTTING THE CURRENT
JULIAN DATE INTO FIELD 3 OF THE REPORT.
A-248
.PA
OPERATION 249 - TURN OFF CACHING
WHEN USING REMOVABLE MEDIA AS A DATA BASE, THERE MAY BE A REQUIREMENT TO
TURN OFF CACHING IN ORDER TO PRESERVE INTEGRITY OF THE DATA BASE.
EXAMPLE:
FIELD | FORMAT | COMMENTS |\^| OPERATIONS
------|--------|----------------------------------|--|------------------------
1 | A1 | |^ | 249 N
THE EXAMPLE WILL DISABLE CACHE UNTIL THE SYSTEM IS REBOOTED.
A-249
Gass Index