UltraSoft Corporation
1777 Veterans Highway
Central Islip, NY 11722
(516) 348-4848
2
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Archive allows the user to compact a large number of unwieldy
files into a single file, ending with a .ARC extension. A use
for this would include transfer of data that would otherwise be
cumbersome. Suppose for example that you wish to copy a group of
programs from one account to another. The normal procedure would
be to use the copy command:
Tedious, isn't it? It would be much easier if the above files
had been archived under the heading JOAN.ARC. Transfer of this
file would have then looked like:
.COPY DSK2:[100,6]=DSK1[25,12]JOAN.ARC
In short, ARCHIVE allows for easier data manipulation.
2.0 INSTALLATION
In order to download the software, simply follow the
installation procedure included with this package. There is no
need to modify the system initialization file.
3.0 COMMAND OVERVIEW
All that is needed to operate ARCHIVE are three short commands--
ARCHIV, ARCDIR, and ARCRES. ARCHIV allows for creation of the
archive file, ARCDIR lets one view the files contained therein,
and ARCRES releases the archive file into its component files.
Each of these commands is discussed in more detail below.
Copyright (C) 1987 UltraSoft Corporation
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4.0 ARCHIV
This command sets up the initial archive file. For its usage,
type this in at AMOS command level ("."):
.ARCHIV
This shows up on the screen as
Usage: .ARCHIV ArchiveFile = FileList {/Switches}
/QUERY - asks for file-by-file confirmation
/NOLABEL - creates archive with no label information
/SUPRESS - supresses file list display
/ERASE - erase original files as they are archived
The archive file is the heading under which all of the other
files will be categorized. The FileList is the grouping of files
to be contained in the archive file, with each filename being
separated by a comma. The last phrase, contained in the braces
are the switches, which are optional.
4.1 ARCHIV Switches
These switches, which must be preceded by a slash(/) allow for
different methods of archiving. The /QUERY denotes whether or
not you wish a file to be included in the archive. This is done
on a yes/no basis, so that not all the contents of an account
are dumped into one large archival file. For example, if this
was typed in,
.ARCHIV BASIC=*.BAS/Q
the user is prompted to include each file with a .BAS extension,
so that selected files will be left out.
The /NOLABEL option leaves out the label creation process and
immediately jumps to the archiving process. This is explained
more fully later on.
The /SUPRESS switch eliminates the screen output of the files
being archived. In the handling of large groups of files, this
will speed the process along.
NOTE: All of the switches used above and later on may be used in
conjunction with one another. They only need to be separated
from one another on the same line by a slash. In addition, these
commands can be abbreviated from /QUERY to /Q, /NOLABEL to /NOL,
and /SUPRESS to S. The last switch, /ERASE, is dangerous, so be
Copyright (C) 1987 UltraSoft Corporation
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careful in its use. If the archive is interrupted in the middle
of things, those files before the interruption will be lost.
4.2 ARCHIV Usage
Now that we have a basic understanding of ARCHIV, it's high time
that we employed it in a useful situation. We are going to
transform a group of files into a single archive file. As a
demonstration:
DSK2:HERO.TXT to DSK2:JOAN.ARC
DSK2:WOMAN.BAS to DSK2:JOAN.ARC
DSK2:FRENCH.M68 to DSK2:JOAN.ARC
DSK2:CHARGE.CMD to DSK2:JOAN.ARC
Total of 4 files in 27 blocks selected for transfer
So far, we have started up an archive called JOAN, with a
default extension of .ARC, although another three letter
extension may be specified. The number of files and how much
space they take up is shown. The next prompt on the screen looks
like:
Going through the above information for an explanation, we find
that each of the above labels is optional, and as such the
fields may be left out by hitting <RETURN> at each prompt. The
words and numbers in the braces are merely included as an
example, and as such do not have to be entered. After hitting
<RETURN> after the last field, the screen display will look like:
Writing TOC
Beginning copy....
.` (cursor)
The TOC stands for table of contents, which is the listing of
all files included in the archive. "Beginning copy" denotes that
the process of archiving is taking place. Once at the dot (.),
everything is finished. We can now take a look at how the files
were arranged.
Copyright (C) 1987 UltraSoft Corporation
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5.0 ARCDIR
This command shows how many files were compiled into a single
archive. At AMOS command level, a single ARCDIR statement would
look like this:
1 DSK1: HERO .TXT [25,12] 3 Blocks L at 1
2 DSK1: WOMAN .BAS [25,12] 7 Blocks L at 10
3 DSK1: FRENCH.M68 [25,12] 9 Blocks L at 19
4 DSK1: CHARGE.CMD [25,12] 8 Blocks L at 27
Total of 4 files in 27 blocks
The above lines translate into the following. The first file
(HERO.TXT) is on Disk 1, located in the PPN of [25,12]. It is
three blocks long, and is a linked file. Its starting position
in the record is 1.
The abbrreviation following the word "blocks" can either be an L
or a C. The L stands for a linked file and the C stands for a
contiguous file. A linked file is another name for a sequential
file and a contiguous file is another name for a ranndom file.
6.0 ARCRES
The last command is ARCRES. This allows you to break down the
archive into its component files. From AMOS command level,
typing ARCRES yields:
/NODELETE switch will prevent overwriting of files
/QUERY switch confirms restoration file-by-file
.ARCRES Archive...............Restores to original disk(s) and ppn(s)
.ARCRES DEVN:[p,pn]=Archive...Restores all files to one disk & ppn
.ARCRES DEVN:=Archive.........Restores to one disk
.ARCRES [p,pn]=Archive........Restore to one ppn
.ARCRES =Archive..............Restores to current log account
6.1 ARCRES Breakdown
The device in the above can be whatever account you are logged
into, whether it be DSK2 or WIN1. The device and the ppn are
optional, and are only used in certain circumstances. The
Startnum and Endnum refer to the position of files within the
archive. For example you may wish to retrieve from the archive
only those files between positions 12 and 45. The other commands
will place the restored files where you want them to be.
Finally, the switches, like those for ARCDIR may be abbreviated
and are also optional.
6.2 ARCRES Usage
Still referring to our example, this is how the archive
restoration process would look, except that we will place the
files in DSK2:[100,6].
.ARCRES DSK2:[100,6]=JOAN
[Note that the .ARC extension isn't here]
JOAN.ARC to DSK2: HERO.TXT[100,6]
JOAN.ARC to DSK2: WOMAN.BAS[100,6]
JOAN.ARC to DSK2: FRENCH.M68[100,6]
JOAN.ARC to DSK2: CHARGE.CMD[100,6]
7.0 SUPPORT
If you have any questions regarding this product, don't hesitate
to call us at UltraSoft.
UltraSoft Corporation
1777 Veterans Highway
Central Islip, NY 11779
(516) 3487-4848
