TOPS-20 User's Guide
Chapter 2 Communicating With The System
This chapter describes:
- Using TOPS-20 commands
- Obtaining a list of TOPS-20 commands
- Obtaining information about the parts of a command
- Typing commands
- Continuing commands
- Adding comments to command lines
- Correcting input errors
- Setting alerts
- Operating system stoppage
A TOPS-20 command is an instruction that specifies the
function you want the TOPS-20 operating system to perform.
By giving TOPS-20 commands you accomplish your work through
the operating system.
Each TOPS-20 command contains one or more of the
following parts:
The command name identifies the command and its function.
Guidewords can assist you in identifying the argument you
should type. (Guidewords are always printed within
parentheses.) An argument is the response you enter after a
guideword. This argument further identifies the information
the system needs to process the command. Switches and
subcommands allow you to select more precise options to a
given command. Using a switch or a subcommand, you can also
override default options that are part of the command. Use
a carriage return to end a command.
Before doing anything more, try typing a few easy
commands. TOPS-20 recognizes many commands, but this manual
discusses only some commonly used commands. Appendix A
contains a list of TOPS-20 commands, and their meanings.
The TOPS-20 Commands Reference Manual describes all of the
commands available to the nonprivileged user of TOPS-20.
You type a TOPS-20 command directly after the system
prints the @ prompt; you end a TOPS-20 command by pressing
the RETURN key. With some commands, you must type one or
more arguments before you press the RETURN key. For
example, the LOGIN command described earlier requires your
user name, your password, and your account as arguments.
The system tells you that it requires an argument by
printing a guideword in parentheses after you press the ESC
key. Some commands, such as DAYTIME, do not require
arguments.
To find out today's date and time, type DAYTIME after you
see the @, and then press the RETURN key.
The system prints the date in the format:
The system prints the time of day in the format:
The hours are given using a 24-hour clock. The time
shown in the above example (08:41:21) is 21 seconds after
8:41 in the morning. Twelve midnight is displayed as
00:00:00, twelve noon is displayed as 12:00:00; and seven
o'clock in the evening is displayed as 19:00:00.
Other commands require one or more arguments. Arguments
can be letters, numbers, or a combination of both. A common
argument is a file specification. (Refer to Section 4.2 for a
description of file specifications.) To find out which kind
of argument you should type, press ESC after you give the
command. The system prints the guideword, prompting you for
the kind of argument to type. If the command does not need
an argument, when you press ESC, the system rings the
terminal bell. The following example illustrates the
DIRECTORY command followed by the guidewords (OF FILES) and
the filename TEST.FOR as the argument:
Some commands accept switches while others accept
subcommands. With switches and subcommands, you can be more
specific about what you want the command to do.
A switch is a slash followed by an option. The option
may be followed by a colon and an argument. Switches
specify details about the action of the given command. You
can give one or more switches to a command by typing them on
the same line as the command. To include a switch, type a
slash (/), followed by the option. Some options require
that a value, preceded by a colon, also be given. The
following example shows the use of a single switch and its
value to print four copies of the file TEST.FOR.3:
A subcommand resembles a switch in its function. The
difference between switches and subcommands is the syntax.
While you enter switches on the same line as the command,
you enter each subcommand on a separate line following the
command line.
To include subcommand(s), end the command line by typing
a comma, and press RETURN. The system prints the subcommand
level prompt, @@, to indicate that you can now type
subcommands. Subcommands, like TOPS-20 commands, contain
subcommand names, guidewords, and arguments of their own.
You can give several subcommands, but each one must be typed
on a separate line. To end each subcommand, press RETURN.
After you type your last subcommand, press RETURN; the
system prints @@; press RETURN again. The system then
processes the command and its subcommand(s). When the
system prints the single @ you are back at TOPS-20 command
level. The following example demonstrates the use of a
single subcommand to the DIRECTORY command:
Each part of a TOPS-20 command or subcommand is referred
to as a field and is separated from each adjacent field by a
space. Figure 2-1 shows the fields of the LOGIN command.
After the system outputs an @, you can type a question
mark (?) to print the list of TOPS-20 commands.
To stop the printing of this list, type two CTRL/Cs,
which returns you to TOPS-20 command level.
Appendix A gives a brief description of each command.
The TOPS-20 Commands Reference Manual contains a complete
description of all TOPS-20 Commands available to the
nonprivileged user.
If you remember that a command begins with a certain
letter or letters, type the letters that you recall, and
then type ?. TOPS-20 prints the list of commands you could
type using those letters. It then prints what you have
typed so far and waits for you to finish the command. In
the example below, you remember that the command you want
begins with the letter A. You type A, followed by a
question mark. TOPS-20 prints the names of all the commands
beginning with the letter A and possible filenames from the
(SYS:) system directory, and waits for you to complete the
command or filename.
When typing a question mark, you are not limited to just
one letter; you may type as many as you need.
The CONNECT command joins you to another user's files.
You can type a question mark following a command or
subcommand to print a list of possible arguments for the
command. For example, type the TERMINAL command followed by
a question mark. You do not have to press the RETURN key.
TOPS-20 lists the possible arguments, prints the command up
to the point at which you typed ?, and waits for you to
enter a valid argument.
Give the LENGTH argument, and press ESC. The system
prints (OF PAGE IS):
Type another question mark to find out which argument the
system expects you to give. The system prints "Length of
page in decimal" and reprints the command.
Choose a number (the example uses 20); type it in and
press RETURN.
Some commands do not require arguments. If you type a
command followed by a question mark and that command does
not require further arguments, the system prints the message
"Confirm with carriage return." This informs you that you
are at the end of the command. Press RETURN to confirm the
command and to have the system perform the function you
requested.
In addition, the question mark can be used to list the
subcommands and switches of a command. To list the
subcommands of a command, type a question mark at subcommand
level (indicated by @@). The system prints the list of
subcommands. For example, type the DIRECTORY command
followed by a comma, and press RETURN. When you receive the
@@, type a question mark.
To list the switches of a command, type the command; type
a slash followed by a question mark. The system prints the
list of switches for that command. Remember that all
switches begin with a slash. For example, type the PRINT
command, followed by a slash and a question mark.
You can type TOPS-20 commands to the system by using
either full input, recognition input, abbreviated input, or
a combination of these methods.
The LOGIN command, which identifies you to the system, is
used in Sections 2.4.1 through 2.4.3 to demonstrate full, recognition,
and abbreviated input.
To give a command using full input, type the complete
command, using a space to separate the fields. To log in
using full input, type the complete LOGIN command line.
To give a command using recognition input, type a portion
of the command and press ESC. In order for the system to
distinguish this command from other commands, you must type
enough of the command to make it unique. The system
responds in one of the following ways:
Continue typing and pressing ESC until the command is
complete. Recognition input requires less typing than full
input, so you are less likely to make a mistake.
To log in using recognition input, type LOG and press
ESC; the system finishes the LOGIN command by printing IN
and the guideword (USER). You can also use recognition on
your user name. (Here the user name is SARTINI.) Type SAR
and press ESC; the system finishes the user name by printing
TINI and the guideword (PASSWORD). Type the complete
password (it is not printed) and press ESC; the system
prints (ACCOUNT). Type the account (here it is 341) and
press RETURN.
In the following example, type the underlined portions of
the command. At the point where the underlining stops,
press ESC.
If you use recognition where it is ambiguous, the system
rings the terminal bell. Type more information, or type a
question mark to determine what the system wants you to
type.
Use recognition with the INFORMATION command. Type INFO
and press ESC; the system prints RMATION (ABOUT). Type a T
and press ESC; the system rings the terminal bell because
you did not give enough information. To find out what
information the system needs, type a ?. The system prints
TAPE-PARAMETERS and TERMINAL-MODE. This tells you that the
system could not complete the argument beginning with the
letter T because there are two possibilities to choose from,
and you did not type enough of the argument to distinguish
which one you wanted. Type an E and press ESC; this time
the system prints RMINAL-MODE (FOR TERMINAL). Press RETURN
to end the command.
If you use recognition where it is not appropriate (such
as at the end of a command), the system rings the terminal
bell.
You can use recognition in typing arguments, subcommands,
and file specifications. When typing file specifications,
you can also use CTRL/F to complete individual portions of a
file specification. (Refer to Chapter 4 for more
information on using recognition with file specifications.)
Recognition input offers several advantages:
To give a command using abbreviated input, type only
enough of the command to distinguish it from any other
command. Usually, typing the first three letters is
sufficient to distinguish one command from another.
Abbreviated input requires the least amount of typing of the
various methods of input.
To log in using abbreviated input, type LOG and a space;
type the full user name (here it is SARTINI) and a space;
type the password (the password is not displayed); type the
account (here it is 341) and press RETURN.
There are a few cases where non-unique abbreviations
stand for a frequently used command. For example, DIS is
the abbreviation for DISABLE, even though other commands
begin with the letters DIS - DISCARD and DISMOUNT.
Some commands can be distinguished by typing only one or
two letters. For example, several TOPS-20 commands begin
with the letter A: ACCESS, ADVISE, APPEND, ASSIGN, and
ATTACH. You can give any of these commands, by typing only
the first two letters. To give the APPEND command you need
only type AP; to give the ACCESS command, you need type only
AC.
When using one or two letters to distinguish commands,
keep in mind that as the system develops, new commands will
be added and existing abbreviations may require more letters
to identify a unique command.
The same method of using abbreviated input for TOPS-20
commands applies for the arguments and subcommands to those
commands. In the INFORMATION command, there are two
arguments beginning with the letter T: TAPE-PARAMETERS and
TERMINAL-MODE. To get information about the terminal
parameters, just type E to complete the abbreviation TE.
In the DIRECTORY command, there are four subcommands
beginning with the letter S: SEPARATE, SINCE, SIZE, and
SMALLER. To print a list of files in your directory,
including the number of pages of each file, use the
subcommand SIZE. Type DIRECTORY followed by a comma; the
system prints the subcommand prompt, @@, ; type the
abbreviation SIZ.
You can type more letters than are required to uniquely
identify a command. Abbreviated input simply makes the
system more convenient to use.
You can mix these two methods of typing commands. Use
abbreviated input for the parts of the command you know, and
use recognition for the parts of the command you are
uncertain of. You can give the LOGIN command using the
combination of input methods.
To give this command, type LOG and a space; type the user
name (here it is SARTINI) and a space; type the password and
press ESC. After the system prints (ACCOUNT), type the
account (here it is 341) and press RETURN.
A default is the value supplied by the operating system
when you do not specify one yourself. For instance, if you
do not specify the number of copies in a PRINT command, the
system uses the default value of 1. By not explicitly
stating the value, the system assumes you have chosen the
default. TOPS-20 supplies default values in several areas.
The defaults used with individual commands are specified in
each command's description in the TOPS-20 Commands Reference
Manual.
Occasionally it is necessary to type a command that is
longer than the maximum line length allowed by your
terminal. You can continue typing commands past the end of
the line and onto the next line, without pressing RETURN.
The system accepts fields of a command that are split
between two lines.
In the following example, note that the filename,
MANUFACTURING, is split between two lines:
If you want to avoid splitting a command field, type a
space followed by the continuation character, a hyphen (-),
at the end of the line and press RETURN. Then, continue
typing the command on the next line.
Do not use the continuation character to divide a file
specification. (Refer to Section 4.2, Complete Form of
a File Specification, for a description of file
specifications.)
You can include comments on the command line or on a
separate line by prefixing the comment with a comment
character, either a semicolon or an exclamation point. The
semicolon causes the remainder of the line to be considered
as a comment; the exclamation point causes only the text up
to the next exclamation point or the end of the line to be
considered as a comment.
The following examples show the valid ways to add
comments to the TERMINAL command:
If a comment exceeds one line, the same rules applied to
continuing commands (refer to the previous section) apply to
continuing comments.
The comment character is useful for placing comments in
your LOGIN.CMD and COMAND.CMD files. (Refer to Section 1.7 for an example
of a LOGIN.CMD file with comments.)
The comment character is also useful when conversing with
another user while linked via the TALK command. (Refer to
Section 3.2 for
information on using the TALK command.)
Five keys help you correct input mistakes. These keys
are DELETE, CTRL/R, CTRL/U, CTRL/W, and CTRL/H. Except for
CTRL/H, these keys are effective only before you press
RETURN to end the command. If you press the RETURN key
before noticing that a command is incorrect, the system
tries to execute it. Usually the command is invalid and the
system prints:
This allows you to try again. If you typed a valid
command by mistake, you can halt its execution by various
means:
The DELETE key moves the cursor back one character and
deletes that character. Most video terminals actually move
the cursor (an underline or block that marks your position)
backward and erases the character when you press DELETE.
Hardcopy terminals print the deleted character followed by
the backslash character /.
To erase the current command line, type CTRL/U. CTRL/U
deletes the line and performs a RETURN so that you can
reenter an entire line. Most video terminals erase the line
when you press CTRL/U. Hardcopy terminals print three Xs at
the end of the command.
To erase a word, type CTRL/W. Most video terminals
actually move the cursor backward and erase the last word
when you type CTRL/W. Hardcopy terminals print an
underscore after the word to indicate that the word has been
deleted.
CTRL/R reprints the current command line. You commonly
use CTRL/R when editing with CTRL/W and DELETE on a hardcopy
terminal has made the command difficult to read.
In this example of the TERMINAL command, you mistakenly
type WIDHT instead of WIDTH and correct the mistake with
DELETE. To make the command more readable by incorporating
the correction, type CTRL/R.
If you make an error in a command line and press RETURN,
the system prints a question mark (?) followed by an error
message. To reprint the command line up to the erroneous
field, type CTRL/H or the BACKSPACE key. The system
reprints the command line up to the field that is in error,
and you can now complete the command correctly. (CTRL/H or
BACKSPACE must be the very next character pressed after
pressing RETURN. Also note that both CTRL/H and BACKSPACE
print ^H on the terminal.)
The following example illustrates the use of CTRL/H or
BACKSPACE with the TERMINAL command:
To try this example, type TER and press ESC; the system
prints MINAL (FEATURE or TYPE). Type LENGTH-WIDTH and press
RETURN. The system prints the error message ?Does not match
switch or keyword - "LENGTH-WIDTH". (There is no TERMINAL
command argument LENGTH-WIDTH. The argument is LENGTH or
WIDTH but not both.) Type CTRL/H or BACKSPACE; the system
reprints the command line up to the erroneous field. You
can finish the command correctly by typing LENGTH 66.
You can arrange for the system to ring your terminal bell
and issue a one-line message at any future time. You do
this by giving the SET ALERT command.
You can also be notified at a time that is relative to
the current time. The following example sends an alert 10
minutes from the current time:
If you wish to be alerted at the same times, include the
appropriate SET ALERT commands in your LOGIN.CMD file. This
file is discussed in Section 1.7. Refer to the
TOPS-20 Commands Reference Manual for complete information
on SET ALERT.
To obtain a listing of all outstanding alert requests,
give the INFORMATION ALERTS command.
The line "Alerts are automatic" indicates that alerts are
issued whether or not you are running a program. Your
issuing of the SET AUTOMATIC or the SET NO AUTOMATIC command
determines whether or not the system interrupts programs to
issue you alerts. If SET NO AUTOMATIC is in effect, you are
notified only when your terminal is at TOPS-20 command
level.
Note that when you log out, all pending alerts are
cleared. You have to reset them when you log in again,
unless they are specified in your LOGIN.CMD or COMAND.CMD
command file.
2.1 Using TOPS-20 commands
@DAYTIME
Thursday, May 26, 1988 08:41:21
@
day-of-the-week, month day-of-the-month, year
hours:minutes:seconds
@DIRECTORY (OF FILES) TEST.FOR
@PRINT (FILES) TEST.FOR.3/COPIES:4
[Job TEST Queued, Request-ID 41, Limit 27]
@DIRECTORY (OF FILES),
@@DELETED (FILES ONLY)
@@
PS:<PORADA>
TEST.FOR.2
.QOR.1
.REL.3
Total of 3 files
@LOGIN (USER) user name (PASSWORD) password (ACCOUNT) account<RET>
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | terminator
| | | | | | argument
| | | | | guideword
| | | | argument
| | | guideword
| | argument
| guideword
command name
Figure 2-1: Fields of a Command
2.2 Obtaining a list of TOPS-20 commands
GIDNEY, TOPS-20 Development System, TOPS-20 Monitor (6012)
@? Command, one of the following:
ACCESS ADVISE APPEND ARCHIVE ASSIGN
ATTACH BACKSPACE BLANK BREAK BUILD
CANCEL CLOSE COMPILE CONNECT CONTINUE
.
.
.
| TAKE TALK TDIRECTORY TERMINAL TRANSLATE
TYPE UNATTACH UNDECLARE UNDELETE UNKEEP
UNLOAD VDIRECTORY
or system program name
@A? Command, one of the following:
ACCESS ADVISE APPEND ARCHIVE ASSIGN ATTACH
or system program name
@ACCESS (TO DIRECTORY) <MORRILL>
Password:
@^C
@CON? Command, one of the following:
CONNECT CONTINUE
or system program name
@CONNECT (TO DIRECTORY) <MORRILL>
Password:
@
2.3 Obtaining information about the parts of a command
@TERMINAL (FEATURE OR TYPE) ? one of the following:
FLAG FORMFEED FULLDUPLEX HALFDUPLEX
HELP IMMEDIATE INDICATE INHIBIT
LENGTH LINE-HALFDUPLEX LOWERCASE NO
PAGE PAUSE RAISE RECEIVE
SPEED TABS TYPE WIDTH
or one of the following:
33 35 37 EXECUPORT
H19 LA120 LA30 LA36
LA38 SYSTEM-DEFAULT TERMINET TI
VK100 VT05 VT100 VT102
| VT125 VT131 VT200-SERIES VT300-SERIES
VT50 VT52
@TERMINAL (FEATURE OR TYPE)
@TERMINAL LENGTH (OF PAGE IS)
@TERMINAL LENGTH (OF PAGE IS) ? Length of page in decimal
@TERMINAL LENGTH (OF PAGE IS)
@TERMINAL LENGTH (OF PAGE IS) 20
@DAYTIME ? Confirm with carriage return
@DAYTIME
@DIRECTORY (OF FILES) ,
@@? confirm with carriage return
or one of the following:
ACCOUNT ALPHABETICALLY
ARCHIVE BEFORE
.
.
.
SMALLER TIMES
USER
@@
@PRINT (FILES) /? /SPOOLED-OUTPUT
or Job switch, one of the following:
/ACCOUNT: /AFTER: /DESTINATION-NODE:
.
.
.
/REPORT: /SPACING:
@PRINT (FILES)/
2.4 Typing commands
2.4.1 Full input
@LOGIN SARTINI ___ 341
2.4.2 Recognition input
<ESC> <ESC> <ESC>
| | |
@LOGIN (USER) SARTINI (PASSWORD)___(ACCOUNT) 341
<ESC> <ESC>
| |
@INFORMATION (ABOUT) T? one of the following:
TAPE-PARAMETERS TERMINAL-MODE
<ESC>
|
@INFORMATION (ABOUT) TERMINAL-MODE (FOR TERMINAL)
2.4.3 Abbreviated input
@LOG SARTINI ___ 341
Table 2-1: Special Command Abbreviations
________________________________________________
Special
Abbreviation Command
________________________________________________
C CONTINUE
D DEPOSIT
DIS DISABLE
E EXAMINE
INFORMATION F INFORMATION FILE-STATUS
LOG LOGIN (When not logged in)
LOG LOGOUT (When logged in)
________________________________________________
@INFORMATION T? one of the following:
TAPE-PARAMETERS TERMINAL-MODE
@INFORMATION (ABOUT) TE
@DIRECTORY,
@@SIZ
@@
PUBLIC:<LEOPOLD>
PGS
PROG1.PAS 3
.TXT.14 3
LOGIN.CMD.2 1
MAIL.TXT.1 2
NATTACH.TST.1 1
VERCBL.BAT.1 2
.CBL.1 1
Total of 13 pages in 7 files
2.4.4 Combined Recognition and Abbreviated Input
@LOG SARTINI (ACCOUNT) 341
2.4.5 What are defaults
2.5 Continuing commands
@PRINT (FILES) CONCERNS.TXT.1, DESIGN-REVIEWS.MEM.1, MANUFACT
URING.PLAN.1 /AFTER:18:00
@PRINT (FILES) CONCERNS.TXT.1, DESIGN-REVIEWS.MEM.1, -
MANUFACTURING.PLAN.1 /AFTER:18:00
2.6 Adding comments to command lines
@TERMINAL VT100 ;This comment follows the command
@!This comment precedes the command! TERMINAL VT100
@TERMINAL !This comment is within the command! VT100
@;This entire line is a comment
2.7 Correcting input errors
?Unrecognized command
@
In each case you are returned to the TOPS-20 operating
system. You can then give any valid TOPS-20 command.
2.7.1 DELETE - Erasing a character
2.7.2 CTRL/U - Erasing an entire line
2.7.3 CTRL/W - Erasing a word
2.7.4 CTRL/R - Reprinting a command line
@TERMINAL (FEATURE OR TYPE) WIDHT\T\HTH^R
@TERMINAL (FEATURE OR TYPE) WIDTH
2.7.5 CTRL/H - Reprinting part of an erroneous command line
@TERMINAL (FEATURE OR TYPE) LENGTH-WIDTH
?Does not match switch or keyword - "LENGTH-WIDTH"
@^H
@TERMINAL (FEATURE OR TYPE) LENGTH 66
2.8 Setting alerts
@SET ALERT (AT TIME) 9:45:00 (MESSAGE) PREPARE FOR 10:00 MEETING
[09:45:00 alert - PREPARE FOR 10:00 MEETING]
@SET ALERT (AT TIME) +00:10:00 (MESSAGE) END OF COFFEE BREAK!
[10:02:26 alert - END OF COFFEE BREAK!]
@INFORMATION (ABOUT) ALERTS (PENDING)
Next alert at 1-Mar-88 11:25:00 - Project meeting 5 mins
Other alerts set for:
1-Mar-88 13:00:00 - Call for ajax specs
1-Mar-88 16:55:00 - Almost time to go home!
2-Mar-88 00:09:00 - Submit weekly report by noon
14-Mar-88 09:00:00 - Going away luncheon for manager today
Alerts are automatic