A-Shell/Windows Release 6.2 Notes on Getting Started November 2015 ====================================================================== 1. Documentation Resources The 'A-Shell SetUp Guide' contains all of the information normally needed by installers and non-programmer users. That document is included with this release in two forms, as a local file and as an on- line file, both of which are accessible from the 'Help' menu. Additional A-Shell information, of interest mainly to programmers and technical personnel, is contained in the 'A-Shell Reference,' also available on the 'Help' menu. 2. POST INSTALLATION CONFIGURATION STEPS There are a number of configuration steps that should be reviewed and carried out in order to finalize the installation. The most important of these is to review and possibly adjust the MIAME.INI configuration file. Please consult the Setup Guide for details. 3. WHERE THE FILES ARE If you are just starting with A-Shell but are familiar with AMOS and have programs and files you want to transfer from AMOS to A-Shell, you are probably wondering where the files are kept. Briefly, A-Shell emulates the AMOS directory structure using native Windows directory trees. A series of DEVICE statements in the MIAME.INI file create an association between AMOS logical devices (e.g. "DSK0:") and Windows directory trees, (e.g. DEVICE=DSK0: c:\vm\miame\dsk0). Underneath that directory tree, the AMOS PPNs are emulated using directories with six digit numbers (expanding each of the two parts of the PPN to three digits). For example, DSK0:[1,4] would be c:\vm\miame\DSK0\001004 in the above scheme. The installation program will create the DSK0 directory tree and several PPNs within it, including [1,2], [1,4], [1,6], [2,2], [7,6] and [7,376]. (The latter contains several program samples.) If you wish to create new logical devices, you must create the directory trees and add the DEVICE statements to the MIAME.INI manually. Once a device is defined in that way, you can add PPN directories either manually (using the Windows Explorer) or via the SYSACT command. (See the Command Reference for details on SYSTAT and other commands.) Within these directories, your files are just like any other Windows files. That is, they are visible and can be manipulated from Windows as well as from A-Shell. 4. TRANSFERRING FILES FROM AMOS TO A-SHELL After locating or creating the necessary directories as described above, you can transfer files from AMOS to A-SHELL using any standard file transfer mechanism, such as FTP, ZMODEM, or tar tapes. Text files, such as command files and program source files can be brought over using text or binary protocols, but data files and RUN files must be brought over using a binary protocol (i.e. one that does not add or modify line or file terminator characters.) If you have a large amount of data to transfer and don't have network connectivity, you may want to consider using a tar tape. We have a tar tape utility which can output tar format to your AMOS streaming tape or DAT tape drive. Assuming you can get the same type of tape drive connected to your Windows machine, you could then use one of the commercially available TAR tape utilities under Windows to restore the tape. (Search for "WinTAR" on the Internet for one such utility which we have used successfully.) Note that while most files are binary compatible between AMOS and A-SHELL, there are a few exceptions to be aware of. First, A-Shell does not understand AMOS machine language files, so there is no point in bringing over LIT, SBR, or XBR files. (A-Shell contains its own implementations of the most common LIT files and SBR/XBR routines. The SBR/XBR routines, however, are built-in and thus will not be visible in any directory.) Second, any ISAMPLUS files must be dumped using ISMUTL on the AMOS side, and then recreated and loaded from the dump file using ISMUTL on the A-Shell side. (We also have a pair of utilities, ISTATS/CVISAM, on our http://www.a-shell.net site which can simplify this process if you have a lot of ISAMPLUS files and they take a long time to dump.) Third, if you use BasicPlus, don't bother bringing over the RP files. A-Shell supports a subset of the BasicPlus extensions to AlphaBasic, but you have to recompile your programs from the BP source code under A-Shell, which will create new RUN files. (Such RUN files would not be binary compatible with AMOS, and thus should not be transferred back to AMOS. But they will otherwise behave just like the corresponding AMOS RP files.) 5. GETTING LOGGED IN AND EXITING When A-Shell launches, unless a command was specified on the end of the ASHW32.EXE command line, it will look for ASTART.CMD[2,2], ASTART.DO[2,2], and ASTART.LIT[1,4], in that order. The first one that it finds will be executed. We supply a default ASTART.CMD file which you can edit using VUE to add commands to log you to the desired location and start your application, or you can modify the ASHW32.EXE command line to launch your application's startup command file directly. Alternatively, if none of the ASTART files is found and you don't specify a startup command, you will just start at the "dot prompt". Note that like AMOS, you have to "log in". If you are unfamiliar with this, a simple way to start is to just type: "LOG SYS:". From there, you can use the DIR/W command to list the available commands. Other useful orientation commands would be PPN (to list the available directories on the current device, or DEVTBL to list the currently defined devices. To exit, use the HOST command (or click on the X) when at the dot prompt. 6. OTHER SUPPORT RESOURCES Aside from the documentation set, we make available a variety of support resources. The first place to go with questions is to the A-Shell BBS (http://www.microsabio.net/ubb2/ultimatebb.cgi or just follow the link from the support page of our main website, http://www.microsabio.com). You can search the BBS by keyword, quite possibly finding the answer to your question directly. Otherwise, post you question there. (You'll have to create an account to post a question, but this is painless and without cost.) All of the forums are moderated by us, so if another user or developer does not answer the question, we will. Our main website (http://www.microsabio.com) contains a variety of documentation, utility, and other support pages and downloads. If you are not getting satisfaction via other avenues, or have a matter that is too personal to be appropriate for the BBS, you can always email us (support@microsabio.com). We provide free email support for A-Shell operational issues to anyone with a current USS (Update Support Subscription) or better, and also within the first 90 days of purchasing a license. If you are running a demo copy for evaluation purposes, you can obtain free support on the BBS, or if you would like a free pre-sales consultation, you can contact us by email (support@microsabio.com) or phone (818-710-8437). Either of these avenues is also a good way to discuss or initiate a request for more advanced support than what we can provide for free (such as help with developing subroutines, custom enhancements to A-Shell, etc.) We pride ourselves on providing a higher level of support than most other software developers with whom you may be familiar, so don't hesitate to take advantage of it. 7. ADJUSTING THE COLOR SCHEME AND OTHER WINDOW OPTIONS The default color scheme mimics the old-fashioned green-on-black monochrome 24 x 80 display, with top and bottom status lines. There are many ways to adjust these options, which you can read about in the "Using A-Shell" chapter of the Setup Guide. As an alternative, if you prefer a more Windows-like color scheme which uses a gray window background, you can use the File|Load menu option and load the window.ash configuration instead. If you prefer that and want to make it the default, use File|Save As to save it as default.ash (or add -o window.ash to the startup command line - see Launching A-Shell in the Setup Guide). Note that you can also adjust the window size by dragging the borders, and its position, by dragging the title bar, as well as the color definitions and several other attributes on the Settings menu. To preserve any such changes for subsequent sessions, use File|Save prior to exiting.