TcpLink 3000 CS		INAC Computer Innovative Netzwerkanwendungen

Benutzerhandbuch TcpLink 3000 CS in englischer Sprache

Chapter 10

Working with DOS Archives

10.1 Introduction

Your TCPLINK unit is equipped with at least one magnetic DOS archive, a floppy disk drive. SPECSTORE units usually have additional devices connected, such as optical disks. Disk type archives are always treated as DOS devices in order to ensure data compatibility with the industry standard. The Y (execute DOS command) option of the TCP program allows you manipulated these archives using a number of convenient DOS utilities. This is illustrated by the following examples.

Command	Operation
`TCP Y DIR C:`	display root directory of device C:
`TCP Y DIR/B A:\`DATA	short dir. listing of A:\data
`TCP Y DIR A:\`DATA\*.001	list files with extension .001
`TCP Y DEL E:\SPECTRA\*.001`	delete files with extension .001
`TCP Y DEL E:\SPECTRA\.`	ILLEGAL!! (see below)
`TCP Y COP E:\SPECTRA\SPEC.* A:`	copy spectra

The general syntax to execute a DOS command via TCP is

TCP Y

The following internal DOS commands are legal:

CD COPY DATE DEL DIR ECHO MD REN RMDIR TIME TYPE VER VOL VERIFY. Please check any DOS manual or book on how to use these commands.

There is one basic problem with invoking DOS commands via the TCP program. Some of them require user interaction, that is, the command prints a question and expects an answer from the user, assuming he is sitting in front of a PC keyboard. For this reason your TCPLINK or SPECSTORE unit seems to hang up if you enter e.g. the command TCP Y DEL A:*.* on the ASPECT keyboard. The DEL commmand would request an answer to its question Are you sure?, and since you are not using a PC, but an ASPECT where you cannot respond the unit would wait forever requiring a reboot. The command TCP Y DEL A:SPEC.*, however, would work because in this case DOS does not put any qeuestion.

One way of overcoming this effect is to provide the required answer in advance using the DOS echo command. The ASPECT command TCP Y | DEL A:*.* uses the \dos pipe mechanism to achieve the desired result.

Another method to utilize commands that require answers anyway is the following. You must redirect the input from keyboard to a file, thus forcing DOS to read the answer from a specified file, as the following example illustrates: TCP Y DEL A:*.* < E:YES. In this case DOS would read the answer from the file E:YES which must contain a Y. You can set up the file on the ASPECT and send it to device E: using TCP . In this way you can prepare answer files for all commands you want to employ.

10.2 Time and date

The TCPLINK or SPECSTORE unit has its own internal clock which may be set by the user.

Examples:

TCP Y TIME 13:24:00 TCP Y DATE 09.12.93

In order to examine the current setting of date and time without defining new values, please use the command TCP N.

10.3 Formatting media

The command TCP F A: will format the disk/diskette type device A:. Instead, any other suitable device code can be specified. If you try to format the TCP operation or installation diskette, an error message will be printed.