perm filename FLIST.DOC[SYS,HE] blob
sn#021166 filedate 1973-01-23 generic text, type T, neo UTF8
FLIST - a new file listing program
A great deal of printer time is currently used to print large
documents stored on the disk. This time will probably increase as the
documents are updated and corrected, and all users relist them to
obtain the changes, which often affect only a few pages. COPY usually
cannot be used to list selected pages of these documents since they
normally do not have completely numeric page numbers. Usually they are
divided into sections, with changes necessitating the listing of a
page, or the remainder of a section.
FLIST can list, or spool, selected portions of text files, using
almost any form of page designation. It can be found on FLIST.DMP[SYS,HE].
When started, it will type * whenever it is ready for more input. It
expects a one line command string of the form:
{*}{↑|↓}<file_name> <page_range> ... <page_range>
The optional *, which must be the first character of the string, specifies
spooling rather than listing. The optional arrows, which must come next,
are normally omitted and will be explained latter. The name of the file
to be used is specified in the normal fashion. Following the file name
are page range specifications, seperated by blanks, which give the
ranges of pages to be selected for listing or spooling.
The ranges are specified by:
<starting_page>→<terminating_page>
The <starting_page> is the first page to be selected. Since a change to a
manual will normally result in all pages in the current section following
the changed page being altered also, the <terminating_page> is the page
after the last page you want selected. Therefore, if page III-7 is changed,
the range III-7→IV-1 will selected the rest of section III, even if the
change resulted in pages being added to the end of the section. If the
<starting_page> is omitted, selection will start wherever the last range
stopped, or with the first page of the file. If the <terminating_page>
is omitted (at the end of the command string) selection will continue to
the end of the file. If the →, and <terminating_page>, is omitted, the
<starting_page> only will be selected.
EXAMPLES:
FOO lists the first page of FOO
FOO → lists all of FOO
FOO A→ lists page A through the end of file
FOO →B lists all pages before B
FOO A→B lists pages A to, but not including, B
FOO A lists page A
FOO A→B→C equivalent to FOO A→C
FOO A → B equivalent to FOO A→B
*EDGCUR.DOC[SYS,HE] i III-6→IV-1 V-8→
spool page i, section III starting with
page 6, and the file from V-8 on
Page specifications for this program may be of any form or length
with the folowing restrictions:
1. They cannot contain blanks or →.
2. They must occur at the right end of either the first or last
line of the page.
3. They must occur on this same line on each page specified in
a <page_range>. Pages not refered to in range specifications
do not have to have page specifications.
The pages are normally specified by page numbers. However, to list
sections FOO to BAZ, where FOO and BAZ are the last words of the page
headings for the two sections, one could specify FOO→BAZ.
You may tell the program whether the page specifiers will be found
on the first of last line of each page by including one of the characters
↑ or ↓ at the beginning of the command line, as mentioned above. If
neither are provided, the program will test both lines until the first
match is found. One of the arrows should be included if:
1. The line which should not be used contains strings on some
page prior to the first page to be selected which will match
the first page specifier.
2. The first page to be selected is many pages (50 or more) into
the file and you want the program to run a little faster.
It is quite fast anyway.
Since the program is selecting pages solely by string matching,
if the <starting_page> is non-existant, or occurs before the previous
<terminating_page> in the file, the program will scan to the end of
file without further listing. If the <terminating_page> is non-existant,
or occurs before the previous <starting_page> in the file, the remainder
of the file will be listed.
When the file is being scanned, the page count is typed every five
pages to let you know your running.