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- the file: TIMER.EXE is used in the following manner:
-
- It must be used in a batch file or be called from another program.
- If used in a batch file, it will return an errorlevel of either 0 or 1.
-
- Usages:
- =======
-
- A. As a simple timeout system:
- -----------------------------
-
- It will return a 1 if a timout has occured and a 0 if it has not.
- If program is used with a SINGLE parameter, this must be the time in seconds
- to be tested for since the last timeout.
-
- e.g. if you say: timer 100, and more than 100 seconds have elapsed since
- the last time a timout was successful, a 1 will be returned, if not, a 0
- will be returned.
-
- example (in a batch file):
-
- timer 120
- if errorlevel = 1 backup
-
- will cause the program "backup" to be executed if more that 2 minutes have
- elapsed since the last the timer program has been used in the timeout mode.
-
- B. As a generalised timeout system:
- ----------------------------------
-
- * Syntax: timer -opts number
-
- * Example: timer -th 3 will time out if more that 3 hours have passed
- since the last successful imeout.
-
- Possible options:
- -ty - number is in terms of years (!!)
- -tn - number is in terma of months
- -td - number is in terms of days
- -th - number is in terma of hours
- -tm - number is in terms of minutes
- -ts - number is in terms of seconds
-
- C. As an interval tester:
- ------------------------
-
- * Syntax: timer -opts n1n2
-
- * Examples: timer -ih 0008 will return 1 if the current hour is between 00h
- and 08h (inclusive) IF timer has not been used in
- this mode successfully in the current hour. i.e.
- only ONE true value will be returned per hour.
- timer -iw 56 will return 1 if the current DAY OF WEEK is 5 or
- 6 and timer has not already been used
- successfully in this mode today.
- timer -om 0040 will return 1 if the current minute is NOT in the
- range 00 to 40 (inclusive) provided timer has not
- been used in this mode in the current minute.
- * Possible options:
- -ab where a is one of: i - Inside a range
- o - Outside a range
- where b is one of: y - year. number must be 4 digits long, eg 8990
- n - month. number must be 4 digits long, eg 0205
- d - day. number must be 4 digits long, e.g. 2225
- w - day of week. number must be 2 digits. e.g. 01
- h - hour. number must be 4 digits long. e.g. 0023
- m - minutes. number must be 4 digits long.
- s - seconds. number must be 4 digits long.
- * further examples:
-
- timer -iw 00 will cause a single possitive result on sunday
- timer -oh 1723 will cause a positive result once each hour (if run frequently)
- OUTSIDE the hours 17h to 23h.
-
- NOTE: timer values are held INDEPENDENTLY for each TIME mode. Therefore, a
- MINUTE based call with timer does not interfere with an HOUR based call,
- and so on. TIMER can therefore be run several times in a batch file in
- different modes without interaction:
- e.g. timer -ih 0006
- if errorlevel 1 morningprog
- timer -iw 00
- if errorlevel 1 sundayprog
- timer -id 2830
- if errorlevel 1 endofmonthprog (run each day for 3 days in this
- example)
-
- General Note:
- -------------
-
- TIMER maintains a data file by the name of TIMER.DAT in the current directory.
- If desired, multiple different and independent systems can be run by simply
- defining different directories and changing to these in turn to access
- different TIMER.DAT files....
-
- hope this is useful, Peter G0BSX @ GB7PLY
-