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Text File | 1984-01-20 | 76.6 KB | 2,419 lines

HOSTCALL Version 1.1 Unattended Telecommunications for the IBM Personal Computer Requires a Hayes Smartmodem and 128K Copyright 1984 William HT Bailey All Rights Reserved COMMERCIAL COMMERCIAL COMMERCIAL +++ REQUEST FOR CONTRIBUTION +++ If you are using this program and find it to be of value then a $35 contribution is suggested. William HT Bailey P.O. Box 29723 Elkins Park, PA 19117-0923 CompuServe: 74145,1046 +++ USER SUPPORTED CONCEPT +++ This HOST-III / HOSTCALL software package is being distributed under the USER SUPPORTED concept. That is you are granted permission to copy and share this program as long as no price is charged for the software or documentation. Contributiions, although completely voluntary, will compensate the Author for his effort and will ensure further development. Anyone may request a copy of this package by either 1. Sending the Author a blank formatted double-sided diskette (or 2 single sided diskettes) along with a self-addressed postage-paid mailer or 2. Sending the Author $35 in which case the diskette, mailer and postage will be supplied. +++ DISCLAIMER +++ In no event will the Author be liable to you for any damages, including any lost profits, lost savings or other incidental or consequential damages arising out of the use of or inability to use these programs, even if the Author has been advised of the possibility of such damages, or for any claim by any other party. COMMERCIAL COMMERCIAL COMMERCIAL HOSTCALL Version 1.1 Unattended Telecommunications for the IBM Personal Computer Requires a Hayes Smartmodem and 128K CONTENTS Page I. General Description ............................................... 1 II. HOSTCALL Setup .................................................... 15 III. Build Command File ................................................ 18 IV. HOSTCALL Menu ..................................................... 26 V. Review / Edit Command File ........................................ 28 VI. Review Status File ................................................ 30 VII. Idle Mode ......................................................... 31 VIII. Active Mode ....................................................... 32 IX. Dialing ........................................................... 33 X. Messages .......................................................... 34 HOSTCALL I. General Description This section has two objectives. They are: 1. To describe the uses of this program. 2. To provide enough information so that you can start using the program immediately. The second objective is possible, because the use of this program is quite straight forward. You will find the details which will enable you to use HOSTCALL to its fullest capability in the remaining sections. If your use of host computer systems involves routinely putting data onto a host system or pulling data off of a host system, then you are aware that this involves a series of specific commands to the host system. With HOSTCALL you can put that series of commands, along with the telephone number and the time to call, into what is called a COMMAND FILE. HOSTCALL will then perform the calling, signon, data transfer and signoff for you while you sleep or attend to some other business. HOSTCALL also maintains what is called a STATUS FILE which stores all the messages which are transferred between the two computers. Therefore, the next morning or whenever you return to your computer, you can review exactly what correspondence occurred between the two computers. HOSTCALL can also be used in the situation where you are exchanging a number of files with a friend, if your friend is running HOST-III. In this situation you can create a COMMAND FILE specifying a sequence of operations, and watch HOSTCALL operate with HOST-III for two-sided unattended telecommunications. A small business with plants at different locations can use HOSTCALL along with HOST-III to transfer data files between plants at night. In general HOSTCALL can be used to automate data transfers between host computer systems. When you ask HOSTCALL to transfer a file, the program will normally assume that the file is an ASCII file. However ANY type of file can be transferred, if you ask HOSTCALL to transfer the file under the XMODEM protocol of file transmission (and the host system supports this protocol). You can specify this protocol by appending a +X to a filename specification. The XMODEM protocol is simply a sophisticated method of transferring files. Once you have created a COMMAND FILE, the program presents you a menu of of options. These options are: Exit Review / Edit COMMAND FILE Review STATUS FILE Enter the mode of automatic operations Display the disk directories / View a file Enter the manual communications mode The exit path from any option (except the EXIT option) is always back to the menu. Also, the program will allow you to exit to the menu at any time during automatic operations. In that case the program will pick up where it left off upon re-entering automatic operations. The program recognizes 3 operator commands once it has begun automatic operations. They are: ALT M - Send a spontaneous message to the HOST-III system operator. (Meaning only during active communications with HOST-III). ALT U - Exit to menu. CTRL Prtsc - Printout on / Printout off (of intercomputer correspondence). -1- HOSTCALL Some other important notes concerning this program are: 1. HOSTCALL requires the use of a Hayes Smartmodem and 128K memory. 2. The STATUS FILE is created anew each time the program is run. 3. The program enters a 15 minute HOLD state when it dials a busy number. It tries the number one more time after leaving this state before moving on. You can be override this state by exiting to the menu and then re-entering automatic operations. If you do this, the program will redial the number immediately upon re-entering automatic operations. The 15 minute HOLD can also be overriden by pressing the ESC key. 4. If a file that is being received as an ASCII file already exists, then the received file is attached to the end of the old file. 5. If a file that is being received under the XMODEM protocol already exists, then the old file is first deleted. After the simple setup procedure (described in detail in section II), you may either construct a new COMMAND FILE or recall an old one. The 6 figures at the end of this section illustrate the construction of 3 different COMMAND FILE's and the contents of the resulting COMMAND FILE's. Figure 1 illustrates the construction of a COMMAND FILE where the HOSTCALL user wants to call HOST-III and transfer two ASCII files. He wants to transfer PROG1.BAS from his location to the remote location and he wants to transfer PROG2.BAS from the remote location to his location. The numbers on the right side of the figure are not produced by the program. They are there for the sake of this discussion. The following is a line by line discussion of figure 1. Line 1. HOSTCALL asks for a time (based on the 24 hour clock) to dial the host system. The user responds with the time which represents 10:00 PM. Line 2. HOSTCALL asks for a telephone number and the user responds with 2221111. Ls 4-11. HOSTCALL displays the 7 single character commands available from the primary menu. Commands particular to communicating with HOST-III are entered from this menu. You would select the D command from this menu, if you wanted to communicate with any other host system. Line 13. The program requests a command. The user responds with an R, meaning that he wants to transfer a file FROM his location TO the HOST-III location. Note that the R command is what HOST-III wants to see, if HOST-III is doing the receiving. Line 14. The program requests the name of the file. The user responds with PROG1.BAS. Line 15. The program requests the specification of the drive at the remote location where the user wants the file to be stored. The user responds with B. Line 16. The program requests the specification of the drive at the user's computer on which the file resides. The user responds with A. Line 17. The program requests a command. The user responds with a T, meaning that he wants to transfer a file TO his location FROM the HOST-III location. Note that the T command is what HOST-III wants to see, if HOST-III is doing the transmitting. Line 18. The program requests the name of the file. The user responds with PROG2.BAS. Line 19. The program requests the specification of the drive at the remote location on which the file resides. The user responds with B. -2- HOSTCALL Line 20. The program requests the specification of the drive at the user's computer where the user wants the file to be stored. The user responds with A. Line 21. The program requests a command. The user responds with a / and HOSTCALL ends the construction of the COMMAND FILE. Figure 2 illustrates the COMMAND FILE that results from the procedure in figure 1. The numbers on the left side of the figure are not part of the COMMAND FILE. However they are produced by the program when the COMMAND FILE is reviewed, so that the COMMMAND FILE can be edited by line number. The following is a line by line discussion of figure 2. Line 1. HOSTCALL recognizes this as a command to initiate a communications link at a specific time. That time is on line 2. Note that all the commands in this file are in pairs. Note also that only the first character in the first part of a command pair is significant. (For instance, HOSTCALL reads the C in CLOCK and ignores the rest of the word). Line 2. This is the time to initiate the communications link. Line 3. This is the first part of the command pair which gives HOSTCALL the telephone number to call. The D in DIAL id read by HOSTCALL and the rest of the word is ignored. Line 4. This is the telephone number to call. Line 5. HOSTCALL transfers the R from this command to HOST-III telling HOST-III to receive a file. Line 6. This line contains the information needed by both HOSTCALL and HOST-III to perform the transfer. Note that the remote computer drive specification begins on column 15 and the local computer drive specification begins on column 17. Line 7. HOSTCALL transfers the T from this command to HOST-III telling HOST-III to transmit a file. Line 8. This line contains the information needed by both HOSTCALL and HOST-III to perform the transfer. Note that the remote computer drive specification begins on column 15 and the local computer drive specification begins on column 17. Figure 3 illustrates the construction of a COMMAND FILE where the HOSTCALL user wants to call HOST-III and transfer the file PROG.COM from the remote computer using the XMODEM protocol of file transfer. The numbers on the right side of the figure are not produced by the program. They are there for the sake of this discussion. The following is a line by line discussion of figure 3. Lns 1,2. The time and telephone number for the communications link are requested and input. The time represents 1:30AM. Ln 4-11. HOSTCALL displays the primary menu. In this example the user will enter his commands from this menu, since the commands from this menu are particular to communicating with HOST-III. HOSTCALL will take care of the signon, signoff and file transfer protocol, if commands to HOST-III are entered from this menu. Line 13. The program requests a command. The user responds with a T, meaning that he wants to transfer a file TO his location FROM the HOST-III location. Note that the T command is what HOST-III wants to see, if HOST-III is doing the transmitting. Line 14. The program requests the name of the file. The user enters the filename specification and appends it with a +X indicating that the file is to be transferred under the XMODEM protocol. Line 15. The program requests the specification of the drive at the remote location on which the file resides. The user responds with A. -3- HOSTCALL Line 16. The program requests the specification of the drive at the user's computer where the user wants the file to be stored. The user responds with A. Line 17. The program requests a command. The user responds with a / and HOSTCALL ends the construction of the COMMAND FILE. Figure 4 illustrates the COMMAND FILE that results from the procedure in figure 3. The numbers on the left side of the figure are not part of the COMMAND FILE. However they are produced by the program when the COMMAND FILE is reviewed, so that the COMMMAND FILE can be edited by line number. The following is a line by line discussion of figure 4. Lns 1,2. These are the command and time to call HOST-III. Lns 3,4. These are the command and telephone number for HOSTCALL to call. Line 5. HOSTCALL transfers the T from this command to HOST-III telling HOST-III to transmit a file. Line 6. This line contains the information needed by both HOSTCALL and HOST-III to perform the transfer. Note that the filename specification is appended with a +X indicating that the file is to be transferred under the XMODEM protocol. Note also that the remote computer drive specification begins on column 15 and the local computer drive specification begins on column 17. Figure 5 illustrates the construction of a DIRECT COMMAND SEQUENCE. A DIRECT COMMAND SEQUENCE is one that you construct, if you want to specify precisely what messages HOSTCALL is going to send to the host computer system. The feature of allowing you to specify an exact sequence of commands gives you the ability to automate communications with any host system. In this figure the HOSTCALL user instructs the program to call a computer running HOST-III and perform the same functions as was instructed in figure 1. That is, the ASCII file PROG1.BAS will be transferred from the local computer to the remote computer, and the ASCII file PROG2.BAS will be transferred to the local computer from the remote computer Note that in this case, unlike the case in figure 1, the user must be concerned with signon, signoff and the exact structure and sequence of commands to the host system. The numbers on the right side of the figure are not produced by the program. They are there for the sake of this discussion. The following is a line by line discussion of figure 5. Lns 1,2. The time and telephone number for the communications link are requested and input. The time represents 3:00AM. Ln 4-11. HOSTCALL displays the primary menu. Line 13. The program requests a command. The user responds with a D, requesting to be transferred to the secondary menu for the purpose of constructing a DIRECT COMMAND SEQUENCE. L 15-25. The program reminds the user that a DIRECT COMMAND SEQUENCE must be constructed with an intimate knowledge of the host system's protocol. Line 27. The program asks the user if he wants to continue with the DIRECT COMMAND SEQUENCE. The user responds with a Y. L 29-38. The program displays the secondary menu. The first entry in the menu represents the fact that any command of 20 characters or less can be inserted into a DIRECT COMMAND SEQUENCE. The remaining entries represent commands that control the operation of HOSTCALL. They are double lettered so that the program can distinguish between commands to itself and commands it should pass on to the host system. It assumes that double lettered commands are commands to itself. Note that you cannot end a COMMAND FILE from the secondary menu. You must return to the primary menu to do that. Line 40. The program requests a command. -4- HOSTCALL Line 41. This is the first message sent to the host system, when a communications link is established. The user knows that the first piece of information he must provide HOST-III is the password. Line 42. The program is giving the user the option to incorporate intelligent processing into the command sequence. If the user enters a Y, then he/she would be given an opportunity to specify a portion of the expected reponse. The user would then enter the number of commands for the program to advance, if the expected response is not received. However in most instances the answer to this question would be an N, since the primary use of this program is to automate communication sequences of precise protocols. In this case the user responds with an N. Line 43. The program requests a command. Line 44. Since HOST-III does not echo commands back to the originator, the user instructs HOSTCALL to print all outgoing messages to the screen, so that he can follow the activities if he is sitting at the console. Line 45. The program requests a command. Line 46. HOST-III will recognize this command as an instruction for HOST-III to receive a file. Line 47. The user responds to this question with an N. Line 48. The program requests a command. Line 49. The HOSTCALL user knows that after HOST-III receives the R command, it requests the name of the file that it should receive and the drive on which it should be stored. Therefore this command is the information the user knows that HOST-III has requested, and it is in the format that the user knows that HOST-III has requested it. Line 50. At this point the user responds to option to incorporate intelligent processing into the command sequence with a Y. He/she does this to cover the possibility that some abnormal condition, such as a full disk at the remote computer, could prevent HOST-III from receiving a file. Line 51. The program asks for the response that the user expects to receive. Only a portion of the expected response need be entered. Line 52. The user knows that if there are no abnormal conditions then HOST-III will respond with *** READY TO RECEIVE FILE *** Therefore he/she enters just enough to allow the program to determine if the expected response was received. Line 53. If the expected response is not received, then the user can have HOSTCALL advance a number of commands. In this case the user tells HOSTCALL to advance 2 commands, if the expected response is not received. This effectively skips the following command IN THE COMMAND FILE (see figure 6), which is to be a command telling the program to send HOST-III a file. (NOTE that the number 0 is a legal entry. If 0 is entered, then the program would execute the current command a number of times. HOSTCALL would ask the user to specify the maximum number of times the current command should be executed before giving up.) Line 54. The program requests a command. Line 55. The user knows that HOST-III is ready to receive a file, so he instructs HOSTCALL to export a file. Line 56. HOSTCALL asks for the filename specification. The user responds with PROG1.BAS. Line 57. THe user responds to this question with an A. Line 58. The program requests the next command to be processed after PROG1.BAS has been sent to HOST-III. -5- HOSTCALL Line 59. The user instructs HOSTCALL to prepare to import a file that will later be sent by HOST-III. Line 60. HOSTCALL asks for the filename specification. The user responds with PROG2.BAS. Line 61. THe user responds to this question with an A. Line 62. The program requests a command. Line 63. HOST-III will recognize this command as an instruction for HOST-III to transmit a file. Line 64. The user responds to this question with an N. Line 65. The program requests a command. Line 66. The HOSTCALL user knows that after HOST-III receives the T command, it requests the name of the file it should transmit and the drive on which it resides. Therefore this command is the information the user knows that HOST-III has requested, and it is in the format that the user knows that HOST-III has requested it. Line 67. The user responds to this question with an N. Line 68. The program requests a command. Line 69. The user knows that HOST-III is about to transmit a file so he instructs HOSTCALL to import the file that was specified on lines 59-61. Line 70. The program requests the next command to be processed after PROG2.BAS has been receives from HOST-III. Line 71. HOST-III will recognize this command as the signoff command. Line 72. The user responds to this question with an N. Line 73. The program requests a command. Line 74. The user instructs HOSTCALL to return to the primary menu. L 76-83. HOSTCALL displays the primary menu. Line 85. The program requests a command. The user responds with a / and HOSTCALL ends the construction of the COMMAND FILE. Figure 6 illustrates the COMMAND FILE that results from the procedure in figure 5. The numbers on the left side of the figure are not part of the COMMAND FILE. However they are produced by the program when the COMMAND FILE is reviewed, so that the COMMMAND FILE can be edited by line number. The following is a line by line discussion of figure 6. Lns 1,2. These are the command and time to call the host system. Lns 3,4. These are the command and telephone number for HOSTCALL to call. Line 5. The dot indicates to HOSTCALL that the command is to be processed as part of a DIRECT COMMAND SEQUENCE. This command is sent AS IS to the host system. It represents the password that HOST-III wants to see upon signon. Line 6. This command instructs HOSTCALL to print all outgoing messages to the screen. Line 7. This command is sent directly to HOST-III. It tells HOST-III to prepare to receive a file. Line 8. This command is sent to HOST-III after HOSTCALL receives a response to the command in line 7. It provides the information about the file that HOST-III is about to receive. Also contained on this line are a portion of the response that should be received from HOST-III as a result of this command, and the number of commands to advance if the expected response is not received. Notice that if the expected response is not received, then the program would advance 2 commands to the command in line 10. -6- HOSTCALL Line 9. This command instructs HOSTCALL to export the file that HOST-III is ready to receive. For the sake of future editing, you should note that the drive specification and program name at the local computer starts on column 17. Line 10. This command instructs HOSTCALL to prepare to import a file. For the sake of future editing, you should note that the drive specification and program name at the local computer starts on column 17. Line 11. This command is sent directly to HOST-III. It tells HOST-III to transmit a file. Line 12. This command is sent to HOST-III after HOSTCALL receives a response to the command on line 11. It provides the information about the file that HOST-III is about to transmit. Line 13. This command instructs HOSTCALL to import the file that HOST-III is about to transmit. The file was specified on line 10. Line 14. This command is sent directly to HOST-III. It is the signoff command. -7- HOSTCALL Time for first communication (e.g. 18:30): 22:00 -- 1 Phone number: 2221111 -- 2 -- 3 +++ COMMAND FILE HELP MENU +++ -- 4 (C)lock. Time to dial host system. -- 5 (R)eceivs FROM this location. (Transfer to HOST.) -- 6 (T)ransmit TO this location. (Transfer from HOST.) -- 7 (M)essage. -- 8 (/). End COMMAND FILE. -- 9 (H)elp. This menu. -- 10 (D)irect. Allows communication with any host system. -- 11 -- 12 ENTER COMMAND (C,R,T,M,/,H,D): R -- 13 Enter filename: PROG1.BAS -- 14 Remote computer drive (A,B,C,D): B -- 15 Local computer drive (A,B,C,D): A -- 16 ENTER COMMAND (C,R,T,M,/,H,D): T -- 17 Enter filename: PROG2.BAS -- 18 Remote computer drive (A,B,C,D): B -- 19 Local computer drive (A,B,C,D): A -- 20 ENTER COMMAND (C,R,T,M,/,H,D): / -- 21 FIGURE 1. Construction of sample COMMAND FILE. -8- HOSTCALL 1>CLOCK 2>22:00:00 3>DIAL 4>2221111 5>RECEIVE FROM THIS LOCATION 6>PROG1.BAS B:A: 7>TRANSMIT TO THIS LOCATION 8>PROG2.BAS B:A: FIGURE 2. Sample COMMAND FILE. -9- HOSTCALL Time for first communication (e.g. 18:30): 1:30 -- 1 Phone number: 2221111 -- 2 -- 3 +++ COMMAND FILE HELP MENU +++ -- 4 (C)lock. Time to dial host system. -- 5 (R)eceive FROM this location. (Transfer to HOST.) -- 6 (T)ransmit TO this location. (Transfer from HOST.) -- 7 (M)essage. -- 8 (/). End COMMAND FILE. -- 9 (H)elp. This menu. -- 10 (D)irect. Allows communication with any host system. -- 11 -- 12 ENTER COMMAND (C,R,T,M,/,H,D): T -- 13 Enter filename: PROG.COM+X -- 14 Remote computer drive (A,B,C,D): A -- 15 Local computer drive (A,B,C,D): A -- 16 ENTER COMMAND (C,R,T,M,/,H,D): / -- 17 FIGURE 3. Construction of sample COMMAND FILE with XMODEM. -10- HOSTCALL 1>CLOCK 2>1:30:00 3>DIAL 4>2221111 5>TRANSMIT TO THIS LOCATION 6>PROG.BAS+X A:A: FIGURE 4. Sample COMMAND FILE with XMODEM. -11- HOSTCALL Time for first communication (e.g. 18:30): 3 -- 1 Phone number: 2221111 -- 2 -- 3 +++ COMMAND FILE HELP MENU +++ -- 4 (C)lock. Time to dial host system. -- 5 (R)eceive FROM this location. (Transfer to HOST.) -- 6 (T)ransmit TO this location. (Transfer from HOST.) -- 7 (M)essage. -- 8 (/). End COMMAND FILE. -- 9 (H)elp. This menu. -- 10 (D)irect. Allows communication with any host system. -- 11 -- 12 ENTER COMMAND (C,R,T,M,/,H,D): D -- 13 -- 14 +++ DIRECT COMMAND SEQUENCE +++ -- 15 -- 16 Direct commands are transferred to the host system AS IS. -- 17 Therefore direct commands may be used to communicate with -- 18 any host system. -- 19 -- 20 However unlike a HOST COMPUTER command sequence, a direct -- 21 command sequence cannot detect warnings of abnormal -- 22 conditions from the host system. Therefore direct commands -- 23 must be entered in the exact sequence required by the host -- 24 system. -- 25 -- 26 Continue with DIRECT COMMAND SEQUENCE? (Y,N): Y -- 27 -- 28 +++ DIRECT COMMAND HELP MENU +++ -- 29 __ - Any command recognized by host system. (20 chars or less.) -- 30 CC - Send a Control C. -- 31 XX - Export a file to the host system. -- 32 OO - Open a local storage file. -- 33 II - Import a file. (A storage file must have been OPENED.) -- 34 PP - Insert an 8 second pause into command sequence. -- 35 EE - Enable local echoing to screen of outgoing messages. -- 36 RR - Return to the main menu. -- 37 HH - Print this menu. -- 38 -- 39 ENTER COMMAND (__,CC,XX,OO,II,PP,EE,RR,HH) -- 40 WORD -- 41 Alter command sequence if expected response not received? (Y,N): N -- 42 ENTER COMMAND (__,CC,XX,OO,II,PP,EE,RR,HH) -- 43 EE -- 44 ENTER COMMAND (__,CC,XX,OO,II,PP,EE,RR,HH) -- 45 R -- 46 Alter command sequence if expected response not received? (Y,N): N -- 47 ENTER COMMAND (__,CC,XX,OO,II,PP,EE,RR,HH) -- 48 B:PROG1.BAS -- 49 Alter command sequence if expected response not received? (Y,N): Y -- 50 Enter 10 characters (or less) of the expected response -- 51 RECEIVE -- 52 Advance how many commands if not expected response?: 2 -- 53 -12- HOSTCALL ENTER COMMAND (__,CC,XX,OO,II,PP,EE,RR,HH) -- 54 XX -- 55 Name of file to be exported: PROG1.BAS -- 56 File resides on which drive? (A,B,C,D): A -- 57 ENTER COMMAND (__,CC,XX,OO,II,PP,EE,RR,HH) -- 58 OO -- 59 Name of file to be imported: PROG2.BAS -- 60 Store file on which drive? (A,B,C,D): A -- 61 ENTER COMMAND (__,CC,XX,OO,II,PP,EE,RR,HH) -- 62 T -- 63 Alter command sequence if not expected response? (Y,N): N -- 64 ENTER COMMAND (__,CC,XX,OO,II,PP,EE,RR,HH) -- 65 B:PROG2.BAS -- 66 Alter command sequence if not expected response? (Y,N): N -- 67 ENTER COMMAND (__,CC,XX,OO,II,PP,EE,RR,HH) -- 68 II -- 69 ENTER COMMAND (__,CC,XX,OO,II,PP,EE,RR,HH) -- 70 G -- 71 Alter command sequence if not expected response? (Y,N): N -- 72 ENTER COMMAND (__,CC,XX,OO,II,PP,EE,RR,HH) -- 73 RR -- 74 -- 75 +++ COMMAND FILE HELP MENU +++ -- 76 (C)lock. Time to dial host system. -- 77 (R)eceive FROM this location. (Transfer to HOST.) -- 78 (T)ransmit TO this location. (Transfer from HOST.) -- 79 (M)essage. -- 80 (/). End COMMAND FILE. -- 81 (H)elp. This menu. -- 82 (D)irect. Allows communication with any host system. -- 83 -- 84 ENTER COMMAND (C,R,T,M,/,H,D): / -- 85 FIGURE 5. Construction of COMMAND FILE containing DIRECT COMMAND SEQUENCE. -13- HOSTCALL 1>CLOCK 2>3:00:00 3>DIAL 4>2221111 5>.WORD 6>.EE. ECHO ON / ECHO OFF. 7>.R 8>.B:PROG1.BAS RECEIVE 2 9>.XX A:PROG1.BAS 10>.OO A:PROG2.BAS 11>.T 12>.B:PROG2.BAS 13>.II. Import a file. 14>.G FIGURE 6. Sample DIRECT COMMAND SEQUENCE. -14- HOSTCALL II. HOSTCALL Setup This section describes the setup procedure that you must complete before HOSTCALL will be ready to accept your commands. The setup procedure involves getting the program started and providing information on the following items: Current time Type of telephone line you have - rotary or touchtone Communication parameters Your type of telephone line and communication parameters will be saved and presented to you the next time you start the program. Therefore the full setup must be completed only on the first time you run the program, and when you want to change the setup. NOTE THAT HOSTCALL REQUIRES SOME SPACE ON ITS DISK FOR ITS WORK FILES. INSURE THAT ITS DISK IS NOT FULL BEFORE RUNNING. Connect and turn on your Hayes Smartmodem. Insure that the lights above the TR and MR are lit. The following are the 2 steps required to get HOSTCALL loaded and running: 1 . Insert a disk containing the Disk Operating System into disk drive A (the drive on the left) and turn on the computer. Answer any questions the computer may ask you (such as DATE and TIME) until you get to the point where the computer prompts you with A> 2a. If the disk currently in drive A contains HOSTCALL then type HOSTCALL Press carriage return. 2b. If the disk does not contain HOSTCALL then remove the disk and insert your disk containing HOSTCALL into drive A. Type HOSTCALL Press carriage return. HOSTCALL begins by printing a heading, a copyright notice and the following questions. The current time is ________ Is this correct? (Y,N): The first line will contain what the program thinks is the current time. If it is correct, then enter Y (or y). If it is not correct then enter N (or n). -15- HOSTCALL Enter time (e.g. 18:30:00): If you responded to the previous question with N, then the program will ask for the correct time. Enter the time based on the 24 hour clock. The sample time in the parenthesis represents 6:30PM. The program will not accept an invalid input for time. OK to erase STATUS FILE from previous activity? (Y,N): HOSTCALL checks for the existence of the STATUS FILE. IF IT IS NOT FOUND, THEN THIS QUESTION IS SKIPPED. (Therefore this question will be skipped the first time you run the program). If it is found, then the program gives you the opportunity to preserve this file if you wish to do so. If you enter N (or n), then the program will request Enter a name for old STATUS FILE: HOSTCALL will rename the old STATUS FILE with the name you enter. THis allows the program to create a new STATUS FILE, using the name it normally uses, without destroying the old one. Alternatively, if it is not necessary to preserve the previous STATUS FILE or if you have already preserved it, then enter Y (or y). Rotary or Touchtone dialing? (R,T): The Smartmodem must know if your telephone line has rotary or touchtone dialing. Enter R (or r) if it is rotary. Enter T (or t) if it is touchtone. Current communication parameters are: SPEED 300 PARITY E DATA BITS 7 STOP BITS 1 Are they OK? (Y,N): If you do not want to change the communication parameters, the enter Y (or y), and the program will skip the next 4 questions. If you do want to change the communication parameters, then enter N (or n). If you do not understand this question, then enter Y (or y) since the default parameters will suffice for most cases. SPEED (75,110,150,300,600,1200): Enter transmission speed. (This question is skipped, if the current communication parameters are OK). PARITY (S,O,M,E,N): Enter parity type. (This question is skipped, if the current communication parameters are OK). -16- HOSTCALL DATA BITS (4,5,6,7,8): Enter the number of data bits. (This question is skipped, if the current communication parameters are OK). STOP BITS (1,2): Enter the number of stop bits. (This question is skipped, if the current communication parameters are OK). At this point, HOSTCALL proceeds to the BUILD COMMAND FILE portion of the program. -17- HOSTCALL III. Build Command File This section describes the commands you can submit to HOSTCALL when you are building a COMMAND FILE. In this portion of the program, HOSTCALL accepts and stores the sequences of activities you want it to perform. The program allows you to save and reuse a COMMAND FILE. A particular COMMAND FILE can contain a number of command sequences. A command sequence is a series of commands which results in HOSTCALL engaging in a complete communications link with a host computer from signon to signoff. There are 2 types of command sequences. They are: HOST-III COMMAND SEQUENCE. DIRECT COMMAND SEQUENCE. You would construct a HOST-III COMMAND SEQUENCE, when you want HOSTCALL to communicate with HOST-III. You would construct a DIRECT COMMAND SEQUENCE, when you want HOSTCALL to communicate with any other host computer system. HOSTCALL knows the communication protocol of HOST-III, so your using a HOST-III COMMAND SEQUENCE to communicate with HOST-III releases you from the chore of formatting the outgoing commands in the precise structure and sequence that HOST-III wants to see them. Instead HOSTCALL will interpret your commands and perform the necessary formatting. On the other hand, if you communicate with any other host system using a DIRECT COMMAND SEQUENCE, then HOSTCALL will output your commands without, interpretation, exactly as you entered them. However, the program gives you the option to specify an expected response for each command in a DIRECT COMMAND SEQUENCE. The program will advance a specified number of commands, if the expected response is not received. This gives you the ability to incorporate IF NOT...GOTO constructs into your DIRECT COMMAND SEQUENCE. You can also have HOSTCALL execute a certain command a specified number of times until an expected response is received, by instructing the program to advance 0 commands. There are 2 menus associated with the BUILD COMMAND FILE portion of the program. Selections from the primary menu allow you to construct a HOST-III COMMAND SEQUENCE. Selections from the secondary menu allow you construct a DIRECT COMMAND SEQUENCE. There are 5 different commands associated with the primary menu. They are; C - CLOCK command. D - DIAL command. R - RECEIVE command. T - TRANSMIT command. M - MESSAGE command. There are 7 different commands associated with the secondary menu.They are: __ - Any 20 character or less command recognized by host system. CC - CONTROL C command. XX - EXPORT command. OO - OPEN command. II - IMPORT command. PP - PAUSE command. EE - ECHO command. A DESCRIPTION OF EACH COMMAND FOLLOWS. THE 5 COMMANDS ASSOCIATED WITH A HOST-III COMMAND SEQUENCE ARE ADDRESSED FIRST. A DESCRIPTION OF THE 7 COMMANDS ASSOCIATED WITH A DIRECT COMMAND SEQUENCE WILL FOLLOW. -18- HOSTCALL C - CLOCK command The CLOCK command both initiates a new sequence of commands and terminates the preceeding sequence if there is one. It designates the time that HOSTCALL is to dial a host system. When you issue a CLOCK command, the program asks you to enter the time you want it to telephone the host system. A CLOCK command is always followed by a DIAL command. D - DIAL command The DIAL command is not directly selectable by the operator. It is automatically selected after a CLOCK command. It allows you to designate the telephone number that HOSTCALL is to dial. R - RECEIVE command DO NOT CONFUSE THIS COMMAND WITH THE TRANSMIT COMMAND. The RECEIVE command is transmitted to HOST-III as a command for HOST-III to receive a file. Therefore the result of this command is that a file is transferred FROM your location TO the remote location. When you issue a RECEIVE command, the program asks you to enter a filename and the disk drive designators for the remote and local computers. T - TRANSMIT command DO NOT CONFUSE THIS COMMAND WITH THE RECEIVE COMMAND. The TRANSMIT command is transmitted to HOST-III as a command for HOST-III to transmit a file. Therefore the result of this command is that a file is transferred TO your location FROM the remote location. When you issue a TRANSMIT command, the program asks you to enter a filename and the disk drive designators for the remote and local computers. M - MESSAGE command The MESSAGE command is used to transmit comments to HOST-III. Since the STATUS file stores all requests and responses exchanged between HOSTCALL and HOST-III, this command is useful for annotating the STATUS FILE. THis command is also useful for reserving locations in the COMMAND FILE that later may be edited to a RECEIVE or TRANSMIT command. The program will allow you to enter a message of 35 characters or less when you issue a MESSAGE command. THE PROCEEDING WERE DESCRIPTIONS OF THE 5 COMMANDS ASSOCIATED WITH A HOST-III COMMAND SEQUENCE. DESCRIPTIONS OF THE 7 COMMANDS ASSOCIATED WITH A DIRECT COMMAND SEQUENCE FOLLOW. __ - Any command 20 characters or less When entering commands into a DIRECT COMMAND SEQUENCE, HOSTCALL will accept any command of 20 characters or less. This command will be passed directly to the host system and therefore should be meaningful to the host system. A command with zero characters IS meaningful. It is passed to the host system as a simple carriage return. You can specify what you expect the response from the host system will be. You can instruct HOSTCALL to either advance a number -19- HOSTCALL of commands or to re-execute the current command a number of times, in the event that the expected response is not received. CC - CONTROL C command The result of this command is that a CONTROL C character is transmitted to the host system. Some host systems require this character before they start. XX - EXPORT command The EXPORT command instructs HOSTCALL to transfer a file FROM its location TO the host location. When you issue this command, the program asks for a filename and the designation of the disk drive on which the file resides. If the filename is appended with +X, the program will send the file under the XMODEM protocol of file transmission. OO - OPEN command The OPEN command instructs HOSTCALL to reserve an area on disk that will be used to store a file that will later be transferred from the host system by an IMPORT command. When you issue an OPEN command, the program asks for a filename and the designation of the disk drive on which the file will be stored. If the filename is appended with +X, the program will receive the file under the XMODEM protocol of file transmission when an IMPORT command is issued. II - IMPORT command The IMPORT command instructs HOSTCALL to transfer a file TO its location FROM the host location. The file will be stored under the name opened in an OPEN command. IF YOU FORGET TO OPEN A FILE PRIOR TO ISSUING AN IMPORT COMMAND AND THE FILE IS BEING RECEIVED AS AN ASCII FILE, THEN THE PROGRAM WILL EITHER ATTEMPT TO STORE THE FILE ON THE DEFAULT DRIVE UNDER THE NAME IMPORT.HCL OR ATTEMPT TO STORE IT IN THE STATUS FILE. PP - PAUSE command The PAUSE command instructs HOSTCALL to insert an 8 second pause into the command sequence. You may find this command useful, if HOSTCALL must be slowed down in order to wait for the host system. Multiple PAUSE commands will create a longer pause. EE - ECHO command Some host computer systems echo your outgoing messages back to your screen and some do not. The ECHO command will allow you to handle either situation, if you plan to sit at the console and monitor the activities while a communications link is active. HOSTCALL assumes that the host system will echo your outgoing messages to the screen. If the host system does not, then this command will instruct HOSTCALL to print your outgoing commands to the screen as they are sent to the host system. The next issuance of this command will instruct HOSTCALL to stop printing your outgoing messages to the screen. -20- HOSTCALL THE PROCEEDING WERE DESCRIPTIONS OF THE COMMANDS AVAILABLE TO YOU WHILE YOU ARE CONSTRUCTING A COMMAND FILE. THE FOLLOWING ARE DESCRIPTIONS OF THE PROCEDURES INVOLVED IN THE ACTUAL CONSTRUCTION OF THE FILE. The BUILD COMMAND FILE portion of HOSTCALL begins by displaying the header +++ BUILD COMMAND FILE +++ It then asks you Build a New or use an Old COMMAND FILE? (N,O): Enter N (or n), if you want to construct a new COMMAND FILE. Enter O (or o), if you want to use one that has already been constructed. If you enter O, then the program will display the file directory of the disk on the default drive and request Name of old COMMAND FILE: After you enter the name of the old COMMAND FILE, the program will proceed to the HOSTCALL MENU. If you elect to construct a new COMMAND FILE, then HOSTCALL will take you through the following procedure. Time for first communication (e.g. 18:30): Enter a time based on the 24 hour clock. The sample time in the parenthesis represents 6:30PM. The input is checked for validity. Phone number: This entry is transferred directly to the Smartmodem at the designated time. Therefore any type of input acceptable to the Smartmodem is acceptable here. For instance both of these inputs are acceptable (404) 393-5678 4048935678 HOSTCALL makes no validity checks on phone number entries. After this initial information is input, HOSTCALL prints the following +++ COMMAND FILE HELP MENU +++ (C)lock. Time to dial host system. (R)eceive FROM this location. (Transfer to HOST.) (T)ransmit TO this location. (Transfer from HOST.) (M)essage. (/). End COMMAND FILE. (H)elp. This menu. (D)irect. Allows communication with any host system. ENTER COMMAND (C,R,T,M,/,H,D): This is the menu which allows you to construct a HOST-III COMMAND SEQUENCE. The following describes the procedure associated with each command. -21- HOSTCALL C Enter time: Enter a time based on the 24 hour clock. Time entries are checked for validity. This command terminates the previous command sequence, if there was one, and initiates a new one. Enter telephone number: The CLOCK command automatically generates a request for a telephone number. R Enter filename: Do not enter a drive designator at this point. Append +X to the filename to the filename if you want to transfer the file under the XMODEM protocol of file transmission. Remote computer drive (A,B,C,D): Enter the remote computer drive on which the file you will be transmitting will be stored. Local computer drive (A,B,C,D): Enter the drive on your computer which contains the file you will be transmitting. T Enter filename: Do not enter a drive designator at this point. Append +X to the filename to the filename if you want to transfer the file under the XMODEM protocol of file transmission. Remote computer drive (A,B,C,D): Enter the remote computer drive which contains the file you will be receiving. Local computer drive (A,B,C,D): Enter the drive on your computer on which the file you will be receiving will be stored. M The program displays a field in which you may enter your message. -22- HOSTCALL / This command terminates the BUILD COMMAND FILE process. The program will proceed to the HOSTCALL MENU. H This command displays the COMMAND FILE HELP MENU. D This command transfers the program to the menu which allows you to construct a DIRECT COMMAND SEQUENCE. If you issue a D command, HOSTCALL will display a message concerning DIRECT COMMAND SEQUENCES and then ask you Continue with DIRECT COMMAND SEQUENCE? (Y,N): If you enter N (or n), the program will return to the primary menu. If you enter Y (or y), the program will proceed to secondary menu by displaying: +++ DIRECT COMMAND HELP MENU +++ __ - Any command recognized by host system. (20 chars or less.) CC - Send a Control C. XX - Export a file to the host system. OO - Open a local storage file. II - Import a file. (A storage file must have been OPENED.) PP - Insert an 8 second pause into command sequence. EE - Enable local echoing to screen of outgoing messages. RR - Return to the main menu. HH - Print this menu. ENTER COMMAND (__,CC,XX,OO,II,PP,EE,RR,HH) A description of the procedure associated with each of these commands follows. __ HOSTCALL will register a command to be sent to the host system and continue with Alter command sequence if expected response not received? (Y,N): If you enter an N, the program will proceed to the next command. If you enter a Y, the program will request Enter 10 characters (or less) of the expected response: -23- HOSTCALL Enter a portion of the response you expect from the host system. HOSTCALL will then ask Advance how many commands if not expected response?: Enter the number of commands you want the program to advance in the event that the expected response is not received. If you enter 0, indicating that you want HOSTCALL to retry the current command, then the program will ask Maximum number of times to execute this command?: Enter the maximum number of times you want the program to issue the current command looking for the expected response, before it stops trying and proceeds to the next command. CC HOSTCALL will simply register the CONTROL C command. XX Name of file to be exported: Do not enter a drive designator at this point. Append +X to the filename, if you want to transfer the file under the XMODEM protocol of file transmission. File resides on which drive? (A,B): Enter the drive on your computer which contains the file you will be exporting. OO Name of file to be imported: Do not enter a drive designator at this point. Append +X to the filename, if you want to transfer the file under the XMODEM protocol of file transmission. Store file on which drive? (A,B): Enter the drive on your computer on which the file you will be receiving will be stored. II HOSTCALL will simply register the IMPORT command. PP HOSTCALL will simply register the PAUSE command. -24- HOSTCALL EE HOSTCALL will simply register the ECHO command. RR This command transfers the program back to the main menu. From there you can either initiate another COMMAND SEQUENCE or end the COMMAND FILE. HH This command displays the DIRECT COMMAND HELP MENU. Upon ending the construction of a COMMAND FILE, HOSTCALL asks Save this COMMAND FILE? (Y,N): If you enter N (or n), the program will proceed to the HOSTCALL MENU. If you enter Y (or y), the program will request Name for this COMMAND FILE: Enter a name by which you will refer to this COMMAND FILE when you reuse it. The program will proceed to the HOSTCALL MENU. You have just completed section III whose intent was to provide instruction on constructing COMMAND FILE's. After reviewing this section along with the examples in section I, and with some practice, you will develop facility in constructing COMMAND FILE's. Before you attempt to construct a particular DIRECT COMMAND SEQUENCE, it would be wise to first run through the desired sequence with a manual communications program to gain assurance that you know the host system's protocol. -25- HOSTCALL IV. HOSTCALL Menu This section describes the facilities available to you, once a COMMAND FILE is established. Along with the option which transfers HOSTCALL to the mode in which it performs automated telecommunications, there are a number of options which give you extreme flexibility in controlling and monitoring the operation of the program. Upon entering this menu, HOSTCALL displays +++ HOSTCALL MENU +++ 0. EXIT 1. REVIEW / EDIT COMMAND FILE 2. REVIEW STATUS FILE 3. ENTER COMMAND MODE 4. DISPLAY FILES / VIEW A FILE 5. MANUAL COMMUNICATIONS Enter selection: and waits for you to enter a number. The menu also generates a time display at the bottom of the screen. The following describes the options available from the menu. REVIEW / EDIT COMMAND FILE This option is described in section V. REVIEW STATUS FILE This option is described in section VI. ENTER COMMAND MODE This option transfers HOSTCALL to the portions which interpret the COMMAND FILE and perform the designated activities. There are two states associated with the COMMAND MODE. They are the IDLE MODE and the ACTIVE MODE. HOSTCALL resides in the IDLE MODE until it is time to initiate a communications link. HOSTCALL operates in the ACTIVE MODE during active communications. You can return to the menu from the COMMAND MODE with an ALT U. That is, you must depress the ALT key while simultaneously hitting the U key, and then release both keys. HOSTCALL exits from the COMMAND MODE to the menu when it reaches the end of the COMMAND FILE. If you enter the COMMAND MODE after the program has reached the end of the COMMAND FILE, then HOSTCALL will immmediately return to the menu. -26- HOSTCALL DISPLAY FILES / VIEW A FILE This command allows you to both display the file directories on disk drives A, B, C, and D, and view an ASCII file. Viewing a file means displaying the contents of an ASCII file on the screen. Upon receiving this command, the program responds with Drive A, B, C, D, View a file or Return? (A,B,,C,D,V,R): If you enter an A, B, C, or D, the program will display the file directory of the corresponding disk drive. If you enter a V, the program will respond with Name of file: At this point you may enter the filename specification of the file you wish to see. HOSTCALL will display 18 lines of the file at a time and prompt you to continue by pressing the space bar. You may abort the viewing of a file by hitting the ESC key. To return to the menu, you must enter an R when the program asks you to select an option. MANUAL COMMUNICATIONS This option allows you to operate your computer as a dumb terminal. You will find this option useful, when you are developing a new DIRECT COMMAND SEQUENCE. From this option you can practice the sequence of commands you want to automate. Also you can escape to this option to regain control of the host computer, if a new DIRECT COMMAND SEQUENCE you are monitoring goes astray. Since some host computer systems echo your outgoing commands back to your screen and some do not, this option contains a function which allows you to handle both situations. By entering an ALT E, you can alternately activate and deactivate HOSTCALL's instruction to print outgoing commands to the screen. An ALT E is entered by depressing the ALT key while simultaneously hitting the E, and then releasing both keys. You can return to the menu by entering an ALT U. An ALT U is entered by depressing the ALT key while simultaneously hitting the U, and then releasing both keys. EXIT Upon selecting this option, the program prints +++ COMMAND FILE WILL BE DEACTIVATED +++ EXIT? (Y,N): HOSTCALL is letting you know that its place in the COMMAND FILE is lost upon leaving the program. If the program has not completed processing the COMMAND FILE, you may want it to do so before you exit. Entering Y (or y) terminates the program. Entering N (or n) transfers the program back to the menu. -27- HOSTCALL V. Review / Edit Command File This section provides the details associated with reviewing and editing a COMMAND FILE. It is good practice to review a COMMAND FILE you have just created to ensure you have not made any errors. If you are reusing an old COMMAND FILE, then you may want to update the time that HOSTCALL is to telephone the host system. After you become sophisticated, you may want to do editing based on what has transpired in the course of an active communications link. This function is invoked from the HOSTCALL MENU. When invoked, the program does the following. It displays the header +++ REVIEW / EDIT COMMAND FILE +++ then generates a time display and then prints the first sequence of commands in the COMMAND FILE. (A sequence of commands is a series commands which begins with a CLOCK command and ends at the next CLOCK command or at the terminator of the COMMAND FILE. It represents the activity in a communications link from the initial dialing to the terminating hangup.) After displaying a sequence of commands, the program prints Line number to edit (0=CONTINUE,ESC=EXIT): If you enter a line number in the current sequence, HOSTCALL will ask you Change, Insert pair or Delete pair? (C,I,D): If you enter a C (or c), the program will display an input field which will allow you to overwrite the current entry on the selected line. Insertions and deletions of commands must be done in pairs, because HOSTCALL processes the commands in groups of two. Therefore insertions and deletions are allowed only at odd numbered commands and apply to that command and the following command. Note that since the first two pairs of commands must remain a CLOCK command pair and a DIAL command pair, insertions and deletions are not allowed at these commands. Entering an I (or i) in response to the prompt Change, Insert pair or Delete pair? (C,I,D): results in a pair of dummy commands being inserted BEFORE the current pair at the selected line number. These dummy commands may then be overwritten. If you elect to insert at the last pair the program will ask you Insert Before or After? (B,A): thereby giving you the option to insert before or after the last pair. Entering a D (or d) in response to the prompt Change, Insert pair or Delete pair? (C,I,D): results in the deletion of the selcted command pair. -28- HOSTCALL After the selected line has been edited, the current sequence of commands will be redisplayed followed by Line number to edit (0=CONTINUE,ESC=EXIT): Entering a 0 (followed by a carriage return) will display the next sequence of commands. The program returns to the menu when the COMMAND FILE terminator is reached. You may abort the review of the COMMAND FILE by hitting the ESC key. Note that a DIRECT COMMAND SEQUENCE may contain a line of 3 dots. These lines are just fillers, and they are ignored by the program. However, you can enter a line beginning with 3 dots when you are building a COMMAND FILE, which you can later edit into a meaningful command. Edited input is not checked for validity. This means that there are no restrictions on editing. However it is important to exercise extreme care to ensure that you do not introduce invalid entries. Invalid entries are divided into 4 categories. They are Invalid command Invalid time entry Invalid telephone number Invalid filename Entries from the first two categories are intercepted by HOSTCALL while in the COMMAND MODE. Depending upon where one occurs, HOSTCALL will take one of the following 3 actions. Bypass the command Bypass the remainder of the command sequence Deactivate the entire command file Telephone numbers are interpreted by the Smartmodem. An invalid number may or may not cause the Smartmodem to generate an error, but in either case a communications link is not made and the entire sequence of commands is bypassed. Filenames are interpreted by the Disk Operating System. If either HOSTCALL or HOST-III (if you are communicating with HOST-III) encounters a bad filename, then HOSTCALL bypasses the associated command. NOTE THAT EDITING IS NOT ALLOWED IF HOSTCALL IS IN THE 15 MINUTE TIME DELAY TO REDIAL A BUSY NUMBER. (See section IX). -29- HOSTCALL VI. Review Status File This section provides the details associated with reviewing the STATUS FILE. The STATUS FILE will contain a copy of all the correspondence which occurs between HOSTCALL and the host system. Therefore you will want to review the STATUS FILE after communications have taken place. If you are communicating with HOST-III, then this file will also contain the drive A and B directories of the remote computer. This function is invoked from the HOSTCALL MENU. When invoked, HOSTCALL does the following. It displays the header +++ REVIEW STATUS FILE +++ then prints a screen of the STATUS FILE and then prompts you to press the space bar to continue. Each depression of the space bar displays the next screen of the STATUS FILE. The program returns to the menu, if you depress the ESC key or when the end of file is reached. You can distinguish between HOSTCALL error messages and HOST-III error messages (if you are communicating with HOST-III) by the highlighting. HOSTCALL error messages will be highlighted by plus signs and HOST-III error messages will be highlighted by dashes. For instance a HOSTCALL error message is +++ FILE NOT FOUND +++ and a HOST-III error message is --- FILE NOT FOUND --- -30- HOSTCALL VII. Idle Mode While HOSTCALL is in the state of automatic operation known as the COMMAND MODE, it will be either in the IDLE MODE or the ACTIVE MODE. This section describes HOSTCALL's activities and the options available to you while the program is in the IDLE MODE. The program resides in the IDLE MODE when it is waiting to make a telephone call. Upon entering the IDLE MODE, HOSTCALL prints the header +++ IDLE MODE +++ and generates a time display at the bottom of the screen. If the next command in the COMMAND FILE is a CLOCK command, then the program will display Next activity at ________ indicating the time at which the next communications link will begin. It will wait until that time is reached and then transfer to the ACTIVE MODE. If, upon entering the IDLE MODE, the next command in the COMMAND FILE is not a CLOCK command, then HOSTCALL will transfer directly to the ACTIVE MODE. If, upon entering the IDLE MODE, HOSTCALL has already reached the end of the COMMAND FILE, then the program will return immediately to the menu. The current time is printed to the STATUS FILE at 10 minute intervals. You can alternately activate and deactivate the printer with a CTRL Prtsc. That is, you must depress the CTRL key while simultaneously hitting the Prtsc key, and then release both keys. When active, then printer will printout the information being stored on the STATUS FILE. You can return to the HOSTCALL MENU with an ALT U. That is, you must depress the ALT key while simultaneously hitting the U, and then release both keys. -31- HOSTCALL VIII. Active Mode While HOSTCALL is in the state of automatic operation known as the COMMAND MODE, it will be either in the IDLE MODE or the ACTIVE MODE. This section describes HOSTCALL's activities and the options available to you while the program is in the ACTIVE MODE. The program is in the ACTIVE MODE, when it is engaged in active communications. Upon entering the ACTIVE MODE, HOSTCALL prints the header +++ ACTIVE MODE +++ and generates a time display at the bottom of the screen. All requests and responses exchanged between HOSTCALL and the host computer are printed to the screen and the STATUS FILE, while the program is in the ACTIVE MODE. HOSTCALL recognizes 3 keyboard commands, while it is in the ACTIVE MODE. They are ALT M - Take and transmit a message from the keyboard. (Available only when operating with HOST-III). ALT U - Transfer to the HOSTCALL MENU. CTRL Prtsc - Print intercomputer correspondence on printer. You can select one by depressing the first key while simultaneously hitting the second key, and then releasing both keys. Another special key is the ESC key. Whenever the program is in a state of delay, such as when it is waiting for a response from the host system, the ESC key will force it out of the delay. If you want to return to the menu upon breaking out of a delay state, then you should enter an ALT U instead of the ESC key. Commands from the COMMAND FILE are processed until a CLOCK command or the file terminator is encountered. If a CLOCK command is encountered, the program will close the communications link and transfer to the IDLE MODE. If the file terminator is encountered, the program will close the communications link and transfer to the HOSTCALL MENU. -32- HOSTCALL IX. Dialing This section provides information concerning the program's process of making a telephone call. The DIAL command instructs HOSTCALL to initiate a communications link. If the host computer answers the telephone, then a link will be made and HOSTCALL will proceed to the next command. However, if for some reason the host computer does not answer the telephone (such as when the line is busy), then HOSTCALL will delay activities and redial after waiting 15 minutes. You can override the 15 minute redial delay in two ways. One is by hitting the ESC key. The other is by transferring to the HOSTCALL MENU and then transferring back to the COMMAND MODE. The program will immediately redial the number. You can elect to review the COMMAND FILE while you are in the menu. However editing will not be allowed, if HOSTCALL is waiting to redial a number. The program will bypass the entire sequence of commands, if a connection is not made after redialing. All of these activities will be recorded in the STATUS FILE. -33- HOSTCALL X. Messages This section provides information concerning the exchange of messages while communicating with HOST-III. There are 3 categories of messages. They are: Message entered into the COMMAND FILE Spontaneous message initiated by the HOSTCALL operator Spontanoeus message initiated by the HOST-III operator Messages entered into the COMMAND FILE as it is being constructed are transferred during normal activity as they are encountered. The procedure for entering this type of message is described in section III. If you want to send the HOST-III operator a spontaneous message while a communications link is active, then enter ALT M. That is, you must depress the ALT key while simultaneously hitting the M, and then release both keys. When HOSTCALL finishes processing the current command, it will prompt you with +++ PROCEED WITH MESSAGE +++ At this point you may key in your message to the HOST-III operator. If the HOST-III operator has sent you a message, then HOSTCALL will prompt you with +++ ENTER ALT-M TO RESPOND TO MESSAGE +++ and wait one minute for you to so. If you do not respond to the prompt, then the program will resume processing the COMMAND FILE. If you do want to answer the message, then you must first respond to the prompt by depressing the ALT key while simultaneously hitting the M, and then releasing both keys. When HOSTCALL receives the ALT M, it will prompt you with +++ PROCEED WITH MESSAGE +++ At this point you may key in your response to the HOST-III operator.