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Decode It!(TM) The Binary Data Fourth Generation Language(TM) Version 1.0 Users' Manual Created by Bob Preston Axiom Innovations 54 Settlers Farm Road Monroe, Connecticut 06468 Copyright 1992 Axiom Innovations. All Rights Reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Decode It!(TM) and Decode It! 4GL(TM) are trademarks of Axiom Innovations. All trademarks and registered trademarks referenced within this document are the property of their respective owners. LICENSE AGREEMENT USE OF THIS PRODUCT BINDS YOU TO THE TERMS OF THIS LICENSE AGREEMENT. PLEASE READ THE AGREEMENT CAREFULLY AND DO NOT USE THIS PRODUCT IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THE TERMS OF THE AGREEMENT. 1. LICENSE. You may use this product for an evaluation period of 30 days. After the evaluation period you are required to purchase a registered copy. Axiom Innovations grants permission for this shareware product to be copied and distributed, if no fees are charged. Otherwise, you must get written permission from Axiom Innovations to distribute copies of this product. Said permission is granted only for the distribution of unaltered and intact copies of this product. 2. COPYRIGHT. This product is licensed to you, for your own use. This is copyrighted software. You are not obtaining title to the product or any copyright rights. You may not sublicense, rent, lease, convey, modify, translate, decompile, or disassemble this product, in whole or in part, except as expressly provided for in this license. 3. COPIES. You may make as many copies of this product as you need for back-up purposes. You may use this product on more than one computer, provided there is no chance it will be used simultaneously on more than one computer. If you need to use the software on more than one computer simultaneously, please contact us for information about site licenses. 4. LIMITED WARRANTY. THIS PRODUCT IS LICENSED "AS IS" WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ALL OF WHICH ARE EXPRESSLY AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMED. Some states do not allow the exclusion of implied warranties, so the above limitation may not apply to you. Decode It! Version 1.0 Page 1 5. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY. IN NO EVENT SHALL AXIOM INNOVATIONS OR ANYONE ELSE WHO HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN THE CREATION, PRODUCTION, OR DELIVERY OF THIS PRODUCT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THIS PRODUCT EVEN IF AXIOM INNOVATIONS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF SUCH DAMAGES OR CLAIMS. IN NO EVENT SHALL AXIOM INNOVATIONS LIABILITY FOR ANY DAMAGES EVER EXCEED THE PRICE PAID FOR THE LICENSE TO USE THIS PRODUCT, REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OF CLAIM. Some states do not allow the exclusion of the limit of liability for consequential or incidental damages, so the above limitation may not apply to you. 6. GOVERNING LAW. This agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of Connecticut and shall inure to the benefit of Axiom Innovations and any successors, administrators, heirs and assigns. Any action or proceeding brought by either party against the other arising out of or related to this agreement shall be brought only in a STATE or FEDERAL COURT of competent jurisdiction located in Fairfield County, Connecticut. The parties hereby consent to in personam jurisdiction of said courts. Decode It! Version 1.0 Page 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 What is Decode It!? ............................. 4 2.0 The Shareware Concept ........................... 5 3.0 System Requirements ............................. 5 4.0 Installation .................................... 6 5.0 Lets Try It Out! ................................ 6 6.0 Basic Features .................................. 10 6.1 Rules ........................................... 10 6.2 RECORDs ......................................... 11 6.3 END Command ..................................... 12 6.4 Criteria ........................................ 12 6.5 Undefined Values ................................ 13 6.6 Guidelines ...................................... 14 7.0 Advanced Features ............................... 15 7.1 Blocks .......................................... 15 7.2 Control Flow Commands ........................... 15 7.3 4GL Processor Commands .......................... 16 7.3.1 (ORDER) Command ............................... 16 7.3.2 (OMIT) Command ............................... 16 7.4 System Variable (.OFFSET) ....................... 17 8.0 Examples ........................................ 17 8.1 EXEINFO.RUL Revisited ........................... 17 8.2 C Unions ........................................ 17 8.3 IF ... THEN ... ELSE ............................ 19 8.4 IF ... AND/OR ................................... 19 9.0 Parameters ...................................... 20 10.0 4GL Quick Reference ............................ 21 10.1 Rules Format ................................... 21 10.2 Records and Blocks Formats ..................... 21 10.3 Criteria Format ................................ 22 10.4 Control Flow Commands .......................... 22 11.0 Registration ................................... 23 Appendix A: Error Messages .......................... 24 A.1 Main Program Errors ............................. 24 A.2 4GL Processor Errors ............................ 24 A.3 File Interpreter Errors ......................... 26 Decode It! Version 1.0 Page 3 1.0 What is Decode It!? Decode It! is a simple, yet powerful fourth generation language (4GL) tailored for binary data interpretation. It excels in interpreting binary files containing fixed or variable length records and multiple record layouts. By applying your data format rules to raw binary data, Decode It! exposes the underlying structure of binary information and transforms it into readable ASCII text. This text can be redirected to a file, or piped to MORE and LIST. You specify the format, so data is displayed the way you want to see it. In addition, Decode It! opens up binary data to the world of text manipulation tools. Once created, Decode It! files can be used with DIFF, AWK, GREP, Norton's TS, and any other text utility. Some of Decode It!'s features are: Easy installation on single user and local area network systems (not copy protected). Easy to use Fourth Generation Language (4GL): programs are created using your favorite text editor. Borland dBase II, III, IV, and Lotus 1-2-3 4GL rule files are included! Decode your database and spreadsheet files right out of the box. Allows data to be grouped into 1 byte, 2 byte, 4 byte, or floating point values, and assigns each to a label. Furthermore, values can be combined into records (structures), with a label assigned to each. Binary data can be decoded using either Byte Forward or Byte Reverse ordering. Displays a value as decimal, hexadecimal, or as a character string. Permits criteria to be assigned to each data format rule. The criteria must be fulfilled for the rule to be selected. Select which part of a binary file you wish to decode, or decode the entire file. Edit the decoded binary data and store in original binary file (registered users only). Compile your rules into a stand-alone program with no royalties (registered users only). Decode It! Version 1.0 Page 4 2.0 The Shareware Concept Decode It! is distributed as Shareware: it is not "freeware" and it is not "public domain". Shareware allows you to try fully-featured, professional software before you buy it. Typically, you can obtain a shareware program from a distributor for a small handling fee (less than $10). Alternatively, you can download shareware from most electronic bulletin boards using a modem. You are permitted to use the software for an evaluation period (typically 30 days). After the evaluation period, you are obligated to register your software with the author. As a registered Decode It! user, you will receive: Two must-have utilities: 1) a program that allows you to edit and store decoded data back into the binary file; and 2) a Decode It! compiler for creating your own stand-alone decoder programs (royalty-free). A handsomely printed user manual. One month free problem and technical support. Upgrade notices (and special upgrade deals on future versions of Decode It!). Shareware provides you with a greater variety of software to choose from, as well as a big selection of hard-to-find, specialized software. Retail channels simply cannot stock as wide a variety of software as shareware distribution. Furthermore, to find specialized software, shareware is typically your only choice. Shareware also offers the ultimate satisfaction guarantee: if you are not satisfied with a product during the evaluation period, you can just stop using it. The shareware concept has been so successful that many retail software products are now distributed as shareware. 3.0 System Requirements Decode It! requires the following to operate: PC/XT (or faster) computer with at least 512K RAM, DOS version 3.0 or higher. A hard disk is recommended but not required. Decode It! Version 1.0 Page 5 4.0 Installation Decode It! can be installed on either a floppy or hard disk system. To begin the installation, insert the Decode It! disk into floppy disk drive A:. If you are using a two floppy system, insert a bootable target disk into floppy disk drive B:. Next, log onto drive A: by typing: A:<RETURN> where <RETURN> is the RETURN (or ENTER) key. Run the install program by typing: DINSTALL<RETURN> DINSTALL will first prompt you for the drive on which to install Decode It!. If installing on your primary hard drive, enter the letter C; otherwise, if installing on a floppy disk, you should enter the letter B. Next, DINSTALL will ask you if you actually want to install Decode It! on the target drive. If you did not answer the previous question correctly, select N at this point to abort the installation process. By answering Y, DINSTALL will install Decode It! and update the PATH statement in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Note that updating the PATH statement is crucial, for it allows Decode It! to find all its necessary files. After the installation is complete, you must reboot your computer for the new PATH to take effect. By the way, Decode It! can also be installed manually, by copying all the files from the installation disk into a DECODE subdirectory on your target drive and by updating the PATH statement to access this subdirectory. If you do not understand what this means, then just let DINSTALL handle it for you. 5.0 Lets Try It Out! If you're anxious to see the program work, lets try a few simple examples. If you have a Lotus .WK1 file, you can see Decode It! in action by typing the following: DECODE \decode\123.RUL <.WK1 file> where <.WK1 file> is your Lotus file. Hit the RETURN key to start it, and use Ctrl-C to get back to the DOS prompt. Likewise, you can decode your dBase II/III/IV .DBF files by using the rule files DBASE2.RUL, DBASE3.RUL and DBASE4.RUL, respectively. Now lets create a rule file from scratch. Suppose you were interested in seeing the header information at the beginning of the DECODE.EXE file. At the DOS prompt, type in the following: Decode It! Version 1.0 Page 6 TYPE CON > EXEINFO.RUL ASCII Signature 2 SHORT ImageSizeMod512 SHORT FileSizeDiv512 SHORT RelocationItems SHORT HeaderSizeDiv16 SHORT MinimumHeapDiv16 XSHORT MaximumHeapDiv16 SHORT ImageStackSeg SHORT ExeStackSize XSHORT CheckSum SHORT ExeStartOffset SHORT ImageCodeSegment SHORT RelocationStart SHORT OverlayNumber EXIT <CTRL-Z><RETURN> where <CTRL-Z> is the Ctrl-Z key, and <RETURN> is the RETURN (or ENTER) key. The above rules that you typed in were stored in the file EXEINFO.RUL. Now we will use these rules to decode the EXE header. Type in the following at the DOS prompt: DECODE EXEINFO.RUL \decode\decode.exe Decode It! will respond with: Decode It! Version 1.0 Page 7 .FILE: \decode\decode.exe .ORDER: LSB .OFFSET: 0x00000000 Signature: "MZ" ImageSizeMod512: 0489 FileSizeDiv512: 0032 RelocationItems: 0008 HeaderSizeDiv16: 0032 MinimumHeapDiv16: 0265 MaximumHeapDiv16: 0xFFFF ImageStackSeg: 1127 ExeStackSize: 2048 CheckSum: 0xD139 ExeStartOffset: 1220 ImageCodeSegment: 0000 RelocationStart: 0030 OverlayNumber: 0000 Lets take a look at some of this information. The signature indicates that this file is indeed executable. We also know that the program requires 265 * 16 = 4240 bytes of heap space (by MinimumHeapDiv16), and uses 2048 bytes of stack space (by ExeStackSize). As another example, lets decode a text file with all control codes (for example, line feeds) exposed. Type in the following at the DOS prompt: TYPE CON > TEXT.RUL RECORD line -1 WHILE line.character <> 10 ASCII character -1 END <CTRL-Z><RETURN> Decode It! Version 1.0 Page 8 Now we'll decode TEXT.RUL, while also using it as the rule file, by entering at the DOS prompt: DECODE TEXT.RUL TEXT.RUL Decode It! will respond with: .FILE: TEXT.RUL .ORDER: LSB .OFFSET: 0x00000000 line(00): character(00): "RECORD line -1" character(14): 13 character(15): 10 line(01): character(00): 13 character(01): 10 line(02): character(00): " WHILE line.character <> 10" character(28): 13 character(29): 10 line(03): character(00): " ASCII character -1" character(20): 13 character(21): 10 line(04): character(00): 13 character(01): 10 line(05): character(00): "END" character(03): 13 character(04): 10 line(06): character(00): 13 character(01): 10 Decode It! Version 1.0 Page 9 You've just created two useful utilities: 1) A tool that displays DOS .EXE resource allocation, 2) A utility that not only finds embedded control characters in documents, but also counts the number of characters per line and the number of lines in the document. From these examples, its easy to see how Decode It! can become a valuable addition to your tool set. 6.0 Basic Features Decode It! uses rules (from a text file) to imply how binary data is stored. Each rule is assigned a label, and can be assigned matching criteria. If the criteria is fulfilled, Decode It! prints the data in the following format: <Label>: <Formatted Data> where <Label> is the rule's label, and <Formatted Data> is the data printed according to the format specified by the rule. Afterwards, the data is consumed by that rule's label, and the next rule is applied. Once the end of the rule file is reached, Decode It! cycles back to its beginning. In addition to rules, Decode It! supports commands that alter the flow of control through the rule file. Please note that all rules and commands must be specified in UPPERCASE. 6.1 Rules Rules are created using the following syntax: <Rule Type> <Label> [Instance Count] where <Rule Type> is one of the following: Decode It! Version 1.0 Page 10 TYPE DESCRIPTION ------ ----------- ASCII 1 byte character TINY 1 byte signed decimal XTINY 1 byte hexadecimal SHORT 2 byte signed decimal XSHORT 2 byte hexadecimal LONG 4 byte signed decimal XLONG 4 byte hexadecimal SFLOAT Single precision IEEE floating point DFLOAT Double precision IEEE floating point <Label> is an alphanumeric name that identifies the contents of the data; and, [Instance Count] is the optional number of times this rule is applied before preceding to the next one. Note that [Instance Count] can be an decimal integer constant or a label. If a label is specified, the last binary data assigned to that label is used. If the label's value is undefined, [Instance Count] is infinite (see Undefined Values section below). If [Instance Count] is omitted, it is assumed to be 1. [Instance Count] is always used as an unsigned integer with 32 bit precision. This precision corresponds to the largest file size possible using MS-DOS. This maximum file size can be represented in Decode It! using the value -1. Consequently, an [Instance Count] equal to -1 is effectively infinite. Some examples of rules are: TINY SmallSize XLONG ManyLongs 55 DFLOAT VariableFloats SmallSize 6.2 RECORDs Specifies that the following rules should be considered members of this structure (until an END command is specified). Its syntax is similar to the other rules, as follows: RECORD <Label> [Instance Count] where <Label> is a name that identifies the content of the record, and [Instance Count] is the optional number of RECORDs that can be selected using this rule. RECORDs can be nested. Decode It! Version 1.0 Page 11 6.3 END Command Ends the definition of a RECORD or Block (see Blocks section below). All rules between a RECORD and its associated END are members of that RECORD. Its syntax is: END [Record Size] where [Record Size] is an optional maximum size (in bytes) of a RECORD instance. [Record Size] can be a constant or a label (subject to Undefined Value logic). This size is useful for variable length records, as shown in the following example: SHORT RecSize RECORD VariableRec ASCII FixedField TINY VariableField -1 END RecSize In this example, VariableField is bounded by the value of RecSize. Decode It! is tolerant of inconsistent nested Record Sizes. Suppose a rule file contains the following: RECORD foo RECORD bar TINY zap -1 END 100 TINY yeh -1 END 50 The rule "zap" will be selected 100 times; however, since the size of "foo" is less than "bar", the rule "yeh" will be skipped. Note that the END command cannot be subject to WHILE criteria. 6.4 Criteria The WHILE command allows a rule to be skipped if certain criteria is not met. It must be placed immediately before its corresponding rule, using the following syntax: WHILE <Operand1> <Operator> <Operand2> Decode It! Version 1.0 Page 12 where <Operator> can be either: OPERATOR DESCRIPTION -------- ----------- <=> Equivalence <> Not equal < Less than > Greater than <= Less than or equal to >= Greater than or equal to and <Operand1> and <Operand2> are SIGNED values that must be compared. Note that each of the operands can be either an decimal integer constant or a label. If a label is specified, the last binary data assigned to that label is used as the operand. If the label's value is undefined, the comparison is considered successful (see Undefined Values section below). If no WHILE command exists for a rule, the rule is applied to the data. Note that WHILEs can be nested by using the Block commands discussed below. 6.5 Undefined Values For each rule file cycle, the first time a rule's criteria is tested, the current value assigned to its label is marked as undefined. If the rule is once again selected, its new binary value is read from the file and marked as defined. If the rule is skipped, its value remains undefined. At startup, all values are undefined. An undefined value is interpreted as infinite when used as an instance count or record size, and a comparison on an undefined value is always successful. To demonstrate how this can be useful, the following example: WHILE Null_String <> 0 ASCII Null_String -1 matches on all null-terminated strings of arbitrary length. Decode It! Version 1.0 Page 13 6.6 Guidelines When creating a rule file, please observe the following: A maximum of 256 rules/commands can be defined. All rules and commands must be in UPPERCASE. One rule/command per line and one line per rule/command. Only one WHILE command is allowed per rule (unless Blocks are used). Tabs and/or spaces can be used as delimiters between rule/command arguments. If a label, used as an instance count, operand, or record size, refers to a member of a record, it must be fully qualified as follows: <Record>.[Nested Record Label(s).]<Label> Fully qualified labels must be unique. A label, used as an instance count, operand, or record size, cannot refer to a RECORD rule. Labels can contain only alphanumeric characters and underscores (_); furthermore, labels cannot begin with a digit. Labels must be less than or equal to 16 characters. Avoid using the following keywords as labels: ASCII, TINY, XTINY, SHORT, XSHORT, LONG, XLONG, SFLOAT, DFLOAT, WHILE, RETURN, NEXT, EXIT, BREAK, RESCIND, BEGIN, REPEAT, END. Even though these are acceptable labels, they will not be valid in future versions of Decode It!. All constant numbers must be decimal integers (base 10). Comments can be used in a rule file by preceding them with a pound symbol (#). Blank lines are permissible in the rule file. Decode It! Version 1.0 Page 14 7.0 Advanced Features 7.1 Blocks A Block allows a group of rules to be selected based on only one criteria statement. Two types of Blocks can be created: BEGIN/END and REPEAT/END. A BEGIN/END block is only selected once. A REPEAT/END block is re-invoked until its corresponding criteria no longer evaluates true. The END command that completes a block can contain an optional Record Size (see END Command section above). Like RECORDs, Blocks can be nested. Here are two examples of Blocks: SHORT foo WHILE foo <> 1 BEGIN DFLOAT bar 2 SFLOAT zap 2 END REPEAT LONG foo 1 TINY bar 3 WHILE foo <=> 55 BREAK END In the first example, the block is selected once if foo is not equal to 1. In the second, the block is always selected until foo is equal to 55. 7.2 Control Flow Commands Combined with Blocks and RECORDs, control flow commands provide a powerful way to alter the sequence of execution. Some of these commands allow execution to skip past the end of the current Block/RECORD, to go to the top of the rule file, and to exit the program. The full list of Control Flow Commands follows: Decode It! Version 1.0 Page 15 COMMAND DESCRIPTION ------- ----------- EXIT Exit the program RETURN Resume at top of rule file RESCIND Go to end of last 2 nested blocks BREAK Go to end of current block NEXT Next invocation of this block The usefulness of these commands is demonstrated in the Examples section below. 7.3 4GL Processor Commands Before your rules are applied to binary data, they are first processed by the program DCODE4GL, to resolve label references and to check for syntax errors. The following commands are used exclusively by DCODE4GL (thats why they are surrounded by parenthesis). One important note is that these commands have GLOBAL scope: once used, they affect the entire module and are not subject to WHILE criteria. 7.3.1 (ORDER) Command The (ORDER) command specifies the byte ordering of the binary data. On IBM PCs, multi-byte data is stored in Byte Reverse order. That is, the least significant byte(s) of the data are stored first. Decode It! is flexible enough to decode binary data stored in Byte Forward order (most significant byte(s) first). The two commands are: (ORDER) LSB (ORDER) MSB where LSB and MSB stand for least significant byte and most significant byte, respectively. Only one (ORDER) command can be used in a rule file. If the (ORDER) command is omitted, LSB is assumed. 7.3.2 (OMIT) Command The (OMIT) command allows data to be consumed by a rule without it being printed. Its syntax is: (OMIT) <Label> where <Label> is the label of a rule specified elsewhere in the file. An example is: Decode It! Version 1.0 Page 16 WHILE Words <> 32 ASCII Words -1 WHILE NeedlessWords <> 10 ASCII NeedlessWords -1 (OMIT) NeedlessWords Here only the characters up to and including the first space in each line are printed. 7.4 System Variable (.OFFSET) .OFFSET is a label that represents the absolute offset in the binary file. It can be used wherever labels are acceptable. In the following example WHILE .OFFSET <> 100 TINY Skip -1 (OMIT) Skip the first 100 bytes of the binary file are omitted. 8.0 Examples 8.1 EXEINFO.RUL Revisited In the tutorial section, we created a rule file called EXEINFO.RUL that displayed the header information at the beginning of a DOS .EXE file. Suppose we were only interested in the stack size of an executable. We could then rewrite EXEINFO as follows: WHILE .OFFSET <> 16 SHORT Ignore (OMIT) Ignore SHORT ExeStackSize EXIT 8.2 C Unions C Unions can be decoded using Blocks with corresponding WHILE criteria. For example, if a binary file contains data for the following union: Decode It! Version 1.0 Page 17 char cDataType; union { char cValue; /* If cDataType = 0 */ short iValue; /* If cDataType = 1 */ struct /* If cDataType = 2 */ { long lVal1; long lVal2; } rValue; } this can be represented in the rule file as follows: TINY cDataType BEGIN WHILE cDataType <=> 0 BEGIN TINY cValue RESCIND END WHILE cDataType <=> 1 BEGIN SHORT iValue RESCIND END WHILE cDataType <=> 2 RECORD rValue LONG lVal1 LONG lVal2 RESCIND END END Decode It! Version 1.0 Page 18 8.3 IF ... THEN ... ELSE Decode It! can support multi-way branching (as in IF/THEN/ELSE) as follows. Suppose we want to select the rule LONG l if x is equal to z; otherwise, we want to select the rule SHORT s This can be represented as: BEGIN WHILE x <=> z BEGIN LONG l RESCIND END SHORT s END Furthermore, CASE statements can be created using the method shown in the C Unions section above. 8.4 IF ... AND/OR Boolean AND/OR logic can be constructed using Decode It! as shown in the following examples. Suppose we want to select the rule DFLOAT pi if x is equal to 0 AND y is equal to 11. The rule file can represent this as: WHILE x <=> 0 BEGIN WHILE y <=> 11 DFLOAT pi END Alternatively, suppose we only want to select "pi" if x is equal to 22 OR y is equal to 33. This can be constructed as: Decode It! Version 1.0 Page 19 BEGIN WHILE x <> 22 BEGIN WHILE y <> 33 RESCIND END DFLOAT pi END 9.0 Parameters Decode It! is executed from the DOS prompt using the following syntax: DECODE <rule file> <binary file> [L<length>] [S<start>] [W<width>] where <rule file> is a file containing Decode It! 4GL rules. If a hyphen (-) is used, the rules are read from the console. <binary file> is the binary data to decode. [L<length>] is an optional length of binary data (in bytes) to decode. Its default is the entire binary file. Length can be specified as hexadecimal by preceding the number with '0x'. [S<start>] is an optional file offset from which to start decoding. Its default is the beginning of the binary file. Start can be specified as hexadecimal by preceding the number with '0x'. [W<width>] is the optional maximum width of displayed ASCII strings. If no width is specified, ASCII strings are displayed so that they fit on a standard monitor. Width can be specified as hexadecimal by preceding the number with '0x'. The output from Decode It! can be redirected or piped to another process. Note that Decode It! uses a temporary file while executing. The file is created in the directory specified by the TMP environment variable, or in the current directory if there is no TMP variable. The name of the temp file is of the form 'decodeXX', where XX is a consecutively increasing number. In addition, the program DINSTALL uses the temporary file 'dcodeaut.new' when updating autoexec.bat. DCODE4GL, the 4GL processor program, will use extended/expanded memory when necessary, if either is available. Decode It! Version 1.0 Page 20 10.0 4GL Quick Reference 10.1 Rules Format <Rule Type> <Label> [Instance Count] where <Rule Type> can be: TYPE DESCRIPTION ------ ----------- ASCII 1 byte character TINY 1 byte signed decimal XTINY 1 byte hexadecimal SHORT 2 byte signed decimal XSHORT 2 byte hexadecimal LONG 4 byte signed decimal XLONG 4 byte hexadecimal SFLOAT Single precision IEEE floating point DFLOAT Double precision IEEE floating point 10.2 Records and Blocks Formats RECORD <Label> [Instance Count] BEGIN REPEAT Each Record/Block is terminated by an END command: END [Size] Decode It! Version 1.0 Page 21 10.3 Criteria Format WHILE <Operand1> <Operator> <Operand2> where <Operator> can be: OPERATOR DESCRIPTION -------- ----------- <=> Equivalence <> Not equal < Less than > Greater than <= Less than or equal to >= Greater than or equal to 10.4 Control Flow Commands COMMAND DESCRIPTION ------- ----------- EXIT Exit the program RETURN Resume at top of rule file RESCIND Go to end of last 2 nested blocks BREAK Go to end of current block NEXT Next invocation of this block Decode It! Version 1.0 Page 22 11.0 Registration -------------------------------------------------------------- Decode It! V1.0 Registration Payment Form (valid through 1995) -------------------------------------------------------------- S1006-0 Date: _____________ Name: ___________________________________________________________ Company: ________________________________________________________ Address: ________________________________________________________ City: ___________________________________________________________ State/Country: ________________________ Zip: ____________________ Phone: (_____) _____ - ______ What type of floppy disk? [] 5-1/4" [] 3-1/2" ITEM QTY UNIT COST TOTAL ---------------------- --- --------- ------- Decode It! Version 1.0 ___ x $35.00 = $______ (CT state residents only) 6% sales tax $______ Shipping and Handling: $______ $5.00 Inside U.S.A. (not P.O. Box) $5.00 APO or FPO U.S. address $7.00 P.O. Box $8.00 Western Hemisphere (except USA) $16.00 Eastern Hemisphere TOTAL $______ CHECKS AND MONEY ORDERS MUST BE U.S. FUNDS DRAWN ON U.S. ACCOUNTS ONLY. Please send the above form with check or money order (payable to Axiom Innovations) to: Axiom Innovations 54 Settlers Farm Road Monroe, Connecticut 06468 USA Site licensing is available. Please contact us. As an incentive to registering, future versions of Decode It! will be available to registered users at discounted prices. Axiom Innovations is dedicated to providing innovative tools for increasing programmer productivity. Watch for useful new shareware products from us on your favorite bulletin boards and from shareware distributors. If you have any comments or suggestions on how we can make our software better, please contact us. We would love to hear from you. Congratulations on your decision to purchase Decode It!, and thank you for supporting the shareware concept. Decode It! Version 1.0 Page 23 Appendix A: Error Messages A.1 Main Program Errors Error: Could not create temporary file name Cause: Disk full, write protection, etc. Remedy: Check if disk is full or write protected. Delete any Decode It! temporary files. Error: Could not duplicate stdout Cause: Too many open files. Remedy: Increase the FILES= statement in CONFIG.SYS Error: Could not find DCODE4GL.EXE in PATH Cause: PATH does not contain DECODE directory. Remedy: Update PATH= statement in AUTOEXEC.BAT and reboot. Error: Could not find DCODEFI.EXE in PATH Cause: PATH does not contain DECODE directory. Remedy: Update PATH= statement in AUTOEXEC.BAT and reboot. Error: Could not redirect stdin Cause: Too many open files. Remedy: Increase the FILES= statement in CONFIG.SYS. Error: Could not redirect stdout Cause: Too many open files or write protection. Remedy: Dependent upon cause. A.2 4GL Processor Errors Error: Byte ORDERing already specified Cause: Rule file contains several (ORDER) commands. Remedy: Only one (ORDER) command is permitted. Error: Illegal byte ORDERing Cause: Unrecognized argument. Remedy: Use either 'LSB' or 'MSB'. Error: Illegal character(s) in label Cause: Labels can only contain alphanumerics and underscores. Labels cannot begin with a digit. Remedy: Rename label. Error: Illegal command Cause: Unrecognized command. Remedy: Use proper command (in UPPERCASE). Error: Illegal END command Cause: Unexpected END command. Remedy: Remove END command and re-check program logic. Decode It! Version 1.0 Page 24 Error: Illegal number of arguments Cause: Too few or too many arguments. Remedy: Refer to Users' Manual for correct usage. Arguments must be separated by spaces. Error: Illegal WHILE operator Cause: Operator is not valid. Remedy: Refer to Users' Manual for valid operators. Error: Instance count cannot reference a RECORD Cause: A record is used as an instance count. Remedy: Use a non-record rule as an instance count. Error: Invalid instance count Cause: Instance count is non-numeric or zero. Remedy: Use a valid label or number. Error: Invalid OMIT label Cause: OMIT label not found. Remedy: Use a valid label. Error: Invalid RECORD size Cause: Size is non-numeric or zero. Remedy: Use a valid label or number. Error: Invalid WHILE operand 1 Cause: Operand is non-numeric. Remedy: Use a valid label or number. Error: Invalid WHILE operand 2 Cause: Operand is non-numeric. Remedy: Use a valid label or number. Error: Label already defined Cause: Fully qualified labels must be unique. Remedy: Change label. Error: Label too long Cause: Labels must be <= 16 characters. Remedy: Shorten label. Error: No corresponding END Cause: A record or block is not terminated with an END. Remedy: Re-check program logic. Error: No Member(s) in RECORD Cause: Records must contain at least one rule. Remedy: Delete the unused record. Error: No rule specified after WHILE command Cause: The rule file ends with a WHILE command. Remedy: Delete last unused WHILE. Decode It! Version 1.0 Page 25 Error: No rule(s) in BEGIN/REPEAT block Cause: Blocks must contain at least one rule. Remedy: Delete the unused block. Error: No rules specified Cause: The rule file does not contain at least one rule. Remedy: Add rules to rule file. Error: Size cannot reference a RECORD Cause: A record is used as a size. Remedy: Use a non-record rule as a size. Error: Too many rules Cause: A maximum of 256 rules/commands can be defined. Remedy: Use fewer rules and commands. Error: WHILE criteria already specified Cause: WHILEs cannot be nested. Remedy: Use BEGIN/END blocks. Error: WHILE criteria specified for (OMIT) command Cause: (OMIT) is not subject to WHILE criteria. Remedy: Remove WHILE statement. Error: WHILE criteria specified for (ORDER) command Cause: (ORDER) is not subject to WHILE criteria. Remedy: Remove WHILE statement. Error: WHILE criteria specified for END command Cause: END is not subject to WHILE criteria. Remedy: Remove WHILE statement. Error: WHILE operand 1 cannot reference a RECORD Cause: A record is used as an operand. Remedy: Use a non-record rule as an operand. Error: WHILE operand 2 cannot reference a RECORD Cause: A record is used as an operand. Remedy: Use a non-record rule as an operand. A.3 File Interpreter Errors Error: Cannot open <binary file> Cause: File cannot be found, no file handles left, etc. Remedy: Dependent upon cause. Error: Cannot read <EXE file> Cause: File cannot be found, no file handles left, etc. Remedy: Dependent upon cause. Error: Cannot read file info. from <binary file> Cause: Not enough FCBS. Remedy: Increase the first number in the FCBS= statement in CONFIG.SYS. Decode It! Version 1.0 Page 26 Error: Error reading rule information Cause: Ctrl-C was hit. Remedy: Retry. Error: Error reading rule(s) Cause: Ctrl-C was hit. Remedy: Retry. Error: Error reading WHILE(s) Cause: Ctrl-C was hit. Remedy: Retry. Error: Floating point conversion failed for <number> Cause: Float could not be truncated to integer. Remedy: Change program logic to avoid comparing float. Error: Invalid length parameter Cause: Length is either non-numeric, zero, or too big. Remedy: Use appropriate length. Error: Invalid start parameter Cause: Start is non-numeric. Remedy: Use correct start. Error: Invalid width parameter Cause: Width is either non-numeric or zero. Remedy: Use appropriate width. Error: No rule(s) match Cause: The program went into an infinite loop. Remedy: Re-check program logic. Error: Too many rules Cause: Intermediate 4GL file is corrupted. Remedy: Retry. Error: Unexpected EOF on read Cause: EOF reached before a multi-byte value was filled. Remedy: Re-check program logic. Error: Unrecognizable parameter Cause: Unknown parameter specified on command line. Remedy: Refer to Users' Manual for proper usage. Error: Version mismatch Cause: DCODE4GL.EXE and DCODEFI.EXE versions do not match. Remedy: Install newer version of Decode It!. Error: Width cannot be greater than 1024 Cause: Width parameter too big. Remedy: Use appropriate width. Decode It! 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