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XX-409A4-45

May 1985

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Document:	SH Bulletin V4N2 Fall85
Order Number:	XX-409A4-45
Revision:	0
Pages:	4
Original Filename:	http://bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/pdp11/tsxPlus/sh_bulletin/SH_Bulletin_V4N2_Fall85.pdf

OCR Text

FALL 1985

VOLUME FOUR, NUMBER TWO

DECUS/DEXPO Fall 1985
The 1985 fal! DECUS symposium \NiI! be held December 9-13
at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, California. The following
sessions will be oresented that may be of particular interest
-.
to TSX-Plus users:
Mon. Dec. 9

7:30pm-RT-11/TSX Experiment
Development
Mon. Dec. 9 8:30pm-TSX-Plus Real-Time
Wed. Dec. 11 6:00pm-TSX-Plus Lab Update
Thur. Dec. 12 9:00am-TSX-Plus I/O Considerations*
Thur. Dec. 12 1O:OOam-TSX-Plus Magic
Fri. Dec. 13 1O:OOam-TSXNET V4.0

* Jan Bramlet of S&H will discuss the system actions between
a program issuing an I/O request and entry to the device
handler, and again between release of the request by the
handler and return to the user program. Topics wiii inciude
the structure of extended I/O queue elements, fork prioritization, device handlers, system buffering, and data caching.
The DEXPO exposition will be held at the Anaheim Convention Center, December 11-13, 9:30am to 5:30pm. Representatives from S&H will be in booth 412, near the main entrance.

TSX-Plus Version 6.0 to be Released November 18
The low-memory portion of TSX-Plus has been reorganized
to reduce the amount of space used by the system and for
each job. The restriction of 30 jobs has been removed. The
number of jobs which may be supported is now limited only
by the amount of space available in low-memory for job
dependent tables.
The 6 Kb memory size limitation on the record locking tables
has been removed. There is now no inherent limit on the
number of shared files or shared file channels that can be
generated into the system.
TSX-Plus now offers a full-screen process windowing system
that allows the system to remember the contents of the terminal display and to redisplay windows as you switch between
subprocesses. This also provides a print screen function for
each terminal without requiring a printer to be attached to
every terminal. Output can be directed to any system printer
or to a disk file.
Suooort is now orovided for the quad serial line multiplexer
on the Professional-350/380 personal computers. By use of
this hardware option, TSX-Plus can support four time-sharing
lines in addition to the console, printer port, and communications port.
The maximum number of CL units (communication lines) has
been increased from 8 to 16. The SET CLn ENDPAGE command specifies the number of form-feed characters, and the
SET CLn ENDSTRING command specifies a character string
to be appended to an output file when a CL channel is closed.
A major reviSion has been made to the job privilege structure
in TSX-P!us. The previous system which had only two classes

of users, normal and privileged, has been replaced by a set
of 28 privileges which may be individually enabled or disabled.
Programs may now be "installed" in the system to allow special attributes and privileges to be invoked when the program
is run. /\ttributes and privileges specified for installed programs
take effect when the program is started. When the program
exits, the program attributes are cleared and the privileges
are reset to the set privileges. The /PRIVILEGE qualifier may
be used with installed programs to temporarily grant or deny
any privilege, including privileges for which the job is not
authorized.
The SET PROCESS keyboard command can be used to alter
job privileges and priorities. It can be used to suspend and
resume execution of a job, and to specify a new user name
for the job.
The TSAUTH program has a MODIFY command that allows
account parameters to be changed without having to reauthorize the account.
A new optional system password facility has been added to
provide additional security for dial-up lines. This forces the user
to provide a password before displaying the logon greeting
which identifies the site and the nature of the system.
It is now possible to specify character strings which will be
substituted when a defined key is typed. This feature may be
used to associate frequently typed commands with some of
the terminal function keys.

s&h bulletin
It is now possible to cross connect a time-sharing line with
a CL line and become a terminal for another computer. This
is similar to using VTCOM except that there is less system
overhead, and there is no file transfer capability.
You may now specify the keywords ALL, OPERATOR or
PARENT with the SEND command in lieu of specifying a line
number.
Subprocesses (virtual lines) and detached jobs now "inherit"
the following information from the primary process: privileges,
priorities, ASSIGNments, MOUNTed disks, and much more.
The logon start-up command file is no longer executed when
a subprocess is started, but a separate subprocess start-up
command file may be specified.
The DETACH command now accepts up to SO characters of
information to be passed to the detached job, similar to the
method used for command files.
A new EMT has been implemented to allow one job to acquire
the file context of another job. RTSORT version 2.0 can use
this feature when running in message communication mode
to allow it to sort files on logical disks and using logical device
names.

If a system crash occurs, the system can print a dump of internal information about the status of the system. This is usefu~
to S&H in helping you to diagnose system difficulties.
A new sysgen parameter "SWPSLT" has been added which
allows you to control the size of the job swap file.
TSX-Plus now supports named PLAS memory regions and
local named regions.
It is now possible to establish a completion routine which will
be executed as each character is received from the terminal.
It is now possible to use the .nOUTR EMT to transmit characters to the terminal with the carry-flag being set on return if
the terminal output buffer is full.

Miscellaneous changes
A SET LD EMPTY command may be used to dismount all
logical disks for the current job.
It is now possible to determine if program input is coming from
a command file or directly from the terminal.

The SUSPEN 0 command suspends the execution of a job,
the RESUME command resumes execution of a suspended
job.

Device handlers provided on the distribution are RT-11 version 5.02 compatible.

TSXMOD is a patching utility which allows re-configuration of
TSX-Plus without performing a system generation.

Two OM handlers are now provided, one for standard 1S-bit
RK06/07 controllers and one with support for the Emulex
SC02C and the Dilog DQ215.

Process Windowing Facility

One of the major new features in TSX-Plus version 6.0 is the
Process Windowing (tm) facility which allows the system to
remember the status of multiple screen displays and to
redisplay windows as you switch between processes or on
demand by programs.
The process windowing facility also provides a "print window"
function which allows you to print the contents of a window
on a printer by typing a control character. This provides a print
screen function for each terminal without requiring a printer
to be attached to every terminal.
When windowing is turned on, the system monitors all characters sent to the terminal and maintains an updated screen
image in memory. Terminal attributes such as line width,
reverse/normal video, application keypad mode, etc. are
saved along with line attributes (double wide, double high),
and character attributes. The attributes retained for each
character consist of blinking, bold, underlined, reverse video,
and character set information (ASCII, U.K. national, DEC supplemental, or graphics). Windowing may be used with VT52,
VT100 and VT200 series terminals.

When a window is created, it is set to all blanks. Each time
a window is selected as the current window, the screen is
cleared and the current contents of the window is displayed.
Each job may have up to 26 windows active at one time. A
window is identified by an 10 number in the range 1 to 26.
Two jobs may have windows with the same 10 number without confl ict.
There are system service calls (EMT's) which allow a program
to create windows, delete windows, and select the current
window for the job. However, the simplest way to use a
window is by use of the SET WINDOW keyboard command.
The form of this command is:
SET WINDOW [ION] [lOFF] [lCOLUMNS=n] [lDARK)
[lLiGHT] [lWIDE] [lNARROW] [lSCROLL[ =n]]
This command manipulates window number 1.
The SET WINDOW ON command (ON can be omitted)

s&h bulletin

causes the system to create window number 1 and select it
s the current window for the job. If window 1 already exists,
3 deleted and a new window 1 is created. Not all options
'"'" e available with VT52 type terminals.
The options control: the screen width (80 or 132 columns);
dark or light background (normal or reverse video); and the
number of lines (if any) allowed to scroll off the screen while
the terminal is attached to a different subprocess.
The default options are ON, COLUMNS=80, DARK,
SCROLL = 16. Thus you can turn on window 1 with 80 column
mode by simply typing:
SET VVI [\J DOW
The SET VvINDO'vV OFF command deletes all windows for the
job.

Any time you swttch to a new subprocess and a window is active
for the primary process, a window is automaticaiiy created for
the subprocess-as if a SET WINDOW command had been
issued. The subprocess window attributes (width, light or dark,
and maximum allowed sc roi I lines) are copied from the existing
window definition for the primary process. Once windowing has
been enabled, switching between subprocesses will restore the
screen to the state it was in when you left the subprocess to
which you are reattaching.

You can refresh the window for the current process without
switching to a different process by typing control-W followed by
the number that selects your current primary or subprocess. For
example, if you are connected to your primary process and wish
to have the current window redrawn, type control-W o.
You can cause the contents of the currentiy displayed window
to be written to a printer by typing control-B (a different control
character can be specified in TSGEN). Information provided by
the SET PRINTWINDOVV command applies only to the job issuing the command. Thus, different jobs can direct their print
window output to different print devices.
Before you can use the window print function, you must specify
the printer to which the window is to be written. Specify the printer
by use of the SET PRINTWINDOW command which has the
following form:
SET PRINTWINDOW [/DEVICE=ddn] [/TYPE=type]
[/LETIER] [/DRAFT] [/[NO]BELL] [/[NO]WIDTH]
The options select: the printer device name (e.g. LP, CLO, or
even a disk file); special printer types (e.g. LA 100 or LN03); letter
or draft oualitv for those tvoes that suooort rlifffm~nt mnrlp.~·
enable a bell fo signal tha(the-w-indow 'has-been-capt~~edfo~
printing; and control character width spacing on some types.

A User's View of Process Windowing
(This article was contributed by S&H's credit manager, whose
viewpoint may be somewhat different from that of a programmer or system manager.)
The print window aspect of process windowing is most definttely
a benefit to the automated office. Ask your office, business or
credit manager how many times in one day he or she looks
up the same information-or makes manual notes with information copied from screen displays. Since most business software packages have screen oriented displays, the print window
fac;!:ty' ;:;rov;des the oficevvorkerVvi~, ar, easy Ivay to get pr;nted
copies for in depth study. And the best thing is that the print
window facility allows you to instantly print a copy of anything
on the screen without having to make any program changes.
I use the print window function many times during the day to
make hardcopy printouts of customer credit account displays.
3viously, I had to print a lengthy report or manually copy down
Leo Ie relevant information. This also lets me finish more quickly
since the screen display is captured so quickly and I can go
on to the next account.
Print windows can also be a useful educational tool. The obvious application is customized user documentation. Print sam-

pie screens to include in your manuals. Beyond this, print windows can be helpful for "hands on training". A new or old user
can print copies of new data entry screens for further study at
any time during instruction. The lesson can continue and any
number of screens can be copied along the way for later review.
Another educational aspect to print windows involves communication between different departments in your business. For
example-your marketing or sales manager has just announced
that they are considering changing an existing product line. They
present their pian and yOu end up with the unwieidy task of
figuring out how to make this work in your existing system. With
process windowing, you can sit down together with the sales
manager and look at the organization of tl-)e existing product
file. The sales manager can also get printed copies of individual product records for study-or print a snapshot of a spreadsheet display. This will give the manager a better understanding of the options available. This may save time, money, and
untold headaches for all parties concerned.
These are just a few ways that I have found process windowing to be useful. Share this feature with all members of your
staff. Everyone will undoubtedly find different uses for this feature.

s&h bulletin

S&HJs New Bulletin Board
Beginning November 18, 1985, we will provide a bulletin board
service for our customers. This service will allow you to obtain
release notes, patches, and other information, and leave messages for S&H staff concerning technical support and business
issues. This service will be accessable by dialing 615-320-5462,
using a 300 or 1200 baud modem attached to a video or printing terminal. The XON/XOFF protocol is used for flow control.
If you call using a TSX-Plus or RT-11 system using VTCOM,
then you may use its logging facility to capture the available information. This service will be available from 9 AM to 5 PM Nashville (Central) time, and other times as the system is available.
(If the system is not available, the phone will not be answered).
Once you have connected to the system and entered your
license number and terminal type, you will be able to access
release notes, bulletins, patches, help information, and may leave
messages for S&H staff (Technical Support, Sales or Order
Processing). Additional information will be added to the system
in the future, such as example programs from the manual.

If you are not a currentiy licensed and supported customer, you
will be unable to access certain subjects, such as release notes
and patches. All users will be able to leave messages for various departments at s&H. License information is updated once
monthly, so you may not have full access as soon as you expect.
When you connect to the bulletin board, you will be prompted
for your license number and terminal type. Additional information may be required to use some features of the bulletin board.
If you are leaving a description of a problem, please be concise, consistent with a full description of the problem, configuration and supporting information. Individual messages cannot
exceed 100 lines in length. If your message is longer, try to
rephrase it. If you absolutely must deposit a longer message,
break it into parts of less than 100 lines. Simple editing (whole
line replacement) can be done after the message is complete.
If you have suggestions for improvement of this service, please
leave a message for the Technical Support department.

Response to Our DECNET Survey
In our Summer 1985 Bulletin we requested from you, our
readers, information on your interest in a DECNET compatible
product that would run with TSX-Plus. We were curious how

s&h computer systems, inc.
1 027 17th Avenue South
Nashville, TN 37212

many people were interested, and to what extent. We also
requested a list of features in which you might be interestel.·
We received six written responses.
,

FIRST CLASS
U.S. POSTAGE

PAID
PERMIT NO. 986
NASHVILLE, TN