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AA-5469C-TC

September 1978

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Document:	DX Products Programmer's Reference Manual
Order Number:	AA-5469C-TC
Revision:	0
Pages:	28
Original Filename:	http://bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/pdp11/wps-11/AA-5469C-TC_DX_Products_Programmers_Reference_Manual_Sep1978.pdf

OCR Text

AA·5489C· TC

OX Products
Programmer's
Reference Manual

digital equipment corporation • maynard, massachusetts

1st edition, September 1978

The information in this document is subject to change without notice and
should not be construed as a commitment by Digital Equipment Corporation.
Digital Equipment Corporation assumes no responsibility for any errors that
may appear in this document.
The software described in this document is furnished under a license and may
not be used or copied except in accordance with the terms of such license.
Digital Equipment Corporation assumes no responsibility for the use or
reliability of its software on equipment that is not supplied by Digital.
Copyright © 1978 by Digital Equipment Corporation
Printed in U.S.A.

The following are trademarks of Digital Equipment Corporation:
DEC
DECCOMM
DECsystem-10
DECSYSTEM-20
DECtape
DECUS
DIGITAL

MASSBUS
PDP
RSTS
TYPESET·S
TYPESET·11
UNIBUS

CONTENTS
Page
PREFACE
CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION .................................................... 1-1

CHAPTER 2

FILE HEADER BLOCK .............................................. 2-1

CHAPTER 3

TEXT FORMAlTlNG CODES ....................................... 3-1

CHAPTER 4

RULER CODES ...................................................... 4-1

APPENDIX

WORD PROCESSING CHARACTER INTERPRETATION ........... A-I

TABLES
Page

Table No.

2-1
3-1
3-2
4-1
4-2

A-I

Contents of File Header by Character Position ............................. 2-2
Interpretation of Text Formatting Codes ................................... 3-1
Interpretation of Formatting Characters When Certain Modes Are in Effect ... 3-2
Hexadecimal Ruler with Decimal Equivalents .............................. 4-2
Ruler Setting Codes ..................................................... 4-3
Word Processing Character Set. ............ , ... , ......................... A-I

FIGURES
Page

Figure No.
I-I
2-1
4-1
4-2

General Organization of Word Processing File
Stored in the RSTS/E and RSX-llM System ................ " ............ 1-1
General Organization of File Header Block ................................ 2-1
General Organization of a Ruler .......................................... 4-1
Interpretation of Example Ruler .......................................... 4-4

iii

PREFACE

The DX Products Programmer's Reference
Manual supplies the reader with sufficient information to process or produce a word processingfonnatted file on a Digital Equipment Corporation
PDP-II computer running either the RSTS/E or
RSX-II M operating system.

DX/RSTS Products User's Guide, DIGITAL
part number AA-5476C-TC, for operating instructions applicable to the DX Products.
WPS-8 Word Processing Sysrem Rtfelf!nCe Manual
(Version 2.7). DIGITAL part number AA5267B-TB. and WPS-8 Word Processing
System Reference Manual (Version 3.0)
Addendum. DIGITAL part number AD-5267BT I, for both operating instructions and background material applicable to the PDP-8 word
processing system (WPS-8).

The infonnation described in this manual applies
to version V06C or more recent of the RSTS/E
system. version 3.1 ofthe RSX-IIM system, and
version V3.1 or more recent of the word processing systems.
A knowledge of either the RSTS/E or RSX-II M
operating system is recommended for understanding the infonnation presented in this reference
manual. Additional infonnation may be obtained
from the following documents:

WPS-ll M Word Processing System Reference
Manual, DIGITAL part number AA-D727ATC. for both operating instructions and background material applicable to the PDP-II word
processing system (running under the RSX11M operating system).

RSTS/E V06C System User's Guide. DIGITAL
part number DEC-II-0RSUB-A-D including
DEC-II-ORSEB-A-DN I. for infonnation applicable to the RSTS/E operating system.

Word Processing System Communications
Options User's Manual. DIGITAL part number AA-5264C-TK. for operating instructions
applicable to DIGITAL's word processing system communications capabilities.

Introduction to RSX-ll M. DIGITAL part number AA-2555C-TC. for infonnation applicable
to the RSX-lIM operating system.

All numbers used in this document are specified in
decimal representation unless otherwise noted.

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

The DX Products Programmer's Reference
Manual describes characteristics of word proc-

1. Header block, or the first 512 characters
of each file. A header block contains the
origination and modification dates of the
word processing file plus values that control the appearance of printed output.
These output-controlling values are derived from the word processing Print Menu
settings. Chapter 2 describes the interpretation of file header blocks.

essing files that are stored on a Digital Equipment
Corporation PDP-II running the RSTS/E
(Resource Sharing Timesharing System/
Extended) or the RSX-IIM (Resource Sharing
Executive) operating system. This manual specifies the requirements to be met in creating a word
processing file from a non word processing input
medium.

2. Text formatting codes, or particular characters and character combinations that indicate how succeeding text is to be formatted (underlined, boldfaced, or page ending,
for example). The formatting codes themselves are not interpreted as part of the
word processing file's text. Text formatting
codes may appear anywhere in the text
portion of a file (but not in the header).
Chapter 3 describes the interpretation of
text formatting codes.

Figure 1-1 illustrates the layout of a word processing file as stored in the RSTS/E or RSX-II M file
structure. The following three word processing file
characteristics, shown in Figure· I-I, are described in this manual.
CHARACTER

f:~t.\':.
SI2t-_ _ _ _ _--i

51]

)

3. Rulers, or coded information that specifies
vertical line spacing (half space, single
space. space and one half, double space),
the locations of left and right margin positions, and the locations and types of tab settings (left-aligned. right-aligned. decimalaligned). Rulers may appear anywhere in
the text portion of a file (but not in the
header). Chapter 4 describes the interpretation of rulers.

TEKT

",---------,

r.'

~~~~ml

..G

I RULEAS

Figure 1-1 General Organization of Word
Processing File Stored in the
RSTS/E and RSX-II M System
I-I

CHAPTER 2
FILE HEADER BLOCK

The first 512 characters of each word processing
file stored in the RSTS/E or RSX-IIM system
constitutes a header block. Of these 512 characters,
the first 256 specify when the file was created and
edited in addition to how it is to be formatted when
printed (derived from the word processing Print
Menu settings). The second 256 header block
characters are available for use by the applications
programmer. Text of the word processing file follows the header. Figure 2-1 illustrates the
layout of a file header block.

is encoded to facilitate accurate transmission from
the word processing system to the PDP-II. Toohtain the correct value. decode each character according to the following:
1. Ifthe value of the file header block character
is 95. replace the value with O.
2.

3. If the file header block information occupies
two characters. multiply the decoded value
of the first character by 64 and add the decoded value of the second character.

The contents of a file header block are described in
Table 2-1 by character position. Where applicable. the word processing Print Menu two-letter
abbreviation is given in parentheses.

0...--------.1

Example: Character positions 11 and 12 (the
number of blocks in the file) contain 32 and 43, respectively. Decode the values 32 and 43 as follows:

CHARACTER

:;,....
form~::,"

:O',':.::,!

1. Subtract 31 from 32 to obtain 1.

end edillld plUI how
file II to be pFlnllld

2571----------1

512 L..-_ _ _ _ _ _.....

256

If the value of the file header block character
is not 95. subtract 31.

HEADER
BLOCK

2. Subtract 31 from 43 to obtain 12.

~ ~~:O

3. MUltiply I by 64 and add 12 to obtain 76.
the number of blocks in the file.
When printed. the values in a file header are interpreted as tabulated in the Appendix. Word Processing Character Interpretation. The values 32 and
43. given in character positions 15 and 16 in the
above example. will be printed as a space and a plus
sign (+).

Figure 2-1 General Organization of
File Header Block

The value of each character in a file header block
2-1

Table 2·) Contents of File Header By Character Position

Character
Position

Contents

1-2

-255

3-4

5-6

7-8

Character
Position

Contents

33-34

Protection code used only by the
WPS-l1 M
word
processing
system.

35-38

Reserved.

9-10

39-40

11-12

Number of blocks in the file.

Day file was created

Month file was created.

I, if the word processing Print
Menu settings have been initialized: 0, otherwise. If 0, systemsupplied Print Menu setting values
are supplied when the file is printed.

15-16

Year file was created minus 1900.

41-42

Last day file was edited.

Number of original copies to be
printed (CP). System-supplied
value = 1.

Last month file was edited.

43-44

19-20

Last year file was edited minus
1900.

Print margin (PM). Number of
spaces to be added to the left of
each printed page. System-supplied
value = O.

21-22

Version number (number of times
file has been edited).

45-46

23-24

Reserved.

Number of extra, blank half-lines to
be used between printed lines
(EX). System-supplied value = O.

25
26

Hour when me was last edited.

47-48

27-28

Number of lines used per page.

Top margin (TM). Number oflines
between the top edge of each page
and the first text line printed.
System-supplied value = 6.

29-30

Elapsed time in the most recent
editing session (in minutes).

~.so

31-32

Total amount of time spent editing
(in minutes).

Bottom margin (BM). Number of
lines between the last line of text
and the bottom edge of each page.
System-supplied value = 6.

Minute when file was last edited.

2-2

Table 2-1 Contents of File Header By Character Position (Cont)

Character
Position
51-52

53-54

Character
Position

Contents
Page size (PS). Number of lines
that can fit on a page from the top
edge to the bottom (6 lines = 1
inch). System-supplied value = 66.
Page size cannot exceed 200.

73-74

Number of first page to be printed
(FR). System-supplied value = 1.

57-58

Number of last document page to
be printed (TO). System-supplied
value = 0, meaning last page of
document.

59-60

Number assigned to first page in file
(IP). System-supplied value = 1.

61-62.

Reserved.

63-64

1. if pagination is automatic: O. if
by user (AP). System-supplied
value = 1.

I, if output is to be overstruck; 0,
if output is to be struck just once
(OA). System-supplied value =

O.
75-76

Pitch (PI). Number of characters
that can be printed per inch.
System-supplied value = 10.

55-56

Contents

1, if two printing wheels are to be
used; 0, if only one wheel is to be
used (TW). System-supplied value

=0.
77-78

Output device destination (DO).
The possible settings are:
0, for a letter quality printer,
1, for a draft printer,
2, for whatever device is attached
to the host communications
interface,
3, for a line printer attached to
the host system.

79-80

Column margin (CM). Number of
spaces to be added between multiple
columns. System-supplied value =

65-68

Reserved.

81-82

69-70

0, to print continuously; I, to stop
before printing the first page; 2, to
stop before printing each page
(SE). System-supplied value = O.

Replacement character for extra
print wheel position 1.

83-84

Replacement character for extra
print wheel position 2.

85-256

Reserved.

71-72

Reserved.

2-3

CHAPTER 3
TEXT FORMATTING CODES

Text fonnatting codes are particular two-character
combinations that control the appearance of the
succeeding text For example. a text fonnatting code
precedes text that is to be underlined. Fonnatting
codes may appear anywhere in the text portion of a
file (but not in the header).

the interpretation of all text fonnatting codes.

The "enter" codes in Table 3-1 signify modes
governing the text characters that follow. The
"leave" codes in Table 3-1 signify the endofa mode
applicable to the previous text characters. The underline. superscript. and subscript modes are mutually exclusive: if one is in etTect, the corresponding "leave" code must be used before another
"enter" code may occur.

A text fonnatting code begins with either of the two
characters ((left brace) or I (vertical bar) (printable characters are represented in a file by the
ASCII codes listed in Appendix A). Table 3-1 lists

Table 3-1 Interpretation of Text Formatting Codes
Code

Interpretation

Code'

Interpretation

Enter underscore.

Enter subscript.

Enter bold face.

(+
I"

Enter "justify." (In this context,justify means a sequence of information inserted by the word processing
software and not by the user.
Examples include invisible hyphens
and spaces added as a result of tabs. )

1$
1&

Leave underscore.

Leave superscript.

Leave subscript.

Enter superscript.

3-1

Leave bold face.
Leave justify.

NOTE
The second character of the following codes is represented in a text file by its corresponding ASCII
value given in Table A-I less 100 (octal).

Table 3-1 Interpretation of Text Formatting Codes (Cont)
Code

Interpretation

Code

Interpretation

Word wrap needed. (Succeeding text
does not properly conform to the
ruler.)

Start ruler.

End ruler.

Begin overstrike sequence.

I
1<

IH
!I
IJ

Tab.

End of page.

End overstrike sequence.

End of line.

A word processing file stored on the RSTS/E or
RSX-Il M system begins and ends with no modes
in effect. It ends with the following code sequence:
set bold face, word wrap needed, clear bold face.

needed. have special interpretation if certain modes
are in effect (as a result of the user of an "enter"
code). Table 3-2 lists the interpretation of the
character or code when modes are in effect. To obtain the interpretation listed in the third column of
Table 3-2, the only mode that may be in effect is the
one listed in the second column.

The appearance of a space or the text formatting
::ode for end of line, end of page, or word wrap

Table 3·2 Interpretation of Formatting Characters When Certain Modes Are in Effect
Character or
Code in Text

Mode in Effect

Interpretation

Space

Justify

Indicates space was added to make the text conform with margin settings and tabs.

End of line

Justify

Indicates the end of a word processing "word wrapped" line.

3-2

Table 3·2 Interpretation of Formatting Characters When Certain Modes Are in Effect (Cont)
Character or
Code in Text

Mode in Effect

Interpretation

Justify /V nderline

Indicates the end of a hyphenated line.

Superscript

Marks a paragraph (as a result of pressing the gold and the
PARA MARKER keys).

Subscript

Ends a centered line.

No specified mode
has been entered

Divides the text into pages resulting from a word processing
NEW PAGE mark.

Justify

Divides the text into pages resulting from a word processing
PAGE MARKER.

Superscript

Initiates a word processing header, footer, page number reset.
multiple column printing request. or comment.

Subscript

Terminates a word processing header. footer, page number
reset, multiple column printing request, or comment.

Word wrap
needed

Boldface

Indicates that all text between a word wrap needed code and
the beginning of the next ruler is not in conformance with the
current ruler.

Word wrap
needed

Any except boldface

Indicates that all text between a word wrap needed code and
the next nonjustified line ending is not in conformance with
the current ruler.

End of line
(Cont)

End of page

NOTE
When the justify mode is in effect. each successive
printable character is interpreted as a word break
point. or a point where a hyphen may be inserted to
end the line. When an overstrike sequence is in
effect. only printable characters may occur.

3-3

CHAPTER 4
RULER CODES

A word processing ruler is infonnation that indicates the text's vertical line spacing (half space.
single space. space and one half. double space)
and the locations ofleft and right margin positions.
It may also include the locations and types of tab
settings (left-justified. right-justified. decimalaligned). An unlimited number of rulers may appear anywhere in text portion of a file (but not in the
header). Each ruler has effect until the appearance
of another ruler or the end of the file.

As stored in a RSTS/E or RSX- 11M word processing file. a ruler is composed of two parts: (1) infonnation used to fonnat the previous text. and (2)
infonnation used to fonnat the succeeding text. The
two parts may be viewed as a "joined ruler," separated by the @ character. The first part of a joined
ruler is the same as the last part of the previous ruler
(to facilitate conforming text to a ruler when scrolling in a backward direction on the word processing
system). The "joined ruler" begins with a start ruler
code ( I N) and ends with an end ruler code

________

--.

_ _ _ _J

\.....----..v~---',~

Start ruler cOde...-J
Information used to ...-_ _ _ _ _ _-'
format previous text
Separator ...-_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _---'
character
Information used to
format succeeding
••- - - - . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - '
text
End ruler code ....- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ' """ 0574
Figure 4-1 General Organization of a Ruler
4-1

( 10). Figure 4-1 shows an example of a ruler as
stored in a RSTS/E or RSX-IIM word processing tile.

to which the setting applies. while the letter denotes the particular setting. The numbers are represented in hexadecimal form; the letters are represented in upper case. Table 4-1 lists the
hexadecimal numbers used in a ruler with their
equivalent decimal values. Table 4-2 lists the
codes for all available ruler settings.

Each ruler may contain several settings. Each setting is indicated by a number and a letter. The
number specifies the character or column position

Table 4·1 Hexadecimal Ruler Numbers With Decimal Equivalents
Hexadecimal

Decimal

Hexadecimal

Decimal

4-2

Table 4-2 Ruler Setting Codes

Text Ruler
Code

Displays on
Word Processing
Screen As

Meaning
Decimal-aligned tab

Right-justified tab

Left-justified tab

Single-spaced left margin

Ragged right margin

Double-spaced left margin

Justified right margin

Automatic word wrap indent

Automatic paragraph indent

Centering point

Space and one half-spaced left margin

Hyphenation zone

Half-spaced left margin

4-3

The following example illustrates how to interpret a ruler as stored in the RSTS/E or RSX-ll M system

The text that precedes this example ruler was formatted according
to the IN 1 L5W41 R portion as follows.
N

~-v------r--

1
y

)

1
T

--y---I

Start ruler code

Separator character

All text that follows
the example is
formatted according
to the 10D41JI0
portion as follows:

Single spaced left
margin at character
position 1

Word wrap tab setting
at character position 5

Justified right margin
at character position
65 (hexadecimal 41)

Double spaced left
margin at character
position 16
(hexadecimal 10)

End ruler code

Ragged right margin at
character position 65
(hexadecimal 41)
'." ~

Figure 4-2 Interpretation of Example Ruler

4-4

I;' .':

APPENDIX
WORD PROCESSING
CHARACTER INTERPRETATION

the 32 through 95 range. Each character is stored
right-justified in an 8-bit PDP-II byte. Table A-I
gives the octal and decimal equivalent values for all
permissible word processing characters.

Information in word processing files stored in the
RSTS/E or RSX-IIM file structure is represented as a series of 7-bit ASCII (American Standard
Code for Information Interchange) characters in

Table A-I Word Processing Character Set
Octal
Value

ASCII
Character

Decimal
Value

Octal
Value

ASCII
Character

Decimal
Value

000

Null

054

,(comma)

040

Space

055

041

056

042

057

043

060

044

061

045

062

046

063

047

'(single quote)

064

050

(

065

051

)

066

052

*
+

067

053

43
A-I

Table A-I Word Processing Character Set (Cont)

Octal
Value

ASCII
Character

Decimal
Value

Octal
Value

ASCII
Character

Decimal
Value

070
071
072

56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72

121
122
123
124
125
126
127
130
131
132
133
134
135
136

81
82

073
074
075
076
077
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
120

<
-

>
?
@

A
B

C
D
E
F

G
H

J
K
L
M
N

137
140
141

73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80

142
143
144
145
146
147
150
151

A-2

S
T
U

V
W
X
y

[
\

a
b
c
d
e
f

q
h

83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
9899
100
101
102
103
104
105

The following characters are represented in a text
file by the equivalent code listed in Table 3-1.
Interpretation of Text Fonnatting Codes. While
these characters may appear on the display screen
and in printed output. they must be encoded for
inclusion in a text file.

Table A·I Word Proccssing
Charactcr Sct
(Cont)
Octal
Valuc

ASCII
Charactcr

Dccimal
Value

152
153
154
155
156
157
160
161

106
107

162
163
164
165
166
167
170
171
172

108
109
110

III

112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119

I
m

s
t
u

v
w

x
y

Table A·I Word Processing
Character Set
(Cont)
Octal
Value

173
174
175
176

ASCII
Character

Decimal
Value

123
124
125
126

The null character is used in word processing files
stored in the RSTS/E or RSX-II M system as a
padding character.

120
121
122

A-3

INDEX
M

ASCII characters: in word processing character
sets. A-I to A-3

Margins. See Ruler codes.
N

Null character, A-3
Character sets. See Word processing files.

p
E
Padding character, A-3
Enter codes. See Text formatting codes.
R

F
RSTS/E
Word processing files, I-I
File header block, 2-1 to 2-3
Ruler codes, 4-1 to 4-4
Text fonnatting codes, 3-1 to 3-3
RSX-IIM
Word processing files, 1-1
File header block, 2-1 to 2-3
Ruler codes. 4-1 to 4-4
Text fonnatting codes, 3-1 to 3-3
Ruler codes
Description. I-I. 4-1
Displayed on screen. 4-3
Function. I-I
Interpretation. 4-4
Location. I-I
Margins. 4-1. 4-3. 4-4
Numbers. 4-2
Organization. 4-1. 4-2
Setting codes. 4-1. 4-3
Stored in text. 4-3

File header block,
Contents. I-I. 2-2 to 2-3
Location, 1-1
Number of characters. 2-1
Organization. 2-1
Value of characters. 2-1
Decoding. 2-1
Header block. See File header block.
Hexadecimal numbers. 4-2
J
Joined ruler. 4-1

L
Leave codes. See Text formatting codes.
Left brace. 3-1
INDEX-I

Tah settings. 4-1. 4-J. 4-4
Vertical line spacing. 4-1. 4-3. 4-4

T
Tah settings. See Ruler codes.
Text formatting codes.
Description. 1-1. 3-1
Enter codes. 3-1
Interpretation. 3-1 to 3-2
Leave codes. 3-1
Location. I-I. 3-1
Modes. 3-1
In effect. 3-2 to J-J

v
Vertical bar. 3-1
Vertical line spacing. See Ruler codes.

Word processing character interpretation. A-I
Word processing files.
Character set. A-I to A-J
Contents. I-I
File header block. 2-1 to 2-3
Ruler codes. 4-1. to 4-4
Text formatting codes. 3-1 to 3-3
Creating. I-I
Organization in RSTS, E and RSX-Il M
systems. 1-1

INDEX-2

DX PRODUCTS PROGRAMMER'S
REFERENCE MANUAL

Reader'. Comma

AA-5469C-TC

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