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Document:	VAX-11 Text Editing Reference Manual
Order Number:	AA-D029B-TE
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Pages:	142
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VAX-11
Text Editing
Reference Manual
Order No. AA-00298-TE

March 1980

This document describes the features and use of SOS, an interactive textediting program provided with VAX/VMS.

VAX-11
Text Editing
Reference Manual
Order No. AA-00298-TE

SUPERSESSION/UPDATE INFORMATION:

This revised document supersedes
the VAX-11 Text Editing Reference Manual
(Order No. AA-D029A-TE)

OPERATING SYSTEM AND VERSION:

VAX/VMS V02

SOFTWARE VERSION:

VAX/VMS V02

To order additional copies of this document, contact the Software Distribution
Center, Digital Equipment Corporation, Maynard, Massachusetts 01754

digital equipment corporation · maynard, massachusetts

First Printing, August 1978
Revised, March 1980

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 only be used or copied in accordance with the
terms of such license.
No responsibility is assumed
software on equipment that
affiliated companies.

for the use or reliability of
is not supplied by DIGITAL or its

The postage prepaid READER'S COMMENTS form on the last page of
this document requests the user's critical evaluation to assist
us in preparing future documentation.
The following are trademarks of Digital Equipment Corporation:

DIGITAL
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DEC US
UNIBUS
COMPUTER LABS
COMTEX
DDT
DECCOMM
ASSIST-11
VAX
DECnet
DATATRIEVE

DECsystem-IO
DECtape
DIBOL
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MASSBUS
OMNIBUS
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ITPS-10
SB!
PDT

CONTENTS

Page
PREFACE

vii

SUMMARY OF TECHNICAL CHANGES

CHAPTER

INTRODUCTION TO SOS

1-1

1.1
1.4
1.5

INITIATING AND TERMINATING SOS
CONTROL CHARACTERS
USE OF ESCAPE
USE OF DELETE
UPPER- AND LOWERCASE CHARACTERS

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

MODES OF OPERATION

2-1

2.1
2.3
2.4
2.5
2.6
2.7

INPUT MODE
READ-ONLY MODE
EDIT MODE
COPY-FILE MODE
DECIDE MODE
ALTER MODE
ALTER/INSERT MODE

2-2
2-3
2-3
2-5
2-5
2-6

LINE NUMBERS, PAGE NUMBERS, AND RANGES

3-1

3.1
3.2

LINE NUMBERS
PAGE NUMBERS
POSITIONS
RANGES OF LINE NUMBERS
SHORTHAND CHARACTERS
THE CURRENT POSITION
DEFAULTS FOR LINE AND PAGE NUMBERS
LINE-NUMBER AND PAGE-NUMBER OFFSETS
HOW SOS NUMBERS NEW LINES

3-1
3-1
3-2
3-2
3-3
3-4
3-4
3-6
3-7
3-8
3-8
3-8

1. 2
1.3

CHAPTER

2.2

CHAPTER

3.3
3.4
3.5
3.6
3.7
3.8
3.9
3.9.1
3.9.2
3.9.3
CHAPTER

CHAPTER

The Current Line-Number Increment
When an Existing Line Intervenes
Input Mode versus Alter/Insert Mode

2-6

USING SOS

4-1

4.1
4.2
4.3
4.3.1
4.3.2
4.3.3
4.3.4

DEFAULT CONDITIONS WHEN SOS IS INITIATED
LIMITATIONS AND RESTRICTIONS
USING SOS SAFELY

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

Built-in Safety Features
The Save World Command
Two Options for Automatic File Saving
Recovering Information from
Temporary Files: An Example

4-3

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS

5-1

5.1
5.2
5.2.1

ALTER (A -- ALTER MODE)
COPY (C)

5-4
5-18
5-20

Copy-file Mode

iii.

CONTENTS

Page
5.3
5.4
5.5
5.5.l
5.6
5.7
5.8
5.9
5.10

5 .11
5.12
5.13
5.14
5.15
5.15.l
5.15.2
5.15.3
5.10
5.17
5.18
5.19
5.20
5.21
5.22

DELETE (D)
END ( E)
FIND (F)

5-22
5-23
5-25
5-27
5-29
5-30
5-33
5-34
5-35
5-36
5-37
5-39
5-41
5-43
5-45
5-45
5-46
5-47

Find Options
HELP (H)
INPUT (I -- INPUT MODE)
JOIN (J)
KILL PAGE MARK (K)
LIST (L)
MARK (M)
RENUMBER (N)
PRINT (P)
REPLACE (R)
SUBSTITUTE (S)

Multiple Substitutions
Substitute Options
Decide Mode
TRANSFER (T)
SAVE WORLD (W)
EXTEND (X)
MOVE POSITION (.)
GIVE PARAMETER (=)
SET PARAMETER (/)
EXECUTE COMMAND FILE (@)

5-50
5-51
5-53
5-54
5-55

5-56

SOS PARAMETERS AND SWITCHES

6-1

6.1
6.2
6.3

PARAMETERS
SWITCHES
SETTING DEFAULT CONDITIONS USING SYMBOL
ASSIGNMENT

6-3
6-10

SPECIAL CONSTRUCTS AND CHARACTERS

7-1

7.1
7.1.l
7.1.2
7.1.3
7.2
7.3

SPECIAL PATTERN-MATCHING CONSTRUCTS

SPECIFYING RANGES BY CONTENT
SOS SPECIAL CHARACTERS

7-1
7-2
7-5
7-6
7-6
7-9

SOS INTERNALS

8-1

8.1
8.1.l
8. l . 2
8.2
8.3

TEMPORARY FILES
FORMAT OF TEXT LINES AND PAGE MARKS
USING SOS EFFICIENTLY

8-1
8-1
8-2
8-2
8-3

APPENDIX

SUMMARY OF SOS FUNCTIONS AND FEATURES

A-1

APPENDIX

SOS ERROR MESSAGES:

B-1

CHAPTER

'1-14

Find-String Constructs
Substitute-String Constructs
Combining Find-String Constructs

Wraparound
The Save World Command

NOVICE AND EXPERT FORMS

Index-1

INDEX

CONTENTS

Page

FIGURES
FIGURE

3-1
5-1
5-2

How SOS Calculates the Numbers of New,
Inserted Lines
Alter-Mode Example
Transfer Operation to Move Part of a File to
Another Location

3-10

5-7
5-48

TABLES
TABLE

2-1
3-1
5-1
5-2
5-3

6-1
6-2
7-1
7-2

A-1
A-2
A-3
A-4
A-5
A-6

A-7
A-8
A-9
B-1

Edit-Mode Commands: Form and Function
Defaults for Line and Page Numbers
Edit-Mode Command Summary
Alter-Mode Commands
Decide-Mode Commands
SOS Parameters
SOS Switches
Special Pattern-Matching Constructs
SOS Special Characters
SOS Modes of Operation
Edit-Mode Commands: Function and Format
Meaninis of Edit-Mode Command Options
Alter-Mode Commands
Decide-Mode Commands
sos Parameters
SOS Switches
Special Pattern-Matching Constructs
Position Shorthand Characters
SOS Error Messages: Novice and Expert Forms

2-4
3-5
5-3

5-5
5-46
6-2
6-2
7-2
7-10

A-1
A-2
A-4
A-4

A-n

A-6

A-7
A-8
A-8
B-1

PREFACE

MANUAL OBJECTIVES

This manual is designed as a reference for users who have had some
exposure to text-editing computer programs. It is not intended as a
tutorial introduction, either to text editors in general or to the SOS
editor in particular.

INTENDED AUDIENCE

If you have read the introduction to SOS in the VAX/VMS
want to know more about SOS, this is the manual for you.

Primer

and

If you are familiar with some other text editing program
either a
DIGITAL text editor or another -- you can use this manual to gain
familiarity with sos. The tables and figures will prove helpful in
this familiarization.
Later, you can study this manual to learn
details of SOS commands and features.

ASSOCIATED DOCUMENTS

The following documents may also be useful.
•

VAX-11 Information Directory and Index

VAX/VMS Primer

CONVENTIONS USED IN THIS MANUAL

In examples of user-system dialog, the text that you type
red. For example:

appears

*P500:700

This means that after the SOS prompt (*) you type P500:700 followed by
a carriage return. The examples in this manual do not show the <RET>
symbol when it is used as a command line terminator.
The following symbols represent special keys on the terminal keyboard:

®9

The escape key (labeled ESC, ALT, SEL, or PRE, depending on
the terminal)

vii

ffi)

The carriage return key (labeled CR or RETURN)

C®

The delete key (labeled DEL, RUB, or CAN)

(ill

The line feed key

The space bar

@ID

The tab key or <CTRL/I> (see below)

The backspace key

The following symbols stand for various control functions, which you
initiate by pressing the given key while holding down the CTRL key.
Section 1.2 discusses these control functions.
(CTRL/CJ

tTRL/S)

t!fillJ

~Q)

tIBQB.J

Brackets [] indicate optional parts of an argument within a particular
command string.
The exceptions to this convention are directory and
file specification, in which one set of brackets must be typed.

viii

SUMMARY OF TECHNICAL CHANGES

The following changes have been made
Reference Manual for Version 2.0.

the

VAX-11

Text

Editing

SOS is now the only editor that is documented in this manual.
All information about the batch-oriented editor SLP has been
made part of the VAX-11 Utilities Reference Manual.

The following new features have been added to
editor:

the

SOS

text

The sequence of characters <CTRL/A> <ESC> which allows
you to change from Input mode to Alter mode. This new
feature is described in Chapter 5.

The new switch /NUMBERS, which controls the printing of
line numbers. This new feature is documented in Chapter
6.

CHAPTER l
INTRODUCTION TO SOS

SOS is a line-oriented, interactive text-editing program.
Using it,
you work on line to the computer, carrying on a dialogue with the
program as you create or modify a file.
(SOS stands for SON OF
STOPGAP, an earlier editor.) Unlike many line-oriented editors, SOS
has features that allow you to examine and change text, character by
character. You can use SOS to perform the following functions:
•

Examine, create, and modify ASCII text files

•

Search for and/or change one or more arbitrary text strings,
with the option to verify each change before it is made

•

Merge parts of one file into another

•

Create a file that is a subset of another file

SOS is line-oriented, so it works with line-numbered text files.
If
you edit a file that does not have line numbers, the editor adds line
numbers to the text lines. When SOS writes your file to disk,
it
includes the line numbers unless you specifically request that it omit
them.
SOS requires you to be concerned with line numbers within the file.
For most SOS commands, a line number or a range of line numbers
specifies the text to be operated on. When you insert, delete, move,
or copy text, SOS is programmed to keep line numbers in ascending
order within each "page" of text. To this end, SOS may refuse to
accept more inserted text, or insert "page marks," or warn you to
renumber the lines in the file.
SOS is more interactive than many other editors.
In some modes of
operation, it responds on a character-by-character basis to what you
type.
This degree of interactivity may be new to some users
accustomed to less interactive editors, which always expect a command
line terminated by a carriage return.
For example, one SOS feature that exhibits this character-by-character
intera~tivity
is Alter mode. This special mode lets you make changes
within a line of text, interactively. Alter mode has its own commands
and syntax; it functions essentially as an editor within an editor.
This mode is discussed in detail in Section 5.1.
Advanced features of SOS allow you considerable flexibility in
searching for a string of text (see Section 7.1) and allow you to
specify blocks of text by content, instead of by line number
(see
Section 7.2).
Many SOS parameters and switches, which you can set, control
editor's default values.
(See Section 5.21 and Chapter 6.)

1-1

the

INTRODUCTION TO SOS
1.1

INITIATING AND TERMINATING SOS

SOS is invoked by the DCL command EDIT. Initiate SOS by typing one of
the following commands in response to the DCL prompt:
$ EDIT
$_File:file-sPec

or
$

EDIT file-sPec

EDIT/OUTPUT=output-file-sPec file-spec

or
In the first form above, SOS prompts you for the specification of the
file
you want to edit or create.
{See the chapter on file
manipulation in the VAX/VMS Primer for an introduction to file
specifications.)
In the second form, you explicitly type the
the file does not exist, SOS creates it.

file

specification.

In the third form, you specify both the file you want to edit and the
file to which you want the edits to be written. If you do not
designate a file name or file type in the output file specification,
SOS defaults to the file name and type of the input file.
In the second and third forms above, you can optionally append
qualifiers, separated by slashes {/),to the file specification.
There are several ways to terminate SOS; they are discussed in detail
under the End command {E)
in Section 5.4. Usually, you give the
command E after SOS's prompt {*):

*'::.

Lfil0~····spec]

Upon terminating, SOS writes an output file containing all the
modifications you made in editing the file. The original file is not
changed. The specification SOS uses for the output file
{unless you
supply it explicitly) has a version number higher by 1 than the latest
version of the original file.

1.2

CONTROL CHARACTERS

All the usual VAX/VMS control characters can be used in most contexts
within SOS.
However, some of these characters are not effective in
Alter mode. For details, see the Alter command in Section 5.1.
The
control characters are described briefly below.
~lQ)

This character, typed before an input
line
is
complete, deletes the entire line being input. You
can then retype the line.
~
is generated by
typing u or U while holding down the CTRL key. It is
echoed as "'u.
This character, typed while output
suspends the output until you type
is not echoed.

1-2

is
tTRL/O)

progress,
~

INTRODUCTION TO SOS
©IBOO

This
~TRL~

©TRL/OJ

character resumes
is not echoed.

output suspended

•

This character interrupts output in progress.
SOS
continues to send output to the terminal, but the
terminal discards it. SOS prompts when it is ready
for further input; the prompt depends on which mode
the editor is in. (CTRL/Ol is not echoed.
This character, typed before an input
completed, redisplays the entire line.
echoed as "R.

line
~

is
is

pRL/Yl

This character immediately gets the attention of the
DCL interpreter.
You can then type any legal DCL
command, such as SHOW or CONTINUE. If the DCL command
does not change the SOS image, you can resume SOS by
typing the DCL command CONTINUE.

©rRL~l

This character interrupts whatever command is in
progress and returns you immediately to Edit mode.
Any changes already made by the command (for example,
by an Alter or Substitute command) are incorporated
into the file. ~RL~l is echoed as Ac.

USE OF ESCAPE

1.3

Some SOS commands use the escape character,
®9 , as
part of their
syntax.
On some terminals, the key corresponding to the escape
character is labeled ESC; on others, it is labeled ALT (ALTmode), SEL
(SELect), or PRE (PREfix).
The escape character is a message delimiter in the VAX/VMS system.
Although many VAX-11 programs accept escape interchangeably with
carriage return to indicate the end of input, SOS does not.
You can
use escape only in the contexts in which it is legal.
In this manual,
on the terminal.

®9

indicates that you should press the

escape

key

SOS echoes the escape as $. Do not confuse this character with the
dollar-sign character ($), shift-4. The dollar sign normally has no
special meaning to sos.l

1.4

USE OF DELETE

The delete character
rQill
deletes the previous input character. On
terminal devices, the delete key may be labelled DEL (DELete), RUB
(RUBout) or CAN (CANcel). Successive
@ID
characters remove previous
characters one by one. Any number of characters can be deleted, up to
the last carriage return or escape typed. The way this deletion is
represented on your terminal depends on the type of terminal. On
video display terminals, the characters are physically deleted and the
cursor is moved backward.
On hard-copy terminals, the deleted
characters are echoed in reverse order, and set off within backslashes
(\)

1 The dollar-sign character is significant only when the parameter
ESCAPE is set, enabling you to insert escape characters into a text
file. See Sections 5.22 and 6.1.
1-3

INTRODUCTION TO SOS
1.5

UPPER- AND LOWERCASE CHARACTERS

Whether a terminal generates all uppercase characters, or both upperand lowercase characters, depends on the type of terminal and on how
the terminal characteristics are set.
(Terminal characteristics are
changed by the DCL SET command -- see the VAX/VMS Command Language
User's Guide and the VAX/VMS Primer.) SOS accepts either uppercase or
lowercase characters in commands, or a combination of the two. In the
examples in this manual, upper- and lowercase characters are used
interchangeably in commands.
SOS distinguishes between upper- and
lowercase characters in text that you enter into a file.
Normally, SOS does not distinguish uppercase from lowercase when
searching for a given text string. Thus, a search for the text string
"holiday," using the Find or Substitute commands, would be satisfied
if SOS encountered any of the following:
holiday, Holiday, or
HOLIDAY.
(See Chapter 5 for a description
of
these
search
commands.) You can request SOS to distinguish upper- and lowercase
characters either by setting the EXACT switch (see Section 6.2) or by
using an option of the Find and Substitute commands.

1-4

CHAPTER 2
MODES OF OPERATION

SOS operates in a number of different modes. A mode of operation is
defined as a state of SOS in which the editor interprets terminal
input in a distinctive way. You can tell which mode SOS is operating
in by the kind of prompt displayed.
SOS has seven modes and two submodes of SOS operation.
There are
paths between the various modes, and each mode has its own prompt.
You can initiate the editor in one of three modes: Input, Read-only,
or Edit.
Edit mode is the heart of SOS, from which the other modes
can be accessed. Two submodes of Decide mode correspond to Alter and
Alter/insert modes, but communicate only with Decide mode.
In different modes, SOS prints different prompts when it is ready to
accept input.
It then accepts a certain set of commands, each set
unique to its mode.
In some modes, SOS interprets input on a
character-by-character basis, so that you need not type <RET> after a
command. In different modes, SOS has different ways of informing you
that you have typed unacceptable input.
As mentioned above, SOS performs differently depending upon
in which it is initiated:

the

mode

•

In Input mode, SOS accepts text you type and adds
file.

the

•

In Read-only mode, you can
file; you cannot change it.

display

the

•

In Edit mode, you issue most of the commands to display and
change a file. From Edit mode you can move to any. other mode,
or you can exit to DCL.

only

and

Four other modes of SOS operation are accessible from Edit mode.
are Copy-file, Decide, Alter, and Alter/insert.

They

•

Copy-file mode lets you to copy all or part of one file into
another.
You can search and display the copy file to locate
the text to be copied.

•

Decide mode is used in conjunction with the Substitute command
(see Section 5.15).
You can issue a Substitute command to
replace all occurrences of one text string with another string
within a given range of text. ·If you specify Decide mode, you
can choose on a case-by-case basis whether or not to make the
substitution, or you can enter Alter mode to make more
extensive changes within a line.

2-1

MODES OF OPERATION

•

Alter mode lets you edit character by character within a line.
In this special intraline mode, each character that you type
is a command that SOS acts upon immediately;
you need not
type <RET>.

•

Alter/insert mode lets you insert text that you type into the
text file. In this mode, most control characters are treated
as text; they do not perform their usual control functions.

Decide mode has two submodes: Decide Alter and Decide Alter/insert.
In these submodes, SOS acts almost exactly as it does in Alter mode
and Alter/insert mode, respectively.
The only difference is that
these submodes are accessed from Decide mode, not from Edit mode.
When you exit from the submodes you return to Decide mode, not to Edit
mode.
The following sections discuss the seven modes and two submodes of SOS
in general t~rms.

2.1

INPUT MODE

In SOS Input mode you can insert one or more new lines of text into a
file.
You enter Input mode either directly from DCL or from Edit
mode.
SOS starts up in Input mode if, when you give the DCL EDIT command,
you specify a file that does not exist. SOS creates a file with the
specified name and waits for you to type text to put into it.
An
example follows.
$

EDIT NEW.FOR

INPUT:DBA1:CMANCHJNEW+FOR~1

00100

Notice that SOS types the word INPUT before the file specification
remind you that it is creating the file and entering Input mode.

In Input mode, the prompt is the line number that SOS assigns
next line to be typed. Initially, SOS numbers lines by lOOs.

the

To correct typing errors while entering text, use any of the
control characters described in Section 1.2.

terminal

When input is complete, switch to Edit mode by typing an escape
character.
You can type escape either at the end of a line of input,
or after SOS has prompted with the next line number. SOS then prompts
with an asterisk (*), indicating that you are in Edit mode.
You can store the file and end SOS at this point by typing the command
E.
Or, before terminating, you can make changes to the text you have
just typed by using other Edit-mode and Alter-mode commands.
You can also pass directly from Input mode to Alter mode by typing the
character sequence <CTRL/A> <ESC> at the current position on a given
line. See Section 5.7 for further information.
To enter Input mode again from Edit mode -- if you have more whole
lines of text to put into the file
use the Input or Replace
commands (described in Sections 5.7 and 5.14, respectively).

2-2

MODES OF OPERATION
2.2

READ-ONLY MODE

Use Read-only mode if you only need to examine a file and do not
intend to modify it, or if you need to look at a file that is
protected against your writing it.
Start SOS in this mode by
appending the qualifier /READONLY to the file specification:

$EDIT PAYROLL.MST/READONLY
READ:DBA1:ECORPJPAYROLL.MST~3

Note that SOS types the word READ before the file
that R* is the prompt in Read-only mode.

specification,

and

Only nine commands are legal in Read-only mode (see Chapter 5): End,
Find, List, Print, Save World, Move Position, Give Parameter, Set
Parameter, and Command File. These commands do not modify the file.
Any other commands, which would modify the file, result in the error
message COMMAND INVALID FOR READ ONLY FILE.
Read-only mode is the most efficient way to use sos if you do not need
to modify a file.
It is efficient because SOS does not copy the file
to a temporary file as it does in Edit mode.
See Chapter 8 for
details.
SOS allows you to change from Edit mode to Read-only mode, provided
you have not modified the input file since you entered Edit mode. To
change mode to Read-only, type the SOS switch /READONLY at the Edit
mode prompt (*).
(SOS switches are described in Section 6.2.)

2.3

EDIT MODE

Edit mode constitutes the main part of sos. You can switch to any of
the other modes of operation from Edit mode, and you can return to
Edit mode from any of them.
(You can switch to Read-only mode from
Edit mode only if you have not modified the file;
see Section 2.2.)
SOS accepts 24 commands in Edit mode.
Most are represented by a
single character, and most take arguments in a predetermined syntax.
Table 2-1 lists the names and single-character forms of the commands,
and
gives
a brief summary of their functions.
For complete
descriptions of the commands, see Chapter 5.
Initiate SOS in Edit mode by giving the file specification of a file
that already exists, either on the EDIT command line or in response to
SOS's prompt. For example:
$ EDIT
$_File: TESTBLD.MAC

EDIT:DBA1:EHENDRIKSJTESTBLD.MAC;6

*
SOS prints the word EDIT before the file specification,
Edit mode. The prompt for this mode is an asterisk (*).

indicating

For details on the operation of each Edit-mode command, see Chapter 5.
Table 5-1 in that section summarizes the command syntax. Most
commands take as an argument a line number, or a range of line
numbers,
indicating what text SOS is to operate on. Page numbers may
also appear if the file is divided into pages. The formats of line
numbers, page numbers, and ranges are given in Chapter 3.
2-3

MODES OF OPERATION
Table 2-1
Edit-Mode Commands: Form and Function
Form

Command

Meaning

Alter

Enter
Alter
mode
for
intraline,
character-by-character editing.

Copy

Copy a range of lines to another place
within a file, or from another file.
Optionally, enter Copy-file mode.

Delete

Delete a range of lines.

End

End SOS, return to DCL.

Find

Search for the occurrence of one
more specified strings of text.

Help

Print Help package on terminal.

Input

Enter Input mode
text.

Join

Join two text lines into one line.

I< ill

List

List a range of lines on the printer or
to a file.

Mark

Insert a page mark.

reNumber

Renumber a range of lines.

Print a range of lines on the terminal.

Replace

Delete a range of lines and enter Input
mode.

Substitute

Replace one or more text strings with
other string(s}
in a range of lines.
Optionally, enter Decide mode.

Transfer

Copy a range of lines to a new location
and delete the original lines.

Save World

Write a new file containing
changes made so far.

all

the

extend

Enter Alter/insert mode to add text
the end of a line.

Move Position

Reset the position of the current line.

Give Parameter

Give the value of
parameter or switch.

Set Parameter

Reset an SOS parameter or switch.

Execute Command File

Execute the SOS commands contained in a
command file.

page mark

insert

lines

Delete a page mark.

Print next line.
Print previous line.
2-4

SOS

internal

MODES OF OPERATION
2.4

COPY-FILE MODE

Copy-file mode allows you to copy all or part of one file into another
file at a specified location. Furthermore, it lets you search through
and display the copy file to locate the exact part you want to copy.
Enter Copy-file mode by using the Edit-mode command Copy with the
qualifier /C (see Section 5.2).
For example, to search the file
SUBRLIB.FOR and copy part of it after line 100 into the file being
edited, type:
*C100=SUBRLIB+FOR/C
C*
Note that C* is the prompt for this mode. The copy file is opened
read-only. Thus, only commands that do not change the file are legal,
as in Read-only mode. The commands most often used are Print and
Find.
To exit from Copy-file mode, use the command E.
(Do not confuse this
command with the Edit-mode command E, with which you exit to DCL.) SOS
then prompts for the range of lines to copy.
When you supply the
range, the copy operation is completed and you return to Edit mode.
Copy-file mode is described in detail in Section 5.2.1.

2.5

DECIDE MODE

The SOS command Substitute (see Section 5.15) allows you to replace
arbitrary strings of text with other strings. Decide mode, entered by
way of the Substitute command, lets you decide, line by line, whether
or not to make the specified substitution.
For each line in which a substitution is called for, SOS displays the
modified line and prompts with D* for your decision. You reply with a
single character.
(No <RET> is needed; SOS reads and acts upon the
single character that you type.)
If you reply with an illegal
character, SOS repeats the prompt.
The options you can exercise in Decide mode include:
•

Yes, make the change as shown.

•

No, do not make the change.

•

Enter Decide Alter mode with the change already made.

•

Make the change, and make all further
without decision.

•

Return immediately to Edit mode.

changes

Decide mode is described in detail in Section 5.15.3.

2-5

automatically,

MODES OF OPERATION
2.6

ALTER MODE

Us~ Alter mode to make minor changes within a line of text.
mode, you can perform the following functions:

this

•

Insert or delete single or multiple characters or words within
a line

•

Move forward or backward within a line, either by character(s)
or word(s)

•

Move to the next occurrence of a given character within a line

•

Delete all text until the next occurrence of a given character
within a line

•

Split a line at any point

•

Insert control characters into a line

In Alter mode, SOS does not echo single-character commands that you
type;
if you type an illegal command, a bell rings on the terminal.
SOS displays the line of text that you are editing as you build it,
that is, as you insert, delete, and pass over characters and words.
You enter Alter mode by issuing the Alter command from Edit mode, or
by typing the character sequence <CTRL/A> <ESC> from Input mode.
(This special sequence is discussed in Section 5.7.) The prompt in
Alter mode is the line number followed by a tab, the same as the
prompt for Input mode. You can easily determine which mode SOS is in,
however, by observing the behavior of the terminal (for example,
commands are not echoed in Alter mode).
There are several ways to return to Edit mode. The most common is to
type <RET> (unless you entered Alt~r mode by typing the character
sequence <CTRL/A> <ESC>; see Section 5.7). SOS prints the remainder
of the line, if any, and gives the Edit-mode prompt (*).
Alter mode is described in detail in Section 5.1.

2.7

ALTER/INSERT MODE

In Alter/insert mode, characters that you type are inserted into the
text.
Most control characters (with seven exceptions!) are inserted
into the text without performing their usual special functions.
For
example, <CTRL/U> does not discard the input line.
(See the VAX/VMS
Command Language User's Guide for control-character functions.)
You enter Alter/insert mode from Alter mode by giving the I or R
command, or from Edit mode by giving the extend command. SOS does not
prompt in Alter/insert mode. You return to Alter mode by typing
<ESC>, or to Edit mode by typing <RET>.
Alter/insert mode is
Section 5.1.

described

with

the

1 The eKceptions are <RET>, <ESC>, <DEL>,
and <CTRL/Y>.

2-6

Alter-mode

<LF>,

command

<CTRL/C>,

<CTRL/R>,

CHAPTER 3
LINE NUMBERS, PAGE NUMBERS, AND RANGES

Many SOS commands take as one argument a line number or a range of
line numbers, indicating what text the command is to operate on. This
section describes how to use line numbers and page numbers to form
such ranges. It also discusses shorthand characters for line and page
numbers, line and page number offsets, and SOS-supplied defaults in
range specifications.
The examples in this section use the Print
command, which displays lines of text.

3.1

LINE NUMBERS

sos line numbers are 5-digit decimal numbers, such as 00400 or

13280.
Line numbers may not be greater than 65535. When you type a line
number, you need not type leading zeros: thus typing 50 is the same as
typing 00050.

When SOS first numbers a file, it assigns line numbers starting at 100
and ascends by hundreds.
(You can change these defaults with the Set
Parameter command; see Sections 5.21 and 6.1.) Line numbers are
always in ascending order on any given page.
The following is an example of the Print command using a
number:
*P300
00300

single

line

DATES 15-AUG-77

*
3.2

PAGE NUMBERS

If a file is large, or if the information it contains falls naturally
into a number of logical divisions, you can divide the file into
pages. For example, if an assembly-language source file contains a
number of logically independent sections, you could place each section
in this file on a separate page.
The Edit-mode commands Mark and Kill Page Mark, respectively, insert
and delete page marks in a file
(see Sections 5.9 and 5.11).
Sometimes SOS automatically inserts page marks when you give a Copy or
Transfer command, depending on how the line numbers fall.

3-1

LINE NUMBERS, PAGE NUMBERS, AND RANGES
The complete specification for a line position in an SOS text file can
contain both a line number and a page number. A slash (/) separates
the two. For example:
*P110/2

This means print line 110 on page 2.

3.3

POSITIONS

A position marks a single line in a text file. Some commands take a
position as an argument, as for example the Mark command (Section
5.11). Other commands take a range as an argument (see the next
section); a range can be specified by giving two positions as its end
points. A position consists of a line number and a page number.
You
can omit either one; if you do, SOS supplies a default, as shown
below. The notation => means "is defined as." The braces indicate
that one of the enclosed expressions must be chosen.
position =>

3.4

line

/page
{ line/page

(current page assumed)
(first line on page assumed)

RANGES OF LINE NUMBERS

A range of line numbers can be formed in two ways.I One way is to
specify a starting position and an ending position; separate the two
positions with a colon (:). For example, the following command tells
SOS to print all lines from line 100 on page 4 through line 500 on
page 5, inclusive.
*Pl00/4:500/5

Depending on how the lines are numbered, this command could tell SOS
to print five lines, or 50, or none. If you know exactly how many
lines you want to print, but not what all their numbers are, you can
form a line-number range using the exclamation point (!) to indicate a
relative number of lines. The following command tells SOS to print
six consecutive lines, starting with line number 100 on page 4.
*Pl00/4!6

This command prints six lines whether or
boundary.

not

encounters

page

The end points of a range need not themselves be existing line
numbers. For instance, in a file whose lines are numbered by 10s, the
range 33:67 refers to the three lines numbered 40, 50, and 60.
A range can consist of only a single line: you can omit the ending
position or relative number of lines. Previous examples showed how
the Print command, which takes a range as its argument, can print a
single line.
A command whose range is /page applies to all lines on the page.

1 A third, much less common
Section 7.2.

way

3-2

form

ranges

described

LINE NUMBERS, PAGE NUMBERS, AND RANGES

You can omit the starting position of a range; SOS
starting position to the current line, as shown below.

3.5

the

(range is a single line)

( position

range =>

defaults

position
n
position
position
! n
position

(range starts at current line)
(range starts at current line)

SHORTHAND CHARACTERS

SOS recognizes three characters as shorthand for special line numbers.
These shorthand characters can be used in position specifications to
stand for both line numbers and page numbers:
{period)

The current line
The current page

(caret or up-arrow)

The first line on a page
The first page in the file

(asterisk)

The last line on a page
The last page in the file

I*
,.

The character , ASCII 94, is represented as a caret on some terminals
and as an up-arrow on others.
The character 0 can be used interchangeably with " to represent the
first line on a page or the first page in a file. A line or page
number of 0 is illegal, and SOS interprets 0 in a
position
specification to mean "
Some examples of the use of these shorthand characters follow.
Print all lines from line 100
through the current line,
inclusive.
Print all lines from the beginning
of the page through line n20.
Print 10 lines beginning with the
current line.
Print all lines on the current
page.
Same as above: print all lines on
the current page.
Print the last line on the current
page and the first line on the next
page.

3-3

LINE NUMBERS, PAGE NUMBERS, AND RANGES
3.6

THE CURRENT POSITION

The current position in SOS is the position of the last line
to by a command.l

referred

For example, after SOS completes a Print or List command, the current
position is that of the last line that was output. After a Copy or
Transfer, it is the last line moved. After a Find or Substitute, it
is the last line matched.
(These commands, arranged alphabetically,
are described in Chapter 5.) Immediately after SOS is initiated, the
current position corresponds to the first line in the file.
The current-line pointer is not moved
reason and returns an error message.

command

fails

for

any

Two Edit-mode commands allow you to interrogate and to reset SOS's
current-line pointer.
To find out where the current line is without
printing it, use the Give Parameter command
(described in Section
5.20). For example:

*=·
• IS AT 00450/5

*
The Move Position command (see Section 5.19) resets the current line.
Its argument is a position specification, which can contain a line
number, a page number, or their shorthand equivalents.
For example,
the following command moves the current-line pointer to the last line
on page 3.

3.7

DEFAULTS FOR LINE AND PAGE NUMBERS

One form for a complete range specification is:
linel/pagel:line2/page2
You can omit various parts of the complete specification, and SOS will
supply defaults for the omitted parts. The defaults discussed in this
section apply only to ranges for which:
•

You explicitly type a colon (:)

•

You explicitly type an exclamation mark (!)

•

You use the form /page

If none of these conditions holds, then the range involves
line, and the defaults listed in Section 3.3 apply.

single

These defaults apply to all commands when you omit part of a range
specification.
For some commands, the entire range specification is
optional. The default range that results depends on the command. See
the individual command descriptions in Chapter 5 for details.
1 The terms "current position" and "current
line"
are
used
interchangeably.
In fact, the current position is made up of two
components, the current line number and the current page number.

3-4

LINE NUMBERS, PAGE NUMBERS, AND RANGES
The following partial range specifications all represent legal ways to
indicate a range.
1.

linel/pagel:line2

linel:line2/page2

/pagel: line2

linel:/page2

/pagel

:line2

Below are the complete specifications of the partial
above. The defaults SOS supplies are underlined.
1.

linel/pagel:line2/pagel

linel/.:line2/page2

2/pagel:line2/pagel

linel/.:*/page2

~/pagel:*/pagel

ranges

listed

6 • • /.:line2/.
Table 3-1 shows the rules SOS uses to supply the omitted parts of a
range specification.
Note that linel defaults to
if pagel is
supplied; but if neither is supplied, the starting position defaults
to ./.
(the current position). If omitted, page2 defaults to pagel,
if pagel is given; if neither is given, both default to the current
page.
A

Table 3-1
Defaults for Line and Page Numbers
I f this part is omitted:

Its def a ult is:

linel

/pagel

(if pagel is supplied)
(if pagel is defaulted)

/.
:

line2
/page2

*
/pagel (whether pagel is supplied or defaulted)

Applying the rules given in Table 3-1 in some common cases gives these
results:
•

A command with an argument of /page acts on all lines
given page.

•

A command with an argument of :line/page acts on all
between the current position and the given position.

•

A command with an argument of :/page acts on all lines between
the current line and the last line on the given page.

3-5

the
lines

LINE NUMBERS, PAGE NUMBERS, AND RANGES
The examples below illustrate SOS's defaults for omitted
range specification.
Command

Complete
Equivalent

P.1.:ao1.

parts

Meaning
Print all lines from the current
line through line 80 on the current
page.
Print all lines on the current page.

*P:905/3

3.8

P.1.:905/3

Same as above: print all
the current page.

lines

Same as above: print all
the current page.

lines

Print all lines from the current
line through line 905, page 3.

LINE-NUMBER AND PAGE-NUMBER OFFSETS

Anywhere that a line number is legal, so is an arithmetic expression
forming a line-number offset. You can use arithmetic expressions to
refer to lines whose numbers you do not know. Expressions with a plus
sign (+) refer to lines later in the file, and those with a minus sign
(-) refer to earlier lines.
Arithmetic expressions do not act across page boundaries, unlike the
exclamation mark construction (relative number of lines). Thus, if
the current line is the third line from the end of a page, the command
P.+4 prints the last line on the page (as do P.+5, P.+6, and so on).
Some examples of line-number offsets follow.
Print the line two lines
before the current line.
Print all lines from the
fourth line on the current
page through the current line.
Print the last six lines on
the current page and the first
four lines on the next page.
Print three lines centered
about the current line.
Same as above: print three
lines centered about the
current line.
Print the first line. Note
that arithmetic expressions do
not cross page boundaries.

3-6

LINE NUMBERS, PAGE NUMBERS, AND RANGES
Page-number offsets are analogous to line number offsets:
anywhere
that a page number is legal, so is an arithmetic expression forming a
page-number offset. Some examples follow.
Print line 100 on the next
page.
Print four lines starting with
line 305 on the next-to-last
page.
*F'l.-1:1.+1

Print all text from the first
line on.the previous page
through the last line on the
following page.

You are allowed only one plus or minus sign in an
expression. Thus, Pl0+3 is legal, but Pl0+3+1 is illegal.

arithmetic

The syntax of line numbers and page numbers can now be formally
defined.
In the definitions below, 1, m, p, and q are positive
integers, and represent the following:
1 is a line number less than 65536.
m is a line-number offset.
p is a page number.
q is a page-number offset.
A line number can consist of a number 1 or one of the three shorthand
characters, optionally followed by an arithmetic expression. A page
number has an analogous form. That is:
line=>

! ~ [+ m]
~ -

page=>

~ ~ [+ q]

~ -

where the braces indicate that one of the enclosed expressions must be
chosen.

3.9

HOW SOS NUMBERS NEW LINES

Basically, when you insert new lines of text into a file, sos numbers
each new line by adding the current line-number increment to the
previous line number.
This section discusses three topics that
elaborate on this basic rule:
•

What the current line-number increment is, and how it is set

•

How SOS behaves when an existing line
next line number it wants to assign

before

the

•

Differences in SOS's line-numbering, depending on whether
are ~ntering lines in Input mode or in Alter/insert mode

you

intervenes

LINE NUMBERS, PAGE NUMBERS, AND RANGES
3.9.1

The Current Line-Number Increment

The current line-number increment is a parameter that SOS maintains.
If you do not set it, SOS uses a value of 100 for the increment. You
can find out what its value is by giving the Give Parameter command
=INCREMENT, and you can set it directly with the Set Parameter command
/INCREMENT:n.
The usual way to change the line-number increment however, is by
specifying a second argument to an Input or Replace command. With
this second argument you can call for either a permanent update to the
increment or a temporary update that applies for this command only.
Alternatively, you can request SOS to calculate a
line-number
increment that allows a known number of lines to fit in the space
available to them. See the description of the Input command, Section
5.7, for details.

3.9.2

When an Existing Line Intervenes

SOS does not let you insert lines so that the line numbers would be
out of sequence. If an existing line stands in the way of the series
of new line numbers that SOS is generating, the editor eventually
refuses to accept any more inserted lines since it cannot number them
in sequence.
For example, suppose the current line-number increment is 100.
You
want to insert some new text after line 400; however, line 500 already
exists. You type an Input command: I400. SOS bends its usual rule
(which would call for the new line to be numbered 500) and assigns the
number 450, halfway in between the existing lines. SOS then accepts
one input line. The next line number sos calculates, however, is 550
(the increment, 100, plus the previous line number, 450). Again, this
line number is beyond an existing line. At this point, SOS returns
you to Edit mode, ending text insertion.

3.9.3

Input Mode versus Alter/Insert Mode

There are two ways in SOS to insert new lines of text: Input mode
(accessed by the Input or Replace commands) and Alter/insert mode
(accessed from Alter mode by the command I, or from Edit mode by the
extend command).
SOS behaves differently in the two modes when it
encounters an existing line whose number intervenes in the sequence of
new line numbers SOS is generating.
The difference is as follows. In Input mode, SOS lets you insert one
line before an intervening line, if it is the first inserted line. If
SOS encounters an intervening line after you have inserted one or more
lines, it immediately terminates Input mode. In Alter/insert mode,
upon encountering an intervening line, SOS always numbers the next
line halfway between the previous line and the intervening line.
For example, suppose you want to insert text after line 100.
The
current increment is 100, and the next existing line is 500. If you
enter Input mode to insert the text (IlOO), SOS numbers the new lines
200, 300, and 400; then SOS returns you to Edit mode.

3-8

LINE NUMBERS, PAGE NUMBERS, AND RANGES

However, if you enter the new lines in Alter/insert mode (AlOO,
followed by I, followed by <LF> for each new line), SOS numbers the
new lines 200, 300, 400, 450, 475, 487, 493, 496, 498, and 499.
At
this point, no room is left for any more new lines, since the previous
line and the intervening line are numbered 1 apart.
SOS rings the
terminal's bell and rejects further line insertion, but leaves you in
Alter/insert mode.
If you have more lines to insert, you must return to Edit
<RET>) and issue a reNumber (N) command.

mode

(type

Figure 3-1 shows the logic of SOS's line numbering. In this figure,
IN is the current line-number increment; NL is the number of the new
line; PL is the number of the previous line; IL is the number of a
line
that intervenes in the sequence of line numbers SOS is
generating. In the calculation of a line number halfway between PL
and IL, the notation [-1] means that SOS subtracts 1 if IL - PL is
odd, but does not subtract 1 if IL - PL is even.

NL=PL+IN

Insert line

(Alter/insert mode)

Ring bell, refuse
insert. Remain in
Alter/insert mode.

NL= PL+
(IL -PL)/2
[-1)

Insert line

NL= PL+
(IL-PL)/2
[-1)

Insert line

Return
immediately to
Edit mode

Figure 3-1

How SOS Calculates the Numbers of New, Inserted Lines

CHAPTER 4
USING SOS

The following sections describe default conditions when SOS is invoked
and give guidelines for using sos.

4.1

DEFAULT CONDITIONS WHEN SOS IS INITIATED

The default conditions that apply to various SOS parameters and
switches when you start up the editor are listed below. The SOS
parameters and switches are described fully in Chapter 6 along with a
way (the symbol-assignment mechanism)
to override these initial
defaults.
Noexpert -- SOS starts by assuming that you are not an experienced sos
user.
Therefore, it prints long, self-explanatory error messages; it
asks for verification before deleting large blocks of text; and it
displays deleted characters in Alter mode.
All examples in this
chapter assume a nonexpert user. See Section 6.2 for a discussion of
the EXPERT switch.
Line numbering -- SOS numbers lines by lOOs initially, starting at
100.
When you insert lines of text, SOS uses a line-number increment
of 100.
Automatic file saving -- The two parameters that govern automatic file
saving (see Sections 4.3.3 and 6.1) are initially set to O; therefore,
SOS does not automatically save a copy of your file as you work on it.
You must issue Save World commands to achieve file backup.
Lowercase characters -- Initially, SOS accepts lowercase characters as
typed. If your terminal can generate lowercase characters, and if you
have instructed VAX/VMS not to convert them to uppercase
(using the
DCL command SET), then SOS accepts and echoes them as lowercase.

4.2

LIMITATIONS AND RESTRICTIONS

Some limitations and restrictions on the use of SOS are listed below.
Line length -- No line of text can be longer than 500 characters,
including spaces but excluding the <RET> that terminates the line. If
you attempt to generate a line longer than 500 characters
(with the
Alter, Input, Join, Substitute, or extend commands), SOS prints the
error message LINE IS TOO LONG, and returns you to Edit mode. In the
case of an Alter or extend command, any changes that you made
previously to the line are discarded, and you are returned to Edit
mode.

4-1

USING SOS
String length -- No string used in a Find or Substitute command can
exceed 200 characters in length.
If you use the forms of these
commands that allow multiple strings, the combined length of all such
strings cannot exceed 200 characters. If you exceed these limits, SOS
prints the error message SEARCH STRINGS EXCEEDED BUFFER LENGTH and
returns you to Edit mode. Reissue the command with fewer or shorter
strings.
Line numbers -- Line numbers cannot exceed 65535 (decimal).

4.3

USING SOS SAFELY

Some risk is associated with the use of any text editor. You can, by
mistake, delete or garble large amounts of text, or even whole files.
A hardware or software failure that occurs while you are using a text
editor can destroy a considerable amount of work.
SOS is designed for safe use. The editor assumes that you can make
mistakes; therefore (unless you have declared yourself an expert SOS
user, via the EXPERT switch), SOS asks you to confirm certain commands
that would delete large amounts of text. It also provides features
that you can use to minimize the adverse effects
of
system
malfunctions.

4.3.1

Built-in Safety Features

SOS requests confirmation before making major changes to a file.
Decide mode is one safety feature of SOS; the editor lets you decide
case by case on charact~r-string substitutions, instead of simply
making all substitutions.
(Section 5.15.3 describes Decide mode.)
SOS also requests confirmation before performing a Replace or Delete
that would delete all the text on one page, or would delete across a
page boundary.

4.3.2

The Save World Command

The sos Save World (W) command saves "everything in the world." It
creates a back-up file that is a copy of the input file containing the
results of all the editing changes you have made so far.
The W command should be used frequently, perhaps every five or ten
minutes in a long editing session. In this way you protect yourself
against the ill effects of system failures, and against any possible
errors of your own. If some system failure does occur, you lose only
the work done since the last W command. See Section 5.17 for more
details on the Save World command. To understand how SOS handles
files, refer to Chapter 8.

4.3.3

Two Options for Automatic File Saving

For even greater safety, you can set two SOS parameters that govern
the automatic use of the Save World command. These parameters are
named SAVE and !SAVE. SAVE control$ automatic file saving in Edit
mode; !SAVE controls it in Input mode.

4-2

USING SOS

To select these options, use the Set Parameter command, slash (/)
Section 5.21). For example:

(see

*/SAVE:10
*/ISAVE:5

SOS automatically performs a Save World command after you have issued
ten Edit-mode commands that modify the file, or after you have
inserted five lines of text in Input mode, whichever comes first.
While executing the save, sos displays this message:

DOING AUTO-SAVE.

PLEASE WAIT.

You can set or reset the SAVE and !SAVE parameters at any time while
SOS is operating in Edit mode. Setting either parameter to a value of
zero turns off the corresponding auto-save option. When you initiate
SOS, both options are turned off.

Recovering Information from Temporary Files: An Example

4.3.4

If SOS execution is interrupted by a system malfunction, you may be
able to recover some lost work from SOS temporary files. These files,
and the way in which SOS uses them, are described in Chapter 8.
Briefly, one or both of the files SOScnn.TMl and SOScnn.TM2 may
contain part of your file (c is the controller number, and nn is the
number of your terminal).
The following example illustrates one way in which lost work might be
recovered from an SOS temporary file. A hypothetical user, Adams, is
updating a master address list on terminal number 22 when the system
loses power.
Not being prudent by nature, Mr. Adams has not been
using the W command frequently. After this close call, however, he
sets the !SAVE parameter for automatic file saving.
*::=name

DBA1:CADAMSJADDRESS.MSTP17

*
*fl<~rk:i.n

PAGE 4
() :I. () ~.) 0
*i.,!5
0 :I. ()!~i~5

L.. a r It.. i n

Lawson
I... C:~ V

49~3!5

Adam
tTRL/C)

Fc>rbes Av.

335 Grand Av.
tTRL/C)

Pittsbur•h PA 15213
Or:~kland

CA 946:1.0

tTRL/Y)

Nothing works: the system has expired. Several minutes later, after
Adams logs back onto the revitalized system, he recovers information
from an SOS temporary file as shown below. The temporary file must be
renamed, because SOS refuses to open a file it recognizes as a
temporary file.

4-3

USING SOS

DIRECTORY/SIZE SOSA22+*

Directorw _DBAl:CADAMSJ
SOSA~.~2. TM:I.; :L
SOSA22+TM2;1

Total cf 2 files, 6 blocks.

S RENAME SOSA22.TM1

ADDTMP.MST

S EDIT ADDTMP.MST
EDIT:DBA1:CADAMSJADDTMP+MST91
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*flarkin ®G

PAGE 4.
01()~)0

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Larkin

,James

49:i5 Fr.>rbes Av.

Pittsbursh PA 15213

*w: add res~:;. m~;t
CDBA1:CADAMSJADDRESS.MST918J

*
The exact details of the editing done so far determine how current the
material contained in an SOS temporary file will be. Adams was lucky;
most of the previously edited material was in the temporary file.
However, the point of emphasis here is that you cannot depend on SOS
temporary files to provide reliable back-up in case of system failure.
Such files are at best a last resort. The safest back-up is frequent
use of the W command.

4-4

CHAPTER 5
EDIT-MODE COMMANDS

This chapter describes in detail the forms and functions of SOS
Edit-mode commands. The commands are presented in alphabetical order.
The four nonalphabetic commands ( • = / @ ) are given last.
The
functions of <RET> and <ESC>, when they are used as Edit-mode
commands, are discussed along with the Print command.
Table 5-1 summarizes the commands, their syntax, and the pages on
which they are described. The remainder of this introduction defines
the terms used both in the table and in the rest of this chapter.

5-1

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS
Definitions for the Edit-Mode Command Summary (Table 5-1)
Uppercase letters represent literals that you type verbatim.
(SOS
accepts either upper- or lowercase letters.) Lowercase terms, represent
variables, defined below.
The symbol => means "is defined as."
Brackets ([ ]) indicate optional parts of the argument string (except
in directory or file-spec, in which one set of brackets must be
typed).
Stacked braces ({ }) mean choose one of the enclosed
expressions. Angle-brackets (< >) enclose descriptive terms, and
<ESC> represents the escape key (or ALTmode, SELect, or PREfix).
file-spec => [device:] [[directory]] filename [.type [;version]]
increment => <a positive integer line-number increment>
1 => <a line number> (0 < 1 < 65536)

line =>

m => <an integer line-number offset>
n => <a positive integer>
p => <a page number>
page =>

~ p } [+ q]

l: -

parameter => <a legal sos parameter or switch>
position => J line [/page]
(
/page

l
f

q => <an integer page-number offset>
. .
[{:position}]
pos1t1on
!n

range =>
:position
!n

start => <a positive integer line number>
string => stringl [ ffiJ string2 [ ffiJ string3 [ ffiJ string4
[ ffiJ strings[ ffiJ string6]]]]] (fewer than 200
characters)

5-2

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS
Table 5-1
Edit-Mode Command Summary

Command

Fonn

Alter 1
Copy2

Delete
End
Overwrite input file
No output file
Strip line numbers
No numbers, no pages
Find 3
Help
Input4

D
E
EB
EQ
ES
ET
F
H
I

Join
Kill page mark
List: LP or file

Mark
re Number
Print: terminal
Replace 4

M
N

Substitute 5
Transfer
Save World
eXtend 6
Move Position
Give Parameter
Set Parameter
Execute Command File
Print next line
Print previous line

K
L

s
T

w
x
=

I
@

~
~

[range]
position[=file-spec] ,range[Jncrementl [,increment2]]
position=file·spec/C
[range]
[B] [Q] [S] [T] [:file-spec]

[[string]~[range]] [,A] [,N] [,E] [,n]
[:n]
[position] [,increment]
[position] [;increment]
[position] [;!n]
[position]
/page
[range[,S] [,P[:file-spec]]]
[range] [,[S] [,F:file-spec]]
[position]
[increment] [, [range] [,start] ]
[range] [,S]
[range] [,increment]
[range] [;increment]
[range] [;!n]
[[oldstring~newstring] ~[range] [,D] [,N] [,E]]

position,range[,incrementl [,increment2]]
[B] [:file-spec]
[range] [,N]
position
parameter
parameter [:n]
file-spec

Enter Alter mode.
Enter Copy-file mode (if /C).
3
Enter Alter mode (if ,A).

Arguments

Enter Input mode.
Enter Decide mode (if ,D).
6
Enter Alter/insert mode.

5-3

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS

A
Alter
5.1

ALTER (A -- ALTER MODE)

Format:
A[range]
Argument:
range
Specifies the range of lines to be edited one at a time in
mode. If you omit range, only the current line is edited.

Alter

Current line:
After SOS completes an Alter command, it sets the current line to
last line edited.

the

The Alter command invokes Alter mode, a special intraline editing
mode, for each line in turn in the given range. Alter mode is useful
for making changes within a line without having to retype it.
It is
also useful for making changes involving the column positions of
characters in a single line or within a range of lines.
For each line in the given range, SOS prints the line number and waits
in Alter mode for your input. Eighteen commands are legal in Alter
mode; any other input is ignored and rings a bell on the terminal.
These commands are listed in Table 5-2 and described fully later in
this section. The single-character commands are not echoed when
typed. Instead, they are effected immediately.
SOS maintains an intraline pointer in Alter mode. At any given time
this pointer points between two characters in the line. You can space
the pointer across the line a character or a word at a time (forward
or backward); you can insert text before or after the pointer
position; and you can delete or replace one or more characters before
or after the pointer.
Alter mode displays a line of text differently depending upon the kind
of terminal you use.
On hard copy terminals, SOS displays characters that the pointer
passes as you move across the line.
When you move the pointer
backwards across the line (to the left), characters are displayed in
reverse
order and are surrounded by backslashes (\ ••• \).
Any
characters you delete are displayed between pairs of backslashes
(\\ ••• \\).
(Note that, if you have declared yourself an expert SOS
user by typing the command /EXPERT, deleted text is not echoed.
See
Section 6.2 for a description of the EXPERT switch.)
On video display terminals, when you move the pointer to the left, SOS
erases any characters that the pointer passes. Characters deleted to
the left of the pointer are erased; characters deleted to the right
of the pointer are delimited by double backslashes (unless you have
specified /EXPERT).
The following sections describe Alter mode editing on hard copy
terminals, and the examples display Alter mode editing as it appears
on hard copy devices. The difference between hard copy and video

5-4

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS
display is also true for the other Edit mode commands. Descriptions
and examples given for these commands refer to hard copy editing.
As shown in Table 5-2, many Alter-mode commands can be preceded by a
positive or negative integer.
For most commands, the result is to
repeat the command the given number of times.
The repetition count
does not make sense for some commands, and is ignored. Positive
repetition counts move the pointer to the right, and negative counts
move it to the left {except for <DEL>, for which the reverse is true).
Table 5-2
Alter-Mode Commands
Command

Meaning

Do not print rest of line;
recycle to
beginning of line with edits incorporated.

[-] [n] ex •••

Change next/previous n characters to
characters.I

[-] [n]D

Delete next/previous n characters.

End Alter mode for this line;
line.

[-] [n] !text~

Insert text after/before pointer;
temporary increment n for new lines.

[n]J

Split line after pointer;
for new lines.

use increment

[-] [n] Kx

Kill {delete) all until nth
character x.

occurrence

Print rest of line; recycle to
of line with edits incorporated.

beginning

Print rest of line;
recycle to
position with edits incorporated.

current

Quit Alter mode;

[-] [n] Rtext ~

Replace next/previous
inserted text.

[-] [n] Sx

Skip forward/back
character x.

nth

[-] [n]W

Skip forward/back n words.

[-] [n] X

Delete next/previous n words.

[-] [n]

Invert case of next/previous n characters.

given

do not print
use

restore original line.

characters
occurrence

with
of

1 "Next" if no minus sign is typed; "previous" if minus sign is
typed.
The other commands that accept a minus sign are presented
in similar fashion.
{continued on next page)

5-5

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS

Table 5-2 (Cont.)
Alter-Mode Commands
Command

Meaning

-------------------··---------------

-~---------4

[-] [n] <

Convert next/previous
uppercase.

characters

[-] [n] >

Convert next/previous
lowercase.

characters

[-] [n] CW

Space back/forward n characters.
Leave Alter mode for this line;
of line.

[-] [n] ©ID

print rest

Space back/forward n characters.
Leave Alter mode for this line;
of line.

[-] [n] (]f)

Space forward/back n characters.

[-]

Skip to end/start of line.

print rest

Do not print rest of line;
recycle to
current position with edits incorporated.
Start fresh:
discard edits, recycle
beginning of line, do not print line.

Figure 5-1 shows on five lines the interactive process of using
Alter-mode commands to edit a single line of text.
(On your terminal,
you would see the single line displayed piece by piece as you gave the
commands.) User input is shown in color. Alter-mode commands are not
echoed as typed; rather, SOS displays their results on the text line.
The arrow (~) shows the position of the intraline pointer at the time
the user types the given Alter-mode commands. The resulting printout
is shown immediately below each arrow; an underline ( ) marks the new
position of the intraline pointer. The five Alter-mode commands used
in the figure are described more fully later in this section.
If the range specified for an Alter command is empty, SOS
error message RANGE GIVEN DOES NOT CONTAIN ANY LINES.

5-6

prints

the

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS

Commands used in this example are:
w

moves the pointer to the right past one word and its
following space(s) and/or tab(s).

inserts the text you type until <ESC> (in the example,
the text is active<SP>).
moves the pointer to the right one character at a time,
and prints the character.
changes the following character to the next character
yriu type (in the example, q).

prints the rest of the line and ends Alter mode for
this line. sos returns to Edit mode, because the Alter
command applies to only one line in the example.

Each user reauirins CPU time obtains
w

10200

Each _
iactive ~ ®Q

10200

Each active ·-

w ~ ~

10200

Each active user

re~

CGW

10200

Each active user reGuirinS _
ITT

10200

Each active user reGuirinS CPU time obtains

*
Figure 5-1 Alter-Mode Example

B (Alter mode)

Do not print rest of line;

recycle to beginning of line

The B command tells SOS to recycle to the beginning of the line. That
is, the line number is reprinted and the pointer is positioned before
the first character. All edits made to the line up to this point are
incorporated.
SOS does not print the remainder of the line (from the
current pointer position to the end) before recycling.

5-7

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS

C (Alter mode)

[-] [n] Cx...

Change next/previous n characters to given characters

SOS accepts and prints the next n characters typed on the terminal.
These characters replace the n characters in the line immediately to
the right of the pointer. The pointer moves one character to the
right as you type each character. If you type a minus sign before C,
the n characters you type replace text to the left of the pointer
position.
SOS displays two backslashes (\\) followed by the replaced
characters (in reverse order). When you type the first replacement
character,
SOS
displays two more backslashes and echoes each
replacement character as typed.
The following example illustrates
this sequence.
*P+

00905

*a•
()0905

The Preliminstw business Plan (attached)

The Preliminstw _
·~·4c

0090~5

The Preliminstw \\ wts_
<:tr~:1

0090~5

The Preliminstw \\ wts\\arw _

00905

~
The Preliminstw \\ wts\\arw business Plan (attached>

*
The C command is ignored if the pointer is at the end of the line
at the beginning of the line for -n).

(or

Three characters prematurely terminate the C command: <ESC>, <RET>,
and <LF>.
If you type nC, followed by some replacement characters
(fewer than n), followed by one of these three characters, SOS
terminates the C command.
•

After <ESC> or <LF>, SOS is at command level in Alter mode.

•

After <RET>, SOS continues with the next line in the range
the Alter command, or returns to Edit mode if none remain.

In each case, n characters have been deleted from
line.
The character <DEL> is ignored after a C command.

5-8

the

original

of
text

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS

D (Alter mode)

[-] [n] D Delete next/previous n characters
Typing D deletes the character that follows the pointer.
More than
one character is deleted if you precede the D command with a number.
On hard copy terminals, the deleted character(s) is (are) displayed,
surrounded by pairs of backslashes:
\\abc\\.
On video display
terminals, characters deleted to the left of the pointer are simply
erased;
characters deleted to the right of the pointer are enclosed
in double backslashes.
(See the Alter mode command for an explanation
of the difference between hard copy and video terminal editing.) If
you supply a number, n, that is greater than the number of characters
remaining in the line, all remaining characters are deleted. If you
precede the command with a minus sign, characters before the pointer
are deleted. The D command is ignored if the pointer is at the end of
the line (or at the beginning of the line for -n).

E (Alter mode)

End Alter mode for this line; do not print line

The E command tells SOS to end Alter mode for this line. The rest of
the line is not printed.
If more lines remain in the range you
specified when issuing the Alter command, SOS proceeds in Alter mode.
Otherwise, the Edit mode prompt (*) is issued.
(The <RET> command is
the usual way to exit from Alter mode; <RET> prints the rest of the
line before returning to Edit mode, or to the next line in the range.)

I (Alter mode)

[-] [n] !text

®_g)

Insert text after/before
increment n for new lines

pointer; use

temporary

The I command moves SOS to Alter/insert mode. SOS accepts characters
from the terminal and inserts them into the line beginning after the
current pointer position. If you precede the command with a minus
sign,
characters
are
inserted
before
the pointer position.
Alter/insert mode is terminated when you type <ESC>; the editor is
left in Alter mode. The pointer is then positioned to the right of
the inserted text, and points to the same place it did before the
insertion.
The inserted characters are echoed on the terminal as
typed.
Both Alter/insert mode and Alter mode are terminated for this line if
you type <RET>.
In this case the final <ESC> is not needed. SOS
prints the rest of the line and returns to Edit mode (or continues in
Alter mode if more lines remain).

5-9

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS

If you type <DEL> while inserting text, the previous character is
deleted.
<DEL> echoes as a pair of backslashes followed by the
deleted character.
Successive <DEL>s delete and echo
previous
characters in turn.
The next non<DEL> character that you type is
echoed as a second pair of backslashes followed by the character.
If
you type more <DEL>s than the number of characters you have inserted
with the I command, sos continues deleting characters to the left of
the original point of insertion (until it encounters the beginning of
the line). SOS remains in Alter/insert mode.
If you insert so much text that the overall length of the line exceeds
500 characters, SOS prints the message LINE IS TOO LONG and returns
you to Edit mode. Any changes that you may have made to the line up
to this point are discarded.
You can type a number before the I command.
This number is not a
repetition count, as it is for most Alter-mode commands. Instead, it
acts as a temporary line-number increment if sos creates a new line
while inserting text.
SOS creates a new line when you split an
existing line by inserting <LF>. If you type a negative number, -n,
before the I command, SOS uses +n as the temporary increment and
inserts characters before the pointer position.
If you type <LF>
while in Alter/insert mode, SOS creates a new line to receive the rest
of the inserted text. The number of this new line is determined as
follows:
•

If you type a number before the I command, this number is
taken as a temporary increment and is added to the current
line number.

•

If you do not type a number before the I command, the
increment is added to the current line number.

•

If an existing line intervenes between the current line number
and this new number, the new line is numbered halfway in
between.

•

If the next existing line is numbered 1 higher than
current line, a bell sounds and no new line is created.

After the new line is created, the pointer is positioned
beginning of the new line; SOS is still in Alter/insert mode.

current

the
the

In Alter/insert mode, any character you type (with seven exceptions)
is inserted into the text line. Many control characters do not have
their usual effect when entered in Alter/insert mode.
For example,
<CTRL/S> and <CTRL/Q> have no effect on terminal output. They are
simply inserted into the text line without interpretation.
The following seven characters are not treated as text. in Alter/insert
mode.
®9
~

@ID

mRuq
~

PRLNl

ends insertion.
ends Alter mode for this line.
deletes the previous character.
creates a new text line.
returns sos to Edit mode.
retypes the line.
gets the attention of DCL.

5-10

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS

J (Alter mode)

[n]J Split line after pointer;

use increment n for new lines

The J command in Alter mode performs the same function as <LF> in
Alter/insert mode.
When you type J at the pointer position, SOS
creates a new line and moves text appearing to the right of the
pointer onto this new line.
The procedure for determining line numbers of new lines is the same
for both the J command and <LF> in Alter/insert mode. See the section
on Insert (Alter mode) for a description of this procedure.
After the new line is created, the pointer is positioned at the
beginning of the line; SOS is still in alter mode. SOS displays the
text on the new line when you exit from Alter mode by typing <RET>.
For an explanation of how to join lines, see Section 5.8.

K (Alter mode)

[-] [n] Kx

Kill (delete) all until nth occurrence of character x

This command tells SOS to delete all text from the pointer position up
to, but not including, the next occurrence of the given character x.
If you supply n, SOS deletes all text up to the nth occurrence of x.
A minus sign causes SOS to delete backwards (to the left) from the
pointer position through the given character. Deleted characters are
printed within pairs of backslashes (in reverse order for -n).
SOS ignores the K command if the given character does not occur in the
remainder of the line, or if it occurs fewer than n times.
If the EXACT switch is on (see Section 6.2), SOS requires
upper- and lowercase match with the given character x.

exact

L (Alter mode)

Print rest of line; recycle to beginning of line

This command tells SOS to print the rest of the line, from the pointer
position onward, and recycle to the beginning of the line. The line
number is reprinted and the pointer is positioned before the first
character.
All edits made to the line up to this point are
incorporated. Compare the L command with the P command, described
next (and see the following example).

5-11

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS

P (Alter mode)

Print rest of line; recycle to current position

The P command tells SOS to print the rest of the line, from the
pointer position onward, and recycle to the current pointer position.
All previous edits are incorporated. The P command lets you get a
fresh look at a line you are editing. The example below shows the P
command and the L command.
*P•
0()240

*a•

while the muon sees a cross section of 0.2 barns,

wwi

00240

while the

Pri\\irp\\secondar~

00240

while the Pri\\irp\\secondarw muon

00240

while the

seconda r~

(Qru

·- 8@
Wi

00240
while the
of 0.2 barns,
00240
while the

Pri\\irP\\secondar~
secondar~

while the
i Mean

00240

*P•

secondar~

C§.e)

muon •sees a cross section

muon •
4(g~p

00240
arns,
00240

(§f) @

®91

muon •sees• a cross section of 0.2 b

®9

Meanwhile,

Meanwhile' the
00240
0.2 barnsr

secondar~

muon •sees• a cross section of

*
Q (Alter mode)

Q Quit Alter mode; restore original line
The Q command immediately returns you to Edit mode. Thus it differs
from the E and <RET> commands, which end Alter mode only for the
current line. Q returns you to Edit mode even if more lines remain in
the range you specified in the initial Alter command.
Under most circumstances, Q restores the line to its original state
(as it was before editing with the Alter command). Any changes you
made to the line are discarded. However, if you have formed new lines
by inserting <LF>, the Q command leaves them intact.

5-12

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS

R (Alter mode)

[-] [n] Rtext
text

Replace next/previous

characters

with

inserted

The R command behaves exactly like the command [-] [n]D followed by the
command Oitext<ESC>.
SOS deletes the next n characters after the
pointer (before the pointer for -n) and enters Alter/insert mode. The
characters deleted are displayed surrounded by pairs of backslashes
(in reverse order for -n).
(If the EXPERT switch is on, SOS does not
display deleted text.)
If you type <LF> after an nR command to create
a new line, sos does not use the given n to determine the new line
number.
In other words, the n in nR applies to the delete operation,
not to the insert operation.

S (Alter mode)

[-] [n]Sx

Skip forward/back to nth occurrence of character x

The S command accepts one character from the terminal, without echoing
it, and moves the pointer to the right until the next occurrence of
that character. If you supply n, the pointer moves to the nth
occurrence of the character.· The pointer moves to the left past the
skip character if n is negative.
All characters that the pointer
moves over are printed.
If the pointer moves to the left, the
intervening characters are printed in reverse order between single
backslashes.
The character after the current pointer position is not compared to
the skip character.
Therefore, you can skip through a line by
repeatedly typing, for example, Se. The pointer is advanced each time
to the next occurrence of e.
If the EXACT switch
distinguishes between
example:

is on (see Section n.2), the S
command
uppercase and lowercase skip characters. For

*lf.~Nact

*P:l.l>O

00:1.60

Production manaser Ann Shraft ProJects deficits of

*a•
f'rc>d• ..1ct:i<:>n m._

sA
()():1.60

Production manaser _

The S command is ignored if the given character does not occur in the
rest of the line, or if it occurs fewer than n times. The pointer is
not moved.

5-13

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS

W (Alter mode)

[-] [n]W

Skip forward/back n words

This command moves the pointer to the right (to the left for -n) until
it points to the first character of the next word. The pointer moves
over spaces and tabs, then over the next word, then over any following
spaces and tabs. If you supply n, the pointer moves to the start of
the nth following word (preceding for -n).
A "word" is defined as any collection of letters and numbers.

X (Alter mode)

[-] [n]X

Delete next/previous n words

The X command acts like the W command, except that it deletes spaces,
word(s), and following spaces through the nth word after the pointer
(before the pointer for -n). SOS prints deleted characters between
pairs of backslashes (in reverse order for -n).
(If the EXPERT switch
is on, SOS does not print deleted characters.)
Typing 99X is an easy way to delete the rest of a line.

(Alter mode)

[-] [n]..

Invert case of next/previous n characters

This command changes the case of n characters after the pointer
(before the pointer for -n). Uppercase letters become lowercase, and
lowercase characters become uppercase. Nonalphabetic characters are
not affected.
The cursor moves past the n characters and they are
echoed (for -n, the characters are echoed in reverse order between
backslashes).

< (Alter mode)

[-] [n]<

Convert next/previous n characters to uppercase

This command converts uppercase characiers to lowercase. The pointer
moves past n characters (or moves back n characters if -n). All
lowercase characters encountered become uppercase;
and uppercase
characters encountered are not affected. The n characters are echoed
(for -n, in reverse order between backslashes).

5-14

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS

> (Alter mode)
[-] [n]>

Convert next/previous n characters to lowercase

This command converts lowercase characters to uppercase. The pointer
moves past n characters
(or moves back n characters if -n}. All
uppercase characters encountered become lowercase;
any lowercase
characters encountered are not affected~ The n characters are echoed
(for -n, in reverse order between backslashes}.

@§) (Alter mode)

[-] [n]

(§§)

Space back/forward n characters

Typing <BS> moves the intraline pointer one space to the left.
The
characters that the pointer passes over are printed between single
backslashes. If you supply n, the pointer moves back n characters.
The pointer moves forward if n is negative:
-n<BS> is exactly
equivalent to n<SP>. If the n (or -n} you supply is greater than the
number of characters remaining, the pointer moves to the beginning
(end} of the line. SOS ignores the command if the pointer is at the
beginning of the line (or at the end of the line for -n}.

ffil (Alter mode)

IBITl

Leave Alter mode for this line; print rest of line

This Alter-mode command is the usual way to terminate editing for the
current line. <RET> ends Alter mode for this line whether you are in
Alter mode or in Alter/insert mode. SOS prints the rest of the line,
and either prints the line number of the next line in the range or
gives the Edit-mode prompt if no lines remain.

® (Alter mode)

[-] [n]

Space back/forward n characters

<DEL> has the same effect as <BS>: it moves the character pointer one
space to the left.
<DEL> does not delete characters at Alter-mode
command level, it simply moves the pointer. The characters that the
pointer passes over are printed between single backslashes.
If you supply n, the pointer moves back n characters.
Pointer
movement is to the right if n is negative: -n<DEL> is exactly
equivalent to n<SP>. If the n (or -n} you supply is greater than the
number of characters remaining, the pointer moves to the beginning
(end} of the line. SOS ignores the command if the pointer is at the
beginning of the line (or at the end of the line for -n}.

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS

@ (Alter mode)

till

Leave Alter mode for this line ; print rest of line

<LF> acts like <RET> to end Alter mode for this line, if sos is at
Alter-mode command level.
From within Alter/insert mode, however,
<LF> signals SOS to create a new line. See the Alter-mode command I,
above, for details.

WJ (Alter mode)

[-] [n] @

Space forward/back n characters

Typing <SP> moves the pointer one character to the right and prints
the character.
The pointer moves n characters if you supply n.
Pointer movement is to the left if n is negative; characters are
printed in reverse order between single backslashes. If the n (or -n)
you supply is greater than the number of characters remaining, the
pointer moves to the end (beginning) of the line. SOS ignores the
<SP> command if the pointer is at the end of the line (or at the
beginning of the line for -n).

@.ID (Alter mode)

[- ]

@ID

Skip to end/start of line

<TAB> (or <CTRL/I>) moves the pointer to the end of the line and
prints characters that the pointer passes over. If you type a minus
sign, SOS moves the pointer to the start of the line and prints
characters in reverse order between single backslashes.
The Edit-mode command X (extend), which invokes Alter mode, is
equivalent to the command A followed by <TAB> and I. That is, X
prints the line and invokes Alter/insert mode at the end of the line.

(CTRL/R) (Alter mode)

Do not print rest of line; recycle to beginning

The <CTRL/R> command tells SOS to recycle to the current pointer
position.
All previous edits are incorporated. SOS does not print
the remainder of the line (from the current pointer position to the
end) before recycling. Thus, in Alter mode CTRL/R> behaves the same
as in Edit mode.

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS

(CTRL/ul (Alter mode)

PRL/UJ

Start fresh: discard edits, recycle to beginning of line, do
not print line

This command restarts Alter mode for the current line.
Any previous
changes you made are discarded. SOS immediately redisplays the line
number without printing the rest of the line.
If you have formed new lines by inserting <LF>, the <CTRL/U> command
leaves previous lines intact.
It discards any changes made to the
latest <kF>-created line and recycles to the beginning of that line.
<CTRL/U> does not have the same effect in Alter/insert mode. In
mode, <CTRL/U> is taken as text and is inserted into the line.

5-17

this

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS

Copy
5.2

COPY (C)

Formats:

Cposition,range[,incrementl[,increment2]]
Cposition=file-spec[,range[,incrementl[,increment2]]]
Cposition=file-spec/C
Arguments:

position
Specifies the destination for the copied lines.
If the line
number specified by position already exists, the copied lines are
inserted after position. If not, the copied lines are inserted
beginning at position.
range
Specifies the source range of the lines to be copied. To specify
a range, type the line numbers that delimit the range, separated
by a colon {:). If you omit range in the second form, above, the
entire file is copied.
incrementl
Specifies the line-number increment for SOS to use for the copied
lines.
If the source range contains page marks, incrementl is
used only up to the first page mark. If you omit incrementl, SOS
uses the current line-number increment.
increment2
Specifies the line-number increment for SOS to use for the lines
following the final page mark in the source range. If you omit
increment2, sos uses the current line-number increment.
Signals that text is to come from a second file {the copy file).
file-spec
Specifies the copy file.
Option:
/C

Tells SOS to enter Copy-file mode: that is, to open the copy file
as a read-only file so that you can search it for the text to be
copied.
Current line:

After SOS completes a Copy command, it sets the current
last line copied.

line

the

The Copy command inserts a copy of a block of text at a given position
in the file.
The block of text can be copied either from somewhere
else within the file {the first usage form above) or from another file
{the second and third usage forms). In the latter case, if you type
/C a~ the end of the Copy command, SOS enters Copy-file mode so you
can locate the text in the second file.

5-18

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS

When you give a Copy command, SOS acts as if you had given an Input
command at the given location, and treats each text line in the
specified range as if you had typed it in.
SOS takes steps to make sure that line numbers are in proper sequence
after a Copy operation.
The rest of this section gives details on
line numbers before and after a Copy command. For an example of how
SOS handles line numbers in this situation, see Section 5.15, Figure
5-2.
SOS chooses a small enough line-number increment to allow all the
lines in the range to fit after the destination position, using the
following protocol:
1.

SOS checks whether all the lines will
current line-number increment.

fit

uses

the

If the lines will not fit with the current line-number
increment, sos checks whether the lines will fit if it uses
the increment you supply {increment!).

If the lines will not fit with increment! {or if you have not
supplied increment!), SOS tries to find a smaller increment
that will make the lines fit.

SOS cannot choose a small enough increment if the number of lines to
be copied is larger than the numerical difference between the line
number at position and the number of the next line in the file.
In
this case, SOS inserts page marks. First, it copies as many lines as
will fit, using either the current increment or your increment! {if
supplied), inserts a page mark, and copies the rest of the source
lines with their line numbers intact. Then SOS inserts a second page
mark.
SOS tells you what increment it has used with the message INCl=n.
If
it inserts a page mark, SOS issues the message INCl=ORDER n AND P/M
INSERTED.
If the range of lines to be copied already contains page marks, SOS
renumbers the copied lines only up to the first page mark. The page
mark is copied, and all the lines up to the last page mark in the
range are copied with their line numbers intact.
For the lines after the last page mark, SOS follows a protocol similar
to the one it uses for lines before the first page mark:
1.

If the lines will fit, SOS
line-number increment.

copies

them

using

the

default

If the lines will not fit with the default line-number
increment, SOS uses the increment you specify (increment2).

If the lines will not fit with increment2 (or if you have not
supplied increment2), SOS chooses a smaller increment.

If SOS cannot choose a small enough increment, it inserts another page
mark, copies the lines with numbers intact, and inserts a final page
mark.
If the source range contains page marks, SOS tells you the increment
it uses for the lines copied after the final page mark. The message
is INC2=n if SOS does not have to insert a final page mark, and
INC2=0RDER n AND P/M INSERTED if it does insert one.

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS

If the specification of the source range
A, meaning the first line on a page,
precedes the first line before it begins
range specification contains *, meaning
following page mark as well.

contains the shorthand symbol
SOS copies the page mark that
to copy the text.
If the
the last line, sos copies the

Note that SOS copies the page mark(s) whether you specify the
symbol(s) A and/or *, or whether SOS supplies them as defaults. Thus,
SOS copies the preceding page mark if you type the range
/3:50/4
This is because the initial line number for page 3 defaults to
copies the succeeding page mark if you type the range

SOS

This is because the final line number for page 4 defaults to *
If
you type only a single page number for the range, SOS copies both the
preceding and the succeeding page marks for that page. For example:
/5

This is because SOS expands /5 to A/5:*/5.

5.2.l

Copy-file Mode

This mode allows you not only to copy a block of text from another
file, but also to search the copy file to locate the text. You call
for Copy-file mode by using the Copy command in the third format given
in Section 5.2. For example:
*C455/3=CONTROL+OLB/C
The equal sign (=) means that text is to be copied from a second file,
and the final /C signals Copy-file mode. If you do not type /C (that
is, if you use the second usage form given above), the entire file is
copied at the point specified. In this example, the file would be
copied at or after line 455, page 3, depending on whether or not line
455 exists.
If you type the final /C, SOS prompts C* and waits for you to type a
Find, Print, List, or Move Position command. Only a limited number of
commands are legal in Copy-file mode because the copy file is
read-only while it is open. The Edit-mode commands <RET> and <ESC>
are legal, because they are essentially abbreviations of the Print
command.
Also legal, but of limited utility, are Give Parameter, Set
Parameter, and Command File. Any other command results in the message
COMMAND INVALID FOR READ ONLY FILE.
After you locate the desired lines in the copy file, type

SOS responds with
ENTER RANG£ OF LINES:
At this point you complete the Copy command with the range and, if
desired, one or two line-number increments. You can use line-number
abbreviations ( • A * ) in specifying the range. The values of the
current line, current page, last line, and so forth refer to the copy

5-20

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS
file, not to the original file.
If you type <RET> at the "ENTER RANGE
OF LINES" prompt, SOS copies the entire file. SOS completes the copy
operation and responds with* (the Edit-mode prompt).
If, after scanning the file, you decide that you do not want
any lines, type:

copy

If you decide to cancel the copy-file command at the "ENTER RANGE OF
LINES" prompt, type <CTRL/C>.
In both these cases, SOS returns to
Edit mode without copying any part of the file.

5-21

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS

D
Delete
5.3

DELETE (D)

Format:
D[range]
Argument:
range
Specifies the lines to be deleted. If you omit
default is to delete the current line.

the

range,

the

After SOS completes a Delete command, it sets the current line to
last line deleted (which no longer exists).

the

Current line:

This command deletes the lines in the specified range.
If no lines
are in the range, SOS prints the error message RANGE GIVEN DOES NOT
CONTAIN ANY LINES.
Before deleting all lines
boundary,
SOS requests
questions:

on a page,
confirmation

or deleting across a page
with one of the following

DELETE ENTIRE PAGE? Y OR N:
DELETE ACROSS PAGES? Y OR N:
SOS then waits for you to type either Y or N (a <RET> is not needed).
SOS rejects any character other than Y, y, N, or n and repeats the
question.
After deleting the lines, SOS reports the results of the deletion with
a message such as the following:

81 LINE<S> DELETED (00145/2:0025014>.

If the EXPERT switch is on, SOS neither
tells you how many lines were deleted.

requests

SOS automatically renumbers the remaining pages of
delete an entire page.

5-22

confirmation

nor

the

you

file

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS

E
End
5.4

END (E)

Formats:
E[:file-spec]
EB[:file-spec]
EQ[:file-spec]
ES[:file-spec]
ET[:file-spec]

Arguments:
file-spec
If given, specifies the output file.
current output file specification.

If omitted,

SOS

uses

the

Tells SOS not to create a "back-up" file. The output file has
the same version number as the input file, and the input file is
effectively deleted.
Q

Tells SOS to quit without writing an output file.

s
Tells SOS to write the output file without line numbers, but with
page marks.
T
Tells SOS to write the output file without line numbers
marks.

page

Current line:
Not applicable:

after the End command, SOS terminates.

The End command terminates the editing session and returns you to DCL.
Different arguments combined with the End command modify the way SOS
exits from a file.
SOS tells you the specification of the output file it writes.
It
gives no specification if you exit without an output file (EQ). If
you have not changed the file since it was last written, SOS appends
the note (NO CHANGES)
to the file specification, and exits without
rewriting the output file. If you do not give a file specification
with the E command, SOS writes an output file with the same file
specification as given in the last Save World command.
If no Save
World was given, then the file name and type are the same as those of
the input file, but the version number is higher by 1. If you supply
a
file
specification,
the output file is written with that
specification.
When supplying a file specification, you cannot make SOS write its
output file over an existing file. If a file already exists with the
same name and type as the given file specification, SOS increments the
version number before writing the output file.
If the given file
specification is identical to that of an existing file, including the
version number, SOS rejects the command with the message FILE ALREADY
EXISTS and requests a new filename with the prompt ENTER NEW
FILENAME:.
5-23

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS

Use the B argument with the End command to request SOS not to create a
back-up file when it exits. The version number of the output file is
not incremented. Thus, the information in the original file is lost,
unless you have previously given a Save World command that incremented
the version number.
Adding the S argument to the E command requests SOS to write the
output file without line numbers. You can use ES to save disk space,
since files without line numbers require less storage space. However,
sos requires significantly more processing time to generate a file
without line numbers.
This is because of the way SOS handles
temporary files; see Section 8.1.
On VAX/VMS systems, you need not use ES to make allowances for
programs
that cannot deal with line-numbered files.
(This is
desirable on some other systems with other implementations of SOS.) On
VAX/VMS, the input/output system transparently handles line-numbered
files. Therefore, the use of ES should be rare.
Use the T argument with the End command to clean up a file that has
become messy with uneven line numbers and with page marks scattered
randomly throughout. ET tells SOS to write the output file as a
textual file, without page marks as well as without line numbers. The
next time SOS opens the file,
it renumbers it.
You can use the
symbol-assignment mechanism to control SOS's line-numbering defaults
(see Section 6.3). Thus, you can start fresh with the file.
One use of the ET form of the End command is in pre·par ing command
files to serve as command input to SLP, the batch-oriented editor (see
the VAX-11 Utilities Reference· Manual for a detailed description of
SLP).
You can also use ET to prepare a file for reading by a program
that does not recognize line numbers and page marks.
If you type E without an argument (B, Q, S and/or T), SOS exits,
creates both back-up and output files, and writes line numbers and
page marks to the output file.
You can use any combination of the B, s, and T options with
command, in any order. Some useful forms are given below.

the

End

ESB

Write the output file without
increment its version number.

numbers.

not

EBT

Write the output file without line numbers
marks. Do not increment its version number.

page

5-24

line

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS

F
Find
5.5

FIND (F)

Formats:
F[[string]

®9

F [ [stringl

string6]

®9

[range] [,A] [,N] [,E] [,n] [,-]]

[range] [,A] [,N] [,E] [,n]]

Arguments:
string
Specifies the string of characters (fewer than 200) that SOS is
to search for. SOS prints the first line in which the string is
found. If you omit string, SOS uses the current find string.
range
Specifies the range of lines to be searched. If you omit range,
SOS searches from the line after the current line to the end of
the file.
stringl ••• string6
Specifies six or fewer distinct strings that SOS is to search
for.
The total number of characters in the strings may not
exceed 200.

Options:
,A
Tells SOS to enter Alter mode automatically when the string is
found.
The intraline pointer points before the beginning of the
string in the line.
,N

Tells SOS to print only the line
which the string is found.

number(s)

the

line(s)

lowercase

letters

,E
Tells SOS not to treat uppercase
equivalent in the search string.

and

,n
Tells SOS to find the next n occurrences of
given range.

the

string

the

Tells SOS to print the next line that does not contain string.

Current line:
After SOS completes a Find command, it sets the current line to the
last line found; however,
if the search fails, the current line is
unchanged.

5-25

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS
Common short forms:
F

Search for the string(s) specified in the previous complete Find
command, starting at the line after the current line, and
continuing to the end of the previously specified range.
F

®C)

Search for the previously specified string(s), starting after the
current line and continuing until the end of the file.
Use the Find command to find a given string of text occurring within a
given range of lines. SOS prints the first line containing the string
within the range. If the range includes more than one page, and SOS
finds the string on a page other than the current one, it prints PAGE
n. before printing the line containing the string.
If SOS cannot
find the string in the given range, it prints STRING NOT FOUND, SEARCH
FAILED. The current line is unchanged.
To find the first occurrence of a
followinq form:
*Fisomer

@.W

word

given

page,

use

the

This form of the command means find and print the first line on page 4
that contains the string "isomer".
To locate the next occurrence of the same string you
previous Find command, use only the range argument:

gave

the

This form means find and print the first line on page fi that contains
the string "isomer" (from the previous Find command). If you use this
form of the Find command before you issue a complete Find command, sos
prints ILLEGAL SEARCH STRING GIVEN.
If you omit the range specification, SOS begins searching at the line
following the current line, and continues through the end of the file.
For example:
*fdemn:1ribo

@.W

This form means find the first occurrence of the string "deoxyribo"
beginning with the line following the current line through the end of
the file.
You can give the Find command repeatedly, each time finding the next
occurrence of a string in the file. To do this, simply type F. For
example:
*frandom ®-W 11:1*
00320 but random Perturbations of the lattice structure
*f
Oi310 a certain de~ree of randomness in the Process.

*f
PAGE 2.
a pseudo-random number in the interval co,1J, chosen

00110

*f
STRING NOT FOUND, SEARCH FAILED
*=·
• :rn AT 00110/2

*
5-2fi

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS
You can search for as many as six different strings at once by using a
special form of the Find command. Instead of typing <ESC> after the
first string, type <RET>; SOS prompts you with F* for another search
string.
After typing all the search strings in this way, type <ESC>
and the range and options (if desired).
The multiple search strings can contain up to 200 characters in all.
An example using two search strings is given below.
Note that the
user has typed ,99 as an option at the end of the Find command. SOS
finds the first 99 (or fewer) occurrences of either search string in
the range.
*frandom
F*stochastic ®9 11:1*,99
00~3:?.0
but random Perturbations of the lattice structure
00760
from the stochastic eGuation (EG+ 4-2>.
01~310
a certain de~ree of randomness in the Process.

PAGE 2.
00110

a PSeudorandom number in the interval [0,1], chosen

F'AGE 4+

01210

in the

stud~

of stochastic Processes.

*
A common error in using the Find command is to type <RET> after a
search string when you meant to type <ESC>. SOS assumes you intend to
specify multiple search strings, and prompts F*. At this point, you
can type <ESC> and complete the Find command normally.

5.5.1

Find Options

The complete Find command, including options, is shown as the first
f0fmat given at the beginning of Section 5.5. You can supply options
in any combination and in any order.
If you give a Find command with one or more options, these options
will still be in effect if you later use the abbreviated form F. The
,n option is an exception: it applies only to the complete Find
command.
To reset the options while still using an
type F<ESC>.

abbreviated

Find

command,

If you do not use the ,E option, the
command
below
would
indiscriminately find a line containing any of the following: number,
Number, or NUMBER.
*fnumber

®9

This ambiguity can be useful: for example, when you want to find a
word whether it begins a sentence or not. But if you want SOS to
distinguish uppercase from lowercase characters when searching, use
the ,E option.
Using the ,E option is equivalent to turning on the EXACT switch
Section 6.2) for Find commands only.

(see

Use a large number like 999 for the ,n option to find all the strings
in a given range.
Unlike the other three options, the ,n option
applies only to one execution of the Find command.
For example, if

5-27

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS

you give the command FFIRST<ESC>,2 and later use F,
more occurrence of the string FIRST.

sos finds only one

If you use the ,A (Alter mode) and ,- (do not find) options in the
same Find command, SOS enters Alter mode with the intraline pointer
positioned at the beginning of the line that was found.
Examples:

Print the first three lines, from the current line through the
last line on page 4, that contain the string cdigi. Do not match
a string unless its case (upper or lower) agrees exactly with
that of the given string.

Print the next line after the current line that contains the
string digi.
The search starts at the line after the current
line and continues to the end of the range last specified (to the
end of page 4). An exact pattern match is still required. SOS
prints only one matched line; the ,3 option specified in the
previous Find command applies only to that one command.

Print only the line numbers (and page numbers) of the lines in
the rest of the file that contain the string digi. Exact pattern
matching is no longer called for. Consequently, SOS matches Digi
and DIG!, for example, as well as digi.
*=strins
FINI!-·
disi
Sl.JirSTITUTEFORMM

Display the strings currently in effect for the Find and
Substitute commands.
See Sections ~.l and 5.20, respectively,
for details on the STRING parameter and the Give Parameter
command (=) •
*fMunich
F'*Bonn
F*B(~T'lin

®CJ

• :l*•B•e,999

Find all occurrences of any of the strings Munich, Bonn, and
Berlin in the rest of the file. Do not match a string unless it
starts with an uppercase letter. As each string is found, enter
Alter mode for that line, with the intraline pointer positioned
before the start of the string that was found.

5-28

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS

H
Help
5.6

HELP

(H)

Format:
H [: n]

Argument:
n

Specifies the number of the module in the help package
is to start printing.

that

SOS

Current line:
The Help command does not affect the current line.
The Help command prints a help package on your terminal. This package
is composed of a number of modules. A control feature lets you skim
quickly through the modules.
After the introductory module, the help package contains summaries of
SOS features and functions similar to Appendix A, but formatted for
printing on a terminal.
If you type the Help command with no argument, SOS prints the entire
help package.
The introductory module contains a list of the other
modules and their numbers, plus instructions for printing the help
package on the line printer.
If you type <CTRL/O> while a module is printing, SOS skips to the
beginning of the next module. You can skim through the help package
by typing successive <CTRL/O>s.
Typing
<CTRL/C>
returns
you
immediately to Edit mode.
If you type the Help command with an argument n, SOS
number n and continues to the end of the help package.

prints

module

As an example of how you can use the Help command, suppose you want to
see a list of Alter-mode commands. Proceed as follows:
1.

Type H.

SOS prints the introductory module.

Type <CTRL/C> when you read that module number 6 summarizes
Alter-mode commands. SOS prints the Edit-mode prompt *

Type H:6.

Type <CTRL/C> when SOS begins to print module number 7.
prompts with *

SOS prints module number 6.

5-29

SOS

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS

I
Input
5.7

INPUT (I -- INPUT MODE)

Formats:

I [position] [,increment]
I [position] [;increment]
I [position] [ ; ! n]
Arguments:

position
Specifies the destination for the inserted text; position is the
line number of the first inserted line, if a line does not
already exist at position. If a line exists at position, the
line number is set to position plus the current line-number
increment (or the specified increment). If another line exists
at or before this new line number, the new line is numbered
halfway in between. If you omit the position argument, insertion
continues at the position where the last Input command left off.
increment
Specifies the new current line-number increment, if preceded by a
comma.
If preceded by a semicolon, the argument is a temporary
increment only for this insert.
If you omit increment, the
current line-number increment is used.
n

Specifies the number of lines you want to insert.
an appropriate temporary line-number increment.

SOS calculates

Current line:

After SOS completes an Input command, it sets the current line to
last line inserted.

the

Common short forms:
I.

Insert after the current line.
I*

Insert after the last line on this page.
I/*+l

Start a new page at the end
there.

the

file

and

begin

inserting

Continue inserting after the line most recently inserted, using
the line-number increment given in the last complete Input
command. You must issue a complete Input command before using
this form.
Use the Input command to enter new lines into
are a single position (line/page) and/or
Text insertion begins (SOS enters Input mode)
number specified by position. SOS accepts
from the terminal, and inserts them into the

5-30

a file.
Its arguments
a line-number increment.
at or after the line
successive lines of text
file.
Successive line

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS

numbers are determined by adding the current increment to the previous
line number.
The increment argument, if specified with a comma, becomes the new
line-number increment. If specified with a semicolon, increment acts
as the line-number increment for this command only.
Subsequent
commands continue to use the default increment (except I without any
arguments, which uses the temporary increment).
Use the third form of the Input command when you know exactly how many
lines you want to insert. In this case, SOS calculates a line-number
increment that allows the given number of lines to fit before the next
existing line.
You can move directly from Input mode to Alter mode by using a special
sequence of characters:
<CTRL/A> followed by <ESC>. When you type
this sequence, SOS switches to Alter mode and positions the pointer at
the beginning of the last line you inserted while in Input mode.
(Note that the <ESC> character is echoed when you type this special
sequence.) Now you can use any of the Alter mode commands to correct
the line.
When you exit from Alter mode (by typing <RET> or E), SOS returns you
to Input mode if, when you left it, you still had a range of lines for
input. SOS gives the line-number prompt just as if you had stayed in
Input mode and typed <RET> at the end of the line. However, if there
were no more empty lines when you entered Alter mode from Input mode,
SOS returns you to Edit mode.
Exit from Input mode by typing <ESC>.
If you type <ESC> at the
beginning of a new input line, that (empty) line is not inserted into
the file. The last full line inserted becomes the current line.
You
can also return to Edit mode by typing <ESC> at the end of the last
line to be inserted.
In some circumstances, SOS returns you to Edit mode automatically.
These circumstances are given below, along with ways to recover and
continue inserting text:
•

A line exists whose number is equal to or less than the number
that SOS calculates for the next inserted line, and this line
is not the first line inserted.
(To continue inserting text,
issue another Input command, specifying a smaller increment.)

•

The line number that SOS calculates for the next inserted line
is greater than 65535.
(Renumber part of the file.)

•

You try to insert a line longer
shorter lines.)

than

500

characters.

(Use

After completing an Input command, when you have returned to Edit
mode, SOS remembers the line number and page number of the next line
to be inserted. If you type I, text insertion resumes at this point.
SOS uses the increment specified in the last complete Input command
you typed, even if it was a temporary increment.
Thus, in this
special case, the temporary increment endures after the Input command
in which it was established.
If you specify an existing line as position in an Input command, and
this line is followed by another line with a number higher by 1, SOS
prints the error message INSUFFICIENT LINE NUMBERS FOR INSERTION.
In
this case, use the reNumber command (N), and then reissue the Input
command.

5-31

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS

Example:
*P• !2
00130
00140
*I. ,2
00:1.42
00144

MOV
CLR

R5,CNTBL<R3>
U.CW2<R5)

;SAVE UCB POINTER
;CLEAR ALL SWITCHES

BEQ
MOV

10$
I.TCB<R1),R0

;IF EQUAL YES
;GET REQUESTOR TCB ADDRESS

00146

(ESC)

MOV

17o.,u.CNT<R5)

;sET COUNT FOR 170 NULLS

BNE

65$

; IF N. E • DON'T PUNCH TRAILER

*IBrn

00150
*I
00146
*=BIG
4

*I*/4
00430
00432

VERSION 21A, 2-21-78. GNL.
(Est)

CDBA1:CLANEYJPPDRV.MAC;18J

5-32

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS

J
Join
5.8

JOIN (J)

Format:

J[position]
Argument:

position
Specifies the line to be joined to the following line.
If you
omit position, the current line is joined to the following line.
Current line:

After SOS completes a Join command, it sets the current line to the
new line made from the two old lines; that is, the current line number
becomes the specified position.
The Join command joins two lines together. The joined line is given
the number of the first line of the pair, that is, of the line at the
specified position. It becomes the current line after the Join
command completes.
The line number that previously belonged to the
second line of the pair ceases to exist.
SOS refuses to join two lines if the resulting line would be longer
than 500 characters. It prints the error message LINE IS TOO LONG.
If the line specified by position is the last
prints ILLEGAL SYNTAX OF COMMAND.

line

page,

Example:
*P400!3
The soal is alwaws
00400

PAGE 2.
00610
to write clearr unambisuous
00650
functional specifications that are easw to understand.
*J400/1

ILLEGAL SYNTAX OF COMMAND

*:lt../2

*J400

*:p.

00400

*a•

The soal is

alwa~sto

write clearr unambisuous

~ i ~
(@
e
~
The soal is alwaws
SS

00400
:ii p.

00400

The

~oal

alwa~s

to write clearr unambisuous

5-33

sos

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS

K
Kill Page Mark
5.9

KILL PAGE MARK (K)

Format:

K/page
Argument:

/page
Specifies the page mark to be deleted.
Current line:

The Kill Page Mark command does not affect the current line.
This command deletes ("kills") a page mark that you have inserted with
the Mark command, or that SOS has inserted in the course of a Copy or
Transfer command. When a page mark is deleted, the text that was
previously on that page appears at the end of the preceding page.
(A
page mark is considered to be located at the head of its page.)
You can delete only one page mark at a time.
Deleting a page mark can leave line numbers out of order.
SOS warns
you with the message LINES OUT OF ORDER. In this case, you must
immediately renumber the current page using the reNumber command.
If you try to delete a nonexistent page number, SOS prints the message
PAGE DOES NOT EXIST.
If you try to delete page mark 1 (K/l), SOS
responds CANNOT KILL INITIAL PAGE MARK.
(SOS considers the text
immediately after the start of the file to be on page 1, but it does
not insert a physical page mark there.)

5-34

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS

L
List
5.10

LIST (L)

Formats:

L[range] [,[S] [,P[=file-spec]]]
L [range] [, [S] [ ,F=fi le-spec]]
Argument:

range
Specifies the range of lines to list.
lists the entire file.

you

omit

range,

SOS

Options:

,s
Tells SOS to suppress line numbers in the listing.
,P:file-spec
Tells sos to produce a disk file, with
specification, formatted for later printing.

the

given

file

,F:file-spec
Tells SOS to produce a disk file formatted
text file.

ordinary

SOS

line

the

Current line:

After SOS completes a List command, it sets the current
last line listed.

The List command allows you to generate either a printer listing or a
disk file containing all or part of the file being edited. The List
command has an advantage over the DCL PRINT command for printing SOS
files.
The List command generates headings on each page of printer
output giving the SOS page number, as well as each listing page's
sequential number within the SOS page.
The heading contains the specification of the file being listed;
the
date and time printed;
and a page number in the form m-n, where m
represents the page number in the SOS file, and n is the sequential
number of the listing page within the SOS page.
(When n=l, the
printing of "-n" is suppressed.). These headings are generated if you
specify ,P (whether the output goes to a printer or to a disk file).
The headings are also generated if neither ,P nor ,F is specified.
The SOS parameter LENGTH controls the page length of listings produced
by the List command, ,P option. Its initial value is 55 lines. You
can reset this parameter if desired (see Section 6.1).
You can specify a particular printer by using the ,P option in the
form ,P:LPcn (c is the controller designation and n is the printer
number). LPcn is a legal file specification. If you omit file-spec
from the ,P option, or if you supply neither ,P nor ,F, the listing is
sent to LPAO.
The option ,F:file-spec generates a disk file containing the lines in
the given range, but without the page headings described above. The
disk file thus produced is a normal SOS file. Any page marks in the
range are included in the file. The ,S option, if present, tells SOS
to suppress line numbers in the disk file.
5-35

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS

M
Mark
5 .11

MARK

(M)

Format:

M[position]
Argument:

position
Specifies the position (line/page) that is to be the first line
on a new page.
SOS inserts a page mark before the given
position. If you omit position, the current line is assumed.
Current line:

After SOS completes a Mark command, it sets the current
first line on the new page.

line

the

The Mark command inserts a page mark at a specified point in the
and renumbers all subsequent pages.

text

If the line number in the position specification does not exist, SOS
inserts the page mark immediately after the previous, lower-numbered
line.
If you give the Mark command for the first line on a page, SOS inserts
a page mark immediately after the existing page mark. The page that
previously existed is then empty.
After the completion of a Mark command, the current line is the first
line on the new page. Therefore, if you give the Mark command shown
below, the current line becomes 300/4.
*M300/3

The new line is the same line that you ref erred to in the
300/3, but it is now on page 4.

5-3()

command

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS

N
re Number
5.12

RENUMBER (N)

Format:
N[increment] [,[range] [,start]]
NA[increment] [,[range] [,start]]
NP[increment] [,[range] [,start]]

Arguments:
increment
Specifies the line-number increment between the renumbered lines.
If you omit it, SOS uses the current line-number increment.
range
Specifies the range of lines to renumber.
renumbers the entire file.

If you

omit

it,

SOS

Specifies the starting line number for the renumbering.
If
omit it, SOS starts renumbering at the value of increment.

you

start

Tells SOS to add increment to every
range.

line

number

the

given

Tells SOS to renumber all lines in the range sequentially.
SOS
does not reset the starting line number at each page boundary.

Current line:
After SOS completes a reNumber command, it sets the
the last line renumbered.

current

line

This command renumbers the lines in the given range.
You must use
reNumber whenever SOS prints the message LINES OUT OF ORDER. More
commonly, you can renumber upon receiving
the
error
message
INSUFFICIENT LINE NUMBERS FOR INSERTION (or at any other time).
The first argument, increment, specifies the increment between line
numbers.
The first line renumbered is given this number, unless you
specify the third argument (start). Each succeeding line is given a
number that is the sum of the increment and the previously assigned
number.
If SOS crosses a page mark while renumbering, it assigns the increment
number to the first line on the new page (unless you specify NP). For
example, you type the following command:

Before renumbering, the line numbers on pages 2
shown below.
Page 2
Page 3

115
900

126
911

137
952

150
1022

c:_ 'l'7

and

might

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS

After renumbering, the line numbers are:
Page 2
Page 3

10
10

20
20

30
30

40
40

If you use the NP form of the command, SOS does not reset its
numbering when it encounters a page boundary. The entire range is
numbered in ascending order. Thus, using NP in the above example
produces:

Page 2
Page 3

The NA form of the reNumber command tells SOS to add the specified
increment to each line number in the range. If you use NA, the start
argument is meaningless. If supplied, it is ignored.
If you do not specify a range, SOS renumbers the entire file. If the
range is empty, SOS prints RANGE GIVEN DOES NOT CONTAIN ANY LINES.
If, while renumbering, SOS assigns a line number larger than 65535, it
stops renumbering immediately and prints the message LINE NUMBER STEP
TOO LARGE - LINES OUT OF ORDER. At this point, you must reissue the
reNumber command using a smaller increment or a smaller starting
number.
If, after issuing a Kill Page Mark (K) command, you get the error
message LINES OUT OF ORDER, renumber using /. as the range (the
current page).

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS

p
Print
5 .13

PRINT (P)

Format:

P [range] [ ,S]
Argument:

range
Specifies the range of lines to print. If you omit range, SOS
prints 16 lines (or the number of lines given by the parameter
PLINES).
Option:

,s
Tells SOS to suppress line numbers and to print only the text.
Current line:

After SOS completes a Print command, it sets the current line
last line printed.

the

Common short forms:
p

Print 16 lines (or the number of lines given by PLINES) starting
at the current line; cross page boundaries if necessary.
P/.

Print all lines on the current page.
Print the next line.
Print the previous line.
The Print command prints on your terminal the lines in a given range,
including line numbers.
If the range includes a page boundary, SOS
prints a blank line and PAGE n. to mark it.
Use the option ,S to suppress line numbers in the Print command.
still prints PAGE n. when it crosses a page boundary.

SOS

You can interrupt typeout at any time by typing <CTRL/S>.
Output
pauses until you type <CTRL/Q> to resume where it left off. To
suppress all remaining output from a Print command, type <CTRL/O>.
There may be a slight pause before SOS gives the Edit-mode prompt *
because SOS continues to move output to a buff er area after you type
<CTRL/O>.
If you type a second <CTRL/O> during this pause, typeout
resumes at some later point in the output.

5-39

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS

If you use the Print command without arguments, SOS prints a number of
lines (initially 16) beginning with the current line. You can change
the number of lines printed by P by resetting the SOS parameter
PLINES. The command is:

*.IF'LINES:n

*
See Section 5.21 for details on the Set Parameter command /.
The Edit-mode commands <RET> and <ESC> act as abbreviated forms of the
Print command.
They tell SOS to print, respectively, the next line
and the previous line in the file. With <RET> and <ESC>, you can step
through a file a line at a time in either direction.
<RET> and <ESC> operate regardless of page boundaries.
For example,
suppose the current line is the last line on page 3 when you type
<RET>:

*::::.

• IS AT 1600/3

* mi

PAGE 4+

00100

Guidelines for creatins RUNOFF files online are

*
These two special abbreviations of the Print command can be defined as
follows:
P.+l

<RET>

{ p"'/.+l if
P.-1

<ESC>

{ P*/.-1 if

I- *

...

Example:

*p. --1 !

00530
00540
0054:7i

trade-off involved in usin~ relativelw orsanized
files instead of seauentiallw orsanized ones: in
most cases, retrieval time is reduced sisnificantl~.

00~5~,)0

However, there maw be unused sPace on the file.

* mi

PAGE
00010

*p*

00660

~3.

Access Methods:

VAX-11 RMS file orsanizations listed in Table 4-1.

*=·
• IS AT 00600/~3
*==BIG
3

*NO miSUCH LINE EXISTS
*

5-40

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS

R
Replace
5.14

REPLACE (R)

Formats:

R [range] [,increment]
R [range] [;increment]
R[range] [; !n]
Arguments:

range
Specifies the range of lines to be deleted and replaced with new
text.
SOS enters Input mode.
The first new line of text is
given the number of the first line in the range.
If you omit
range, the current line is replaced.
increment
Specifies the new current line increment, if preceded by a comma.
If preceded by a semicolon, it is a temporary increment for this
command only. If you omit increment, the current line-number
increment is used.
n

Specifies the number of lines you want to insert in place of the
deleted
range.
SOS calculates an appropriate line-number
increment.
Current line:

After SOS completes a Replace command, it sets the current line to the
last line inserted.
Common short forms:
R.

Replace the current line with a new line or lines typed in.
R

Replace the current line.
The Replace command acts like a Delete command for the given range,
followed by an Input command at the first line in the range. SOS
tells you how many lines have been deleted (unless the EXPERT switch
is on) and then enters Input mode. You can optionally supply an
increment for the Replace command, as you can for the Input command.
The increment, if supplied, acts as either a temporary (;) or
permanent (,) update of the current line-number increment. That is,
use the ,increment argument to change the default
line-number
increment.
Use the ;increment argument to define a temporary
increment for this command only.
Subsequent Input and Replace
commands continue to use the default increment.
Use the third form of the Replace command, Rrange;!n,
exactly how many lines you have to insert.
sos
appropriate (temporary) line-number increment.

5-41

if you know
calculates an

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS
The line number of the first inserted line is that of the first line
that SOS deleted in the range. Subsequent line numbers are determined
by adding the current increment to the previous line number.
If you specify a range that crosses page boundaries, or that includes
an entire page, SOS asks for confirmation before deleting anything.
sos prints one of the following queries:

DELETE ACROSS PAGES? Y OR N:
REPLACE ENTIRE PAGE? Y OR N:
SOS does not request this confirmation before deleting if
switch is on.

the

EXPERT

In only one particular does the Replace command differ from an
equivalent combination of Delete and Input commands. The Replace
command does not define the proper parameters to allow the abbreviated
Input command I. You can use this abbreviated form only after typing
a full Input command.
Examples:
*R/2,50

REPLACE ENTIRE PAGE1

Y OR N:Y

Replace all lines on page 2 and insert new lines, beginning with
the first line deleted.
Use an increment of 50; make 50 the
current line-number increment.

SOS
Replace line 150 on the current page with two lines.
calculates a temporary increment that allows the two lines to
fit.

Replace the five lines starting at line 337 with seven new lines.

5-42

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS

Substitute
5.15

SUBSTITUTE (S)

Formats:
S [ [oldstring
S[oldstringl

olds tr ingn

newstring

newstring]

newstr ingl

[range] [,DJ [ ,N] [ ,E]]

] [range] [ ,D] [ ,N] [ ,E]

Arguments:
oldstring
Specifies any string of characters (fewer than 200).
newstring
Specifies a string of characters that sos is to
all occurrences of oldstring within the range.

substitute

for

range
Specifies the range of lines over which SOS is to make the
substitution.
If you omit range, SOS performs the substitution
only on the first match found, starting its search with the
current line, proceeding if necessary to the end of the file.
oldstringl ••• oldstringn
Specifies six or fewer distinct strings that sos is to replace
with newstring {l to n). The total number of characters in all
the oldstrings cannot exceed 200.
newstringl ••• newstringn
Specifies six or fewer strings that sos is to substitute for
oldstring {l to n). The total number of characters in all the
newstrings cannot exceed 200.

Options:
,D
Tells SOS to enter Decide mode.

,N
Tells SOS to suppress printing
substitution was made.

out

the

line(s)

which

the

Tells SOS to accept only an exact match
letters must agree) in the oldstring(s).

{upper-

and

lowercase

Current line:
After SOS completes a Substitute command, it sets the current line to
the last line in which a substitution was made. If SOS does not find
the string to be replaced, it does not change the current line.

5-43

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS
Common Short Forms:
You must issue a complete Substitute command before using these forms.

s
Perform substitution(s} on one line: the first line containing
the current oldstring. Search from the current line to the end
of the current range.

®t)

Perform substitution(s}, using
newstring, on the current line.

the

current

oldstring

and

®t)

Perform substitution(s}, using the
current
oldstring
and
newstring, on the first line containing oldstring. Search from
the current line to the end of the file.
This command substitutes an arbitrary string of characters (newstring)
for another arbitrary string (oldstring} within a given range of
lines, and prints each line in which a substitution is made.
An option (,D} invokes Decide mode, in which SOS displays each line
for which a substitution is appropriate -- with the change already
made -- and asks you to decide the disposition of the line.
Decide
mode is described fully in Section 5~15.3.
SOS remembers the strings you specify in a Substitute command so
you can reuse them in a later command. For example:
*·sDoctor

®t)

Dr.

®t)

that

/U/2

This command tells SOS to substitute the string Dr.
for all
occurrences of Dotter on pages 1 and 2. Then, the following command
tells SOS to make the same substitution on page 3.
*s

If you omit the search strings as shown above before you have issued a
complete Substitute command, SOS prints ILLEGAL SEARCH STRING GIVEN.
A Substitute command with no arguments (assuming you have already
issued a complete command) performs the substitution in only one line:
the next line, starting from the current line, in which oldstring
occurs. The search proceeds, if necessary, until the end of the range
specified in the last complete Substitute command.
One exception applies: if the last Substitute command operated on the
current line, then S without a position tells SOS to search from the
line after the current line.
Thus, having issued a
complete
Substitute command, you can perform the same substitution one line at
a time throughout the range by repeatedly typing S and then pressing
<RET>.
SOS prints a blank line and PAGE n.
on a new page.

5-44

each time it makes a substitution

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS
5.15.1

Multiple Substitutions

SOS can perform substitutions for several string-pairs at a time.
That
is, oldstringl is replaced by newstringl;
oldstring2 by
newstring2; and so on. Use the second usage form above as follows:
1.

Specify all oldstrings first, and follow each oldstring
<RET>.

with

SOS prompts with S* to remind you that
Substitute command.

the

After typing the last oldstring, type <ESC> and the first
newstring.
Follow each newstring with <RET>. SOS prompts
with S*.

After specifying the last newstring, type a final <ESC>.

Complete the command by typing the
desired).

you

range

are

(and

within

options,

The limit for multiple substitutions is six oldstring-newstring pairs.
The total length both of all oldstrings, and (independently) of all
newstrings, cannot exceed 200 characters.
For example, suppose you want to substitute the variable X6 for all
occurrences of X in a FORTRAN program, and likewise Y6 for Y. X and Y
are always space-delimited. Use the following Substitute command:

*s ~ x ~
S*
S*

~
~

You can specify fewer newstrings than oldstrings.
If you do, SOS
substitutes the last newstring for all the extra oldstrings. For
example, to substitute the word "sheep" for all occurrences of "goat"
and "goats" on page 1, type:
*ssoats IBTIJ
S*~.\toat

sheep

Note that in the case of two oldstrings, one of which is a leading
subset of the other, you must give the longer oldstring first.

5.15.2

Substitute Options

The substitute options (,D ,N ,E) can appear in any order at the end
of a substitute command. Any options used in a complete substitute
command remain in effect for later S commands.
SOS always distinguishes uppercase
newstring(s).
The ,E option only
oldstring (s).
For example, suppose you want to
routine in the following line:

from lowercase characters in
affects SOS's interpretation of

change

the

name

The utilitw routine EXE is executed bw

5-45

the

utility

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS

The following Substitute command effects the change:

*00330
sEXE
XQT
330, e
The
routine XQT is executed bw
*
The EXACT switch controls this exact pattern-matching feature.
@GJ

(ESC)

utilit~

If
EXACT is on, every Substitute (and Find) command requires an exact
pattern match. When SOS is initiated, EXACT is off.
Section 6.2
describes the EXACT switch.

5.15.3

Decide Mode

SOS enters Decide mode if you type the option ,D after the range in a
Substitute command.
(SOS also enters Decide mode if the DECIDE switch
is on, that is, if you have issued a /DECIDE command.) In this mode
you can decide on a line-by-line basis whether or not to make each
substitution.
SOS prints each line in which it makes a substitution, and prompts
with D*. Type one of the eight single characters shown in Table 5-3.
No <RET> is needed. If you type any character other than those
listed, SOS repeats the prompt.
Table 5-3
Decide-Mode Commands

.------.---------·-·-----··-------·..---··-··---···-·-··----------· ·-·--···-···-·--------..·• ··-Form

Meaning

i------+-----------. ·-···-·--·---. - - (§El

Yes, make the change as shown.
SOS continues
Decide mode with the next line to be changed.

@ID

No, do not make the change.
The line remains
unaltered.
SOS continues in Decide mode with the
next line to be changed. When the range is exceeded,
sos returns to Edit mode.

Alter: enter Decide Alter mode, with the change
already made.
Once in Decide Alter mode, you can
type any legal Alter-mode commands.
When you end
Decide Alter mode, SOS continues Decide mode by
displaying the next changed line (if any remains in
the original range).

End: do not make the change, and immediately leave
Decide mode (return to Edit mode).
No further
substitutions are made in the original range.

Go: yes, make the change, and make all
changes
in
the
range
automatically,
Decide-mode intervention.

Same as

Quit, same as E: do not
immediately to Edit mode.

Same as

@ID

(§El

further
without

no, do not make the change.
make

the

yes, make the change.

5-46

change,

return

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS

T
Transfer
5.16

TRANSFER (T)

Format:
Tposition,range[,incrementl[,increment2]]

Arguments:
position
Specifies the destination for the transferred lines. If the line
number specified by position already exists, the transferred
lines are inserted after position.
If not, the lines are
inserted beginning at position.
range
Specifies the source range of the lines to be transferred.
incrementl
Specifies the line-number increment for SOS to use for the
transferred lines.
If the source range contains page marks,
increment! is used only up to the first page mark.
If you omit
increment!, SOS uses the current line-number increment.
increment2
Specifies the line-number increment for SOS to use for the lines
following the final page mark in the source range. If you omit
increment2, SOS uses the current line-number increment.

Current line:
After SOS completes a Transfer command, it sets the
the last line moved.

current

line

The Transfer command moves a block of text from one place in a file to
another.
When you give a Transfer command, sos acts as if you had
given an Input command at the given location, and treats each text
line in the specified range as if you had typed it in. The text is
deleted from its original place in the file.
Contrast this command
with the Copy command, which moves a block of text without deleting it
{see Section 5.2).
SOS takes steps to make sure that line numbers are in sequence after a
Transfer operation.
The rest of this section gives details on line
numbers before and after a Transfer command.
Figure 5-2 shows an
example of a Transfer command.
SOS chooses a small enough line-number increment to allow all the
lines in the range to fit after the destination position, using the
following protocol:
1.

SOS checks whether all the lines
current line-number increment.

can

fit

uses

the

If the lines will not fit with the current line-number
increment, SOS checks whether the lines can fit if it uses
the increment you supply {increment!).

If the lines will not fit with increment! {or if you have not
supplied increment!), SOS tries to find a smaller increment
that can make the lines fit.

T20/1, 10/3:40/5, 2, 3([0
LJ LJ

LJL_J

PAGE 1.
00010
10/1
00020
20/1
00030
30/1
00040
40/1

TranJ
command.

tI
I

Destination
position.

INC1: line-number increment
to use before
first page mark
in range.

:X>

I
I

PAGE 5.
00010
00020
00022
00027
00030
00036
00040
50/5
00050

After Tran sfer

PAGE 1.
00010
10/1
00020
20/1
00030
30/1 - - - - - - - - .
00040
40/1

PAGE 1.
00010
10/1
00020
20/1

PAGE 2.
00010
00015

Range of lines to
transfer (origin).

Before Transfer

INC2: linenumber increment to
use after
last page
mark in
range.

PAGE 3.
00010
10/3
00015
15/3
00020
20/3
00025
25/3

00022
00024
00026
00028

PAGE 4.
00010
10/4
00012
12/4
00014
14/4
00016
16/4

PAGE 2.
00010
10/4
00012
12/4
00014
14/4
00016
16/4

PAGE 5.
00010
10/5
00020
20/5
00022
22/5
00027
27/5
00030
30/5
00036
36/5
00040
40/5
00050
50/5

PAGE 3.
00003
10/5
00006
20/5
00009
22/5
00012
27/5
00015
30/5
00018
36/5
00021
40/5

10/3
15/3
20/3
25/3

30/1
40/1

PAGE4.
00010
10/2
00015
15/2

The above shows the origin and destination of each line in the file before and after
the Transfer command, respectively. SOS's line numbering would be the same for
an equivalent Copy command, except that a copy of the lines would be left in their
original place (before line 50, page 5).

Figure 5-2 Transfer Operation to Move
Part of a File to Another Location

H
~

I
3
0

Cz:I

(")

0
3:
3:

>'
2:
0

00030
00040

The Transfer command is issued to move part of the file to another location (as indicated
above by the arrow). The file in this example has as its text, for each line, the corresponding line number and page number.

Cz:I

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS
SOS cannot choose a small enough increment if the number of lines to
be moved is larger than the numerical difference between the line
number at position and the number of the next line in the file.
In
this case, SOS inserts page marks. First, it transfers as many lines
as will fit, using either the current increment or your incrementl (if
supplied), inserts a page mark, and transfers the rest of the source
lines with their line numbers intact. Then SOS inserts a second page
mark.
SOS tells you what increment it has used with the message INCl=n.
If
it inserts a page mark, the message is INCl=ORDER n AND P/M INSERTED.
If the range of lines to be transferred already contains page marks,
SOS renumbers the transferred lines only up to the first page mark.
The page mark is copied, and all the lines up to the last page mark in
the range are transferred with their line numbers intact.
For the lines after the last page mark, SOS follows a protocol similar
to the one it uses for lines before the first page mark:
1.

SOS moves them using the default
they can fit.

line-number

increment,

If the lines will not fit with the default line number
increment, SOS uses the increment you specify (increment2).

If the lines will not fit with increment2 (or if you have not
supplied increment2), sos chooses a smaller increment.

If SOS cannot choose a small enough increment, it inserts another page
mark, moves the lines with numbers intact, and inserts a final page
mark.
If the source range contains page marks, SOS tells you the increment
it uses for the lines copied after the final page mark. The message
is INC2=n if SOS does not have to insert a final page mark, and
INC2=0RDER n AND P/M INSERTED if it does insert one.
If the specification of the source range
~, meaning the first line on a page, SOS
precedes the first line before it begins
range specification contains *, meaning
the following page mark as well.

contains the shorthand symbol
duplicates the page mark that
to move the text.
If the
the last line, SOS duplicates

Note that SOS duplicates the page mark(s)
whether you specify the
symbols ~ and/or *, or whether SOS supplies them as defaults. Thus,
SOS duplicates the preceding page mark if you type the range
/3:50/4

This is because the initial line number for page 3 defaults to
copies the succeeding page mark if you type the range

SOS

20/3:/4

This is because SOS expands /5 to

~/5:*/5.

5-49

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS

w
Save World
5.17

SAVE WORLD (W)

Formats:

W[:file-spec]
WB[:file-spec]
Arguments:

file-spec
If given, specifies the output file. If you omit file-spec,
uses the current output file specification.

SOS

WB
Tells SOS not to increment the version number of the output file.
The previous version of the output file (or the input file, if
you have not used W before) is overwritten.
Current line:

The Save World command does not affect the current line.
The Save World command directs SOS to write the current version of a
file being edited to disk. SOS tells you the name of the file it has
written. After the command, you remain in Edit mode.
Use the Save World command frequently as a precaution against system
malfunction or against your own errors. If a catastrophe happens, you
only lose the work done since the last time you saved "everything in
the world." Section 4.3 gives an overview of "defensive editing."
Each time you use the W command, the current contents of the file are
overwritten on the output file. Thus, if you repeatedly use the W
command without giving a different file specification, you are
repeatedly updating a single back-up file. To obtain a chronological
string of back-up files, use W with a different file specification
each time.
WB tells SOS not to increment the version number before writing the
output file. This option of the Save World command is effective only
if it is the first W command given. That is, once a W command has
been
issued, the version number of the output file has been
incremented. All subsequent W or WB commands use that same version
number.
Only if WB is the first Save World command will it overwrite
the original input file;
otherwise WB is equivalent to w.
SOS
overwrites the input file with the current contents of the file you
are editing, and returns you to Edit mode.

5-50

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS

Extend
5.18

EXTEND (X)

Format:

X [range] [ ,N]
Argument:

range
Specifies the range of lines to be extended one at
you omit range, the current line is extended.

time.

Option:
,N

Tells SOS to print only
range.

th~

line

number

each

line

the

Current line:

After SOS completes an extend command, it sets the current line to the
last line in the range that was extended.
The extend command adds text to the end of lines.
It does this by
acting as if you had typed A (to enter Alter mode), <TAB> (to reach
the end of the line), and I (to begin inserting text). Alter mode is
described in detail with the Alter command in Section 5.1.
SOS enters Alter/insert mode for each line in the range that you
specify.
It prints the line and waits in Alter/insert mode. If you
specify ,N, SOS prints only the line number. At any time you can type
<ESC> to end insertion and then give any Alter-mode command. For
example, typing L moves the intraline pointer to the beginning of the
line, so you can make changes before the text you have just inserted.
If you type <DEL> while inserting text, the previous character is
deleted.
<DEL> echoes as a pair of backslashes followed by the
deleted character.
Successive <DEL>s delete and echo
previous
characters in turn.
The next non<DEL> character that you type is
echoed as a second pair of backslashes followed by the character.
If
you type more <DEL>s than the number of characters you have inserted
after the extend command, SOS deletes characters in your original
line.
If you insert so much text that the overall length of the line exceeds
500 characters, SOS prints the message LINE IS TOO LONG and returns
you to Edit mode. Any changes that you may have made to the line up
to that point are discarded.
If you type <LF> after the extend command
(that is, while in
Alter/insert mode), SOS creates a new line to receive the rest of the
inserted text. The number of this new line is determined as follows:
1.

The current line-number increment is
line number.

If an existing line intervenes between the current line
number and this new number, the new line is numbered halfway
in between.

5-51

added

the

current

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS

If the next existing line is numbered higher by 1 than
current line, a bell sounds and no new line is created.

the

If no errors occur and the new line is created, the intraline pointer
is positioned at the beginning of the new line; SOS is still in
Alter/insert mode.
After an extend command, while in Alter/insert mode, any character you
type (with seven exceptions) is inserted into the text line. Many
control characters do not have their usual effect when entered in
Alter/insert mode. For example, <CTRL/S> and <CTRL/Q> have no effect
on terminal output. They are simply inserted into the text line
without interpretation.
The following seven characters are not treated as text in Alter/insert
mode:
(g@

mi
@ID
@
(CTRL/C)
tTRLIR)

tTB®

ends insertion.
ends the extend command for this line.
deletes the previous character.
creates a new text line.
returns SOS to edit mode.
retypes the line
gets the attention of DCL.

5-52

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS

. (period)
Move Position
5.19

MOVE POSITION (.)

Format:
.position
Argument:
position
Specifies the new current position (line/page).
Current line:
After SOS completes a Move Position command, it sets the current
to the line specified by the position argument.

line

This command resets the current line. If you specify a nonexistent
line or page number, SOS prints NO SUCH LINE EXISTS, and does not
change the current line.
Otherwise, the only response is the
Edit-mode prompt *
Examples:
*.22012

Set the new current position to line 220, page 2.

*.. -5
Set the new current position to the fifth line before the present
position. Note that, if at present the current line is less than
five lines from the beginning of a page, then ~;. is the current
position after the command.

*.. 1.+2
Set the new current position to the line that has the same number
as the current line, on the page that is two pages beyond the
current page.

5-53

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS

(equal)
Give Parameter
5.20

GIVE PARAMETER

(=)

Format:
=parameter
Argument:
parameter
Specifies any legal SOS parameter or switch.
Parameters
switches are listed in Tables n-1 and 6-2 (see Chapter 6).

and

Current line:
The Give Parameter command does not affect the current line.
This command returns the value of SOS parameters and switches.
SOS
parameters can have values of integers, strings, characters, or
positions (line/page). A switch is an sos internal variable that can
have one of two values: on or off.
The following examples show some useful parameters and switches.
Examples:

*=bis
4

*
Print the page number of the largest page in the file.

*=NAME
DBB2:CHANNlPAYROLL.HSTJ3

Print the current specification of the output file.
file-spec used by the Save World and End commands.

This is

the

*=STRING
FINDi somer

SUBSTITUTE-

stochastic
FORraridom

*
Print the values of the current Find and Substitute strings.
These are handy to know when using these commands repeatedly
through a file.
The string identified as SUBSTITUTEis
newstring, and FOR- is oldstring (see the description of the
Substitute command in Section 5.15).

5-54

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS

I (slash)
Set Parameter
5.21

SET PARAMETER (/)

Format:
/parameter[:value]
Arguments:
parameter
Specifies any SOS switch or parameter that can be set (see Tables
6-1 and 6-2 in Chapter 6).
value
Specifies a legal value for that parameter. See the descriptions
of the individual parameters in Section 6.1.
Current line:
The Set Parameter command does not affect the current line.
This command sets the value of SOS parameters and switches.
You are
allowed to set any of the switches, but you can set only nine of the
16 parameters. Table 6-2 shows which parameters you can set.
After setting the requested
Edit-mode prompt *·

parameter

switch,

sos

prints

the

The examples below demonstrate setting some of the more frequently
used SOS parameters and switches. All are described in Chapter 6.
Examples:
*/i~1ave:10

Perform an automatic Save World
added in Input mode.

command

after

every

lines

The user claims to be an expert at using the editor:
issue
shorter
error messages; do not request confirmation before
deleting text; and do not display deleted text in Alter mode.

*IF'LINES:23
Print 23 lines of text, starting at the current line, when sos
receives P followed by <RET>. This is a useful value of PLINES
for users with video display terminals that show 24 lines of text
on the screen (especially if the terminal's speed has been set to
a high baud rate, for instance 1200 baud or above).

5-55

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS

@(at)
Execute Command File
5.22

EXECUTE COMMAND FILE (@)

Format:
@file-spec
Argument:
file-spec
Specifies a file containing SOS commands.
Current line:
After SOS completes a Command File command, it sets the
to the last line modified by a command in the file.

current

line

Command File lets you place a repetitive or frequently used series of
commands in a file.
SOS executes the commands from the file as if
they came from the keyboard.
Once SOS begins executing a Command File command, it performs all the
commands in the file, returning control to the keyboard only when it
reaches the end. However, SOS prints the following items on the
terminal:
•

Error messages

•

Printouts from the Print command

•

Lines found by the Find command

•

Changes made by the Substitute command

•

Lines altered by the Alter command

SOS also requests input from the terminal if the command file contains
a Substitute command that places the editor in Decide mode.
If the file type field of the command-file specification is
can omit the file type when giving the file specification.

CMD,

you

Command files can be nested to a depth of three levels.
That is, a
command file can contain a Command File command; that file can
contain another Command File command. If you attempt to nest command
files to a depth of four or more, SOS prints MAXIMUM COMMAND FILE
DEPTH EXCEEDED and issues the Edit-mode prompt *·
You can use command files to shorten the typing of common commands.
For example, you might create two files named L.CMD and W.CMD as
shorthand for commonly used Print commands:
L... CMD:

P*-51*!6

W.CMD!

P.-3!6

If these two files are in your directory, you can type @L<RET> to see
the last six lines in a file, and type @W<RET> to see a "window" of
six lines surrounding the current line.
5-56

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS
Another use for Command File is in repetitive editing.
Consider the
task of deleting the final three characters on each of 400 lines on a
page. This task would be tedious to perform by hand, and prone to
error as well. The example below shows how to build and use a command
file to do the required deletion.
Example:
In this example, the user (whose name is Lyles) generates a command
file named DEL.CMD.
The first line contains an X (extend) command
with a range of 100 lines.
(Lyles gives four Command File commands to
delete the 400 lines.) The remaining 100 lines in DEL.CMD contain
identical Alter-mode command sequences that perform the deletion on
each line in turn.
Lyles uses the extend command, instead of the Alter command, to
suppress typeout of the lines being altered. The ,N option of extend
allows this. Since extend leaves SOS in Alter/insert mode, the first
Alter-mode command is <ESC>, which returns SOS to Alter-mode command
level. The subsequent command deletes the previous three characters
(the last three characters in the line).
To get an escape character into the file, Lyles uses the Set Parameter
command /ESCAPE to set the logical escape character to the plus sign
(+). Thus, when Lyles inserts line 200 and types +, sos inserts an
escape character into the file.
(For details, see Section n.l.)
After entering the line of Alter-mode commands, Lyles uses the Copy
command to replicate the line the required 100 times. Note that,
after seven copy commands, there are 128 replicated lines;
Lyles
deletes the excess.
$

EDIT DEL.CMD

00100
X. ! 100,N ®9
*IESCAf'E:+

*1*

()0~?.00

+MM3[1

00300
(§9
*C*,200
INCl.=100
*C*'200:*
INC1=100
*C*,200:*
INC1=100
*C*•200:*
INC1=100
*C*•200:*
INC1=100
*P*
03300
-3D
*C*•200:*
INC1=100
*C*,200:*
INC1=100
*P*
12900
-3D
*D10200:*
28 LINE<S> IIELETEII (10200/1:12900).
*E
CIIBA2:CLYLESJIIEL+CMil~1J

5-57

EDIT-MODE COMMANDS
Now Lyles edits the file in which the deletions are needed.
The 400
lines are on page 3, numbered 10 to 4010. Because the extend command
in DEL.CMD uses the current line (.), Lyles sets the current line to
the next unedited line before typing @DEL. Immediately after giving
each Command File command, Lyles types <CTRL/O> to suppress all
printout. SOS completes the command and issues the Edit-mode prompt.
$

EDIT DIREC.COR

EDIT:DBA2:rLYLESJDIREC.COR~12

*·13

*@.DEL
trn_IJq

*f'. ! 2

01010
01020

Gunther, Ja~ •••••••••
Gurska' Andrew ••••••• 22

*@DEL
tii\QQJ

*P• ! 2

02020
02030

Mosbers, Tom •••••••••
Modeen' Alice •••••••• 41

*@DEL
{jTRL/0)

*@DEL
.. +1

tT~~/O)

*F'···"U*

04000
04010

Zosel' Marie •••••••••
Zwsk' Ra~mond ••••••••

5-58

CHAPTER 6
SOS PARAMETERS AND SWITCHES

SOS maintains a number of internal parameters and switches that
control different aspects of its operation. You can set and reset
some of the parameters and switches from the terminal. Tables 6-1 and
6-2 list the parameters and switches, their initial values, and their
minimum abbreviations in upper case characters.
A switch in SOS is an internal variable that can have one of two
values:
on or off. Switches are set with the Set Parameter command
(/) and interrogated with the Give Parameter command (=).
All
switches can be turned off by prefixing NO to their names in a Set
Parameter command.
A parameter can have a range of values.
values:
BIG
LENGTH
START

INCREMENT
PLINES
STEP

Most parameters nave

integer

I SAVE
SAVE
SUBSTITUTE

Four parameters have values that are text strings:
ERROR
ID
NAME
STRING
Two parameters have values that are positions (line/page pairs):
LOCATION
Two parameters have values that are single characters:
ESCAPE
MATCH
Some of the parameters and switches can be specified as qualifiers in
the initial DCL EDIT command. They can also be specified by using the
symbol-assignment mechanism (see Section n.3).
The parameters and
switches that you can preset in the EDIT command are:
INCREMENT
I SAVE
PL INES
SAVE
START
STEP

BAK
DECIDE
EXPERT
LINE
LOWER
NUMBERS
READONLY

n-1

SOS PARAMETERS AND SWITCHES

TABLE 6-1
SOS PARAMETERS
Name 1

Set from
F.<lit Mode?

Preset
viaDCL?2

Initial
Value

Meaning

!---··

BIG

Displays highest page number

ERROr

(null)

Displays last error message

ESCApe

(null)

Sets character for input/output of escapes

INCRement

100

ISAVe

LENGth

LOCAtion

55
,.. /1

MATCh

(null)

Displays current SOS version number
Sets increment for numbering inserted lines
Controls auto-Won inserts
Sets page size for List command
Displays first line in edit buffer
Sets special pattern-matching flag character

NAME

Displays output file specification

PLINes

Sets number of lines printed by P~

SAVE

Controls auto-Won commands

STARt

100

Sets starting line number

STEP

100

Sets increment for initial line numbering

STRing

(null)

SUBStitute

n
1

Displays current position

00000/1
- ..

---·
2

Displays current Find and Substitute strings
Displays number of matches in last Substitute
__-!.-.._

--~

Minimum abbreviation is given in uppercase letters.
You can specify these parameters as qualifiers in the initial DCL EDIT command, or by using the symbolassignment mechanism (see Section 6.3).

TABLE 6-2
SOS SWITCHES
Initial
Value

Preset
via DCL?2

BAK

Tells SOS to create back-up file

Sets auto Decide mode on Substitute

Name 1

Meaning

DECide

off

EXACt

off

EXPErt

off

Tells SOS to use existing line numbers

Requires exact case match for Find, Substitute, contentspecification
Declares experienced SOS user

LINE

LOWEr

Tells SOS to accept uppercase, lowercase as is

NUMbers
READonly

Tells SOS to display line numbers

off

Starts SOS in Read-only mode

SEPArator

off

Tells SOS to treat_$ . as alphanumeric

SEQUence

Leaves output-file line numbers

--..

·1

Minimum abbreviation is given in uppercase letters.
2
You can specify these switches as qualifiers in the initial DCL EDIT command, or by using the symbolassignment mechanism (see Section 6.3). Tum off any switch by using the letters NO before its name;
thus, NOLINE turns off the LINE switch.

6-2

• •,_,.J

SOS PARAMETERS AND SWITCHES
6.1

PARAMETERS

BIG
Value:
Integer:

the largest page number now in the file.

Default:
Null.
Set:
Cannot be set by user. SOS resets BIG when you add or delete
pages, and (if necessary) when you interrogate it with =BIG
Interrogate:
Use =BIG
When you give the command =BIG for the first time, SOS searches
through the entire file, lnserting page marks if it finds lines out of
order, until it reaches the end of the file. The following output is
typical.
*=BIG

LINES OUT OF ORDER
P/M INSERTED FOR PAGE 2
LINES OUT OF ORDER
P/M INSERTED FOR PAGE 5
7

*
In this example, SOS returns the value 7 as the highest numbered page
in the file.
The message LINES OUT OF ORDER might result from
concatenating line-numbered files, for example with the DCL command
COPY.
ERROR
Value:
String:

the last error message SOS printed.

Default:
Null.
Set:
Cannot be set by user.
error message.

SOS resets ERROR each time it

prints

Interrogate:
Use =ERROR
SOS always prints the long form (that is, the NOEXPERT form) of the
last error message. It does this even if the EXPERT switch is on.

6-3

SOS PARAMETERS AND SWITCHES
ESCAPE
Value:
Character: when input, causes SOS to insert an escape character
into the file; also, the character that SOS prints when it
encounters an escape character in text.
Default:
Initially null. When you do not specify a
the default is dollar sign ($).

character

(/ESCAPE),

Set:
Use /ESCAPE:x
Interrogate:
Use =ESCAPE
This parameter defines a "logical escape" character that lets you
insert an escape character into a text file, and lets sos display
escape characters in text that it types out. One reason for inserting
escape characters into text files is to use the Find and Substitute
commands in command files (see Section 5.22).
This parameter is initially null, so you cannot insert escape
characters into the text. When you issue the following Set Parameter
command, sos uses the default value of $ as the logical escape
character.

*/ESCAPE
The logical escape is used in three ways:
•

SOS inserts an escape character into the text whenever you
type $ in Input mode, in Alter/insert mode, or in the
newstring of a Substitute command.

•

sos prints $ whenever it encounters

•

SOS searches for an escape character when you type $ in a Find
command or in the oldstring of a Substitute command.

escape

character

text to be typed out.

You can select another
character by typing:

character

act

the

*/ESCAPE:x
where x represents the new logical escape character.
NOTE
You cannot use any of the following
characters as a logical escape:

; : I

[ J =

characters are meaningful in
specifications.

Th~se

To disable the logical escape feature, type:

*/ESCAPE:
Note that the colon must be typed.

6-4

file

logical

escape

SOS PARAMETERS AND SWITCHES
ID
Value:
String:

the current version number of sos.

Default:
The current version.
Set:
Cannot be set by user.
Interrogate:
Use =ID
SOS responds to the command =ID with its current version number.
If
you experience problems with the text editor software, ascertain the
version number of SOS so you can report it to DIGITAL service
personnel. For example:

*=ID
SOS V02+04A

*
INCREMENT
Value:
Integer: the line-number increment SOS uses to assign
line number for input text.

the

Default:
100
Set:
Append as a qualifier to the EDIT command;
or set by the
symbol-assignment mechanism;
or use /INCREMENT:n. sos changes
INCREMENT when you give an Input or Replace command with a second
argument (comma-delimited) to update the line-number increment.
Interrogate:
Use =INCREMENT
INCREMENT is the line-number increment SOS uses to calculate line
numbers for new lines created in Input or Alter/insert mode. You can
set this parameter directly by using the Set Parameter command.
However, the more common way to change its value is by supplying an
increment argument to the Input or Replace commands.
I SAVE
Value:
Integer:
saves.

number of lines of input text

between

automatic

file

set

the

Default:
0 (auto-save turned o(f).
Set:
Append as a qualifier to the EDIT command;
symbol-assignment mechanism; or use /ISAVE:n.
Interrogate:
Use =!SAVE

n-5

SOS PARAMETERS AND SWITCHES

This parameter controls one of SOS's automatic file-saving options
(the other is controlled by SAVE). When you set !SAVE -- for example,
/ISAVE:lO -- SOS automatically performs a W command each time you
insert ten more lines into the file using the Insert or Replace
commands.
!SAVE initially has the value zero, so auto-saving is disabled
inserts. To disable !SAVE once you have set it, reset it to zero.

LENGTH

Value:
Integer:

page length for the List command.

Default:
55
Set:
Use /LENGTH:n
Interrogate:
Use =LENGTH
LENGTH represents the page length for printer listings generated by
the List command. Its initial value is 55 lines. Thus, SOS starts a
new page in the printer listing whenever it encounters a page mark,
and also whenever it has printed 53 lines without encountering a page
mark (the listing heading requires two lines).
LOCATION

Value:
Line/page:

the position of the beginning of SOS's edit buffer.

Default:

... /1

Set:
Cannot be set by user. SOS keeps track of LOCATION as
from the input file and writes to its temporary files.

reads

Interrogate:
Use =LOCATION
The edit buffer contains all the text that is immediately accessible
to SOS.
If you issue a command that affects lines outside this
buffer, SOS must read text from the input file before performing the
command.
(See Chapter 8, "SOS Internals.") For example, if you
request the printout of a line earlier in the file than the position
LOCATION, sos must write the remainder of the file (after the current
position) to its temporary file, and then read from the input file up
to the line you requested.

6-n

SOS PARAMETERS AND SWITCHES
MATCH
Value:
Character: the flag character for
Find and Substitute commands.

special

Default:
Initially null. When you do not specify
the default is? (question mark).

pattern-matching

character

(/MATCH),

Set:
Use /MATCH[:x]
Interrogate:
Use =MATCH
This parameter defines a
flag
character
for
SOS's
special
pattern-matching feature (see Section 7.1). MATCH is initially null,
so special pattern-matching is disabled.
When you issue the following Set Parameter
default value of ? as the flag character.

command,

SOS

uses

the

*/MATCH
In Find and Substitute strings, certain groups of characters beginning
with ? are interpreted in a special way (see Section 7.1).
as

the

special

Cannot be set by user. SOS changes NAME when you
World command; giving a new file specification.

issue

You can select
another
character
to
pattern-matching flag character by typing:

act

*/MATCH:x
where x represents the new flag character.
To disable special pattern-matching, type:

Note that the colon must be typed.
NAME
Value:
String:

the specification of the output file.

Default:
The specification of the input file.
Set:
Save

Interrogate:
Use =NAME
After you issue a Save World command, the parameter NAME contains the
file specification that SOS would use for the output file if you gave
an End command (without naming a new file). Before you have issued a
Save World command, NAME contains the input file specification.
However, if you explicitly gave an output file specification when you
initiated
SOS (/OUTPUT=file-spec), NAME initially contains this
specification.

6-7

SOS PARAMETERS AND SWITCHES
PL INES
Value:
Integer: the number of lines SOS prints upon receiving
command without arguments.

Default:
16
Set:
Append as a qualifier to the EDIT command;
assignment mechanism; or use /PLINES:n.

or set by the

symbol

Interrogate:
Use =PLINES
SAVE
Value:
Integer:
saves.

number of text-changing commands between automatic file

Default:
0 (auto-save turned off) •
Set:
Append as a qualifier to the EDIT command;
symbol-assignment mechanism; or use /SAVE:n.

set

the

Interrogate:
Use =SAVE
This parameter controls one of SOS's two automatic file saving options
(the other is controlled by !SAVE).
When you issue the command
/SAVE:20, for example, SOS automatically performs a Save World command
each time you issue the 20th text-changing command (listed below).
Commands that do not change the file are not included in this count.
Text-changing commands are defined as the commands that are illegal in
Read-only mode:
Alter
Insert
Mark
Substitute

Copy
Join
reNumber
Transfer

Delete
K1.ll Page Mark
Replace
extend

START
Value:
Integer: the line number SOS gives to the first line in a
and/or to the first line on a page, in an unnumbered file.

file,

Default:
100
Set:
To override SOS's initial default value, append as a qualifier to
the EDIT command, or set by the symbol-assignment mechanism; or
use /START:n.

1)-8

SOS PARAMETERS AND SWITCHES

Interrogate:
Use =START
If you reset START midw~y through editing a file that was initially
unnumbered but that contained page marks, SOS numbers subsequent pages
(that it has not yet encountered) using the new starting line number.
STEP

Value:
Integer: the line-number increment
numbers to an unnumbered file.

SOS

uses

assign

line

Default:
100

Set:
To override SOS's initial default value, append as a qualifier to
the EDIT command, or set by the symbol-assignment mechanism; or
use /STEP:n. Use it as a qualifier to the initial DCL EDIT
command or use the symbol-assignment mechanism (see Section fi.3).
Interrogate:
Use =STEP
STEP is the default line-number increment SOS uses to number the lines
of an unnumbered input file. sos assigns line numbers as it reads in
the lines. Therefore, you can change STEP at any time to affect the
line-number increment for the lines that SOS has not yet accessed in
an unnumbered file.
STRING

Value:
String:

the current Find and Substitute strings.

Default:
Null.
Set:
Cannot be set by user. SOS updates STRING whenever you
new Find or Substitute command.

issue

Interrogate:
Use =STRING
The parameter STRING contains the values of three search strings: one
for the Find command and two for the Substitute command. Any of these
search strings can contain multiple strings, if such strings were
specified in the last Find or Substitute. For example:
*:::STfUNG
FI ND·Al te r mode
Al te r-nH:>de
SUBST:CTUTE·-

Find command strings

i de mode

Substitute command newstrings

FDF~"..
d f~ C i d f? ITt C:F.:h:~
dee i df~·..·mc:>de

Substitute command cldstrinss

Df:~c
Df?C i de""ITIOd€~

*
6-9

SOS PARAMETERS AND SWITCHES
It is sometimes useful to issue =STRING when you are using the Find
and/or Substitute commands without arguments; that is, when you are
searching for strings specified in a previous complete command.
SUBSTITUTE
Value:
Integer: the number
Substitute command.

substitutions

performed

the

last

after

every

Default:
0

Set:
Cannot be set by user.
SOS updates SUBSTITUTE
Substitute command, whether successful or not.
Interrogate:
Use =SUBSTITUTE
This parameter is useful because it tells you how many substitutions
SOS performed in a Substitute command with the ,N option (in which the
lines changed are not printed out).
If you entered Decide mode with the last substitute command, and if
you entered Decide Alter mode for any line, the SUBSTITUTE parameter
reflects the total number of possible substitutions for that line.
This is true even if, in Decide Alter mode, you undo one or more of
the substitutions.
• (Period)
Value:
Line/page:

SOS's current position.

Default:
00000/l

Set:
Use .position. SOS updates this parameter
that affects a line.

after

every

command

All switches can be
for example:

turned

Interrogate:
Use =.

6.2

SWITCHES

sos switches are summarized in Table 6-2.
on with the Set Parameter command;
*!BAK

Several of the switches can be specified as qualifiers to the initial
EDIT command, or by using the symbol-assignment mechanism (see Section
6.3). All switches can be interrogated with the Give Parameter
command:
*=BAK

6-10

SOS PARAMETERS AND SWITCHES

You can abbreviate switch names to four characters.
examples below, the full switch names are used.

all

the

Any switch can be turned off by prefixing NO to its name in the Set
Parameter command.
For example, to turn off the Decide-mode switch,
type:

*/NODECIDE
For compatibility with other implementations of SOS, you can use the
minus sign (-) interchangeably with NO to turn off a switch. However,
you cannot use the minus sign on the initial DCL EDIT command line.
It is best to use NO in all cases.
BAK

Meaning:
Determines whether SOS
output file.

increments

the

version

number

the

Default:
BAK is on.
Set:
Append as qualifier to the EDIT command; or use /BAK
(after initialization, SOS does not set this switch).

/NOBAK

This switch determines whether SOS increments the version number of
the output file when you issue the first Save World command in an
editing session, or when you issue End without a previous Save World.
If BAK is on, SOS increments the version number. If BAK is off, SOS
does not increment the version number, but instead overwrites the
input file.
The setting of the switch is not meaningful if you give a new file
specification with the Save World or End command. This is because the
new file specification obviates the question of whether or not you
want a back-up file.
The setting is also not meaningful after you
issue the first Save World command.
DECIDE

Meaning:
Determines whether SOS automatically enters Decide mode for
Substitute command.

each

Default:
DECIDE is off.
Set:
Append as a qualifier to the EDIT command;
or set by the
symbol-assignment mechanism; or use /DECIDE or /NODECIDE (after
initialjzation, SOS does not set this switch).
If DECIDE is on, SOS enters Decide mode each time you issue a
Substitute command.
The effect is as if you issued each Substitute
command with the ,D option.
The DECIDE switch provides an automatic way of protecting against
operator errors. Therefore, a user who is just beginning to learn SOS
may want to set this switch.

6-11

SOS PARAMETERS AND SWITCHES
EXACT

Meaning:
Determines whether SOS requires an exact
lowercase letters) in pattern searches.

match

(uppercase

and

does

set

Default:
EXACT is off.
Set:
Use /EXACT or /NOEXACT (after initialization,
this switch).

sos

not

If EXACT is on, SOS requires an exact pattern match for:
•

All Edit-mode Find and Substitute command searches

•

All Alter-mode S and K command searches

•

All content-specified searches (see Section 7.2)

EXPERT

Meaning:
If EXPERT is on, SOS assumes you are an experienced SOS user.
Default:
EXPERT is off.
Set:
Append as a qualifier to the EDIT command;
or set by the
symbol-assignment mechanism; or use /EXPERT or /NOEXPERT (after
initialization, SOS does not set this switch).
Declaring yourself an expert SOS user (/EXPERT) has four consequences:
•

The error and informational messages SOS types are more
than those for nonexperts.

•

SOS does not request confirmation before deleting text across
page boundaries, or before deleting all text on a page.

•

SOS does not report how many lines it deletes when you issue a
Delete or Replace command.

•

In Alter mode, SOS does not display deleted characters between
pairs of backslashes (\\ ••• \\). Thus, the appearance of lines
as you edit them in Alter mode corresponds more closely to the
actual contents of the lines.

6-12

brief

SOS PARAMETERS AND SWITCHES
LINE

Meaning:
Determines whether or not SOS
present in an input file.

uses

line

numbers

that

may

Default:
LINE is on (that is, SOS uses existing line numbers).
Set:
Append as a qualifier to the EDIT command;
symbol-assignment mechanism;
or ·use /LINE
initialization, SOS does not set this switch).

or set by the
or /NOLINE (after

If you turn off the LINE switch by the logical name mechanism, or if
you initiate SOS with the qualifier /NOLINE, SOS ignores line numbers
that may be present in the file it reads.
The file is renumbered.
SOS does not print the usual message indicating the absence of line
numbers (INPUT ASSUMED UNSEQUENCED).
LOWER

Meaning:
Determines whether or not SOS translates
from the terminal to uppercase.
Default:
LOWER is on (that is, lowercase letters
uppercase).

are

lowercase

not

characters

translated

Set:
Append as a qualifier to the EDIT command;
or set by the
symbol-assignment mechanism;
or use /LOWER or /NOLOWER (after
initialization, SOS does not set this switch).
A side effect of turning off LOWER is that if the exact character
match options (,E) of the Find and Substitute commands are used, it is
impossible to match any lowerca~e character that is already in the
file. The EXACT switch, if turned on, has the same side effect.
NUMBERS

Meaning:
Determines whether SOS
present in an input
numbers in Input mode.

prints out line numbers that may be
file, and whether it prompts with line

Default:
NUMBERS is on (that is, SOS lists line numbers when
lines in your file).

displays

Set:
Append as a qualifier to the EDIT command, or set by
symbol-assignment mechanism; or use /NUMBERS or /NONUMBERS.

the

If you turn off the NUMBERS switch by the logical name mechanism, if
you initiate SOS with the qualifier /NONUMBERS, or if you type
/NONUMBERS at the Edit mode prompt, sos does not print line numbers
when it displays lines of text and does not prompt with line numbers
in Input mode.

6-13

SOS PARAMETERS AND SWITCHES
SEPARATOR
Meaning:
Determines whether sos treats the three characters ., $,
as
word delimiters if special pattern-matching is enabled for the
Find and Substitute commands.
Default:
SEPARATOR is off.
Set:
Use /SEPARATOR or /NOSEPARATOR {after
not set this switch).

initialization,

SOS

does

By setting the switch SEPARATOR, you can make SOS treat the characters
.,
$,
and
as
word-delimiters
for
purposes of special
pattern-matching-{see Section 7.1). This feature could be useful in
editing a MACRO program, for instance, in which decimal points, dollar
signs, and underscore characters appear frequently as parts of
symbols.
SEQUENCE
Meaning:
Determines whether SOS leaves line numbers in the output file.
Default:
SEQUENCE is on.
Set:
Use /SEQUENCE or /NOSEQUENCE {after initialization, SOS does
set this switch).
If you turn off the SEQUENCE switch and exit with the E
effect is as if you exi~ed with ES.

6.3

command,

not
the

SETTING DEFAULT CONDITIONS USING SYMBOL ASSIGNMENT

You can change the parameter and switch values that apply when SOS is
initiated by using the DCL symbol-assignment mechanism. You can issue
a symbol-assignment command from the terminal to override the initi~l
defaults temporarily; or you can include the command in your LOGIN.COM
file to override the defaults permanently.
SOS's initial default values for parameters and switches are listed in
Tables 6-1 and 6-2, and discussed briefly in Section 4.1. You can
override these defaults in three ways upon starting the editor.
1.

To override the defaults for the current editing session
only, use qualifiers to the EDIT command line. For example:
$

To override the defaults for all editing sessions within the
current job {that is, until you log off the system), issue a
symbol-assignment command from the terminal:
$

EDIT/INCREMENT:2 file-spec

sos:= EDIT/SOS/INCREMENT:2"
1

To override the defaults for all future editing sessions,
place a symbol-assignment command {similar to item 2 above)
in your LOGIN.COM file.
6-14

SOS PARAMETERS AND SWITCHES
The symbol-assignment command associates a character string with a
symbol. In item 2 above, the character string EDIT/SOS/INCREMENT:2 is
associated with the symbol sos. Typing SOS or SOS file-spec then
becomes your own private way of initiating the editor with the
qualifier /INCREMENT:2. Such a symbol assignment lasts until you log
off the system.
To define a symbol that lasts from one job to the next, perform the
symbol assignment in the file LOGIN.COM. This command procedure file
contains commands that are automatically executed each time you log in
(see the VAX/VMS Command Language User's Guide).
You can include more than one SOS parameter or switch in a symbol
assignment.
Use a minus sign (-) in the last character position to
continue a long line.
As an example, suppose you have the following line in
file:

your

sos:=·EDIT/SOS/LOWER/STEP:lO/START:10/INCREMENT:2/PLINES:10·
When you type SOS or SOS file-spec to initiate the editor, the
parameters and switches specified in the symbol assignment are applied
as qualifiers. Therefore, the following conditions hold:
•

Lowercase input is accepted as is, and
uppercase.

not

converted

f sos reads an unnumbered file, it numbers the lines by
• Istarting
at 10.

•
•

to
lOs,

sos uses a line-number increment of 2 for inserted lines.
sos prints 10

lines,

starting

receiving P.

6-15

the

current

line,

upon

CHAPTER 7
SPECIAL CONSTRUCTS AND CHARACTERS

The sections within this chapter discuss
the
pattern-matching
constructs used to search for strings, specifying ranges by content
rather than line number, and the special characters recognized by sos.

7.1

SPECIAL PATTERN-MATCHING CONSTRUCTS

One SOS feature that allows great flexibility in searching for strings
using the Find and Substitute commands is special pattern-matching.
This feature is initially disabled. You control it by means of the
MATCH parameter (see Section 6.1).
The Set Parameter command /MATCH:x enables special pattern-matching.
The character x acts as a flag to mark the special pattern-matching
constructs. A construct is a group of two or more characters
beginning with the flag character.
When SOS encounters such a
construct in a Find or Substitute command, it treats it as a single
character with a particular meaning for its pattern search, as
detailed below.
If you issue the command /MATCH without specifying a flag character,
uses the question mark (?) by default as the special-constructs
flag. The examples given later in this section use ? as the flag.

sos

To disable special pattern-matching, and to divest the flag character
of any special meaning, type /MATCH:. Note that you must type the
colon.
Table 7-1 lists the special constructs. Some of the constructs are
used in find strings (the string argument of Find and the oldstring
argument of Substitute), while others are used in substitute strings
{the newstring argument of Substitute).
Sections 7.1.1 and 7.1.2
describe these two classes of special pattern-matching constructs.
Section 7.1.3 describes combining find-string constructs, and the
internal representations of constructs are discussed in Section 7.1.3.

7-1

SPECIAL CONSTRUCTS AND CHARACTERS
Table 7-1
Special Pattern-Matching Constructs
Construct

Internal
representation

Meaning

Find-string constructs:
~
Match any character
?/
?:
I
Match any separator
~TAU\)
Match a space or tab
?<
PAL/El
Match any character except x
?%x
~TRL/NJ
Match 0 or more of the character x
?)x
t:IBQYJ
Match 1 or more of the character x
?lx
gAL~J
Match any alphanumeric character
?9
mAL~J
Match any letter (A-Z, a-z)
?!
?&
©I!K~
Match any uppercase letter (A-Z)
?2
~
Match any lowercase letter (a-z)
?+
©TAL/PJ
Match any decimal digit (0-9)
mAL~J
Match beginning or end of line
?>
?7c
(CTAL/"l
Match internal representation of c
Substitute-string constructs:
?"
tTAL/BJ
Substitute next string matched
?*n?*
tTAL~
Substitute nth string matched

7.1.1

Find-String Constructs

You can use the constructs given below in the Find command, or in
oldstring of the Substitute command.
?/

the

Match Any Character

This construct matches any character.
As an example of its use,
suppose you want to locate variables that start with B in a MACRO
program, but you do not want to see lines with labels that start with
B.
Since labels start in column 1, they are never preceded by any
other character. Thus, the following Find command locates the desired
variables:

*/MATCH
*F? /B
00250

(lli)

,A,999
LU

MOV

The ,A in the Find command tells SOS to enter Alter mode when a match
is found.
In Alter mode, the intraline pointer points before the
first character of the pattern matched.

Match Any Separator

This construct matches any separator, that is, any character except a
letter, a number, or the characters ., $, and
(If the switch
SEPARATOR is turned on, these three characters als~ are considered
separators.
See
Section 6.2.) The ?: construct is useful in
searching for words that, besides appearing in isolation, may be

7-2

SPECIAL CONSTRUCTS AND CHARACTERS

imbedded in other words as well. For example, suppose you want to
find all occurrences of the word "can";
however, you are not
interested in words like incandescent, canonical, and so forth. You
can issue the following Find command:

The ?: constructs before and after the word are matched by a tab or a
space.
Note that, unless the command /SEPARATOR was given, this Find
command does not match the word "can" if it ends a sentence. SOS does
not treat the final period as a separator. The Find command does work
if the word "can" begins or ends a line, however, because SOS
considers the beginning and end of a line to be separators.

Match a Space or Tab

This construct matches a space or a tab character.
Thus, it
represents
a subset of the ?: (match any separator) construct
described above. The following command has the same effect as the
example command in the previous section:

This Find command does not match the word "can" if it begins or ends a
line, or if it ends a sentence. A Find command that overcomes these
limitations is given in Section 7.1.3.
?%x

Match Any Character Except x

This 3-character construct matches any character except the final
character of the construct: any character that x would not normally
match. Thus, a?%bc matches aac, ace, adc, and so forth, but not abc.
?)x

Match O or More of the Character x

This construct matches the character that follows, any number of times
that it appears. Thus, a?)bc matches ac, abc, abbc, and so on. SOS
matches the first such string it encounters.
This construct cannot be used as the last or only element in a search
string;
?)x must be bounded on both sides by some character or
string of characters. Thus, the command F?)x<ESC> is illegal, and
results in the error message ILLEGAL SEARCH STRING GIVEN. Such a
construct, if legal, would match every line.
?lx

Match 1 or More of the Character x

This construct is similar to the one described above, except that it
matches one or more occurrences of the given character. Thus, a?lbc
matches abc, abbc, abbbc, and so on, but not ac.
SOS matches the
first such string it encounters.
?9

Match Any Alphanumeric Character

This construct matches any character in the ranges A-Z, a-z, and

7-3

0-9.

SPECIAL CONSTRUCTS AND CHARACTERS
?1

Match Any Letter (A-Z, a-z)

This construct matches any uppercase or lowercase letter.
You could
use it, for example, to find all lines in a file that contain the
strings Mr., Ms., or Dr.:
*!match

*f ~

?!?!.

l®

/U/*,99

This Find command prints all lines that contain a space
two letters (of either case), followed by a period.

followed

Match Any Uppercase Letter (A-Z)

This construct matches any uppercase letter.
For example,
matches 101-A, 101-B, and so on, but not 101-7 or 101-f.
?2

For example, (?2)

Match Any Decimal Digit (0-9)

This construct finds a number. For example, ?+?+?+-A
203-A, and so on, but not DEF-A.
?>

101-?&

Match Any Lowercase Letter (a-z)

This construct matches any letter in the range a-z.
matches (i), (j), and so on, but not (A) or (4).

matches

101-A,

Match Beginning or End of Line

This construct is useful in searching for a string that begins or ends
a line. For instance, suppose you want to search a MACRO program for
all labels of the form Ln:. You do not want to see lines in which
these labels are referred to. Since labels occur at the beginning of
lines, the following Find command performs the desired search.
*F?>L?+:

®9

I• ,E

Here the ?> construct matches the beginning of
construct matches any digit.
?7c

line,

and

the

Match Internal Representation of c

This construct matches the character that SOS uses internally to
represent the construct c. These internal representations are given
in Table 7-1. For example, suppose you need to search for the
character <CTRL/F>. As Table 7-1 shows, SOS uses <CTRL/F> internally
to represent the construct?& (match any uppercase letter). Thus, to
locate <CTRL/F>, use the combined construct ?7?&.
The use of the ?7 construct should be rare.
Normally, in the
infrequent instance when you need to search for an SOS internal
representation character,
it
is
easier
to
disable
special
pattern-matching and to search for the character directly. That is,
type /MATCH:
(note the colon) and then issue a Find command such as
f<CTRL/F><ESC>.

7-4

SPECIAL CONSTRUCTS AND CHARACTERS
The only time you are required to use ?7 is when you must use other
special pattern-matching constructs in a search. In that case, you
cannot first disable special pattern-matching. One such case would be
a Substitute command that searches for <CTRL/F> and then uses it in a
Substitute-string construct in the newstring argument (see Section
7 .1.2).

7.1.2

Substitute-String Constructs

When you use find-string constructs in the oldstring of a Substitute
command, SOS keeps track of the first, second, ••• , nth strings
matched within each line by these constructs.
The substitute-string
constructs let you manipulate the strings matched by the special
find-string constructs, without knowing the exact contents of the
matched strings.
Use these two constructs in substitute strings,
newstring arguments of Substitute commands.

that

is,

the

NOTE
Do not attempt to use substitute-string
constructs to refer to a string matched
by ?> (beginning or end of line).
A
beginning or end of line thus matched is
not included in SOS's count of matched
strings.
?*n?*

Substitute nth String Matched

This special construct gives you access to the first, second, ••• , nth
strings matched within a line by special find-string constructs. One
possible use of this feature is in exchanging arguments of functions.
For example, if you want to change all occurrences of
FUNCTION (a, b)
to:
FUN CT ION ( b, a)
for any arguments a and b, you
command:

can

issue

the

following

Substitute

*/MATCH
*SFUNCT ION ( '?> '?;,'?>?I)

?•

CES9

FU NC TI ON ( '?*2'?*, '?*1 '?*)

®"Q

I 1. :I*

Substitute Next String Matched

This construct is similar to the previous one.
When used in a
substitute string, it specifies substituting the next string in the
series of strings matched by find-string constructs. Thus, if you use
the constructs ?*3?*?" in a substitute newstring, sos substitutes the
third and fourth strings matched within the line by find-string
constructs.

7-5

SPECIAL CONSTRUCTS AND CHARACTERS

7.1.3

Combining Find-String Constructs

find-string constructs can be combined in a Find or Substitute command
to give even greater versatility to SOS's pattern-searching features.
Perhaps the most useful find-string construct to combine
is ?%x (match any character except x). For example:

with

?%?9

matches any character that is not alphanumeric.

?%?+

matches any character other than a number.

?%?2

matches any character except a lowercase letter.

More than two find-string constructs can be combined.

others

For example:

?%?1?+

matches anything but one or more digits.
This
combined construct could be useful in searching a data
file in which much of the text is multidigit numbers.

?1?%?<

matches one or more of any character except spaces
tabs.

?%?7?&

matches
any
representation
but <CTRL/F>).

character
except
the
internal
of the construct ?& (that is, anything

sos does not consider the beginning or end of a line a character.
Thus, the beginning or end of a line is matched by all of the
following combined constructs {among others):
?%?/

anything that is not a character

?%?:

not a separator

?%?>

not a space or tab

?%?9

not alphanumeric

?%?!

not a letter

?%?+

not a number

For example, you can search for all occurrences of the word "can" with
the following combined construct. This Find command works if "can"
begins or ends a sentence (assuming the EXACT switch is not on), or if
it begins or ends a line.

7.2

SPECIFYING RANGES BY CONTENT

For any Edit-mode command that requires a range of line numbers as
argument, you can implicitly specify the range by text content.

For example, instead of requesting that SOS print the lines numbered
from 150 through 220, you can request that SOS print all lines from
the line in which the string ABC occurs through the line in which the
string DEF occurs.
{You can do this for any SOS command, not just the
Print command.)

7-fi

SPECIAL CONSTRUCTS AND CHARACTERS
A common way to specify a range of lines is to use the following form:
position:position
To specify a range by content, replace either or both of the
specifications with arguments in the following form:
string

(lli)

ffil

Terminate the command with a final <RET>.
Print command cited above, type:

*P
:

position

(lli)
A B C (lli)
(lli)
DEF @

For example, to

issue

the

ffil
ffil

00)

Note that three carriage returns are required: one each to terminate
the two content specifications, and a final one to terminate the Print
command. Note also that a colon separates the two halves of the
content-specified range.
Using this kind of content specification is equivalent to embedding
one or two Find commands within whatever command you are issuing. In
executing the Print command given above, for instance, SOS performs a
search for the string ABC as soon as you type the first <RET>. The
search starts at the current line and proceeds to the end of the file.
If sos does not find the string,
it prints an error message
immediately after you type the first <RET>.
Assuming ABC is found, SOS performs a second search, starting at the
position of ABC, when you type the second <RET> (terminating the
range). Again, sos prints an error message if it fails to find DEF.
When you type the final <RET>, SOS performs the Print command, using
the range of lines it has located in its two searches.
Normally, SOS starts its search for a content-specified line at the
current line.
However, you can specify a range over which SOS is to
search with the form:
string

range

ffil

For example, suppose the current line is beyond the first line on the
current page that contains the string ABC. Without resetting the
current line, you can effect the Print command given above by
specifying /. as the range for SOS's content-specified search:

*F' (lli)

:
@
00)

ABC
DEF

@:
@

1.
00)

Content specification is more general still.
give options that specify:

After the range you

•

An exact pattern match (upper- and lowercase)

•

A quasi-Decide mode

•

The nth occurrence of the given string.

can

In other words, content specification has options that give it all the
generality of a Find or Substitute command.

7-7

SPECIAL CONSTRUCTS AND CHARACTERS

The full syntax of a content specification is as follows:
I@

[string]

[range] [{

:~ }][,E] [,-] iBffJ

where:
string
Specifies the pattern SOS is to search for. Note that string is
optional.
If you omit it, SOS uses the string last used in the
same position in a content specification.
range
Specifies the range over which SOS is to search for the string.
If you omit range, SOS searches from the current line to the end
of the file.
,D

Tells SOS to enter a quasi-Decide mode.
SOS prints the first
line containing the string, then prompts with ?. You type Y, y,
or <SP> if the line printed is the line you intend for the
content
specification.
SOS
then
continues
with
the
content-specified command. Type <DEL> to reject the line.
SOS
then prints the next line in the range that contains the string,
and again prompts with ?. If you reject all the lines in the
range that contain the string, SOS prints an error message and
terminates the content-specified command.
,N

Tells SOS to enter the same quasi-Decide mode, but instead of
printing each line found, SOS prints only the line numb~r, and
prompts with ?. Type Y, y, or <SP> to accept the line; type
<DEL> to reject it.
,n

An integer: tells SOS to use the nth occurrence of the string
within the range. N-0te that the meaning of this option differs
from its meaning in the Find command. In Find, ,n tells SOS to
print the next n occurrences of a string, not its nth occurrence.
,E

Tells SOS to accept only an exact pattern match in its search for
the string. Upper- and lowercase letters must match. Note: the
EXACT switch, which controls exact pattern matching in the Find
and
Substitute
commands,
is
also
effective in content
specifications. Turning on the EXACT switch has the same effect
as specifying the ,E option.
Tells SOS to use the first line in which
does not occur.

the

specified

pattern

Content specification has still another sort of generality. The range
that
you
can give in a content specification can itself be
content-specified; the range in that content specification can also be
content-specified. The maximum nesting depth is three levels.

7-8

SPECIAL CONSTRUCTS AND CHARACTERS

For example, a file contains the following lines:
abc
cde
fgh
ijk
lmn
opq
rst
uvw
xyz
123
234
uuo
890

00100
00200
00300
00400
00500
00600
00700
00800
00900
01000
01100
01200
01300

As indicated by the brackets, the user wants to print the lines
between the first occurrence of o and the next occurrence of u, with
the searches constrained to the range between the first occurrence of
f
and
the
next
occurrence of 1.
The following two-level,
content-specified Print command performs this task:

(BIT)

(®

(BIT)

Print lines from o •••

(RET)

ffiITl
00600
()() '7 ()()

Ol~'G

()()(1()()

l..IVl...J

Start searching
at f. ..
••• continue
search until 1.

••• through u.
Do it.

rst

7.3

SOS SPECIAL CHARACTERS

Table 7-2 shows all the nonalphabetic characters that have special
meaning to sos. The meaning of some characters depends on the context
(for instance, <ESC> can have one of several meanings, depending on
the mode SOS is operating in).

7-9

SPECIAL CONSTRUCTS AND CHARACTERS
Table 7-2

sos Special Characters
Character

Meanings
Edit mode: Move Position command.
In position specifier: means current line or current
page.

Edit mode: Give Parameter command.
In Copy command: means text is copied from
file.

another

positive

In position specification:
signifies
line-number offset.
Special pattern-matching
construct:
decimal digit.

match

any

Edit mode:

Edit mode: Set Parameter command.
In Copy command: /C means enter Copy-file mode.
At DCL level: marks beginning of a qualifi~r.
In position specifier: separates line number
page number.
Special pattern-matching
construct:
match
character.

and

Execute Command File command.

In position specifier: means first line on
or first page in a file.

any
page,

In position specifier: means last line on a page, or
last page in a file.
Special pattern-matching construct:
substitute the
nth string matched by a special construct.
In End, Save World, List commands: signals beginning
of a file specification.
In range specification: separates
starting
and
ending positions.
In Set Parameter command: signals beginning
of
parameter value.
Special pattern-matching
construct:
match
any
separator.
In range specification: signals relative number of
lines.
Special pattern-matching construct: match any letter
(A-Z, a-z).
In Input, Replace commands: signals new line-number
increment.
In Copy,
reNumber, Transfer commands:
separates
arguments.
In End, Find, List, Print, Substitute, Save World,
extend commands: separates command options (,A ,D ,E
,F ,N ,P ,S ,-).

'---------------------------~---·-----·---------~-------

(continued on next page)

7-10

SPECIAL CONSTRUCTS AND CHARACTERS
Table 7-2 (Cont.)
SOS Special Characters
Character

Meanings
In Find command and in content specification (all
commands):
used as a command option. Tells sos to
find the first line not containing the specified
pattern.
In position specification:
signifies a negative
line-number offset.
In Input, Replace commands:
signals
temporary
line-number increment for this command only.

Default flag character for special pattern-matching.

Default logical escape character.

Special pattern-matching construct:
tab.

match a space or

Special pattern-matching
or end of line.

match

Special
pattern-matching
construct:
character except the given one.

construct:

Special pattern-matching construct:
of the given character.
&

Special
pattern-matching
uppercase letter.

Special pattern-matching construct:
next
sequential
string
matched
construct.

begining

match

any

match 0 or

construct:

match

any

substitute the
by a special

Edit mode: print previous line.
Input mode:
return to Edit mode.
When used after
rQIBQ~ , move to Alter mode.
Alter/insert mode:
return to Alter mode.
Decide Alter/insert mode:
return to Decide Alter
mode.
Decide mode:
illegal.
In Find, Substitute commands: delimits text strings
for search and substitution.
Alter mode:
character.

move

intraline

pointer

back

one

Edit mode: print next line.
Alter mode: print rest of line, finish intraline
edit for this line. If entered from Input mode by
the
(CTRL/A)
®9
sequence,
return to Input mode.
Alter/insert
mode:
print rest of line, finish
intraline edit for this line.
Decide Alter mode and Decide Alter/insert mode:
print rest of line, return to Decide mode.
(continued on next page)

7-11

SPECIAL CONSTRUCTS AND CHARACTERS
Table 7-2 (Cont.)
SOS Special Characters

-------.....----·--------·-·Character

Meaning

1---------*------~----·------·----·----·-···----------·-""'----··

Alter mode and Decide Alter mode:
move intraline
pointer back one character.
Decide mode: no, do not make the change.
All other modes: delete previous input character.
Alter mode and Decide Alter mode:
pointer forward one character.
Decide mode: yes, make the change.

move

intraline

Alter mode and Decide Alter mode:
pointer to the end of the line.

move

intraline

Input mode: when followed by
®])
,
change from
Input mode to Alter mode and place intraline pointer
at beginning of line.
Alter mode and Decide Alter mode:
discard edits
performed so far and place intraline pointer at
beginning of line.
Alter/insert mode and Decide Alter/insert mode: take
trnuui as text and insert it into the text line.

7-12

CHAPTER 8
SOS INTERNALS

This chapter describes how SOS performs text editing using temporary
files, how the VAX/VMS operating system stores text processed by SOS,
and how, with an understanding of SOS internals, you can use SOS more
efficiently.

8.1

TEMPORARY FILES

Whenever you use the editor, SOS creates one or two temporary files to
store changes you make to your file. These temporary files appear in
your directory during an editing session. Their names are SOScnn.TMl
and SOScnn.TM2, where c represents the terminal device controller and
nn represents your terminal number. For example, if you are using
terminal device name TTA4, SOS temporary files are named SOSA04.TM1 or
SOSA04.TM2.
There are two events which, when they occur during an editing session,
affect the status of these temporary files:
the "wraparound" process
and the Save World command.

8.1.1

Wraparound

As you edit a file, SOS reads lines into an internal edit buffer.
This buffer is a storage area within the image;
its size is set when
SOS is linked, usually to 10,000 bytes.
Lines stored in the edit
buffer are immediately available to sos. However, because the storage
capacity of the edit buffer is limited, it may not be able to store
the entire input file.
Thus, the start of the edit buffer (in
relation to the beginning of the input file) advances when sos reads
in more text than the buffer can store.
After it reads lines of text into the edit buffer, sos stores them in
the temporary file SOScnn.TMl.
Changes you make while editing are
incorporated into this file. This process of passing text through the
edit buffer to the temporary file continues as long as your editing
does not reference a line that is no longer contained in the edit
buffer.
(You can examine the starting position of the edit buffer by
using the =LOCATION parameter described in Section n.l.)
When you do call for editing on a line before the start of the edit
buffer, SOS performs a wraparound. This means that SOS copies the
rest of the file (from the current position to the end) to SOScnn.TMl.
At this point, SOScnn.TMl is a complete copy of your original file,
with all edits to date incorporated. sos then "rewinds" SOScnn.TMl:
it returns to the beginning of the temporary file and starts reading
from it.

8-1

SOS INTERNALS
Thereafter, SOScnn.TMl serves as the input file for further
SOS closes your original file, and does not read it again.

editing.

After rewinding, SOS creates a second temporary file, SOScnn.TM2, to
which it writes lines passed through the edit buffer. SOS continues
this pass-through operation until it finds the line referred to in
your command.
The next time wraparound is necessary, the temporary files switch
roles.
sos rewinds both files, and uses SOScnn.TM2 (which now
contains the most up-to-date copy of the file) for input. sos passes
text lines through the edit buffer and writes them to SOScnn.TMl.
Neither file is closed.

8.1.2

The Save World Command

When you issue a Save World command, the temporary files again
effectively switch roles. The temporary file being used for output is
renamed to the file specifier given -- or provided by default
in
the Save World command. SOS closes this renamed file, and then opens
it (read-only) for input. The temporary file that was used for input
is rewound and thereafter is used for output.
If you give another Save World command, or if you give an End command
without a new file specification, SOS deletes the file created by the
last Save World command before renaming the output temporary file.
If you try to recover information from temporary files as described in
Section 4.3.4, you may encounter some errors when SOS tries to read
data near the end of the file. The errors occur because the file was
never closed properly and has no end-of-file mark. You can simply
delete the erroneous line(s).

8.2

FORMAT OF TEXT LINES AND PAGE MARKS

When stored in a line-numbered file, a line of text generated by SOS
is a VAX-11 RMS record.
Its type is variable with fixed-length
control. The SOS line number comprises the fixed-control access field
of the VAX-11 RMS record.
The text line has the following format:
Byte count n 1

·Linenum~~r

I l·_·. ~~~
char

The byte count, a 16-bit integer, is 2 more than the number of
characters in the text line.
The line number is also a lo-bit
integer. The text consists of 500 or fewer characters (represented
above by char) that do not include the characters <DEL> or <NU>. No
<RET> or <LF> is present to terminate the text line; its end point is
implied by the byte count.
An sos page mark is represented in a file
case of the general format given above:
Byte count 3

-1

·]--]
(ff)

n•---··-~~-

.. .,.,__

,,,,_<-~-"~~,..~~•

8-2

the

following

special

SOS INTERNALS

When SOS displays such text lines, it prints the line number as a
5-digit ASCII number; prints a <TAB>; prints the n-2 characters of
text; and adds a <RET> and <LF> to the line.
SOS does not print a page mark as such.
Instead, when it displays
text on a page other than the current page, it prints PAGE n. first.

8.3

USING SOS EFFICIENTLY

In Read-only mode, SOS does not write an output
file.
The
pass-through and wraparound file-writing described above does not
occur. For this reason, SOS uses far less system resources in
Read-only mode.
This is why it is best to use Read-only mode
routinely whenever you only need to examine a file.
(You might use
symbol
assignment
to
define
a
command
such
as
READ:="EDIT/SOS/READONLY".)
The most efficient way to use SOS in Edit mode is to avoid wraparound.
You can do this by editing a file sequentially from beginning to end.
If you never refer to a line earlier in the file than the position
marked by LOCATION, SOS does not wrap the file. You minimize the need
for costly and time-consuming file copying.
SOS's wraparound behavior explains why writing an output file without
line numbers (ES or ET commands) requires more processing time than
leaving the line numbers in place (as mentioned in Section 5.4).
Suppose, for example, that the current line is in the middle of the
file when you issue an ES command. SOS P.asses text through the edit
buffer until end of file;
rewinds both temporary files; then passes
the entire file through a second time, omitting line numbers.
SOS
then renames the output temporary file to the output name, destroys
the other temporary file, and exits.
If instead of an ES command you issue an E command, SOS need not pass
the file through the edit buffer a second time. After first passing
through to end of file, SOS renames the output temporary file to the
output name, destroys the other temporary file, and exits.
If you want to ignore line numbers, the best approach is to strip them
from your input file when you initialize SOS: turn off the SOS switch
/LINE by appending /NOLINE as a qualifier to the EDIT command line.
With the /LINE switch turned off, SOS ignores any lines already
present in the input file and automatically renumbers the file. Use E
to exit from the editor; SOS stores the line numbers in the output
file (unless you have turned off /SEQUENCE).
This method of entering and exiting from SOS avoids using ES to remove
line
numbers and still produces an input file with uniformly
incremented line numbers. The only cost is the small amount of disk
space used to store the line numbers in the output file.

8-3

APPENDIX A
SUMMARY OF SOS FUNCTIONS AND FEATURES

Table A-1
SOS Modes of Operation
Mode

Prompt

Used for

Edit

Editing -- adding, changing text

Input

nnnnn

Typing in lines of text

Alter

nnnnn

Editing within a line

Alter/insert

(none)

Inserting text within Alter mode

Read-only

Examining a file without changing it

Copy-file

Searching, copying from another file

Decide

Deciding case by case on substitutions

Decide Alter

nnnnn

(Submode)

Like Alter mode

(Submode)

Like Alter/insert mode

Decide Alter/insert

(none)

A-1

SUMMARY OF SOS FUNCTIONS AND FEATURES
Table A-2
Edit-Mode Commands: Function and Fonnat
Command

Format 1

Function

Alter

Enter Alter mode for intraline,
character-by-character editing.

A [range]

Copy

Copy a range of lines to another place
within a file, or from another file.
Optionally, enter Copy-file mode.

C position[=file-spec] ,range[,incrl [,incr2]]
position=file-spec/C

Delete

Delete a range of lines.

D [range]

End

End SOS, return to DCL.

E [BJ [Q) [SJ [T] [:file-spec]

Find

Search for the occurrence of one or
more specified strings of text.

F [[string)~ [range] [,A] [,N] [,E] [,n] [,-]]

Help

Display the help package.

H [:n]

Input

Enter Input mode to insert lines of
text.

I [position]

Join

Join two text lines into one line.

J [position]

Kill Page Mark

Delete a page mark.

K /page

List

List a range of lines on the printer
or to a file.

L [range] [,SJ [ {,P[:file-spec)})
[ { ,F:file-spec }]

Mark

Insert a page mark.

M [position]

re Number

Renumber a range of lines.

N [incr] [, [range] [,start] ]

Print a range of lines on the terminal.

P [range] [,SJ

Replace

Delete a range of lines and enter Input
mode.

R [range]

[tcr }]
;~~~r

[tcr }]
~~~r

Substitute

Replace one or more text strings with
other string(s) in a range of lines.
Optionally, enter Decide mode.

S [[oldstring~newstring] G ) [range] [,DJ [,NJ [,E]]

Transfer

Copy a range of lines to a new location
and delete the original lines.

T position,range[,incrl [,incr2]]

Save World

Write a new file containing all the
changes made so far.

W [B] [:file-spec]

eXtend

Enter Alter/insert mode to add text
to the end of a line.

X [range] [,NJ

Move Position

Reset the position of the current line.

. position

Give Parameter

Give the value of an SOS internal
parameter or switch.

=parameter

Set Parameter

Reset an SOS parameter or switch.

I parameter [:value]

Execute
Command File

Execute the SOS commands contained
in a command file.

@file-spec

Print next line.

Print previous line.

~
1

The space after the single-character command is optional. Terminate each command with ~(except the commands
~andG)).

A-2

SUMMARY OF SOS FUNCTIONS AND FEATURES

Definitions for the Edit-Mode Commands

Uppercase letters represent literals that you type verbatim.
(SOS
accepts either upper- or lowercase letters.) Lowercase terms represent
variables, defined below.
The symbol => means "is defined as."
Brackets ([ ]) indicate optional parts of the argument string (except
in directory or file-spec, in which one set of brackets must be
typed).
Stacked braces
({ }) mean to choose one of the enclosed
expressions. Angle-brackets (< >) enclose descriptive terms.
And
<ESC> represents the escape key (or ALTmode, SELect or PREfix).
file-spec =>[device:] [[di rectory]] file name [.type [;version]]
increment => <a positive integer line-number increment>

l
t

1 => <a line number> (less than 05536)

line

=> j

[2: ml

m => <an integer line-number off set>
n => <a positive integer>
p => <a page number>

page=>{ : 1[2: q]
parameter => <a legal SOS parameter or switch>
position

line [/page]
/page

}

q => <an integer page-number off set>
po s i t ion [ { : po s ~ ~ i on }

range =>{

: position
!n

start => <a positive integer line number>
string=> stringl[ IBITJ
[ IBITl

string2[
strings[

IBITl
IBITl

value => <a legal parameter value>

A-3

string3 [ IBITJ
string~]]]]]

string4

SUMMARY OF SOS FUNCTIONS AND FEATURES
Table A-3
Meanings of Edit-Mode Command Options
Option

Commands

Meaning

Enter Alter mode

Find

Enter Decide mode

Substitute

Enter quasi-Decide mode

Content specification
(a 11 commands)

Require exact case match

Find, Substitute,
content specification
(a 11 commands)

List to disk file

List

Type only number, not line

Find, extend, content
specification with substitute,
prints nothing

Select printer

List

Suppress line numbers

List, Print

Find line in which specified Find, content specification (all
pattern does not occur
commands)

Find n occurrences of
specified pattern

Find

Use nth occurrence of
specified pattern

Content specification (all
commands)

, _ __ _ _..&..-_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

~·--

--·-···---····--·--·---------

Table A-4
Alter-Mode Commands
Command

Meaning

----------·"'··--+-···-··-------------------------------Do not print rest of line;
recycle to
of line with edits incorporated.

beginning

[-] [n]Cx •••

Change next/previous
characters.l

[-] [n]D

Delete next/previous n characters.

[n]J

characters

End Alter mode for this line;

[-] [n] !text

do not print line.

Insert text after/before pointer;
increment n for new lines.
Split line after pointer;

given

use

temporary

use increment n.

1 "Next" if no minus sign is typed:
"previous" if minus- sign is
typed.
The other commands that accept a minus sign are presented
in similar fashion.
(continued on next page)
A-4

SUMMARY OF SOS FUNCTIONS AND FEATURES

Table A-4 (Cont.)
Alter-Mode Commands
Command

Meaning

[-] [n] Kx

Kill
(delete)
character x.

all

until

nth

occurrence

Print rest of line;
recycle to beginning of line
with edits incorporated.

Print rest of line;
recycle to current
with edits incorporated.

Quit Alter mode;

[-] [n] Rtext
[-] [n] Sx

position

restore original line.

Replace next/previous n characters with
text.

inserted

Skip forward/back to nth occurrence of

character

x.
[-] [n]W

Skip forward/back n words.

[-] [n] X

Delete next/previous n words.

[-] [n],.

Invert case of next/previous n characters.

[-] [n] <

Convert next/previous n characters to uppercase.

[-] [n] >

Convert next/previous n characters to lowercase.

Space back/forward n characters.

(8D)

Leave Alter mode for this line;
line.

Space back/forward n characters.

Leave Alter mode for this line;
line.

[-] [n]

Space forward/back n characters.

[-]

Skip to end/start of line.

[-] [n]

rest

Retype line to current position.

©TRL/U)

Start fresh -- discard
edits,
recycle
beginning of line, do not print line.

______________________

A-5

__,

SUMMARY OF SOS FUNCTIONS AND FEATURES
Table A-5
Decide-Mode Commands
Form

Meaning

or Y

Yes, make the change as shown.

or N

No, do not make the change.

Alter: enter Decide Alter mode
already made.

with

the

change

E or Q

End:

Go: make the change, and make all further changes
automatically (leave Decide mode).

do not make the change, return to Edit mode.

'------------'------------·-·------------·--"""-""-'""--·---·-·------.~~··------

Table A-6

sos Parameters
Name 1

Set from
Edit Mode?

Preset
via DCL?2

! - - - - - - - - ---·-·-·-· ·--·-----" ~" ··- --·-

~·-······-·

..·-·-

~-· ~

Initial
Value
...

~.--,..--

Meaning

----

---·----- ...

Displays highest page number

BIG

ERROr

(null)

Displays last error message

ESCApe

(null)

Sets character for input/output of escapes

ID
INCRement

100

Sets increment for numbering inserted lines

ISAVe

Controls auto-Won inserts

LENGth

Sets page size for List command

LOCAtion

"'/1

Displays first line in edit buffer

MATCh

(null)

NAME

PLINes

Sets number of lines printed by P~

SAVE

Controls auto-Won commands

STARt

100

Sets starting line number

STEP

100

Sets increment for initial line numbering

ST Ring

(null)

Displays current Find and Substitute strings

SUBStitute

00000/1

Displays current SOS version number

Sets special pattern-matching flag character
Displays output file specification

Displays number of matches in last Substitute
Displays current position

-------·-1
2

Minimum abbreviation is given in uppercase letters.
You can specify these parameters as qualifiers in the initial DCL EDIT command, or by using the symbolassignment mechanism (see Section 6.3).

A-6

SUMMARY OF SOS FUNCTIONS AND FEATURES
Table A-7
SOS Switches
Name 1

Initial
Value

Preset
via DCL?2

BAK
DEC Ide

Tells SOS to create back-up file

off

Sets auto Decide mode on Substitute

EXACt

off

EXPErt

off

Declares experienced SOS user

LINE

Tells SOS to use existing line numbers

LOWEr

Tells SOS to accept uppercase, lowercase as is

NUMbers
READonly

Tells SOS to display line numbers

off

SEPArator

off

Tells SOS to treat_$ . as alphanumeric

SEQUence

Leaves output-file line numbers

Meaning

Requires exact case match for Find, Substitute, contentspecification

Starts SOS in Read-only mode

A-7

·c-

SUMMARY OF SOS FUNCTIONS AND FEATURES

Table A-8
Special Pattern-Matching Constructs
Construct

Internal
Representation

Meaning

Find-String Constructs

?/
?:
?<
?%x
?)x
?lx
?9
/!
?&
?2
?+
?>
?7c

tTRL{T)
I
I

tTRL/\)

~
©TRL/N)

~
tTRL/P)
tTRL/J)
tTRL/~)

Match any character
Match any separator
Match a space or tab
Match any character except x
Match 0 or more of the character x
Match 1 or more of the character x
Match any alphanumeric character
Match any letter (A-Z, a-z)
Match any uppercase letter (AZ)
Match any lowercase letter ( a-z)
Match any decimal digit ( 0-9)
Match beginning or end of line
Match internal representation of c

Substitute-String Constructs

?*l?*

The first string matched by a find-string
construct

?*2?*

The second string so matched

?*n?*

The nth string so matched

The next string in the sequence matched
by a find-string construct
Table A-9
Position Shorthand Characters
Character

*
I*

A-8

APPENDIX B
SOS ERROR MESSAGES: NOVICE AND EXPERT FORMS

Table B-1 lists the error messages produced by SOS.
In the
right-hand column are the forms of the messages that SOS prints if
the EXPERT switch is on (see Section n.2). All the messages except
one are nonfatal: SOS halts the offending command and returns you to
Edit mode. The one fatal error is the last one (You confounded
SOS. Sorry.).
This error does not occur in normal SOS use. If it
does occur, SOS returns you to the monitor.
See Section 4.3 for
possible recovery procedures in this eventuality.
Table B-1
SOS Error Messages: Novice and Expert Forms
Novice Message

Expert Message

Bad command file name
Cannot access HELP file
Cannot access LIST file
Cannot delete across pages
Cannot kill initial page mark
Command invalid for read only file
Command line I/O error
Failed to open command file
Illegal file specification
Illegal parameter to switch
Illegal search string given
Illegal specification in line or page number
Illegal specification in range
Illegal switch name
Illegal syntax of command
Insufficient line numbers for insertion
Line is too long
Line number step too large - lines out of order
Lines out of order
Maximum command file depth exceeded
No such line exists
Page does not exist
Range given does not contain any lines
Search strings exceeded buffer length
String not found, search failed
Too many search strings given
You confounded SOS. Sorry.

B-1

Name bad
HELP trouble
LIST trouble
Del no pages
K/l bad
File RO
I/O error
Open failure
File?
Bad param to switch
ISS
Bad line/page
Bad range
Bad switch
??

No room
Line too long
Step too big
Order
Command files too deep
NSL
Page?
Nothing
Too long
Not there
Too many
Internal error

INDEX

A
Adding lines. See Alter-insert
mode, Input mode
Alter (A} command, 5-4
Alter-insert mode versus Input
mode, 3-8
Alter-insert mode, 2-6, 5-9
Alter mode, 2-6, 5-4
Alter-mode commands
B (recycle}, 5-7
<BS>, 5-15
C (change}, 5-8
<CTRL/R>, 5-16
<CTRL/U>, 5-17
D (delete}, 5-9
<DEL>, 5-15
E (end}, 5-9
I (insert}, 5-9
J (split}, 5-11
K (kill characters}, 5-11
L (line}, 5-11
<LF>, 5-16
P (print}, 5-12
Q (quit), 5-12
R (replace}, 5-13
<RET>, 5-15
S (skip}, 5-13
<SP>, 5-16
summary of, 5-5, 5-6
<TAB>, 5-16
W (word}, 5-14
X (delete word}, 5-14
< (convert to uppercase}, 5-14
> (convert to lowercase}, 5-15
"' (invert case}, 5-14
Arithmetic expression in range,
3-6
Asterisk (*}, last line or page,
3-3
At sign (@}, Execute Command
File, 5-56
Automatic file saving, 4-2. See
also ISAVE parameter and
SAVE parameter

B
Back-up file. See Save World (W}
command; End (E} command
BAK switch, 6-10, 6-11
BIG parameter, 6-3
Built-in safety features on SOS,
4-2

Caret ("'), first line or page,
3-3. See also Alter mode
Characters,
control, 1-2
special, 7-9 to 7-12
terminal usage of upper/lowercase, 1-4
Colon (:} , 3-2
Command File (@} command. See
Execute Command File (@}
command
Commands,
Alter (A} , 5-4
Copy (C}, 5-18
Delete (D} , 5-22
End (E}, 5-23
Execute Command File (@} , 5-56
extend (X} , 5-51
Find (F}, 5-25
Give Parameter, (=}, 5-54
Help (H} , 5-29
Input (I--Input mode}, 5-30
Join (J}, 5-33
Kill Page Mark (K}, 5-34
List (L}, 5-35
Mark (M} , 5-36
Move Position (.}, 3-4, 5-53,
Print (P}, 5-39
reNumber (N}, 5-37
Replace (R} , 5-41
Save World (W}, 4-2, 5-50,
8-2
Set Parameter (/}, 5-55
Substitute (S}, 5-43 to 5-46
Transfer (T} , 5-47
See also Alter-mode; Decidemode; Edit-mode
Complete range specification.
See Default, line and page
number
Confirmation before deleting.
See Delete (D} command;
Replace (R} command
Constructs,
combining find-string, 7-6
find-string, 7-2
special pattern-matching, 7-1
substitute-string, 7-5
Content,
nested, 7-8
specification, range by, 7-6
to 7-8
syntax, 7-8

Index-1

INDEX
Control characters, 1-2, 2-6
Conversion of upper/lowercase
characters, 5-14, 5-15
Copy (C) command, 5-18 to 5-21
Copy-file mode, 2-5, 5-20
Current line. See Current position
Current line-number increment,
3-8
Current position, 3-4

D
Decide Alter mode. See Decidemode commands
Decide Alter/insert mode. See
Decide-mode commands
Deaide mode, 2-1, 2-2, 5-46.
See also Quasi-Decide mode
Decide-mode commands, 2-2, 5-46
Alter (A) mode, 2-2, 5-46
Decide Alter mode, 2-2, 5-46
Decide Alter/insert mode, 2-2,
5-46
DECIDE switch, 6-11
Default,
conditions when SOS initiated,
4-1
line and page number, 3-4, 3-5
parameters and switches, n-3
to 6-14
setting by symbol assignment,
6-14
Delete
Alter mode and, 5-5, 5-9,
5-10, 5-11, 5-14
Delete (D) command, 5-22
<DEL> character, 1-3
extend command (X) and, 5-51
Kill (K) command and, 5-34
summary of uses, 7-12
Dollar sign ($), 1-3, 6-4

E
Edit buffer, 6-6, 8-1
Edit mode, 2-3
Edit-mode commands, 5-1
form and function, 2-4
Efficient use of SOS, 8-3
End (E) command, 5-23
Equal sign (=) ,
Copy-file mode, 5-20
Give Parameter command, 5-54
Error messages, B-1
ERROR parameter, 6-3

Escape character (<ESC>),
as abbreviated Print command,
5-39
use of, 1-3
ESCAPE parameter, 6-4
Execute Command File and, 5-57
EXACT switch,
description of, 6-12
substitute options and, 5-46
Execute Command File (@) command, 5-56
Exclamation point (!) 3-2
EXPERT switch, 6-12
error message forms when on, B-1
extend (X) command, 5-51

F
Find (F) command, 5-25
Find-string constructs, 7-2
combining, 7-6
Format, internal, of text lines
and page marks, 8-2

G
Give Parameter

(=)

command, 5-54

H
Help (H) command, 5-29

ID parameter, 6-5
INCREMENT parameter, 6-5
Current-Line Number, 3-8
Initiating SOS, 1-2
Input mode,
command (!--Input mode), 5-30
description, 2-2
versus Alter/input mode, 3-8
Inserting lines,
Alter/insert mode, 2-6, 5-9
Input mode, 2-2, 5-30
ISAVE parameter, 4-2, 4-3, 6-5

J
Join (J) command, 5-33

K
Kill Page Mark (K) command, 5-34

Index-2

INDEX

L
LENGTH parameter, 6-6
Limitations of SOS, 4-1
Line length restriction, 4-1
Line numbers
Current, increment, 3-8
defaults for, 3-4
description of, 3-1
how SOS assigns new, 3-7
offsets, 3-6
ranges, 3-2
restrictions, 4-2
when existing line intervenes,
3-8
Line number syntax, 3-7
LINE switch, 6-13
List (L) command, 5-35
LOCATION parameter, 6-6
LOGIN.COM file, 6-14
Lowercase characters, 4-1
uppercase and, 1-4, 5-14, 5-15
LOWER switch, 6-13

M
Mark (M) command, 5-36
MATCH parameter,
description of, 6-7
Find command and, 7-2
Minus sign (-),
Delete command and, 5-9
Find command and, 5-25
line-/page-number offset, 3-6
setting default conditions, 6-14
Modes of operation,
Alter, 2-6, 5-4
Alter/insert, 2-6, 5-9
Copy-file, 2-5, 5-20
Decide, 2-5, 5-46
Decide Alter, 2-2, 5-46
Decide Alter/insert, 2-2
description, 2-1
Edit, 2-3, 5-1
Input, 2-2, 5-30
Read-only, 2-3
Modules, Help, 5-29
Move Position (.) command, 3-4,
5-53
Multiple search strings, 5-27,
6-9
Multiple substitutions, 5-45

N
NAME parameter, 6-7
Numbers,
Line, 3-1

Numbers, (Cont.)
new line, 3-7
Page, 3-1
NUMBERS switch, 6-13

0
Offsets, line- and page-number,
3-6
Options,
content specification and, 7-7
Decide mode and, 5-46
Find (F) command, 5-27
Substitute (S) command, 5-45
Output file, 1-2

p
Page boundary,
arithmetic expressions and,
3-6
deleting across, 5-22, 5-42
line-number offset and, 3-6
ranges of line numbers and,
3-2
Page numbers,
Copy (C) command and, 5-19
description of, 3-1
format of, 8-2
Mark (M) command and, 5-36
offset, 3-7
syntax, 3-7
Transfer (T) command and, 5-47
Parameters, 6-1 to 6-10
BIG, 6-3
description of SOS, 6-1
ERROR, 6-3
ESCAPE, 6-4
ID, 6-5
INCREMENT, 3-8, 6-5
!SAVE, 4-2, 6-5
LENGTH, 5-35, 6-6
LOCATION, 6-6
MATCH, 6-7, 7-1
NAME, 6-7
PL INES, IS-8
SAVE, 4-2, 6-8
Set Parameter (/) command,
5-55
START, 6-8
STEP, 6-9
STRING, 6-9
SUBSTITUTE, ~-10
Partial range specification.
See Default, line and page
number
Pattern-matching constructs,
special, 7-1

Index-3

INDEX

Period (.),
Move Position (.) command,
5-53
parameter, 6-10
shorthand character, 3-3
PLINES parameter, n-8
Plus sign (+), 3-6
Pointer,
current-line, 3-4
intraline, 5-4
Position syntax, 3-2
Print (P) command, 5-39

Q
Quasi-Decide mode, 7-8
Question mark, special patternmatching flag, 6-7, 7-1

R
Range of line numbers, 3-2
Range, line-number syntax, 3-3
Read-only mode, 2-3
efficiency of, 8-3
ReNumber (N) command,
automatic after deletion, 5-22
description of, 5-37
Replace (R) command, 5-41
Restrictions on SOS, 4-1
Return character <RET> as
abbreviated Print command,
5-40

s
Safety, SOS built-in features,
4-2
SAVE parameter, 4-2, n-8
Save World (W) command, 4-2,
6-8, 8-2
SEPARATOR switch, 6-14
SEQUENCE switch, 6-14
Set Parameter (/) command, 5-55
Shorthand characters, 3-3
Slash (/)
file specification qualifiers
and, 1-2
line position specification
and, 3-2
Set Parameter (/) command,
5-55
Special characters, 7-9 to 7-12
Special pattern-matching, 6-7,
7-1 to 7-9

Specifying ranges by content,
7-6
START parameter, n-8
STEP parameter, 6-9
String length restriction, 4-2
STRING parameter, 6-9
Submodes, 2-2
Substitute (S) command, 5-43
SUBSTITUTE parameter, 6-10
Substitute-string constructs,
7-5
Switches, 6-1, 6-10 to 6-15
abbreviating names of, 6-11
BAK, 6-11
DECIDE, 6-11
EXACT, 6-12, 5-46
EXPERT, 6-12, B-1
LINE, 6-13
LOWER, 6-13
NUMBERS, · 6-13
SEPARATOR, 6-14
SEQUENCE, 6-14
turning off, 6-1, 6-11
Symbol assignment,
setting default conditions
using, n-14
Syntax,
line number, 3-7
page number, 3-7
position, 3-2
range, 3-3

T
Temporary files,
description of, 8-1
recovering information from,
4-3
Terminating SOS, 1-2
Text line, format of, 8-2
Textual file, 5-24
Transfer (T) command, 5-47

u
Up-arrow (+), first line or
page, 3-3
See also Alter mode
Upper- and lowercase characters,
1-4
conversion, 5-14, 5-15

w
World, Save (W) command, 4-2,
6-8, 8-2
Wraparound, 8-1

Index-4

VAX-11

Text Editing
Reference Manual
AA-D029B-TE
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