| DIAGNOSTICS | Debugging tool only |
| EXIT | Exit from SPECX |
| HELP | SPECX help using VMS help facility |
| INITIALIZE-PARAMETERS | Restore the initial program environment |
| PAUSE | Stop execution of command file until user continued |
| SET-ERROR-RETURN | Define type of error that will cause termination |
| SET-JOURNAL | Turn a journalling file on and off |
| SET-LIST-FILE | Direct SPECX output to a file/printer/terminal/null etc |
| SHOW-COMMANDS | Show the currently available commands |
| SHOW-NEWS | Inspect the news of recent changes |
| SHOW-SYMBOLS | Inspect currently defined command symbols |
| SHOW-VARIABLES | Inspect currently defined SCL variables |
The HELP command should be your primary way of finding out what command you need. This uses VMS help utilities to give you fairly full information about each command (including parts of this manual).
A second way of looking for a command, which has some advantages over the HELP
command, is the SHOW-COMMANDS command. Nearly all commands include at least
one `keyword', such as FILE, MAP etc., to allow you to search
for the command even if you can't remember its exact name - just give the
keyword in response to the ``Topic?" prompt. If you just give a <CR>
then all commands and currently defined command symbols will be listed (but
not, at present, in any particular order). SHOW-SYMBOLS can be used on its
own to inspect just the active definitions -- all symbols compatible with
the input string are listed.
Notifications of recent changes are held in the news file. This also uses the VMS help facility, with topics including a date for ready identification. Use SHOW-NEWS to enter this facility.
PAUSE has been most useful in command files. It allows you to suspend execution
of a command file, while you assess whether you wish to continue. The current
command file can be abandoned by answering ``N" to the prompt, or indeed by
typing ^C to get you back to command level. With the advent of the ASK
and IF/ELSEIF/ENDIF commands however there is much less call for this command
-- in the current argot, its use is ``deprecated''.
By turning on journalling, using the SET-JOURNAL command, SPECX can be persuaded to write each input line received from the terminal to a command file called SPECX.SPX. Once journalling is turned off this file can be edited (if so desired), and used to repeat the same sequence.
You should not need to use DIAGNOSTICS: This gives information about the program's use of virtual memory and logical units. It may be useful to type this if something starts going wildly wrong, so that you can present the results as evidence when you find someone to fix the problem.
SHOW-VARIABLES is used to determine if a particular variable is already defined, either as a ``predeclared'' variable (header and flags for example), or by use of the DECLARE command. If a matching symbol exists then information on its type and length is also printed.
EXIT allows you to quit the program tidily, and writes the final dump file. If
you don't want the dump then you can always ^C or ^Y out of the
program.