INDEX PROGRAM
Version 3.0
by
F. J. Greeb
1915 S. Cape Way
Denver, Colorado 80227
Copyright (C) 1981
INDEX is a CP/M (R) utility program combining the features of DIR and
STAT. It provides an alphabetical listing of the disk directory, spaced in
columns across the screen, and may include the file size for each entry. The
total number of files, the total number of directory entries used, the disk
space used, and the disk space remaining is also reported.
The general form of the command is
INDEX {/OPTIONS} {DRIVE:}{FILENAME}{.}{FILETYPE}
where all of the parameters in the braces are optional. Wild card characters
(* and ?) can be included in the file name designations. The following
example commands, and their results, illustrate the wild character capability
of the program.
INDEX Directory of all files on current drive
INDEX B: Directory of all files on drive B
INDEX *.COM Directory of all COM files on drive B
INDEX A??.* Directory of all three letter or less
file names begining with the letter A
on the current drive
INDEX B:A*.* Directory of all files on drive B which
begin with the letter A, regardless of
the file name length.
OPTIONS - The options which are allowed are:
/R Resets the disk system before performing the
directory search. Use this option if you
change disks without doing a Control C.
/P Directs the output to the printer rather than
to the console.
/F Outputs a form feed character (Control L) before
printing the directory (console or printer).
/T Allows a title to be input (immediately following
the T) which will replace the DRIVE designator on
the directory output. The maximum title length is
20 characters, and no spaces may be contained in
the input title. To include spaces in the output
title, use the underline character. The underline
will be translated to a space before the title is
printed. If you are using the Master Catalog Program
and your disks have a disk name file with a dash as
the first character, the disk name may be used as the
title by using a /T- option. This form of the title
option causes the INDEX program to read the disk name
and substitute it for the normal title.
/B Sets the brief mode. The size reporting for each
individual file is suppressed. The total disk space
used is still reported. This mode is useful for
large directories, since more columns will fit on
the screen.
/Wn Set the output width to n, where n is a number in the
range of 32 to 255. This command can be used to
adjust the program for screens smaller than the
nominal value of 80, or to set the width to a
larger number for directories sent to the printer.
The number of columns is automatically adjusted to
fit the width you specify.
/S Include system files in the directory listing
(CP/M Version 2 only). System files are
normally suppressed from the directory. This
option allows you to display them.
/M Modify the program to reset any of the above
options to the default value. For example,
INDEX /B/M will modify the program so that the
brief mode is the normal state. Including the
/B command will then cause the expanded output
form to be used. /T-/M will cause the title to
default to the disk name. If no disk name is
found, the normal DRIVE A title will be used.
You can not set up any other title as the
default value. See the note below concerning
this option.
/V Reports the version number for the INDEX program
you are using. Please include this version number
when reporting any bugs or suggested improvements
to the program.
/Un Lists the directory for user number n, where n
is a number in the range of 0 to 15
(CP/M Version 2 only).
/H Print a short help message on the console, which
lists all of the available options.
The options may be chained together by separating then with a slash,
which is used as the option designator character. Chained options may appear
in any sequence and may also include a space as a separator if desired. There
must be at least one space following the last option and any drive or file
designator which is included.
For example, the command
INDEX /R/P /F/TSYSTEM_FILES B:*.COM
will reset the disk system, use a title of SYSTEM FILES, and output the
directory of all COM files on drive B to the printer, with a leading form
feed. A little experimentation with the options and file name wild card
characters will give a better understanding of their operation. Note that all
inputs may be in either lower or upper case, and are translated internally to
upper case only, in keeping with the CP/M format. This does not include the
titles, which may be output in upper or lower case.
Error Messages
There are three error messages which may be output by the program. These
are:
INVALID FILE NAME - Indicates that the file name specified is not a
valid CP/M file name. This usually means that it is too long, although other
problems can cause this error message to appear.
UNRECOGNIZED OPTION IGNORED - Indicates that an option has been
included in the command string that the program does not recognize. The error
is ignored and all other options are still in effect.
FILE ERROR DURING MODIFY - Indicates that the modify option was not
completed successfully. This can occur if the file INDEX.COM is not found on
the default disk, if the program and disk version numbers do not match, or if
a disk write error occurs.
Modify Option
A word of caution if you use the Modify option. This option requires
that the INDEX.COM program is on the default disk. If you are logged on to
Drive A, and you issue the command B:INDEX /B/M to set the default to the
brief mode, the program will search for a program named INDEX.COM on Drive A.
If you do not have a second copy of the program on Drive A, an error will be
reported and no serious consequences will result. However, if there is a file
named INDEX.COM on Drive A, and it is not the same as the program on Drive B,
or is a completely different program, it is possible that it will be
destroyed. The modify command performs a check for the correct version number
and a partial contents comparison before allowing the modify operation to be
completed, but this is not completely foolproof. The modify command asks for
confirmation before updating the program so if you input the modify option by
mistake you can abort it before any harm is done.
The modify command can be used to set up a default value for performance
of a series of runs, and then be used again to restore the program to its
original state. For example, if you want to list a series of directories on
the printer, with a leading form feed for each printout, the command
INDEX /P/F/R/M
can be used to set up the desired default mode. You can then list all of the
disks, assuming you are logged on to Drive A, using the command
INDEX B:
The new default values eliminate the need to list the options separately for
each disk that you put in the B drive. Including the reset option allows the
disk space remaining to be reported correctly, without having to input a
Control C after each disk change.
After you have printed all of the desired directories, the program output
can be restored to the console by using the command
INDEX /P/M
The /P option toggles the printer flag, and since the current default was for
printer output, this returns the default to the console. Also, since the /F
and /R options were not reset, they are still in effect as the default mode.
Using this technique, you can set up any available options that you desire as
the default mode. Note that only options preceeding the /M option in the
command line will be modified. A command of the form
INDEX /B/M/P
will send a brief mode directory to the printer, but only the brief mode will
be reset as the default value. Since the /P option is after the /M option,
the printer will be used for this run only, rather than becoming the default
mode.
Operating Restrictions
The program is configured in a general manner and should work with any
version of CP/M, with mini-disks, 8 inch disks, or even hard disks. The
program has been tested with CP/M Version 1.4 and 2.2 using both single and
double density 8 inch disks, and with Version 2.2 using mini disks and hard
disks. Please report any errors or bugs which are detected to the author at
the address listed above, including the INDEX version number as reported by
the /V option, and as much detail about the system configuration and disk
status as possible.
There is one known case where file sizes may not be reported correctly.
If you use the random write capability of CP/M Version 2, and write a file
with holes (such as initially writing only record 10 and record 2356), the
file size reported may not be correct. Since this type of file occurs only
rarely (most random files are initially created sequentially) the extra code
necessary to assure correct size reporting for them has not been included in
the program. If you have a file of this type, the CP/M STAT command can be
used to verify the file size.
CP/M is a registered trademark of Digital Research.