Volume Four, Issue Thirty-Seven, File 8 of 14

                        ##############################
                        #*#     Basic Commands     #*#
                        #*#      for the VOS       #*#
                        #*#         System         #*#
                        ##############################

                            Written by Dr. No-Good
                                    [Echo]


 Introduction
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~
        Ok, well this is a simple text file that explains the basic commands
used by a VOS system.  VOS stands for Virtual Operating System and it is mainly
used by businesses but other groups have used it too.

        If you have any questions, you can reach me at this fine system:

        Legion (202)337=2844

        or if you have any questions you can e-mail the me at:

        Internet:  [email protected]

        Special Thanks to:  Nat X, Beta Raider, Tomellicus and the
        anonymous site of my humble work.

$Note$

        All material in this t-file is for informational purposes only.  Any
abuse of this information is probably against the law and the authors of this
text file are not responsible for the reader's actions.

(*****************************************************************************)

        Ok, well VOS systems can be found in various systems around the world
and on many of the nets such as TELENET.  You can recognize a VOS system at its
prompt.  Which looks like this:

   Prompt->     (Name of System)
                System ???, VOS Release v.(version), Module ???

                (Or it just says something about a Release ver# and Module#)

        After getting the log-on message you come to the hard part, getting a
valid user/password combination.  To log-in, you type:

                Login <name> <password> <CRT>
        or
                Login <CRT>
                'User_name:' <name>
                'Password?' <password>

(by the way, <CRT> means enter and it comes after something you have to type
and words in '' mean that the computer is displaying that)

        When you get a valid name and password, it will say:

        <name> logged in on <module#> at <year>-<month>-<day> at <time> ETA.

        (then it runs start_up.cm)

(*****************************************************************************)

 Commands
 ~~~~~~~~
  HELP                      =  To get an on-line help directory.

  LIST or LS                =  To list contents of the directory.
            -dirs           =          the subdirectories.
            -dirs <dir>     =  To confirm a directory exists.

  CHANGE_CURRENT_DIR or CCD =  To change directory.

  DISPLAY <file>            =  To view the contents of a file.
            -match <string> =  To find a string in the file.

  SEND_MESSAGE <name> <msg> =  To make a message appear on the receiver's
                                  screen.  It must be 80 chars. or less.

  CALL_THRU                 =  To connect your login terminal to a remote
                                  host as a login terminal or as a slave.

  SET_TERMINAL_PARAMETERS   =  To define the operating features of your
                                  terminal such as scrolling, length, etc.

  LOCATE_FILES <file names> =  To find the location of file(s) in the system.

  WHO                       =  To list the current users of the system.

  LIST_MODULES              =  To show which modules are running.

  DISPLAY_DIR_STATUS        =  It gives information about when last saved,
                                  when it was created, who created, and when
                                  it was last used or modified.

  DISPLAY_CURRENT_DIR       =  It shows you which directory you are in.

  DISPLAY_ACCESS_LIST       =  To show you the access control lists(ACL) for
                                  a set of files or directories.

  DISPLAY_DEFAULT_ACCESS     =  To display the default access control list for
                                  a set of directories you specify.

  GIVE_ACCESS               =  To give a user/group access to a file or
                                  directory.

  GIVE_DEFAULT_ACCESS       =  To add entries to the default ACL or a
                                  directory or set of directories.

  PROPAGATE_ACCESS          =  To copy a directory(DIR)'s access to all the
                                  directories in the subhierarchy.

  REMOVE_ACCESS             =  To remove entries from the ACL of a file or
                                  directory, or a set of such objects.

  REMOVE_DEFAULT_ACCESS     =  To remove entries from the default ACL of a
                                  directory or a set of directories.

  EDIT                      =  To edit or create a file.
                                  (We haven't been able to figure it out yet)

  BIND                      =  To make an .OBJ file a .PM which can be run.

  ANY_NAME.PM               =  .PM stands for program module and it is like a
                                  .COM or .EXE executable file.

  BATCH                     =  To run a batch of .PM commands.

  UPDATE_BATCH_REQUESTS     =  To update the batch queue.

  CANCEL_BATCH_REQUESTS     =  To totally cancel all programs in the batch
                                  queue.

  LIST_BATCH_REQUESTS       =  To list the programs in the batch queue.

  RESERVE_DEVICE            =  To reserve a device for the batch queue.
                                  (Used by administrators when they manage     
                                   batch processing at a site)

  CANCEL_DEVICE_RESERVATION =  To cancel the device reservation.

  MOVE_DEVICE_RESERVATION   =  To move the device reservation to another
                                  path.

  DISPLAY_BATCH_STATUS      =  To display the status of the batch process.

  COMPARE_FILE              =  To compare two files against each other.

  COPY_FILE                 =  To copy a file to another file or directory.

  LOCATE_FILE               =  To locate the directory the file is in.

  RENAME                    =  To change the name of a file.

  MOVE_FILE                 =  To move a file to another directory.

  DELETE_FILE               =  To delete a file.

  SET_EXPIRATION_DATE       =  To set a date on the file so it won't allow
                                  anybody to erase it before that date.

  CREATE_FILE               =  To create and name a new file.

  CREATE_INDEX              =  To create a new index for a file.

  CREATE_DELETED_RECORD_INDEX =  To create a list of reusable locations in a
                                  file.

  CREATE_RECORD_INDEX       =  To create an index used to map records into
                                  a file and re-use space made available by
                                  deletions.
                                  (Once created, it is updated forever.)

  DELETE_INDEX              =  To delete a set of indexes to a file.

  DISPLAY_FILE_STATUS       =  To display information about a set of files
                                  that you specify.

  DUMP_FILE                 =  To dump the contents of a file in HEX and
                                  ASCII onto the screen for debugging.

  DUMP_RECORDS              =  To dump one or more records in a fixed,
                                  sequential, relative, or stream file.

  ENFORCE_REGION_LOCKING    =  To turn mandatory region locking on/off for
                                  one or more stream files.

  SET_FILE_ALLOCATION       =  To set the number of additional disk blocks
                                  that the operating system allocates for a
                                  file each time the file needs more disk
                                  space.

  SET_IMPLICIT_LOCKING      =  To turn implicit locking on/off for a file or
                                  files.  When it is on, the system overrides
                                  an attempt to open the file with a
                                  different locking specification.

(*****************************************************************************)

$Note$

        If you need any more help with the commands please try their on-line
help program by typing HELP when you are logged in or HELP <Command> and please
excuse the format of the command listings but if you would like a better
listing look for the COMPLETE informational guide to VOS systems by Dr.
No-Good.

(***************************************************************************)

 Security
 ~~~~~~~~
        The basic security for VOS uses ACL or ACCESS_CONTROL_LISTS.  These are
lists that the creator of a directory or file make by using the GIVE_ACCESS
command.  There are four kinds of security you can have.  They are as follows:

   For file security:

        NULL       -+-     That means you can't do anything with it.
        READ       -+-     You can READ it but not modify it.
       WRITE       -+-     That means you have READ and WRITE access to it
                             so you can modify it.
     EXECUTE       -+-     That means they can read it and run it.

   For directory security:

      MODIFY       -+-      That means you can add, remove, change, and
                              execute files in the directory.
      STATUS       -+-      That means you can display_dir_status and
                              view the current status of the directory.
        NULL       -+-      That means you can not access the directory.

        If you don't have the appropriate security for the directory or file it
is because the owner/creator of the file or directory doesn't have you on the
list and since this informational file doesn't contain the information needed
to get access to files that you haven't been given access to then it is
advisable to look for more informational files from [ECHO].