.c ;FILEIND
.p 5
There seems to be a trend toward allowing processes to be optionally
controlled by files.  The indirect command file processor is an 
example of this trend.  The use of indirect command files in the
Sysgen process has undoubtably saved countless person hours.
The processes controlled by indirect command files are not wholly
unsupervised however.  The user may effect the process by his
answers to various questions, which are caused by the .ASK,
 .ASKS, and .ASKN commands in the command file.  This allows the
user to specify various options during Sysgen for example.
However questions asked by the indirect command file
processor can be annoying, especially if 90 percent of them
have answered before in exactly the same way.
The solution to this problem is to carry the trend of allowing
optional control by files one step further.  Allow the user
to optionally provide a file to be used for the answers for
all questions asked by an indirect file.  Furthermore allow
the user to require that all his answers be recorded in such
a file.  This DECUS magtape contains modifications to
the indirect command file processor which allows all of the
above to be done.
.p 5
Using the modified indirect command file processor one can
do the following:  do a Sysgen recording
all answers on a disk file.  Later when one finds that one of
the answers has been answered incorectly, one can edit the file
created by the Sysgen and do a new Sysgen using the answers
in the edited file as the answers to the questions that
would normally be asked by the indirect command file.
Thus one could just start the second Sysgen and go home
and return later to find the Sysgen completed except
for the VMR phase.  Of course one could not do this
if files needed to be edited in Sysgen2 but one
could do this manually before starting the Sysgen.
.p 5
To be specific the following modifications have been made
to the indirect processor:
.lm 10
1)A new switch /PA:XX allows the user to specify a two
character string which will cause a PAUSE if encountered
as the first two characters of the answer to any question.  After
AT. is restored the question will be asked again.
.br
2)Commands of the following form are allowed:
.nf
@FILE,REM
.f
Where REM could be any valid RSX11M 3.1 file specification
and the default type is CON.  This will cause a file REM.CON
to be created which will store all answers given by the user.
The records of this file are in the following form:
.nf
XC<QUESTION><ANSWER>
.f
The first character X is eighter a blank or an "E".  If it is
"E" it means that the answer was terminated by an escape.
The second character is always an "C".  <QUESTION> represents
the question that was asked.  <ANSWER> represents the
user's answer.
.br
2)Commands of the following form can also be given:
.nf
@FILE=REM
.f
Where REM is as before except that now all answers to
questions are taken from REM.CON.  There are two formats for
the records of REM.CON.  The first is shown above and the second
is as follows:
.nf
XY<ANSWER>
.f
Where Y is any character but "C" and <ANSWER> represents the user's
answer.  In the first case the indirect command file processor
will check that the recorded question is identical
to the question that would normally be asked.  If the questions
are not identical AT. will exit with the message:
.nf
CHECKING: QUESTION DOES NOT MATCH.
.f
In the second case no checking will occur.
As before the first character X is eighter a blank or an "E".
If it is an "E" it will cause the indirect command file
processor to behave as if the answer had been terminated
by an escape.
.lm 0
To build the modified indirect command file processor,
PIP all files on the magtape to SY:[2,4] then
invoke the indirect file:
.nf
@FILEIND
.f
The author of these modifications is:
.nf
.lm 30
Paul Elliott
Technology Incorporated
17511 El Camino Real
Houston, Texas 77058
