Enter your search terms Submit search form
	Web pdp-10.trailing-edge.com

              MIC - Macro Interpreted Commands


                         F.D. Brown


                          1-Dec-78

MIC - Macro Interpreted Commands                      Page 2


     MIC (Macro Interpreted Commands) provides  the  TOPS-20
user  with a method of storing command files on the disk and
having them performed on his  terminal.   It  provides  more
capability  than  the  standard TAKE command, in that it can
have user input as well as EXEC commands.

     The format of the command file is similar to that of  a
batch  control  file.   That  is to say that it uses the "@"
character to indicate command lines and "*" to indicate user
input.   In  addition  it  provides  a means of substituting
parameters  at  "execution"  time.   The  command  file  has
parameter calls embedded within it and the actual values are
supplied by the user when he invokes the macro.

1.   Command Format.

     A command file is invoked by  the  EXEC  command  "DO".
This command has the format:

          @DO Command-file Parameter-list

where "Command-file" is the name of the macro file  (default
type  is  .MIC) and "Parameter-list" is a list of parameters
seperated by commas and terminated by a carriage-return.

     Parameters are referenced in the command  file  by  the
inclusion  of  an apostrophe (') followed by a letter in the
range A-Z indicating the parameter number.  'A is the  first
parameter, 'B is the second, and so on.

     MIC commands can be nested by simply including  a  "DO"
command  within  the outer macro.  Note:  the nested command
file will have a completely new set of parameters  and  will
not have direct access to the previous set.  This means that
any parameters of the outer command file which  need  to  be
accessed  by  the  inner  macro  will  have  to be passed as
parameters in the "DO" command.

     At the termination of a MIC macro (or the  outer  macro
if several are nested), MIC will print the message:

          [MICEMF - End of MIC File: FILE.TYP.GEN]

where FILE.TYP.GEN is the filename used in the "DO" command.

2.   Interaction with MIC.

     It is possible  to  interact  with  MIC  in  a  limited
fashion.   A  MIC  macro  can  be  suspended,  continued  or
aborted.  A macro can be suspended  by  typing  one  or  two
Control-Bs  (^B).   A  single  Control-B  will  suspend  the
current MIC macro (and any outer macros) when EXEC or a user
program next requires input.  MIC will indicate that it will
no longer type by printing the message:

          [MICBRK - MIC is breaking]

MIC - Macro Interpreted Commands                      Page 3


on the users terminal.  Two Control-Bs have a similar effect
except  the  message  will be printed immediately.  Thus two
Control-Bs act similarly to two  Control-Cs  to  the  extent
that  they  both  apply immediately whereas a single control
character does not take effect until the terminal is  in  an
input wait state.  During a "break" state, the user can type
commands and/or user input without having to worry about MIC
typing  anything.   Note:  if MIC is not in a "break" state,
the user can still type characters ahead but input from  the
user and input from MIC will be mixed in an undefined way if
the terminal is in an input wait state.

     A suspended MIC macro can be continued by typing one or
two  Control-Ps  (^P).  The use of one versus two Control-Ps
is the same as in the above paragraph.  To indicate that MIC
will now type it prints the message:

          [MICPRC - MIC is proceeding]

on the users terminal and will continue from  the  point  in
the macro file at which it was suspended.

     A MIC macro can be aborted at any time by  the  use  of
one  or  two  Control-As (^A).  On intercepting this control
character MIC will display the message:

          [MICABT - MIC is aborting]

on the users  terminal  and  will  close  the  current  file
without  typing  any  more.   Note:   a  Control-A will only
terminate the current macro file.  It will  not  affect  any
outer  macro  in  process  so  if it is desired to abort all
macros in progress it would be necessary  either  to  use  a
Control-A  to abort each level or, alternatively, to use the
"KMIC" command to kill MIC completely  (see  description  of
the KMIC command below).

3.   KMIC Command.

     The KMIC command kills all  MIC  processing.   It  will
close  all macro files This command has no parameters and so
has the simple format:

          @KMIC

It is typed automatically by MIC if, at the end of  a  macro
(or  outer  macro  if  there were nested calls), the user is
left in command mode.  This is so that another "DO"  command
can  be  given  without MIC nesting.  If the user is left in
"user mode" on completion of a macro this command  will  not
be  given.   MIC  will  automatically be terminated when the
user program exits.

MIC - Macro Interpreted Commands                      Page 4


4.   Error Messages.

     There are a few error messages which may be  output  by
MIC (rather than EXEC).  These are documented below:

     1.  ?MICPND - Parameters Nested too Deeply - Aborting

         This error message means that a parameter call  has
         nested (perhaps by calling itself) beyond the limit
         allowed - currently 40 deep.

     2.  ?MICJSE - JSYS Error:

         This is a general trap for unexpected  errors.   It
         will  be  followed  by  some  diagnostic  from  the
         monitor indicating the cause of the error.


     Currently these are the only two errors which MIC  will
report.   There  are some error messages which are output by
EXEC on the "DO" and "KMIC" commands:

     1.  ?MIC not found

         This error indicates that the  file  MIC.EXE  could
         not be found.  EXEC will look for the file on SYS:,
         and if not found there on the users  DSK:.   If  it
         cannot  be found on either area, this error message
         will occur.

     2.  ?MIC Macros nested too deeply

         This error will occur if a user has tried  to  nest
         "DO"  commands  beyond the limit that EXEC permits.
         Currently this limit is approximately fourty.

     3.  ?MIC is not running

         This error message will  be  printed  if  a  "KMIC"
         command  is  typed  when  MIC is not active for the
         user.