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.ps 60,60
.ap
.title MIC - Macro Interpreted Commands
.fg 20
.c;MIC - Macro Interpreted Commands
.skip 2
.c;F.D. Brown
.skip 2
.c;1-Dec-78
.pg.p
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.
.skip 1
1.###Command Format.

A command file is invoked by the EXEC command "DO". This command has the format:
.break
.skip 1
.indent 10;@DO Command-file Parameter-list
.break
.skip 1
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:
.skip 1.indent 10;[MICEMF - End of MIC File:#FILE.TYP.GEN]
.skip 1;where FILE.TYP.GEN is the filename used in the "DO" command.
.skip 1
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:
.skip 1.indent 10;[MICBRK - MIC is breaking]
.skip 1
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:
.skip 1.indent 10;[MICPRC - MIC is proceeding]
.skip 1
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:
.skip 1.indent 10;[MICABT - MIC is aborting]
.skip 1
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).
.skip 1
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:
.skip 1.indent 10;@KMIC
.skip 1
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.
.skip 1
.tp 5;4.###Error Messages.

There are a few error messages which may be output by MIC (rather than EXEC).
These are documented below:
.list
.le;?MICPND - Parameters Nested too Deeply - Aborting
.skip 1
This error message means that a parameter call has nested (perhaps by calling
itself) beyond the limit allowed - currently 40 deep.
.le;?MICJSE - JSYS Error:
.skip 1
This is a general trap for unexpected errors.  It will be followed by some
diagnostic from the monitor indicating the cause of the error.
.end list

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:
.list
.le;?MIC not found
.skip 1
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.
.le;?MIC Macros nested too deeply
.skip 1
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.
.le;?MIC is not running
.skip
This error message will be printed if a "KMIC" command is typed when MIC
is not active for the user.
.end list