[COP11.DOC by Michael Freeman 01-Apr-89] The program COP (Console Output Processor) Version 1.1, its source-code, executable form and documentation (including this document) are copyrighted 1989 by Michael Freeman; 301 N.E. 107th Street; Vancouver, Wa 98685; Telephone (206)574-8221. Permission is hereby granted to use and/or modify this program and/or its source-code/documentation for noncommercial purposes as long as such modified code and/or documentation is not distributed in any form without the written permission of the copyright holder. Commercial use of this program, its source-code and/or its documentation is expressly prohibited. The module which relocates the program to high-memory (just below the CCP) is copyrighted 1982, 1984 by John Hastwell-Batten of Australia and is contained in the file RELOC23.LBR. One of the facts of life with which a blind computer user must deal is that the world of computer software/documentation is filled with a plethora of ruled lines composed of dashes or equals signs, borders outlined by asterisks, charts and diagrams whose corners andcolumns are delimited by plus signs and vertical bars and material whose emphasis is indicated by underline characters. While these constructs may improve the appearance of and/or clarify computer output for the sighted, they constitute a damnable nuisance for the blind computer user employing a Braille output device and/or a voice synthesizer to read the computer screen. This situation is particularly acute for those whose voice synthesizers do not respond quickly to commands or which cannot be easily silenced. Enter COP (the Console Output Processor). COP is a program for Z80 systems running CP/M Version 2.2 which installs a RSX (Resident System Extension) that intercepts output destined for the CP/M Console and, according to instructions given by the user at the time of installation, compresses repeated occurrences of specified characters to a single occurence and/or suppresses specified characters altogether. This enables the blind computer user to be aware of line and diagram delimiters without being saddled with the tedious drudgery of listening to what, for him/her, is superfluous garbage. Using the program is simple; to install the RSX, type: A>COP where stands for a carriage-return. The program will ask for a sequence of characters to be compressed. Enter characters whose repeated occurrence is not desired. Any character which may be entered under CP/M's BDOS function 10 (string input) may be entered. A maximum of 40 characters may be specified. The user is then asked for characters whose output should be suppressed entirely. A maximum of 40 characters may be entered; characters valid for CP/M BDOS function 10 (string input) may be entered. The program then exits to CP/M. all characters destined for the Console will be intercepted and filtered by the RSX. The RSX may be removed by rerunning COP. The installed RSX reduces the size of the t.p.a. by a small amount. This is not usually significant except for programs, such as ARK, which require all the memory they can get to function properly. With this caviat, almost all programs executable on a CP/M Version 2.2 system will function properly without even being aware that the RSX is present. I hope that some users in the CP/M community will find COP useful. It's one way to "conquer the stars"! [End of COP11.DOC]