;
                               RECORDER.REL                                   

             Size (recs) CRC   Version    Author/Latest Issue      Disk
RECORD.COM      k (  )         4.0        Joe Wright 5/89          Z3COM10
RECORDER.REL    k (  )         4.0        Joe Wright 5/89          Z3COM10

  1- Usage  2- System Requirements  3- How it Works  4- Notes                 


   RECORDer will allow you to direct  console output to  a particular  file as
well as to the console.   It will also allow you to direct printer output to a
particular  file  instead  of to the printer.   Any number  of  files  may  be
created to hold these data and any two of them may  be open to receive console
and printer output as it occurs.


:1
 Usage 

   RECORDer consists of two files, RECORD.COM which is the command  file  and
loader and RECORDER.REL which is the actual IOP which does the work.

   When RECORD is  invoked  for  anything  but specific Help, it will check to
see whether RECORDER.REL is loaded  as  the  IOP  and,  if not,  close  up the
current IOP and  search  and  load  RECORDER.REL  from  along the  Path,  then
execute  the command  (Type RECORD //<CR> for  specific on-line Help).   There
are eight commands to perform various setups and functions:


                          RECORD C [DIR:][FILE.TYP]

   Define Console output file specification.   The default console output file
is CONSOLE.FIL in the current directory.  You may direct that file to  another
directory and/or change its name.  


                          RECORD P [DIR:][FILE.TYP]

   Define Printer output file specification.   The  default is  PRINTER.FIL in  
the current directory.   As with the  Console  file,  you may put it where you
like and/or change its name.

                                  RECORD D

   Re-establish the  default  output  file  specifications as  CONSOLE.FIL and
PRINTER.FIL in the current directory.


                                  RECORD F

   Display the currently declared output file specifications.   Use C, P or  D
commands to change them if necessary.

                                  RECORD ON

   Open the current Console Output  file  (or  create it if it  doesn't exist)
and send console output to the file as well as to the console.   If  the  file
is re-opened, output is concatenated to it.   Console  output is sent verbatim
to the file except that  Cntrl-Z  (1Ah)  characters  are  filtered out.   Stop
Console recording with the RECORD OFF command.


                                 RECORD OFF

   Write the last record of the  Console  Output  file and close it.  The file
may be re-opened with the RECORD ON command.  At this point you may define yet
another  Console  Output  file  with the C command, if you  wish,  and  direct
console output to it after the next RECORD ON command.

                                 RECORD ON P

   Open (or create) the  current  Printer  Output file and send LIST output to
the file instead of to  the  printer.   If the  Printer  Output  file  already
exists, LIST output will be concatenated to it.   LIST output is sent verbatim
to the file except that  Cntrl-Z  (1Ah) characters  are  filtered  out.   Stop
Printer recording with the RECORD OFF P command.


                                RECORD OFF P

   Write the last record and close the current Printer Output file.   The file
may  be re-opened with the RECORD ON P command or you  may now define  another
Printer  Output  file  with the P command.   Subsequent LIST  output  will  be
directed to the new file after the next RECORD ON P command.
:2
 System Requirements 

   RECORDer requires  a  Z80 based Z-System  (ZRDOS 1.9  or ZSDOS 1.0) with at
least 1.5k IOP.   There is  no advantage in declaring an  IOP larger than 1.5k
bytes.

   RECORDer uses the reentrant  capabilities of  ZRDOS or  ZSDOS while writing
the records of CONSOLE.FIL and/or PRINTER.FIL to disk.   Standard DRI BDOS 2.2
or other DOS replacements are not reentrant and will fail.  
:3
 How RECORDER Works 

   RECORDer traps character output calls to  CONOUT and  LIST  and  sends  the 
character to the appropriate Output buffer before passing it to the BIOS.   In 
the  case  of LIST output,  the character is not sent to the BIOS at  all  and 
we simply return to the caller.   As the Console and/or Printer buffers  fill, 
they are written to the Output file(s) on disk.   The OFF and D commands  will 
write the last record(s) and close the appropriate output file(s).

   Because of the way ZRDOS and ZSDOS reentrance works,  RECORDer's writing to
disk in the background may interfere with  application programs writing to the 
same  disk in the foreground,  especially if the application is  using  Random 
Write.  

   This potential conflict may be avoided if  CONSOLE.FIL  and/or  PRINTER.FIL
are directed to a different drive.   If your  application is  writing  various
files in drive A,  you might assign CONSOLE.FIL or  PRINTER.FIL to drive B and
avoid any chance of conflict.
:4
 RECORDER Notes 

   a. Console recording is useful in that CONSOLE.FIL holds all the characters
      sent to CONOUT without regard to any formatting or deletions done by the
      DOS functions.   CONSOLE.FIL is  a  faithful  reproduction of everything
      sent to the Console (except 1Ah) whether through DOS or directly through
      BIOS.

   b. Printer recording captures all characters sent to LIST (except 1Ah) into
      PRINTER.FIL rather than sending them directly to the printer.   This  is
      much faster than actual printing.  PRINTER.FIL can be printed later with
      any Print program or in the background with BPRINTer IOP.
      
   c. RECORDER is available for $40.00 from..

                          Alpha Systems Corporation
                            711 Chatsworth Place
                         San Jose, California 95128
                                (408)-297-5594