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                                   XCAT.COM                                   

             Size (recs) CRC   Version    Author/Latest Issue      Disk
              10k (73)   70BC  6.0g       Hal Bower 2/89           Z3COM17

  1- Syntax  2- Operation  3- Configuration  4- Notes  5- Examples of Use     

   MCAT and its companion program, XCAT, form a powerful system for cataloging
and accessing a  data base of files and disks.   With the addition of a single 
file name on a disk, the entire contents of the disk directory, and members of
Library files, may be captured for later retrieval.   MCAT builds and modified 
the data base while XCAT permits customized queries of the contents.

   Version 6 expands date support to include ZSDOS and CP/M Plus type of Date/
Time stamps,  as well as  providing  automatic support  for ZCPR3  environment 
features (screen addressing and attributes, named directory support, etc.). No
installation is necessary under any ZCPR version 3.0 or later.
:1

  Syntax        XCAT            <-- Enter interactive mode
                XCAT o[o..]     <-- Immediate Execution
  
 Options        $[d][u]         <-- Show dates[d] users[u]
                <[d][u]         <-- Get MAST.CAT from DU:
                >[d][u]         <-- Put output file to DU:
                [P][C][F]       <-- Output to Printer, Console, File
                +[>,<,=][date]  <-- Date comparison and spec
                [fn.ft]         <-- File names to find
                [nnn]           <-- Match only this disk #
:2

 Operation 

   In addition to the  re-designed user interface  similar  to  that in MCAT6, 
XCAT  also  includes retrieve-by-date  facilities,  and the ability to display 
library  files and  their  members.   This  latter  feature  is  automatically 
included,  and uses two  methods  to signify  that a file  entry is  a library 
member.  First, the last character is displayed in reverse video, if available 
under ZCPR3,  and secondly,  the first location  entry  consists of the parent 
library name enclosed in angle braces (<>).

   XCAT is invoked by  entering its name followed by  optional parameters.  If 
no arguments are detected, the interactive mode of operation is selected,  and 
XCAT will pause after painting the screen.  You may then change parameters and 
re-execute the program successively  as desired.   If arguments  are passed on 
the command line,  the screen will be painted  as in the interactive case, but 
execution will immediately begin according to the interpreted parameters.  The 
XCAT screen appears as follows:


+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Catalog X-Ref Pgm V6.0   (ZSDOS)                      05 Feb 1989    09:02:41 |
| ^Search : (???) ????????.???           ^Log MAST.CAT : C8:                   |
| ^Dates  : = ??/??/??                   ^Z-Redraw                             |
| ^Output : Console                                                            |
| ^Format : User Date                                                          |
|==============================================================================|
|For Help, reboot then type : XCAT //                                          |
|                                                                              |
|READY - (^C = Abort, Space or <cr> = Continue) : _                            |
|                                                                              |
|                                                                              |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
 XCAT Commands - 1/3 

   Six commands are available to adjust data presentation and search criteria.
Five of these are also  available from the command line mode.   Changing of an 
option is done by holding down the  "Control"  key and pressing the letter for 
the command.   This is  shown  symbolically by the  letter prefixed by  the up 
arrow as in "^C" for Control-C which is the entry to exit XCAT.  The available 
commands are:

  S - Set Name and Disk Search criteria.   Two entries  may  be entered.   The 
     first is for a disk specification which expects a one  to three character 
     entry to select a specific,  or group of disk IDs.   If an unambiguous ID 
     is entered, the data is  displayed in  a "Directory" type display similar 
     to that produced by a normal directory list routine.   An ambiguous entry 
     uses the normal XCAT type file oriented display.  The second entry is for 
     a filename and type, which may also be ambiguous or unambiguous.   If the 
     first character of the name  is unambiguous,  XCAT will terminate reading 
     of the  Master Catalog when no  further  matches  are  possible,  thereby 
     speeding  operation.   These options  are available from the command line 
     mode as well.
 XCAT Commands - 2/3 

  D - Select Date Search criteria.   Boolean operators  are available for date 
     specification as: before (<),  equal (=) and after (>).   The date may be 
     ambiguously or unambiguously specified with the normal CP/M  "?" and  "*" 
     operators and numbers.   This option is  also  available from the command 
     line mode.

  O - Select Output Device.   Output from XCAT can be directed to the Console, 
     Printer or to a disk file.   If file output is selected, the default name 
     of MAST.LST may be used, or a different name entered.   The specification 
     may also  be  preceeded  by a drive and  user  designation  for  complete 
     flexibility.  This option is also available from the command line mode.

  F - Select Format of display.   This entry controls display  of the optional 
     User area and Date fields of MAST.CAT entries.  If the format of the data 
     base does not match that set in the header, a warning will be issued, and 
     you will have the options of Changing  the program settings  to match the 
     data base, Aborting the operation and returning to the command prompt, or 
     Proceeding with the  settings in the program.   This option is  available 
     from the command line mode as well.
 XCAT Commands - 3/3 

  L - Log in Drive/User for MAST.CAT.   This  permits  selecting  a  different 
     drive and user there a catalog should be found.   In this way,  different 
     catalogs may be maintained for specialized purposes, and easily accessed.  
     This option is available from the command line mode as well.

  Z - Redraw the screen.   This command is  used to re-draw the screen in case 
     something messed it up.   One such  case where  this  is  desired in with 
     BackGrounder ii(tm) where no  screen  driver is installed  to  retain the 
     current display when  swapping tasks.   When the XCAT context is restored 
     from a swap, Control-Z may be used to restore the proper screen.  This is 
     not available nor needed from the command line.
 XCAT Command Line Options 

Command line arguments may  be intered in any sequence,  but must be separated 
by  one or  more  spaces to be  properly  deciphered  by XCAT.   The  list  of 
parameters recognized by XCAT is:

     $[U][D]        Desired output contents with Users(U)/Dates (D)
     <[D][U]        Get MAST.CAT from the Drive/User in DU form
     >[D][U]        Put output file to Drive/User in DU form
     -[P][C][F]     Output device is (P)rinter, (C)onsole, or (F)ile
     ,[nnn]         Select list for disk with following 1-3 char ID
     +[<,>,=]dd     List only files Older ("<"), Newer (">") or Same ("=")
                    as the following date specification (dd), or default
                     date spec if none listed
     fn[.ft]        Match this file specification

File specifications,  disk IDs,  and date specifications may  be  entered with 
ambiguous characters in the standard  manner with "*" and "?".   The  asterisk 
will cause the remainder of the field to be filled  with the  single-character 
ambiguous match, the question mark.  
:3
 Configuration 

   XCAT is easily configured using Al Hawley's excellent ZCNFG tool, Vs 1.3 or
later.   Options and default  settings  are  contained  in the XCAT6.CFG file.  
Configuration should be relatively self-explanatory, and Help is available for
from within ZCNFG.  

   For those  who  desire  a graphics string to  generate  a  horizontal  line 
instead of  a single character,  a method of defining a character string of up 
to  16 characters by  using the file CAT6GPH.Z80.   This file  defines  a flag 
value and the user-supplied string at the needed address in the header section
of XCAT6.   It should be assembled to a HEX file and overlayed on the programs
with MLOAD or a debugger such as DDT.
:4
 XCAT Notes 

   a. If no recognizable  clock  driver is found  (Plu*Perfect Systems'  Date-
      Stamper (tm), ZSDOS or CP/M Plus) when executing  either  MCAT or  XCAT,  
      you will be prompted to enter the current month, day and year.   When  a 
      catalog including  Date information  is updated with  MCAT,  the current 
      date is then added to the  pseudo  file  '+++nnnk.FRE'  which  shows the 
      number of  free  kilobytes on the disk.   By examining this entry in the 
      Master Catalog, the date of cataloging is then known.   With XCAT,  this 
      current date is presented  in printed  and file output listings.   As  a 
      side  effect,  if  a  disk  is  cataloged  on  different  days  with  no 
      intervening changes,  you will observe that one file is deleted, and one 
      added in the second operation.
:5
 Examples of Use 

   a. XCAT <B8 ,50? *.BIN +<*.*.87

      - searches  a MAST.CAT in user  area 8 of drive B for all files  of type
        ".BIN" on disks 500-509 and 50A-50Z with a date earlier than 1987.
