From: Timmothy Rue (timrue@mindspring.com)
Subject: Re: Question of originality
Date: Wed, 5 Mar 97 00:04:01
------------------------------

>In (1216.7001T66T769@mindspring.com) Timmothy Rue (timrue@mindspring.com)
>writes:

>>Rich, do you understand the csh shell? If so I believe I can use it to
>>help explain, to some limited degree, the basic commands of the VIC.

>The unix c shell, or amiga?  Either way, yes.

>rwp
>--
>"Every man is enlightened, but wishes he wasn't." -- R. H. Blyth

>Rich Will Powers                                        rpowers@panix.com


A: Amiga. Rich, please bear with me in any apparent delay in my
responding. Between my job and other things I cannot avoid, my responces
may be delayed. But for a start, consider how you can start up csh in
different ways (I use a button icon in Tool Manager). Consider the start
up options in csh. This is along the line of the VIC first command AI (for
starting up a VIC).

    Keep in mind using csh as an example to describe the VIC has it
limitations. The VIC has a versatility beyond csh and csh has many more
commands than the VIC. This posting is just a place for us to start.

    Since you are familure with shells I'm going to assume you understand
redirection and tee. Well in the VIC, IP and OP are set to where you want
to receive and send data. OI is along the lines of the csh "input" command
and IP is where OI will get input from (IP is only used by OI).

    To get an idea of SF, start up csh with it's debugging on and watch as
it processes your input or a script. But in the VIC you have the ability to
control this processing in more ways and in a more direct way you can
change where it is in any file(s) it is processing. SF output is to the OP
setting.

    Now if you understand the csh "man" command, how it works, you have a
very basic idea as to how the VIC IQ command works. The comparision here
is that the "man" command is a search and output, but it outputs more than
a search, it outputs a definition (read the csh docs to see how you can
add your own definitions). Like I said, this is a very basic understanding
of the VIC IQ command. In the VIC the IQ search can go into sub
definitions and other files. Additionally the output of IQ can be
processed by/thru SF and output directed by OP.

    ID in the VIC, doesn't have anything easy to compare with in csh, but
the "class" and "action" can be used in a limited way to get the idea. ID
can do more than check if it's arguement is a file of a given type.
Checking for it's arguement being a file can be one of the things it
checks for but in determining what all it's arguement is, it can cause
action to be taken. Again this is a very basic start of what ID is.

    KE has no comparision in csh, but it allows one to apply additional
constraints on IQ and ID searches.


    PK also has no comparision in csh, but you might see it as the file
and command to change this files contents as well as the file itself. The
file contains all relative information to the VIC and others files of
which the other commands make use of.

Rich, I hope this is a good start.

Tim