Xy-OS/2 Shell: What is it? (For OS/2 XyWriters only)

[Robert Holmgren holmgren@xxxxxxxx]

Of interest ONLY to XyWriters who run under OS/2!
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Following are the first few paragraphs of the Xy-OS/2 Shell DOCument
(XYOS2SHL.DOC). I plan to release XYOS2SHL.ZIP in another day or two
(in fact, as soon as I figure out a way to make it available at FTP site
"ccat.sas.upenn.edu/pub/eaan"). I intended originally to release the
bloody thing for Christmas, but elected instead to live with it for a
few months. So get out your Visa, Mastercard, Discover, Optima, Diner's
Club, or AmEx Platinum card, and slice it to ribbons with scissors;
because this is Freeware.


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Xy-OS/2 Shell (XYOS2SHL.ZIP) by R.J.Holmgren 12/25/95 Rev. 3/10/96
== ==== =====

N.B. This procedure was developed using XyWrite IV for DOS v4.017
= =  Although not extensively tested under XyWrite for Windows v4.012,
    it seems to work properly
   XYOS2SHL is designed for OS/2 v2.1x and v3.0 (Warp)
   OS/2 v1.x and v2.0 will NOT work with XYOS2SHL
   STANDARD DISCLAIMERS apply across the boards. [blah blah blah]

Do you yearn for the capacity to "shell to OS/2" in the same way that you
formerly shelled to DOS (to execute DOS applications, BATch files,
utilities) and then, on termination, returned automatically to XyWrite?

Here's my Xmas gift to you: Shell to OS/2 to perform any native OS/2,
MSWindows, or DOS task(s), individually or in combination, in background or
foreground, full screen or windowed. In short:

 launch OS/2 applications from the XyWrite command line
 return to XyWrite automatically on completion of your OS/2 task(s)
 one XyWrite keystroke does it all
 start and maintain as many simultaneous OS/2 sessions as you wish
 start OS/2 filenames or objects(!)
 no manual task switching (Alt-Esc, Ctrl-Esc)
 no mousing around
 no overt OS/2 interaction whatsoever (unless you intend otherwise)
 add significant new power and possibility to XPL programming
 prolong the life of a great DOS "legacy" app
 EVEN: control OS/2 from a XyWrite cockpit!

It seems improbable. After all, DOS (and XyWrite running in a DOS box) is
simply a child process of OS/2. DOS can't spawn OS/2 processes. Ho ho ho.
Merry Christmas.

I've designed this "Xy-OS/2 Shell" (XYOS2SHL.ZIP) to be a close OS/2
counterpart to XyWrite's DOS shell (the XyWrite commands DOS /C, DOS/NV/X,
etc) and to XyWrite's command processor (Xy command DO, which replaces
COMMAND.COM). But optionally, and on-the-fly, Xy-OS/2 Shell is far more
powerful than XyWrite's DOS shell ever was. For example, you can spawn one
or many separate OS/2 processes that persist independently even after you
return to XyWrite; indeed, you can launch them without leaving XyWrite.
Aliases or synonyms are prominent in XYOS2SHL. Most interesting, you can
launch OS/2 *objects* from XyWrite, which means that all the configurations
and associations determined by a Settings Notebook are implemented, just as
if you had clicked on an object's icon. (Try _that_ in a Win95 word
processor, ho ho ho.)


The Commands: O2 and SW
  ========  ==   ==
The basic XyWrite commands are O2 and SW. Both O2 and SW have rudimentary
BATch file counterparts (O2.BAT and SW.BAT) that simulate their XyWrite
operation on the DOS command line. SW has an OS/2 counterpart (SW.CMD) as
well.

O2 launches (spawns) OS/2 (or DOS or Windows) processes from DOS or
Windows. O2 allows you to launch a process and then, on termination of
that process, return to the original calling application. Thus you can (if
you wish) perform a fully automated "return trip", DOS ==> OS/2 ==> DOS, or
XyWrite ==> OS/2 ==> XyWrite.

SW switches "focus" between processes of all types. The current foreground
application is said to have "focus". You supply a portion (substring) of
the Title of the process to which you wish to switch, and the SW command
moves it into the foreground (brings it into focus -- on the Desktop, in a
window, from minimized to foreground, etc). SW is a powerful general
facility, which switches focus to any application (it defaults to XyWrite).
Among many other duties, SW accomplishes the "return" portion of the
XyWrite ==> OS/2 ==> XyWrite round trip.

XYOS2SHL yields huge benefits to XPL programming. O2 integrates easily
into any XPL application (RexXPL!). GO2.PM, PULLOS2.PM, and RUNCMD.PM are
examples:

GO2 is a simple program that you assign to a keyboard key; it shells to a
 full-screen OS/2 text session in XyWrite's current working directory
 (ordinarily O2 opens OS/2 sessions in the root directory).
PULLOS2 collects output data from any OS/2 program, and then imports that
 data into an [UNTITLED] XyWrite window (see instructions, below).
 PULLOS2 is the OS/2 counterpart to Carl Distefano's PULL (for DOS).
RUNCMD: While composing OS/2 batch or Rexx code, you simply DeFine
 ("Select") code fragments and then issue RUNCMD.PM to execute and test
 them. RUNCMD is the OS/2 counterpart of Carl Distefano's valuable tools
 RUNBAT (for DOS) and RUNCODE (for XPL, and extensively utilized below
 -- you should acquire a copy, in SmartSet v2.52+ [SMART25n.ZIP],
 available at the same sites as REORGNZn.ZIP, q. v. below).

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Robert Holmgren
holmgren@xxxxxxxx
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