W8SDZ@Simtel20.ARPA@sri-unix.UUCP (08/26/84)
From: Keith Petersen <W8SDZ@Simtel20.ARPA> Al Jewer has just released MESSAGE, a short program that many readers will find very useful if you have ever wished that you could easily create a .COM file to print a message to the user. This program is intended to make it easier to create message files for RCPM and other CP/M systems. For instance, if you upgrade a utility on your system, you would want to tell the users to use the new file instead of the old one, for instance: TYPESQ no longer needed - use TYPE instead. You can copy MESSAGE.COM with your text editor, (renaming it appropriately), insert your text (terminated with a $), and rename it to what you want. It can then be run DIRECTLY without assembly or loading!! The trick is that the program was written so that the machine instructions would all be ASCII characters. This means that when you edit the MESSAGE.COM file, the first line of 'funny' characters that you see are actually the program to type the message! When you edit this file, make SURE you use 'NON-DOCUMENT' mode, or the machine code on the first line of the file could get destroyed. Do not alter the characters in the first line - they MUST be left as they are. Start your message on the SECOND line of the screen, and be sure to end it with a dollar-sign ($). Other uses: RCPM Wallchart, system information files, etc..... Here's a list of the files available on SIMTEL20: Filename Type Bytes Sectors CRC Directory MICRO:<CPM.RCPM> MESSAGE.ASM.1 ASCII 2700 22 = 16H B283H MESSAGE.COM.1 COM 256 2 = 2H 9358H MESSAGE.DOC.1 ASCII 1228 10 = AH 5EA9H --Keith