butch@alliant.backbone.uoknor.edu (Butch Walker) (08/31/90)
I have had some common questions and I so I thought I'd respond to those here.
Wincomm is a commercial package which will have a retail price of $149.
That should put it's street price at about $90. It is written by
Synappsys, which is located in Norman OK. They have been primarily a
consulting firm working in Windows Comm previously and this is their
first major package.
I have had several questions as to the robustness of the VT102
emulation. To this I can personally attest as I have put it through
every "torture" test out there (at least, that I could find) including
several animation scenes using escape sequences.
It does not, at this time, support text in large screens (more than 25
lines). It has an option for 132 column mode and the entire screen can
be used for metafiles and bitmaps. It will also support the "automatic"
Zmodem and Compuserve B+ downloading.
I am planning on posting the demo program to cica and possibly other
sites and as I said earlier, it will be on Compuserve. Anyone not
having access to any of these sites who wants a demo, send your address
to me by e-mail and I'll give it to Synappsys. They've said they'd be
happy to send it.
The following is a features list provided to me by Synappsys. I know
that it's propaganda, but it does give a good list of options.
If you have any other questions or would like to place an order, etc.
Call Synappsys at (405) 366-6363. They will be glad to help. Synappsys
is located in Norman, OK and is in the Central Time Zone.
WinComm General Features
* Operation controlled by Session Files that contain all
operating parameters including Macro programs to run while
connected
* Context sensitive Help
* Client and Server DDE support
* Compiled macro (script) language with single step debugger
* Macro Recorder with editable source
* A session editor that allows easy generation of the
Session Files for WinComm's 3 types of communication sessions.
The editor provides for:
-Selection of the Session type
Terminal
PC to PC File Link
Phone Book/Autodialer
-Setting of session variables that relate to the host service
like Password, User ID, Macro to run on starting Session etc.
-Communication Port assignment and settings
-Selection of the Modem type from a list of model numbers with
the ability to create custom command strings for any modem
-Selection of terminal emulation and options
-Capture file naming and control
-File transfer Protocol selection and control
-Programming of Function Keys used to send text or run a
Macro
-Display screen appearance and operation
Terminal Features
* ANSI, BBS ANSI, VT 102, VT 52 Terminal Emulation
* Protocol File Transfer Including ASCII, XMODEM, YMODEM, ZMODEM (w/auto
detect), Compuserve B Plus and Kermit
* Capture File to save text from On-line session
* Custom Filters to Strip Control Characters and Escape Sequences
from Terminal Display and Capture File
PC to PC File Link Features
* Master program runs under Windows
* Slave program is a TSR DOS program
* Split screen showing directories and files in both computers
* "Show" Filter for wild card selection of files for transfer
* "Except" Filter for deselecting files not wanted in the transfer
* File transfers in either direction
* Alert to warn of possible overwrite of existing files
* Optional generation of Sub-Directories in destination machine
* Diagnostic display during transfer
* Direct serial connection to another PC with up to 115K BPS
transfer rate
* Modem connection providing these file transfer features at a
remote location with password security
Phone Book/Autodialer
* Multiple telephone directories with name and company name
Fields
* Automatic redial
* Directory sorting by name or company
* Quick Search by pressing the first letter of name or company
Macro Language
* Graphic dialog box editor that generates macro source code
* Utility program to design graphic displays, also generates source
code
* Source code can be compiled in a debug mode
* Debug provides single stepping of the executing macro and shows the
next
source statement to execute with the values assigned to its variables
* The macro language has commands for:
- Changing the menu bar
- Displaying custom dialog boxes with a large selection of control
types
- "Sending Keys" to other Windows applications
- Display of user generated metafiles and bitmaps with the ability
to use them as a graphic menu (hot spots)
- Windows Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE)
- DOS File Control
- Text String Manipulation
- Integer Arithmetic
- WinComm Session File Control
- Time and date manipulation
- Subroutines
- Chaining to other Macro files with subroutine type return
- IF ELSE, DO UNTIL, and WHILE statement constructs
- Context sensitive help for macro programs
WinComm Macros
WinComm macros are programs written in WinComm's macro language that
control the
operation of WinComm; monitor and send characters through the
communication port
and exchange data with as well as control those applications. These
programs
allow WinComm to be customized to provide a consistent Windows interface
for and
on-line service or special communication task. Simple Windows
applications can
be developed using the language to automate not only communications but
also
data entry and record- keeping tasks. WinComm and the macro language
also
support Windows Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE). This capability allows
WinComm to
exchange data with other Windows applications that support DDE. WinComm
can
also act as a multiple DDE client or server. Another powerful feature
is the
"send keys" statement. These statements allow WinComm to control, get
information from and pass information to any Windows application (even
if it
does not support DDE). "Batch Programs" can be created using these
statements
to automate any repetitive operation.
The simplest macro program might be one that automatically logs on to a
bulletin board or electronic information service. Several of these
macros
are included on the program disks. This type of macro can also be
"Recorded"
using WinComm's Macro|Record menu item. The operator turns the
recorder
on; goes through the log on process once; compiles and names the macro
and
then runs it repeatedly to automate the process. The recorder actually
generates source code which can be edited to refine or change the
macro.
WinComm macros can also be written to provide a custom front end for
any
on-lineelectronic information service. To provide this interface, the
WinComm macro programmer would create custom dialog boxes and menu bars
providing a Windows user interface for the service.
At the other end of the spectrum are macros that completely automate
complex
communication tasks. An example of such a task is automated reception
of real
time or historical data from a remote PC (with a data acquisition board
installed). The data would then be displayed or recorded on a local PC.
Using
WinComm's DDE capability, the data could also be passed to EXCEL for
creating
a graph. The graph could be copied to the clipboard, saved as a .WMF
file
using the WinComm Utility and redisplayed by WinComm using the graphics
customizing macro statements. Windows Bit Maps and Metafiles can also
be
displayed by the macros. These graphics can come from any application
that
can create a Windows standard .WMF metafile or a .BMP bitmap. The
graphics
can be diagrams, maps or even pictures. These graphics can have
imbedded
buttons or other objects that can be selected from the keyboard or by
the
mouse. In this way, graphical objects can be used as a graphical menu
system.
In the data acquisition example above, a process diagram would be
displayed.
The operator may select a monitoring point on the diagram by "Pointing"
to it
and the macro would poll to receive the requested data. By using
WinComm's
TXPKT and RXPKT (Transmit Packet and Receive Packet) macro statements,
this
data could be received error free guaranteeing its accuracy.
One of WinComm's most important features is its ability to allow multi-
processing within a macro. This is accomplished by the macro programmer
using
"event setup statements" that establish the criteria for different tests
the
macro must process. WinComm then assigns values to each "event status
statement" that can be tested by the macro. These tests alter program
flow
based on the event that occurred. The following is a list of these
statements:
Type of Processing Event Setup Statements Event Status
Statements
Custom Dialog Box Dialog Box Statement Group DIALOG?
Custom Menu Bar ADDBAR, ADDCOMMAND MENU?
ADDMENU, SHOWMENU
Protocol File Transfer SENDFILE, RECEIVEFILE XFER?
Packet Transfer TXPKT, PKTIME, RXPKT TXPKTSTAT?
RXPKT
Graphic Menu System BITMAP, BUTTON OBJECT?
HOTSPOT
Receive Strings Prompt Statement Group PROMPT?
Receive Characters MACROTRAP NEXTCHAR?
In many macro or script languages, program execution suspends until some
action is completed or an event occurs. In WinComm, the macro continues
to
run, thus freeing up the computer to process any event that is signaled
by
changes in these status statements.
A typical WinComm macro would set up a custom menu bar, a PROMPT
statement
group for an automatic log-on and then go to a "status statement
processing
loop" where MENU? and PROMPT? would be tested. If the MENU? or PROMPT?
values
change (which would indicate a menu item had been selected or the
communication port received a string the Prompt statement group was
testing
for), the macro would branch to a routine to process the event.
Hope this helps,
--Butchriehm@maccs.dcss.mcmaster.ca (Carl Riehm) (09/01/90)
In article <1990Aug31.082703@alliant.backbone.uoknor.edu> butch@alliant.backbone.uoknor.edu (Butch Walker) writes: >I have had some common questions and I so I thought I'd respond to those here. Does it store recent screens for recall? Carl Riehm.
butch@alliant.backbone.uoknor.edu (Butch Walker) (09/02/90)
In article <26DE97A7.26303@maccs.dcss.mcmaster.ca> riehm@maccs.dcss.mcmaster.ca (Carl Riehm) writes: >In article <1990Aug31.082703@alliant.backbone.uoknor.edu> butch@alliant.backbone.uoknor.edu (Butch Walker) writes: >>I have had some common questions and I so I thought I'd respond to those here. >Does it store recent screens for recall? Carl Riehm. It has a scroll buffer through which you can page back. The size of the buffer is configurable. --Butch