4DOS mini-FAQ
Eric Pement
A mini-FAQ for 4DOS
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Your assistance in improving this mini-FAQ is appreciated.
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1. What is 4DOS?
"4DOS, 4OS2, and 4NT are command interpreters or 'Shells.' That
means that they display a C:\> or [C:\] prompt, wait for you to type
something, and then react to your commands. Our programs replace the
default command interpreters that are supplied with your operating
systems. 4DOS replaces COMMAND.COM for DOS, Windows 95, and for DOS
sessions under OS/2. 4OS2 and 4NT replace CMD.EXE."
-- quoted from the "Introduction and Installation Guide"
for 4DOS, 4OS2 and 4NT. (c) 1997 by J.P. Software, Inc.
1b. What is Take Command?
Take Command is a command interpreter that runs in a window on the
Microsoft Windows or OS/2 desktop. Similar to other apps designed
for Windows or OS/2, Take Command offers a title bar, menu bar, tool
bar, resizeable window, and a graphical interface. Users see a
command line with a [c:\] prompt and can run the full suite of
commands, variables, and functions offered in 4DOS, 4OS2, and 4NT.
A console scrollback buffer and mouse support is also available.
2. Where do I get 4DOS?
4DOS, 4OS2, 4NT, and Take Command are distributed as shareware
on the "try before you buy" concept. They are available from the
J.P. Software website:
3. Third-party reviews.
Reviews of 4DOS:
http://www.pcquest.com/apr98/4dos.html # PC Quest, April 1998
Reviews of 4NT:
http://www.gci-net.com/~users/c/cteeple/windowsnttrueshells4nt.htp
Reviews of Take Command:
http://www.gci-net.com/~users/C/cteeple/windowsntpseudoshellstcmd.htp
4. Is there a 4DOS FAQ file?
Yes, available in both English and Italian. The FAQ was maintained
by Fabio Ferrero; last modified on 18 July 1996. The FAQ badly
needs to be updated, and the author welcomes contributions from
other 4DOS users. However, as of April 1999, Mr Ferrero's e-mail
address <nut...@mbox.vol.it> is no longer valid. A current e-mail
address would be appreciated.
http://www.volftp.vol.it/IT/IT/COLLABORAZIONI/FERRERO/index.htm
5. Other websites.
Dedicated to 4DOS:
[none known]
Individual pages with good focus on 4DOS:
http://www.smart.net/~mlsmith/websites.html
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Lakes/6910/4dos.html
6. Collections of 4DOS batch files, utilities and 4DOS-aware programs:
ftp://ftp.simtel.net/pub/simtelnet/msdos/4dos
http://www.mpoli.fi/files/software/DOS/4DOS/index.html
http://www.bookcase.com/library/software/msdos.apps.4dos.html
http://ftp.arco.de/BBS_Files/dos/4dos/
http://staff-www.uni-marburg.de/~muetze/4ftp2htm.html
7. Programs which use or support 4DOS file descriptions ("4FD"):
DOS programs:
4EDIT (description editor), by Iram J. Weinstein
4FILES (file manager), by Larry T. Edwards
4UTILS (misc programs), by David Frey and Tom Bowden
DEDIT (description editor), by Mark Incley
FFF (file find), by Jim Derr
SHEZ (archive shell), by Jim Derr
SST (file find), by Keith Ledbetter
TARGET (file find), by Keith Ledbetter and McAfee Software
V1 (file manager), by Neil Faulks
Windows programs:
ACDSEE (image viewer), by ACD Systems. During image browsing,
4FD are displayed and kept in file copy/move/rename. Win3.1,
Win95 versions. Shareware.
- http://www.acdsystems.com
ADC (Advanced Disk Catalog), by Vladimir Katalov. Will import
and use 4FD in creating and maintaining a file-storage catalog,
with an Explorer-like interface. Win 9+/NT. Shareware, $20
- http://www.elcomsoft.com/adc.html
CONNECT, by Ian Balter and Dmitry Orlov. A DOS-mode, Win95-aware
programming environment with debugger, text/hex editor, file
viewers, terminal, directory/file panels like Norton Commander.
Supports 4FD on copy/move/rename, viewing (Alt-K,N) and editing
(Shft-F2) of 4FDs. Freeware (most docs in Russian).
- http://www.softpanorama.org/OFM/Ofm_03.shtml#CN
- http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Lakes/1401/fileman.htm
DESCEXT (description editor), by Rainer Bahr. Extension to
Win9*/NT Explorer to view/edit 4FD after right-clicking. Does
not preserve 4FD on copy/move/rename. Freeware.
- http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Rainer_Bahr/4dos.htm
DESCRIBE for Windows (description editor), by David Crossmier.
4FD preserved in file copy/move/rename. Shareware, $5.
- http://home.cdarchive.com/ftp/shareware/win_util/05a/DESC20.ZIP
EXPLORER, by Calmira. Calmira makes Windows 3.x look like
Windows 95; 4FD appear in Explorer window. Freeware.
- http://www.calmira.org
FILE WIZARD (file manager), by Gulyas Antal Denes. DOS util
looks like Norton Commander. 0/1/2 dir panels displayed above
4/DOS prompt, 30 video modes, user menus, drag & drop, more.
Runs under DOS/Win9+, 4FD displayed on 1-panel mode. Freeware.
- http://www.nexus.hu/gad/
- ftp://ftp.elf.stuba.sk/pub/pc/utilfile/fw119.exe
MIC PLAY. Plays .WAV and .MIDI files, supports 4FD. Win3 app.
- ftp://ftp.simtel.net/pub/simtelnet/win3/music/micplay1.zip
VOYAGER 98 (file/archive/ftp manager), by Enriva Development.
Expands on Windows Explorer to allow management of archives,
access to ftp sites as if they were drives, and a 2-panel look
like Norton (or Windows) Commander. Able to view/edit 4FD.
Shareware, $29.95
- http://www.enriva.com
-----
version: 004
The 4DOS mini-FAQ was written by Eric Pement <epe...@jpusa.org> and
was last updated on Oct. 8, 1999.
This file may be quoted or copied without restriction or further
permission. However, try to obtain the latest version before posting.
[eof]
Jonathan.de....@xspam.p3.f609.n257.z2.fidonet.org
EP> Your assistance in improving this mini-FAQ is appreciated.
EP> -----------------------------------------------------------
EP>
EP> 1. What is 4DOS?
Here's the Frequently Given Answer for that question, that I have been posting
here in the Fidonet 4DOS echo for the past several years whenever anybody asks:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Frequently Given Answer to the question:
What is 4DOS ?
--------------
4DOS is a command interpreter for DOS, DOS+Windows 3.x, DOS+Windows 95,
DOS+Windows 98, and Virtual DOS Machines under OS/2 Warp, that can be
used as a replacement for COMMAND, the bundled default command interpreter.
It provides all of the functionality of COMMAND, and a lot more besides, such
as :
# An editable command line with built-in history and recall, without
needing DOSKEY, CED, or whatever. Pressing [PgUp] displays a
scrollable window containing the entire command line history of the
session.
# Full context-sensitive on-line help at the command line for all built-in
commands, at the press of the [F1] key,
# Extended change directory support, with the CDD (change drive and
directory), PUSHD (pushd directory onto internal stack), POPD (pop
directory off internal stack) commands.
# A change directory history window, invoked via [Ctrl-PgUp].
# Extended batch language, with features such as multiline DO...ENDDO and
IFF...THEN...ELSE...ENDIFF, and ON BREAK and ON ERROR for exception
handling.
# Filename and directory name expansion at the command line, using the
[TAB] key.
# Built-in variables with pre-set values, such as %_DOSVER, which expands
to the current version of DOS, and %_DISK, which expands to the current
drive letter.
# Variable functions, such as %@FULL[], which returns the fully qualified
name of its argument, and %@EVAL[], which evaluates its argument as an
arithmetic expression.
# Many built-in commands for display handling, such as SCRPUT to display
any text in any colour anywhere on the screen, and DRAWBOX to draw
boxes.
# Built-in equivalents of many popular "itty bitty utilities", such as
the LIST, FFIND, HELP, KEYBD, BEEP, DELAY, and MEMORY commands.
# Extensions to many of the commands that are built-in to COMMAND
consistent across several commands, such as for the COPY, MOVE, DEL,
and REN commands the /S switch that allows them to operate recursively
on subdirectories and the /P switch which prompts before operating on
each file.
# Extended wildcard support for most commands, such as *f*.* to find all
files whose names contain the letter 'f' (COMMAND treats *f*.* as *.*).
# Selection by date/size range support for several commands, allowing
you, for example, to restrict DIR to only display files modified within
the last two days.
# Swapping of the main command interpreter to XMS, EMS, or disc, freeing
up conventional memory for application use.
# The ability to load all but 256 bytes of 4DOS into upper memory blocks.
# Coloured directory listings.
# Aliases, whereby a command or series of commands can be aliased to
another name.
# Keystroke aliases, allowing for the remapping of keypresses to
commands.
There are also other products in a similar vein. 4OS2 is a native command
interpreter for OS/2 Warp, which can replace CMD. Take Command for OS/2 is a
graphical command interpreter for Presentation Manager on OS/2 Warp; and Take
Command/16 and Take Command/32 which are graphical command interpreters for
DOS+Windows 3.x and DOS+Windows 95/98 respectively. These have several
features that aren't practical or practiable on plain DOS.
For example, 4OS2 for OS/2 Warp has, in addition to everything 4DOS has :
# Command history and aliases that are shareable across multiple
sessions (4DOS can only share within one session).
# Hooks into the REXX interpreter (REXX is a very powerful interpreted
script language supplied free with OS/2 Warp), both to run REXX scripts
from the command line and allowing 4OS2 to be extended via REXX using
the %@REXX[] variable function.
# Automatically sized and expanded environment space. (4DOS requires
environment space to be explicitly sized.)
# The ability to display the on-line help and use the command line at the
same time.
# Long filename support in all commands, and at the command line.
# A built-in START command to start new sessions of any type (Virtual DOS
Machine, VDM running Windows, or native OS/2 Warp).
# True pipes, with the commands at each end of the pipe running
simultaneously. (4DOS cannot use true pipes, because DOS doesn't have
them.)
# Longer command-line lengths (up to 1024 characters).
# All of the advantages of a native OS/2 Warp process: it has no
draconian limits on the amount of memory that it can use, places no
limits on the size of the applications that can be invoked, uses OS/2
Warp for virtual memory rather than its own private swapfiles, and has
no worries about swapping, UMBs, EMS, XMS, conventional memory, or any
of that DOS nonsense.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
» JdeBP «
--- FleetStreet 1.22 NR
* Origin: JdeBP's point, using Squish <yuk!> (2:257/609.3)
Jonathan.de....@xspam.p3.f609.n257.z2.fidonet.org
EP>
EP> DOS programs:
INSPECTA for DOS, by David Nugent.
OS/2 Warp programs:
INSPECTA for OS/2, by David Nugent.
INSPECTA is a comprehensive file and archive manager, with extra
features for sysops such as viewing and editing PKT files and managing inbound
and outbound directories, which displays 4DOS/4OS2/TCOS2 file descriptions
(file-based descriptions, such as those in DESCRIPT.ION and FILES.BBS, only;
not extended attribute descriptions, unfortunately) in its directory list
window alongside each file, can modify and edit individual descriptions, and
will keep the description files up to date whenever a file is copied, deleted,
or moved.
Workplace Shell
Workplace Shell is the default desktop environment bundled with
OS/2 Warp. In fact it is putting the cart before the horse to say that
Workplace Shell supports 4OS2/TCOS2 file descriptions. It would be better to
say that 4OS2 and TCOS2 support Workplace Shell's file descriptions. Simply
set DescriptionName=EA in 4OS2.INI and TCOS2.INI, and both 4OS2 and TCOS2 will
then automatically display and manage the extended attribute file descriptions
used by Workplace Shell and other OS/2 programs (which are visible in Workplace
Shell by bringing up the Properties notebook for any file or directory and
looking at the "Subject" field on the "File" page).
It's worth noting that unlike the file-based descriptions of
DESCRIPT.ION and FILES.BBS, the EA file descriptions used by Workplace Shell,
4OS2, and TCOS2 do not require special handling. Being attached to the files
themselves, as extended attributes of the file, rather than being in a
separately maintained database (the DESCRIPT.ION file), means that whenever
*any* application copies, deletes, renames, or moves the file or directory, the
filesystem itself ensures that the file description is kept up to date. Files
and their descriptions thus never get out of synchronisation.
peter karlsson
>Simply set DescriptionName=EA in 4OS2.INI and TCOS2.INI, and both 4OS2 and
>TCOS2 will then automatically display and manage the extended attribute
>file descriptions used by Workplace Shell and other OS/2 programs
Is there any way to synchronize these descriptions with the ones in the
DESCRIPT.ION files, so that I can see them when running 4DOS as well?
--
\\//
peter - http://www.softwolves.pp.se/
Jonathan.de....@xspam.p3.f609.n257.z2.fidonet.org
JdeBP> and TCOS2 will then automatically display and manage the extended
JdeBP> attribute file descriptions used by Workplace Shell and other OS/2
JdeBP> programs
pk> Is there any way to synchronize these descriptions with the ones in
pk> the DESCRIPT.ION files, so that I can see them when running 4DOS as
pk> well?
And here's a script that converts from the .SUBJECT extended attributes to
FILES.BBS files. The existing descriptions in FILES.BBS are left unaltered,
and the new descriptions are appended to the end of the file.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
/* CONVERT_SUBJECT.CMD -- Convert 4OS2 descriptions to FILES.BBS */
/*
* This is a REXX script that reads the .SUBJECT extended attributes
* of files and writes appropriate FILES.BBS files for the benefit
* of certain backward utilities that haven't converted to using
* .SUBEJCT EAs yet (such as 4DOS).
*
* (c) Copyright 1999 Jonathan de Boyne Pollard. All rights reserved.
*
* Permission is hereby granted for you to use, copy, modify, and redistribute
* this script to your heart's content, as long as you make no money from
* doing so, and as long as you realise that I accept no responsibility for
* whatever posession or use of this script may do to your machine, data,
* cat, or marital status.
*
* NOTE: This script requires Object REXX.
*/
call RxFuncAdd 'SysFileTree','RexxUtil','SysFileTree'
call RxFuncAdd 'SysGetEA','RexxUtil','SysGetEA'
call RxFuncAdd 'SysGetMessage','RexxUtil','SysGetMessage'
if SysFileTree('*', 'names', 'SBO') == 0 then
do i = 1 to names.0
error = SysGetEA(names.i, ".SUBJECT", "subject")
if error \= 0 then do
say SysGetMessage(error,,names.i) ' "'names.i'"'
iterate
end
if subject \= "" then do
say names.i
len = subject~substr(3,2)~reverse()~c2d()
description = subject~substr(5,len)
if len > 0 then do
path = filespec("Drive",names.i)||filespec("Path",names.i)
FilesBBS = .stream~new(path||"FILES.BBS")
FilesBBS~open("write append")
FilesBBS~lineout(filespec("Name",names.i)||" "||description)
FilesBBS~close()
end
end
end
else
say Error reading the directory tree.
exit
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jonathan.de....@xspam.p3.f609.n257.z2.fidonet.org
pk> Is there any way to synchronize these descriptions with the ones in
pk> the DESCRIPT.ION files, so that I can see them when running 4DOS as
pk> well?
I've written a REXX script to convert from DESCRIPT.ION (and, incidentally,
FILES.BBS) to the .SUBJECT extended attribute, which I (re)posted just the
other day in the Fidonet OS2REXX echo.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
/* CONVERT_DESCRIPTION.CMD -- Convert FILES.BBS to 4OS2 description */
/*
* This is a REXX script that parses the contents of FILES.BBS and
* DESCRIPT.ION and sets the .SUBJECT extended attribute to the files's
* description for for each file found. This script is intended to be
* used when 4OS2 or Take Command for OS/2 is configured to use
* extended attributes for its descriptions. You can also see the
* description on the [File] page of a file's settings notebook in
* Workplace Shell, and several OS/2 utilities (such as NcFTP) give
* .SUBJECTs to the files that they create.
*
* (c) Copyright 1998 Jonathan de Boyne Pollard. All rights reserved.
*
* Permission is hereby granted for you to use, copy, modify, and redistribute
* this script to your heart's content, as long as you make no money from
* doing so, and as long as you realise that I accept no responsibility for
* whatever posession or use of this script may do to your machine, data,
* cat, or marital status.
*
* NOTE: This script requires Object REXX.
*/
call RxFuncAdd 'SysFileTree','RexxUtil','SysFileTree'
call RxFuncAdd 'SysPutEA','RexxUtil','SysPutEA'
call RxFuncAdd 'SysGetMessage','RexxUtil','SysGetMessage'
if "" \= stream('FILES.BBS','c','query exists') then
call ParseFile 'FILES.BBS'
if "" \= stream('DESCRIPT.ION','c','query exists') then
call ParseFile 'DESCRIPT.ION'
if SysFileTree('*', 'dirs', 'SDO') == 0 then
do i = 1 to dirs.0
olddir = directory()
call directory dirs.i
if "" \= stream('FILES.BBS','c','query exists') then
call ParseFile 'FILES.BBS'
if "" \= stream('DESCRIPT.ION','c','query exists') then
call ParseFile 'DESCRIPT.ION'
call directory olddir
end
else
say Error reading the directory tree.
exit
ParseFile: procedure
parse arg DescriptionFileName
DescriptionFile = .stream~new(DescriptionFileName)
do while DescriptionFile~lines() \= 0
Line = DescriptionFile~linein()
select
when line == '' then nop
when line~left(1) == '-' then nop
when line~left(1) == '"' then do
parse var line '"'filename'"' description
call Describe filename description
end
otherwise do
parse var line filename description
call Describe filename description
end
end
end
error = DescriptionFile~close()
drop DescriptionFile
return
Describe: procedure
parse arg Filename Description
subject = "FDFF"X||description~length()~d2c(2)~reverse()||description
error = SysPutEA(Filename, ".SUBJECT", subject)
if 0 \= error then
say SysGetMessage(error,,directory()||"\"||Filename),
' "'directory()'\'Filename'"'
return
Jonathan.de....@xspam.p3.f609.n257.z2.fidonet.org
JdeBP> and TCOS2 will then automatically display and manage the extended
JdeBP> attribute file descriptions used by Workplace Shell and other OS/2
JdeBP> programs
pk> Is there any way to synchronize these descriptions with the ones in
pk> the DESCRIPT.ION files, so that I can see them when running 4DOS as
pk> well?
Of course the *best* thing would be for Rex to fix 4DOS so that in an OS/2
Virtual DOS Machine it supported DescriptionName=EA just like 4OS2 and TCOS2
both do. This would make the 4DOS file manipulation commands such as DEL and
REN noticably faster, just like using EAs for descriptions makes the same
commands in 4OS2 and TCOS2 noticably faster, because they wouldn't have to do
any description file processing at all.
We know that 4DOS can selectively enable extra OS/2-specific features when it
detects that it is running in an OS/2 VDM because it already has at least one
such feature: the START command. And we know that it's possible for DOS
programs to read EAs from within VDMs, because the DIR command in COMMAND
already does it:
c:\desktop\programs\faxing>command
OS/2 Command Interpreter version 4 - DOS mode
C:\DESKTOP\PROGRAMS\FAXING>dir /r
The volume label in drive C is WARP.
The Volume Serial Number is 6C01:AB46.
Directory of C:\DESKTOP\PROGRAMS\FAXING
. <DIR> 19-07-99 3:39p Faxing
.. <DIR> 19-07-99 3:39p Programs
FAX!PM 2 2 <DIR> 18-09-98 9:29a Fax/PM 2.2
3 file(s) 0 bytes used
3166175232 bytes free
C:\DESKTOP\PROGRAMS\FAXING>
Eric Pement
Jonathan.de....@xspam.p3.f609.n257.z2.fidonet.org wrote:
> EP> 7. Programs which use or support 4DOS file descriptions ("4FD"):
> EP>
> EP> DOS programs:
>
> INSPECTA for DOS, by David Nugent.
>
> OS/2 Warp programs:
>
> INSPECTA for OS/2, by David Nugent.
>
> INSPECTA is a comprehensive file and archive manager, with extra
>features for sysops such as viewing and editing PKT files and managing inbound
[...]
Would you care to post a URL to this program?
--
Eric Pement <epe...@jpusa.org>
senior editor, Cornerstone magazine Info on SED here:
http://www.cornerstonemag.com http://www.cornerstonemag.com/sed
939 W. Wilson, Chicago, IL 60640
tel: 773/561-2450, 1-(ext.)2084 fax: 773/989-2076