Unix Style Command Line for Apple II - the HELP command

[gids.rs@sasktel.net]

Goal:  to create a HELP system that allows for easy information retrieval without having to type in prefixes

Mission:  accomplished

The HELP command is the most useful of all of the commands and it works like this.  In any directory you are currently in, typing HELP "filename" first checks for the file called "filename" in the current directory's HELP folder.  

If the file is not found, it then searches the HELP folder in the Volume's root diretory.  Which is also known as the global HELP folder.  Any text file put in here can be viewed from within any directory on your hard drive.

The last place the HELP command searches, if a file is still not found, is in the /Volume/CMDS/HELP folder.  Help on all of the commands should be placed in this folder.  Therefore, the name of the HELP file in either the global help folder or the current directory's help folder, should not have the same filename as any of the commands, or help will not be available for that command.

The HELP command now works flawlessly.  I store any data that I need a reminder for, for programming purposes, in the global help folder.  Anythng from zero page notes, MLI parm tables, hard drive header and file storage information, ROM equates,  etc...

Thjis speeds up my programming tremedously without having to navigate to where the text files are stored, or to have to open a text viewer just to view a text file.

The TYPE  command is also completed and allows one to view text files within the current directory and for that reason, TYPE will prompt for a filename and has a CATALOG function, which HELP does not.

Both HELP and TYPE can also display fancy screens with mousetext characters, have word wrap, single line scroll or page down scrolling (use EDIT for 2 way scrolling)

Now working on an EDIT command to create, edit and save text files in any of the HELP folders for easy viewing with the HELP command.  None of the text editors I have allow me to quickly create a file and return me to the prompt, or leave Basic.system in tact and are too large to be used as a command.

This command has been a huge time saver and can be very powerful with all one's information stored in only one folder.

This ends the HELP description and the way I believe it should work.