Re: METAL is now FREE!!!!!!

[fnet@backus.cba.csuohio.edu (Greg Boh)]

In article <C49Hu2.74o@news.cso.uiuc.edu> thomson@mrcnext.cso.uiuc.edu (Eddie Thomson) writes:
>What the hell is METAL?  :)
>
>--

METAL - Mega-Extensive Telcom Applications Language - is designed to give the
SERIOUS sysop the power that, until now, has been lacking on the Apple ][
series.

METAL gives the sysop:

 o  24-bit integer math (-/+ 8meg range).
 o  An upper limit of 8 megabytes on any compiled program.
 o  Variable memory that takes advantage of your computer - 37k for an Apple
    //e or //c, and 64k or 128k for the Apple //GS.
 o  Full 2-dimensional array support.
 o  Massive command set - Allocate, Memstring, Do/While/Long If, Abort, Xfer,
    Fcopy, Edit, and more!
 o  31-character labels, 4-character variables, along with full support for
    hex, binary, and of course, decimal.
 o  Easy-to-use and modify configuration file.
 o  Fully customizable printer, clock, modem, and modem port interface drivers.
 o  The local video driver (standard Apple PTSE) can automaticly translate PTSE
    control codes to other emulations - your users can even switch emulations
    online, and most PTSE commands (include the MouseText character set) will
    be translated to what the emulation expects! Totaly transparent to both you
    and your users - simply write everything in PTSE, and let the system do the
    work for you!
 o  Documentation on the language supplied in AppleWorks 3.0 AWP file format,
    covering the language and commands in extreme depth.
 o  Over 200 external ML routines for your ML programs to use.
 o  Sysop creatable "External Package" programs that METAL can use as part of
    its own system.
 o  Three types of externals: Packages, External Files, and Shell Commands.
    Shell Commands can be used from the Reset Options locally to do things like
    editing a file, cataloging, viewing, and deleting files, even deleting
    entire directories!
 o  Ability to change the size of up to 126 memory areas for your BBS to use.
 o  Up to 40 "Data Areas" for your BBS to use, ranging from bit-level to
    three-byte-long data values.
 o  Built-In file transfer commands, with protocol support for Xmodem,
    XmodemCRC, XmodemBatch, Xmodem1k, Xmodem4k, Ymodem, Ymodem4k, Ymodem-G, and
    Zmodem - all industry standard protocols.
 o  Hide and Unhide variables directly in memory, without any disk access.
 o  Local labels, extra-long lines (can actually go up to the entire file),
    including of common source files, chaning of multiple files into one object
    runtime program, definable macro strings.
 o  Procedures with local variables and input/output variable passing.
 o  Much more than can be listed here!
 o  Runs under ProDOS-8, with many features for the GS computers.

That's just the language - the BBS program that comes with Metal, called Future
Vision, is a state-of-the art "everything for everyone" BBS program, supporting
TTY, DM1500, PTSE, MouseLink, ANSI, VT52, and VT100, with built-in networking,
private user files area, system "staff" managers for almost everywhere, "timed
events" that can allow your system to, say, back itself up every week (or once
a month or once a day, for that matter), Networking, and a lot more!