Table of Contents
DTSS Commands
The Original-Original Version
BASIC / ALGOL REFERENCE
Commands
| Command | Action |
|---|---|
HELLO | Start a new session, enter your user number |
NEW | Start a new program |
OLD | Retrieve a program from storage |
SAVE | Save the current program to storage |
REPLACE | Save the current program to storage, overwriting the older version |
RENAME | Rename the current program |
CAT | List the names of your saved programs (short for CATALOG) |
LIST | List the current program |
RUN | Run the current program |
TEST | Test a student program using the TEACH system |
STOP | Stop the current run of the program (in case of an infinite loop) |
UNSAVE | Unsave the current program |
SYSTEM | Name the system – either BASIC (default) or ALGOL |
BYE | End the session |
GOODBYE | Same as BYE |
A few commands deserve extra explanation:
HELLO– The simulator at present makes no distinction about user numbers, and thus ignores this command.OLD– This command corresponds to the OPEN command on most modern applications.SAVE– Saves the current program, provided there is no saved file with the same name. The purpose of this restriction was to make sure you didn't accidentally overwrite a valuable program.REPLACE– Overwrites an already-saved program with the same name. (Most modern applications ask the user if she wants to overwrite a saved program.)TEST– See the explanation of the TEACH system below.
All commands may be abbreviated to the first three letters.
The NEW, OLD, and RENAME commands may be followed by a program name. If not, the operating system will ask you for the name of the program. The SYSTEM command may be followed by either BASIC or ALGOL. If not, the operating system will ask you for a system name. (Like the commands, the system names may be abbreviated to three letters.)
In addition, the SPEED command allows you to specify the teletype speed, for a more realistic simulation. Thus, SPEED 10 will slow things down to about 10 characters per second.
Program Library
Use the CAT (CATALOG) command to see what files are in the program library. There are several short programs to test features of BASIC (and of Algol) are in your space. Use:
OLD MYCAT LIST
to find out what they do.
Algol Programs
There are programs written in Algol in the Library. To run any of these programs, use:
SYSTEM ALGOL
Otherwise, DTSS will attempt to run them in BASIC, producing nothing but error messages.
A brief description of Algol can be found in the document An Algol Outline.
Thomas E. Kurtz
2007 April 4