============================= | OHELP Ver 2.0 | | An Online Help Facility | +---------------------------+ | (c) 1989 John Wiederhirn | ============================= DISTRIBUTION NOTICE This program is FREEWARE. Feel free to give it to anyone who wants it. The only stipulation is that the copyright notices must remain intact on this file (OHelp.doc), the OHelp.hlp help data information, and on the OHelp.c source code file; any distribution must include all of the above- mentioned files along with the executable OHelp file. Version 2.0 Changes ------------------- Okay, here it is....Version 2.0. Changing the version number to 2.0 was a decision based on internal changes made by the new compiler, rather than any changes to the source code itself. After bashing Aztec 3.6a into all conceivable positions, it became obvious that a "pure" version of OHelp just wasn't going to be created by that compiler. There were too many problems with the library routines to make such a change possible. After being hazed repeatedly by Mike Roth from Lattice about their 5.0 compiler's ability to generate "pure" code from normal source, I went out and got it. The source code required no changes, compiled fine, and now OHelp is pure. Ain't that a kick in the pants. MANX better get on the ball, because their Aztec 3.6a is horribly outdated next to Lattice's 5.0. Oh well, that's about all I wanted to say....enjoy the new version. I have pretty much reached my own internal goal for this program, so any further changes will be resultant from outside suggestions. JFW (11-24-89) Program Description ------------------- The OHelp program is designed to be able to retrieve information on the CLI commands, and pretty much anything else the user wants to keep a file of help data covering. It is called using the following syntax: OHELP [?]|[arg1 [arg2...]] Calling it using the "OHELP" syntax will display the command argument format data, along with a brief copyright notice (pervasive little buggers, aren't they - still, better too many than too few). Calling it with the "OHELP arg1..." format retrieves the help data for the "arg1" entry. If more than one argument follows, then each help entry will be shown in turn. If the program can't find a help entry for any given argument, then it gives a message to that effect, and stops. The arguments are non-case-sensitive. By that, I mean that the program sees no difference between "PATH", "Path", and "path". This is also true for the entries in the OHelp.hlp data file (See OHelp.hlp section). Finally, by putting the "?" switch somewhere in the argument list passed to OHelp, you get a list of the topics for which help information is available. Installation ------------ For operation, the "OHelp" file must either be somewhere on your search path, or in the current working directory. The program is initially set to find the "OHelp.hlp" in the current directory. However, this program allows a user to set the path/filename of the file using Matt Dillon's excellent CONFIG pgm. Just run CONFIG on the executable and change the path as desired. Recompilation ------------- The program includes a lmkfile for users who have the lmk facility. There is also a "MakeIt.L50" script to compile it under Lattice 5.0.2. The code is pretty simple, and although it uses a (gasp! shriek!) goto or two, it is also pretty concise. The OHelp.hlp File ------------------ This is the file which contains all of the entries which OHelp spits back at you when you run it. The entries are in the following format: ~HEADER Text . . . End of text @ When you call OHelp with an argument, if the argument matches any HEADER in the OHelp.hlp file, then the corresponding text is printed. HEADER must be a tilde "~", a one-word word title by which the entry will be referenced, followed by a . The text consists of any text characters, followed by a carraige return. Each line of text must be no more than 79 characters long. Finally, each entry is terminated by a "@" followed by a on a line of their own (as above). The OHelp.hlp should begin with the entry for OHELP which gives info about the OHelp usage format and copyright information. After that, the user can customize the file to fit whatever needs he or she has. The current OHelp.hlp file distributed with the program contains help data for the commands of AmigaDOS version 1.3 (copyright Commodore-Amiga). Final Notes ----------- This program is so darned simple, either I'm being naive to think anyone needs anything this simple, or the quest for glitter-and-glitz PD programs has made us jaded to think simple programs can be functional. I'm probably just being naive...B). If anyone is so impressed by the simplicity and functionality of the program, and is so moved that they feel they cannot live without this program, then they could send a $5 donation to cover futher program development. The money should be sent to: John F Wiederhirn c/o Kompositor Software 7 Rum Cherry Rd. Ballston Spa, NY 12020 This is also where any comments, improvements, and non-explosive criticisms should be sent. Upgrades to the program, and specialized OHelp.hlp files will be posted as available to the "normal" PD sources. By the way, I can't give BIX, USENET, or other addresses, because I just don't have them. Maybe in the future... - JFW 11-24-89 O O OOOOO OOOOO OOOOO OOOOO OOOOO O O OOOOO OOOOO OOOOO O O O O O O O O O O O O O OO O O O O O O O O O O O O OOOOO O O O O O O O O O OOOOO O O O O O O O O O O O OO O O O O O O O OOOOO O O O O OOOOO OOOOO O O O OOOOO O XXXXX XXXXX XXXXX XXXXX X X X XXXXX XXXXX XXXXX X X X X X X X X X X X X X XXXXX X X XXXX X X X X XXXXX XXXXX XXXXX X X X X X X X X X X X X X XXXXX XXXXX X X XXXXX X X X X XXXXX BRINGING POLYEZNOST TO A COMPUTER NEAR YOU!!!