The BLAZE Tool

BLAZE is a file management tool that uses a terminal-based windowing technology, WINGSPAN. BLAZE supports a very powerful fileset specification syntax which simplifies file management operations like copying and purging. As you become comfortable with BLAZE, you will want to explore advanced topics like file tagging, mass operations, and file subset management.

Operation

BLAZE is easier to use if you take a few minutes to become familiar with the windows, fileset specification syntax, single letter comma keys, and function key operations. You may have covered some of these topics in the appendices. Basic operations like cursor key support and function key descriptions are also explained in the appendices.

BLAZE Typeahead status is set by the “terminal” option in the Settings pull-down menu. With Typeahead enabled, BLAZE single letter command keys require only a single keystroke. With Typeahead disabled, BLAZE single-letter command keys require two keystrokes for the key to be executed. Single-letter commands are discussed in detail later. By default, BLAZE Typeahead is disabled.

Capabilities

BLAZE Screen Layout

The status line is located at the top of the screen on row 1. Operational status messages are displayed here. The row beneath the status line, row 2, is where the menu bar is located. The menu bar is used to make top-level choices.

The work area is the area in the middle of the screen between the status line and the function keys. Depending on your application you may have up to five windows on the screen.

The single-letter command keys are used to perform operations like file tagging and fileset copying. The object of a single-letter command’s operation is determined by which window is active. For example, if the Account Structure window option is active and you issue a TAG (T) command, then all the files associated with the line you are on will be tagged. However, if the File Content window is active when the TAG command is issued, then only the file that is currently selected will be tagged.

The function keys are located at the bottom of the screen. There are eight function keys. Some keys have a standard use assigned to them, while other keys are assigned functionality that is specific to a given operation on an as-needed basis.

The next two pages introduce you to several of the more commonly used screens in BLAZE. The major focus for the next two pages is on understanding what components can be identified on each screen. Information on each component is discussed in later sections.

BLAZE Menu Structure

The Main Menu


	NOTE The status line (row 1); the shaded menu bar (row 2); and the function key locations. The menu bar selections that end in 2 dots (..) indicate that they have associated pull-down menus.

The Display Menu

The Display menu is the gateway to BALZE’s file management windows (Tree and View). Additionally, BLAZE’s File Compare (Compare) and Status Report (Profile) windows are accessible through the Display menu.

The Settings Menu

The Settings menu is for user-customizing of the interface as well as fileset specification. Items configured in this section can be saved to a configuration file. The default configuration filename is BLAZECFG, which (if present in the logon group) is loaded automatically. BLAZECFG can be equated to another file.

MPE Commands/Exit Program Options

These two menu bar selections have no associated pull-down menus. The MPE Commands selection displays a small pop-up window where MPE commands or UDCs may be entered.

Display Selection Menu

The Tree Screen

The information on this screen is divided into two panels. The left half of the screen displays account and group information. The right half of the screen displays file lists in a format similar to that of LISTF. File management actions are achieved through several single-letter command keys and the function keys.

The View Screen

This screen is divided into three information regions. The window to the left displays account and group information. The middle window displays a filename list. The window to the right displays file contents. As with the Tree display, file management is handled through single-letter command keys and function key selections.

The Compare Screen

This screen displays two windows for viewing the contents of two different files. The function keys provide control over which window is active and in the format of the display. The windows may be scrolled separately or together. ASCII and hexadecimal display formats are available.

The Profile Screen

This screen is divided into three windows. The information provided here includes system information, fileset statistics, and fileset specifications. System information provides information about the environment in which BLAZE operates. Fileset statistics show user-defined filesets. The fileset specifications window displays the current fileset.

Fileset Specification

BLAZE supports a LISTF-style file specification syntax with powerful extensions for creating versatile file descriptions. Filesets can be added or subtracted, and particular characteristics can be used to qualify each fileset.

BLAZE Parameters

One of the most powerful features of BLAZE is its fileset specification syntax. The syntax diagram in Figure 5.9 outlines all valid fileset descriptions. The syntax that BLAZE supports is based on the MPE LISTF fileset description. Wildcards are supported and multiple fileset descriptions can be logically connected with the puls (+) and minus (-) operators.

There are several possible options for reducing a large fileset into a more specific fileset. This is accomplished using the filter descriptor. At this time, there are 21 different filters that can be applied to any fileset.

DATE Filter Definitions

There are three different types of date filters: ACCDATE, CREDATE, and MODDATE. Dates can be specified in two different formats, "yymmdd" and "yy/mm/dd". Also the literal "TODAY" can be used to specify the current date. The relational operators equal (=), less than (<), greater than (>), greater than or equal to (>=), less than or equal to (<=), and not equal to (< >) can be used to create the exact date filter that is required.

ACCDATE

This definition represents "Access Date". It reports the time that this file was last accessed. For example, list all native mode programs that were used today:

CREDATE

This definition represents "Creation Date". It is the date that a file was created. For example, list all files in this account created after January 15, 1994:

MODDATE

This definition represents "Modification Date". It is the date of the last modification that was made to a file. For example, list all files that were modified today:

NUMERIC Filter Definitions

The filters in the next section accept numeric data as input. The relationship between the filter and numeric data is defined by the relational operator you select. A range can be defined by using the same filter twice, once with an upper limit and again with a lower limit.

This definition represents Blocking Factor. Use this filter to specify a blocking factor size. For example, list all files in this account that have a blocking factor of 16:

CODE

This definition represents "Filecode". It is the MPE file subsystem filecode. The MPE file subsystem assigns filecodes to all disk files. The filecode is a 16-bit signed number. Negative numbers indicate privileged filecodes.

Many filecodes have predefined meanings. For example, the filecode number 1029 is defined (by MPE) to be used for compatibility mode (CM) program files. System-defined filecodes usually have associated mnemonics. In the case of a CM program, MPE displays the 4-character mnemonic "PROG" when the filecode number is 1029. There are dozens of predefined filecodes. Consult the MPE Commands Reference Manual for a complete listing. In addition to system- defined filecodes, there are many others that are commonly used. For example, filecode number 711 indicates a "squished" file, meaning that the file has been compressed via the popular Boeing Computer Services’ file compression utility called SQUISHER. Filecode number 111 indicates a QEDIT (a product of Robelle Consulting, Ltd) text file.

When specifying a filecode for the CODE filter, either the numeric value can be used or the mnemonic string. For example, list all files in this group with the filecode equal to 1029:

EOF

This definition represents End Of File location. this filter lets you specify the size of files to select by specifying an EOF size. For example, list all files in this account that have an EOF equal to 0, and a sector count > 0:

LABELS

This definition represents "User Labels". This filter lets you limit file selection to just those files having the specified number of user labels. For example, list all files in this account that have user labels:

LIMIT

This definition represents "File Size Limit". It is the maximum number or records allowed in the file. For example, list all files in the current group except native mode program files, that have a record limit greater than 10000:

REC

This definition represents the record size of a file. Use this filter to select files based on record size. For example, list all files in the current group that have a record size equal to 80 bytes:

SECTORS

This definition represents the sector size of the file. Use this filter to specify the size of files for selection. Use two SECTORS filters to specify a range. For example, list all files in the current group that have more than 1000 sectors allocated to them:

TEMP

NON-PARAMETER Filter Definitions

ASCII

BINARY

This definition represents Binary files only. Limit file selection to binary files only. For example, list all binary files in this account that are not program files:

FIXED

This definition represents Fixed record length files only. Limit file selection to fixed record length files. For example, list all fixed record files in this account.

UNDEFINED

This definition represents Undefined record length files only. Limit file selection to files whose record length is undefined. For example, list all undefined record length files in this account.

VARIABLE

This definition represents Variable record length files only. Limit file selection to variable record length files. For example, list all variable length files in this account.

SINGLE PARAMETER Filter Definitions

CCTL

This definition represents "Carriage Control". This filter lets you specify whether to look for files that were/were not written with carriage control. For example, list all fixed record length ASCII files, that were created without the carriage control characters in the current group:

CIR

This definition represents Include Circular files. This filter lets you specify whether or not to include CIR files. For example, list all circular files from the current group.

MSG

This definition represents Include Message files. This filter lets you specify whether or not to include MSG file. For example, list all in this group except message files, and native mode relocatable libraries:

RIO

This definition represents Include Message files. This filter lets you specify whether or not to include RIO file. For example, include all relative I/O files from the current group:

BLAZE Commands

In addition to function keys and menu selections, BLAZE provides single-letter command (SLC) keys that are used to pop-up single-function windows. At this time there are 13 different single- letter commands. As with all BLAZE command entries, the SLCs are not case-sensitive.

BLAZE Objects

Most SLCs perform a given operation on an object. The object of the command varies, depending on which BLAZE window is active, where the cursor is located, and whether or not any file subsets are defined.

For instance, if the Account Structure window is active, the object of the SLC will be a fileset, an account, or a group. If the File List window is active, the object of the SLC will be the file specified by the cursor’s position. In other words, the file name that is highlighted by the cursor is implicitly selected whenever you invoke an SLC.

SLC Key Summary


Task	Letter	Description
Defining Filesets	F	Fileset (define a new fileset)
Defining Filesets	M	MAGNET (select fileset based on contents of file)
Choosing Files	T	Tag files
Choosing Files	U	Untag files
File Subset Management	S	Subset (create a new file subset)
	X	eXpand (activate the previous file subset)
	N	Next subset (activate the next file subset)
BLAZE Object Management Commands	C	Copy files
	P	Purge files
	R	Rename files
	E	Execute MPE command
	Z	Crunch file (Zap) (release wasted disk space)
File Finding Commands	/	Set up find parameters
	>	Find next
	<	Find previous
Help: the BLAZE Single Letter Command Key Summary	H	Help (pop-up command summary)

Defining Filesets

The F command is used to specify a fileset. Using this SLC will cause a small single-line window to pop-up on top of the current window (see Figure 5.10). In this window you can define a new file specification using the syntax described earlier in the "File Specification Syntax" section. The maximum length of a fileset description is 78 characters. If necessary, use the cursor keys to edit the text.

The M command pops up a window on top of the current display (see Figure 5.11). This window is titled "Words to search". The parameters entered here are passed programmatically to MAGNET in the System Manager’s Toolbox for file searches.

Inside this window are three search characteristic questions to answer. Each has a default that is initially displayed. User definable search characteristics are:

	NOTE Don’t forget, BLAZE will use your input exactly as it appears on the screen.


Case sensitive:	Enter "Y" for a case-sensitive search; enter "N" for a case-insensitive search.
All words must occur:	If you select "Y" for this entry, then all of the words you specify must be found in a file to be considered a match. By specifying "N" if any word from the list is found in any file, that file is included in the fileset.
Whole words:	Enter "Y" if words must match exactly. Enter "N" if the word can be part of another word.

After entering all information press F6 (Accept) key to start the search. If the Account Structure window is active, then the object of this command will be determined by the location of the cursor (i.e., a fileset, account, or group will be searched). If the File List window is active, then the object of the search will be a single file, as specified by the cursor.

Figure 5.11 illustrates how you can locate the files that use a few common intrinsics. Something like this might be handy when migration to a Spectrum machine and you need an easy way to locate the intrinsic calls requiring modification for compiling in native mode.

Choosing Files

Selecting this command will result in files being tagged. Determining which files are tagged is easy since BLAZE marks each tagged file with the character curly right bracket (}). As with most SLCs, the object of the Tag command is determined by the active window. Entire file subsets, accounts and groups are tagged while the Account Structure window is active. Individual files are tagged when the File List window is active.

Fileset Tagging

To tag all of the files in an entire file subset, move the cursor to the top line of the window. The text that will be highlighted will read "ACCT/GROUP". All of the files in all of the accounts and the groups displayed in this window will be tagged.

Account Tagging

Group Tagging

File Tagging

When the File List window is active file tagging is possible. Individual file tagging is accomplished by highlighting the file which you want to tag and then pressing the letter "T". The tag indicator (}) will be displayed just to the left of the filename to indicate that it has been tagged.

Selecting this command will result in tagged files being untagged. This command is used to undo Tag command actions. Functionally, it performs the opposite operation of the tag command. Untagging a file that was not previously tagged is meaningless and has no effect.

In terms of mass untagging operations the U tag command functions the same way that the Tag command functions. Please refer to the Tag command for details on untagging various levels of file subsets.

Untag acts like an "except" operator when it is combined with the Tag command for mass operations. Consider the situation where you want to tag all of files in an account except one or two files. The easiest way to accomplish this would be to “tag” the entire account and then switch to the File List window (use the F3 Window toggle key) to untag the files you want to exclude.

File Subset Management

A file subset is a group of files from the previously defined file subset. Initially, the only file subset defined is the fileset that was specified with the FILESET option of the "Settings.." submenu. To define a file subset, the T and U commands are used to select files which you want to place in a subset. in addition to these two commands, the M (MAGNET) command can be used to select files for tagging. As file subsets are defined, they become smaller and more focused on a particular characteristic. BLAZE allows up to nine file subsets to be defined.

The Subset command is used to create a new subset. The subset is created from the files that have been tagged. When the subset command S is issued, BLAZE assigns a subset number to the newly created file subset and updates the display screen with the new subset information. The subset command performs the same action regardless of which window is active.

Highlighting the top line (i.e., the ACCT/GROUP label) of the Account Structure window and pressing F4 (ZOOM IN) pops up the Profile screen. The Profile screen displays environment information about the BLAZE session, including a list of the currently-defined file subsets.