Category : Communication (modem) tools and utilities
Archive   : MLINK16.ZIP
Filename : MLINK16.DOC

MegaLink External Protocol Driver

1.4

June 15, 1987


P & M Software Company
9350 Country Creek #30
Houston, Texas 77036

Author: Paul Meiners


All material related to MegaLink has been placed
into the public domain.


Revision History
----------------

1.0 First public release.

1.1 First official version released to the public. Added optional
pathname to the "receive" command line syntax.

1.2 Corrected so that ERRORLEVEL was reported if program was
unsuccessful.

1.3 Internal version, not released.

1.4 Multiple changes:
(1) Opens D/L files in "shared" mode.
(2) Introducing "Forsberg's CRC Variation".
(3) Improved XON/XOFF handler, moved to ISR for speed.
(4) Increased serial input buffer size from 5k to 6k.
NOTE: I wish to thank Mr. Chuck Forsberg for his many suggestions
on how to improve MegaLink. Two of his suggestions have been
incorporated in this release.

1.5 Corrected problem in end-of-file handler.

1.6 Changed transfer progress display to show that [Esc] should be
pressed to stop transfer. Added explanatory note to documentation
explaining the requirements of batch transmissions.


-------------------------------- o --------------------------------

This document describes how to use the external protocol driver for
MegaLink, MLINK.COM.


The use of MLINK.COM is very simple.
------------------------------------

1. To receive files, issue the following command line:

MLINK PORT n SPEED m RM [pathname]

Where:

n ......... is the serial port number in use. Ports 1 - 4 are
supported. Ports 3 and 4 are supported using the
Everex configuration.

m ......... is the baud rate in use. Rates that are supported
are: 300,1200,2400,4800,9600 and 19200.

pathname .. the pathname is optional, if given it designates
the directory where MLINK will store files received.
The [...] are used to indicate the field is optional
and should not be included on the command line.

other things are not variable in this specification.


2. To send files, issue the following command line:

MLINK PORT n SPEED m SM file1 file2 ...

Where:

n,m ..... are as described above for #1.

file1 ... the filenames to be transmitted are listed after the
SM switch. Up to 50 files can be transmitted in one
batch, but in no case should the maximum length of the
command line be exceeded.

**** NOTE: while multiple files can be transmitted, they may NOT be in
multiple directories on the same command line. If a pathname
is specified, it may be specified only for 'file1', the other
files must be contained in the same directory as 'file1'.




3. Errors. Various folks have complained that MLINK does not set the
DOS ERRORLEVEL when it exits after an error condition has been
encountered. MLINK will now set the ERRORLEVEL to 1 to indicate
an error has been encountered during its operation.