OPAL
DEMONSTRATION GUIDE

The DOS Programmable Shell

Version 1.40





(c) Copyright 1987, The Software Factory, Inc.
All rights reserved.


















The Software Factory, Inc.
15301 Dallas Parkway, Suite 750, LB44
Dallas, Texas 75248
(214) 490-0835








COPYRIGHT

Copyright (C) 1987 by The Software Factory, Inc. All rights
reserved.

The OPAL distribution disk may be copied subject to the
restrictions listed in 'Permission to Copy'.

This documentation is designed to accompany the OPAL
demonstration disk and is not intended to fully document OPAL
and its features. A printed manual, plus other benefits come
with OPAL when ordered. For further information refer to the
section on registration later in this documentation.

If any portion of the demonstration disk is missing, a
complete demonstration disk is available for $10. Use the
order form at the end of this documentation. Please do not
send disks.




TRADEMARKS

OPAL is a trademark of The Software Factory, Inc.
IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines.




OPAL INTRODUCTION


PURPOSE

OPAL is a rich, full-functioned batch executive language that
frees you from the limited capabilities of BATCH and other
primitive executive languages found at the microcomputer
level. It is designed to assist quick and flexible
application development. OPAL makes it easy to gain the
control you need over your DOS applications. OPAL can CALL
virtually any other software that runs under the DOS
environment. OPAL understands how to work with and enhance
your DOS environment and applications.

But, OPAL offers much more than just DOS compatibility. OPAL
is a full-fledged language with more functions than you would
ever expect from a batch executive language. And, as an
interpretive language, no compiling is needed to run OPAL
routines. Thus, OPAL allows you to prototype program
functions and user interfaces without having to recompile each
time the prototype changes.

OPAL offers a flexible, versatile alternative. In these ways,
and more, OPAL dramatically reduces your application
development time. And, the applications you develop are more
efficient, easier to maintain, and easier to use.





THE USER-SUPPORTED CONCEPT

User-supported Software

User-supported software is an experiment in distributing
computer programs based on these beliefs:

1. That the value and utility of software is best assessed by
the user on his/her own system.

2. That the creation of personal computer software can and
should be supported by the computing community.

3. That copying of programs should be encouraged, rather than
restricted.

Anyone may legally obtain an evaluation copy of the program
from a friend or computer club. After you have had a chance
to use and evaluate the program in your own environment, you
are trusted to either forward a payment to The Software
Factory or to discontinue use of the program.

Free distribution of software and voluntary payment for its
use eliminates costs for advertising and copy protection
schemes. Users obtain quality software at greatly reduced
cost. They can try it out before buying, and do so at their
own pace and in the comfort of their own home or office. The
best programs will survive, based purely on their quality and
usefulness.




RESTRICTED PERMISSION TO COPY


Individuals are granted permission to freely copy the OPAL
disk for their own use or for others to evaluate, so long as
no price or other consideration is charged.

Computer clubs and other non-profit organizations are granted
permission to freely copy the OPAL disk and share it with
their members, so long as:

1. No price or other consideration is charged. However, a
distribution cost may be charged for the cost of the
diskette, so long as it is not more than $5 total. This
includes shipping and handling charges.

2. Club members who receive the programs are informed in
writing of the user-supported concept and encouraged to
support it with their payments.

3. The programs and documentation are not modified in any way
and are distributed together.

4. The OPAL disk may not be packaged together with any other
programs or materials. It may not be bundled and sold as
part of some other more inclusive package.

5. The programs may not be "rented" to others.

6. The printed manual may not be copied or reproduced in any
way.

Companies, schools, universities, government and other
organizations are granted permission to copy the OPAL programs
for use on other computers and at other locations in the
company so long as:

1. The full registration fee of $59.95 has been paid for each
and every system on which the program will be used.

2. The printed manual may not be copied or reproduced in any
way.

Corporate licenses and volume discounts are available upon
request.






FILES ON THE OPAL DISK

The following files should be on the OPAL demonstration disk.
If any are missing on the copy you have, a complete evaluation
copy may be obtained from The Software Factory for $10. Use
the order form at the end of this documentation. Please do
not send disks.


CONTENTS

OPAL.EXE - Small Memory Model Version of OPAL, Demo Copy
OPALERR.MSG - OPAL's Error Message File.
$$SETUP.OPL - OPAL's Startup File, Customize to your taste.
MISC.OPL - Miscellaneous Example Program Shell
MISC.MNU - Misc Program Shell Menu, created by OPART.
MAKEIT.OPL - Batch File Make Utility.
CHKTERM.OPL - Used by MAKEIT to test End-Of-Form.
MAKEIT.MNU - DEFSAVEd Menu Block for MAKEIT.
MAKEIT.KEY - As shipped, MAKEIT is record mode.
MILLIONS.OPL - How long before you become a millionaire.
HOWOLD.OPL - Find out how old something really is.
HANG.OPL - Hang Man Game.
HANGWDS.DAT - Some words for HANG.
RADIX.OPL - Calculate a radix without SIDEKICK.
CRITICAL.OPL - Are you saving enough time merging?
TOWERS.OPL - The Towers of Hanoi problem.
TOWER.OPL - The Towers of Hanoi recursion routine.


EXECUTING THE DEMO

To try out the demo, simply type DEMO at the DOS
command prompt.


EXAMPLE DESCRIPTIONS

These examples are here for your review and improvement. They
are written by different individuals and therefore contain
different programming personalities. It is our hope at The
Software Factory that these examples aid you in some way, even
slightly.

- MISC

The Miscellaneous Example Program Shell shows how utilize OPAL
as a application manager. To run this application program,
OPAL needs to be in the current directory or on an environment
path.




- MAKEIT

The Makeit Utility has found a home at The Software Factory as
a tool for creating DOS Batch files with a constant prefix and
suffix. Some older programs do not support wildcards for
filename input, making it necessary to duplicate the same
command over and over again.

In other cases all of the commands may be the same but a
couple of the options need to be changed, that is the reason
for the editor in Makeit.

If nothing else, Makeit show how to spawn different tasks and
uses a form with an edit_action.

- MILLIONS

This program was rewritten from a similar program written in
the C language. The program is used to determine how long it
takes to become a millionaire. It demonstrates OPAL's
usefulness as a quick programming aid.

- HOWOLD

Did you ever want to now how old something was in terms of not
only years, but, Quarters, Weeks, Days, or even Seconds.
Howold uses OPAL's time stamp functions to calculate different
time periods. Do you now how old you really are?

- HANG

The ever popular Hang-Man Game. HANG uses OPAL's menu
capabilites to build a alphabet menu. You select or guess a
letter and pray you don't get hung. The author has chosen
some unique words and you are free to add to the dictionary or
change it if you know them all.

The program is also a good example of structured programming
and makes for some interesting learning.

- RADIX

Have you ever needed the radix of a number and been without
SIDEKICK or your HP. Don't fear OPAL's Radix is here to give
you the Binary, Octal, Decimal, and Hex equivalents of a given
value.




- CRITICAL

One of the factors used in evaluating the effectiveness of a
ramp leading to a highway is the Critical Gap. It is assumed
that a driver waits on a ramp until he estimates a time gap
between successive vehicles which he regards as sufficiently
long for him to safely enter the traffic stream. This
Critical Gap is a function of the angle between the ramp and
the highway, and the length of the acceleration lane.

The angle is entered in degrees. The acceleration lane is
entered as a normalized length, i.e. /100

A shape factor is available for Tapered or Parallel ramps.

This example OPAL program calculates the length of the
critical gap, T in seconds. T is a function of TH, the angle
between the ramp and highway ; D, the normalized length of the
acceleration lane; and S, the ramp factor.

- TOWERS

The Towers of Hanoi problem has an initial setup as shown
below:

A B C
| | |
[*****] | |
[*******] | |
[*********] | |
[***********] | |
--------------- --------------- ---------------

Three pegs exists, labeled A, B and C. Four disks of
differing diameters are placed on peg A so that a larger disk
is always below a smaller disk. The object is to move the
four disks to peg C using peg B as auxiliary. Only the top
disk on any peg may be moved to any other peg, and a larger
disk may never rest on a smaller one. Can you solve this
problem? OPAL does it using a local routine and recursion!




LIMITED WARRANTY


These programs are provided "as is" without warranty of any
kind, either expressed or implied, including, but not limited
to the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a
particular purpose. The entire risk as to the quality and
performance fo the program is with you. Should the program
prove defective, you (and not The Software Factory or its
dealers) assume the entire cost of all necessary servicing,
repair or correction.

In no event will The Software Factory be liable to you for any
damages, including any lost profits, lost savings or other
incidental or consequential damages arising out of the use of
or inability to use these programs, even if the Sunrise
Software has been advised of the possibility of such damages,
or for any claim by any other party.



REGISTRATION


To register as an official OPAL user, complete the order form
on the next page and send to The Software Factory, Inc.

As a registered user you will receive:

- a copy of the latest version of OPAL
- a printed manual (250+ pages, tips on use, index)
- 30 minutes of free telephone support
- notification of new versions

If not completely satisfied, return OPAL within 30 days for a
full refund.




COMPANION PRODUCTS


OPART - The OPAL Screen Painter $49.95

Eliminates the need to generate OPAL menus and forms using
DEFINE Blocks. Once a menu or form has been created with
OPART it may be loaded by your application with a single OPAL
statement.


OPR - The OPAL Run-Time System $99.95

This product comes with a suite of programs that a developer
can use to 'tokenize' and link your OPAL application into a
single run module. Developers who purchase OPR may distribute
their applications without royalities.

Call The Software Factory for more details, (214) 490-0835.





ORDER FORM

The Software Factory, Inc.
15301 Dallas Parkway, Suite 750, LB44
Dallas, Texas 75248
---------------------------------------------------------------
PRICE PRICE
PRODUCT QTY EACH EXTENDED
----------------------------- --- ----- --------
OPAL, Version 1.4
(1 - 9) ___ $59.95 $_______

OPAL, Version 1.4
(10 - 99) ___ $52.00 $_______

OPAL, Version 1.4
(100+) ___ $45.00 $_______


Printed User's Guides
(1 - 9) ___ $25.00 $_______

Printed User's Guides
(10 - 99) ___ $22.50 $_______

Printed User's Guides
(100+) ___ $20.00 $_______


OPAL Demo Disk
(1 - 9) ___ $10.00 $_______

OPAL Demo Disk
(10 - 99) ___ $7.00 $_______

OPAL Demo Disk
(100+) ___ $4.00 $_______

SUBTOTAL $_______

Texas state tax (6.125%) $
-------
Shipping & Handling (not demo orders) $ 4.00
-------
TOTAL $
-------

Name: _________________________________Phone:________________

Address:_____________________________________________________

Address: ____________________________________________________

City, State, Zip: ___________________________________________

I understand that if I am not completely satisfied, I may
return OPAL within 30 days for a full refund.