SINTRAN III: Difference between revisions

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One of the clever features was to be able to abbreviate commands and filenames between hyphens, for example '''LIST-FILES''' when typed would ask you for several prompts including print, paging etc, you could override this using the following '''LI-FI,,,''' which would abbreviate the '''LIST-FILES''' command prompt and bypass any of the prompts. One could also refer to files in this way, say, with '''[[PED]] H-W''' which would refer to '''HELLO-WORLD:SYMB''' if this was the only file having H, any number of characters, a hyphen, a W, any number of characters, and any file ending.  
One of the clever features was to be able to abbreviate commands and filenames between hyphens, for example '''LIST-FILES''' when typed would ask you for several prompts including print, paging etc, you could override this using the following '''LI-FI,,,''' which would abbreviate the '''LIST-FILES''' command prompt and bypass any of the prompts. One could also refer to files in this way, say, with '''[[PED]] H-W''' which would refer to '''HELLO-WORLD:SYMB''' if this was the only file having H, any number of characters, a hyphen, a W, any number of characters, and any file ending.  


In case the user wanted to actually edit a new file called '''H-W:SYMB''', a file of that name (with no automatic expansion to match an existing file), the file name would have to be enclosed in double quotes, i.e. '''PED "H-W:SYMB".'''
In case the user wanted to actually edit a new file called '''H-W:SYMB''' (with no automatic expansion to match an existing file), the file name would have to be enclosed in double quotes, i.e. '''PED "H-W:SYMB".'''
The double quotes automatically created a new file. The other common way to create a file was to use the SINTRAN command '''CREATE-FILE'''.
The double quotes automatically created a new file. The other common way to create a file was to use the SINTRAN command '''CREATE-FILE'''.


Revision as of 13:20, 26 August 2009

SINTRAN III is a real-time, multitasking, multi-user operating system used with Norsk Data computers from 1974. Unlike its predecessors SINTRAN I and II, it was entirely written by Norsk Data.

Sintran III core and file system was written in NORD PL, intermediate language for Norsk Data computers.[1]

SINTRAN was primarily a command line based operating system though there were several shells which could be installed to control the user environment more strictly, by far the most popular of which was USER-ENVIRONMENT.

One of the clever features was to be able to abbreviate commands and filenames between hyphens, for example LIST-FILES when typed would ask you for several prompts including print, paging etc, you could override this using the following LI-FI,,, which would abbreviate the LIST-FILES command prompt and bypass any of the prompts. One could also refer to files in this way, say, with PED H-W which would refer to HELLO-WORLD:SYMB if this was the only file having H, any number of characters, a hyphen, a W, any number of characters, and any file ending.

In case the user wanted to actually edit a new file called H-W:SYMB (with no automatic expansion to match an existing file), the file name would have to be enclosed in double quotes, i.e. PED "H-W:SYMB". The double quotes automatically created a new file. The other common way to create a file was to use the SINTRAN command CREATE-FILE.

The abbreviation concept saved quite a lot of keystrokes and would allow users a very nice learning curve, from complete and self-explanatory commands like LIST-ALL-FILES to L-A-F for the advanced user. (The hyphen key on Norwegian keyboards resides where the slash key does on U.S. ones.)

There are a few SINTRAN computers still running in a production manner, including one public-access ND-5700 system operated by a NODAF member.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Norsk Data Document ND–60.047.03 NORD PL USER'S GUIDE Page 3
  • This article was originally a copy of the English Wikipedia article SINTRAN III in 1 November 2008.


External links

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