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                              DIRECT  V7B

     This is an improved version of the directory listing program dis-
tributed with OS/8 (OS/12) V3, V3C, V3D and OS/78.  It is functionally
equivalent to the original version and includes any updates which have
been released up to the time of submission.  To distiguish it from the
earlier versions it has been designated 'V7'.  The loading and operat-
ing instructions in the OS/8 Handbook apply without change.*

     The improvements are as follows:

1.   Multiple column listings are now printed in column order rather
than in row order.  This makes the listing much more 'readable' since
sequential files and embedded empties appear in their natural order.

2.  The listing can be sorted!  The output can be arranged alphabeti-
cally (by name or extension), or viewed in forward or reverse chrono-
logical order.  Ordering is first by date, then extension, then name.

3.  Dates can be printed in either the 'DD-MMM-YY' format of the orig-
inal version or the numeric 'MM/DD/YY' style used by the monitor DATE
command prior to 1978.  The extended date algorithm devised for V3D is
used to interpret file dates after 1977.  (Good through 1999!)

4.  The header block defined by the DECSYSTEM-8 program HEADER.SV can
be listed at the beginning to provide a convenient identification of
the media and the program contents, all in one place.  The header may
also be written by the U/W-FOCAL program HEADER.FC.

5.  Fewer spaces are used between columns so that 3 columns will fit
on 80-column output devices and 1 less blank line is output at the end
in order to retain more information on terminals with a limited amount
of display.  To save trees as well as to preserve the display on some
video terminals, the formfeed at the end has also been eliminated; the
'/P' switch can be used to force a new page.  Finally, the summary now
prints the number of blocks -used- as well as the number of 'empties'.

     These features are selected by the /A, /D, /H, /N, /P, /T and /X
switches.  "/A" produces an Alphabetical list while "/X" groups files
by their eXtensions; /D organizes the output by Date while /T outputs
the most Timely (recent) files first.  Empties will be printed at the
end if /E is also specified.  "/P" starts a new page while "/N" gives
Numeric dates.  "/H" prints out the Header block  - if there is one -
otherwise /H is ignored.  Note that the date options will not work if
there is no system date, so always check this before using DIRECT.

     To further enhance operation of the program, some of the switches
can be inverted.  Thus "/P" can be changed to Prevent Paging, and "/N"
can be used to designate Non-Numeric dates rather than Numeric ones.
The default value for the number of columns has been changed to '2' in
order to agree with the .DIR command.  Changing the default for '.DIR'
via the '.SET TTY COL N' directive does not alter the value in DIRECT.
The default output device can also be changed (TV: is nice on a PDP12)
but this will also be overridden by the '.DIR' command the first time.

     Optional patches (shown in ODT format: location/ value  change)

12257/ 7710 7700 Change /N to mean 'print non-numeric dates'
12273/ 7640 7650 Change /H to mean 'do not print header information'
13257/ 7640 7650 Change /P to mean 'do not output a formfeed'
12377/ 0002 0003 Change default to 3 columns (or your choice)
13177/ 0002 0004 Change spacing between columms (your choice)
14713/ 5524 2426 Change default output device to TV: for the PDP-12

     Implementation notes: A minor difference in this release is that
/W now disables the other options so that the version ID will not be
followed by other output.  This is consistent with OS/8 documentation
(and is actually an improvement!) but is at variance with the earlier
releases.  The 'version release number' of the monitor system is also
now printed in the header so you can distinguish 'V3' from 'V3C' etc.
Note that this 'number' is actually printed as a letter to conform to
the OS/8 convention.   Thus you should use the value '4' in HEADER if
you want to have the letter 'D' printed.  System ID=5 defines 'OS/78'
ID's from 1-8 have been defined; those above 5 may serve local needs.
Finally, the restriction on combining /B and /E with the sort options
has now been removed.  Both starting block numbers and a list of the
empties may be included at any time.

     Acknowledgments:  The initial improvements were made by Larry
Fowler of the Boeing Commercial Airplane Co. in Seattle, Washington.
He added the /A and /H options and also modified the source file so
that different I/O codes could be substituted for the terminal.  Dr.
Thomas W. McIntyre of the West Virginia University Medical Center in
Morgantown, W. V. added the column-output feature and Jim van Zee of
the Chemistry Department at the University of Washington in Seattle
added the remaining options and condensed the code so that it would
fit into the original file space.  Thanks to Rev. Geoffrey Chase of
the Portsmouth Abbey school in Portsmouth R.I. for suggesting the /X
switch and to Tom McIntyre for encouraging the addition of /D.  Don
Harmer at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, GA. fixed a bug in the /T option.

*Loading Instructions:    .DA 7-NOV-78       (Identifies version 7B)
(Delete the original      .R ABSLDR
version first so this     *PTR:=14600(89P)$
 one will replace it)     .SA SYS DIRECT     (optional: use '=6503')


     Summary of the command decoder options:

     /A      ALPHABETIZE DIRECTORY BEFORE PROCESSING
     /B      PRINT STARTING BLOCK NUMBERS (OCTAL)
     /C      LIST ONLY FILES WITH THE CURRENT DATE
     /D      ORDER FILES BY DATE, THEN ALPHABETICALLY
     /E      INCLUDE EMPTIES IN THE LISTING
     /F      FAST MODE (NO LENGTHS OR DATES)
     /H      PRINT CONTENTS OF THE HEADER BLOCK
     /I      PRINT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION WORDS (OCTAL)
     /M      LIST ONLY THE EMPTIES AND THE FILE SUMMARY
     /N      PRINT DATES IN NUMERIC FORM (MM/DD/YY)
     /O      LIST ONLY FILES WITH OTHER THAN TODAY'S DATE
     /P      PAGE AFTER EACH LISTING
     /R      LIST REMAINDER OF FILES AFTER THE FIRST ONE
     /T      LIST THE MOST TIMELY (RECENT) FILES FIRST
     /U      TREAT EACH INPUT SPECIFICATION SEPARATELY
     /V      LIST FILES NOT OF THE FORM SPECIFIED
     /W      PRINT THE VERSION NUMBER
     /X      ALPHABETIZE BY EXTENSION, THEN BY NAME
     =N      USE N COLUMNS - OUTPUT IS ORDERED BY COLUMN

     *       WILD NAME OR EXTENSION
     ?       WILD CHARACTER

     DEFAULT INPUT SPECIFICATION:    *.*
     DEFAULT OUTPUT DEVICE:          TTY:
     DEFAULT OUTPUT FILE EXTENSION:  .DI