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  1. —————————————————————
            FILE NAMES AND EXTENSIONS - THE KEYS TO THE KINGDOM
  1. —————————————————————
     To the beginner, DOS is a little cryptic in its use of file 
     names. Study the example directory listing below and the
     notes to the right of the listing:
     PCPC     EXE    51489   5-03-86   3:36p   ---> PCPC.EXE          
     PCPR     EXE    21457   5-03-86   3:29p   ---> PCPR.EXE          
     PCPY     EXE    32017   5-03-86   3:39p   ---> PCPY.EXE          
     README            128   5-03-86  12:46p   ---> README
     NOTES565 TXT     1390   7-03-86   8:31a   ---> NOTES565.TXT
     
     In each case you will note the REAL file name to the right and 
     the directory listing version to the left. The point is that
     in DOS, filenames always have a name, a period or dot and an
     optional (but highly useful) extension. This is a very important 
     point!
     
                      KEYS TO THE SHAREWARE KINGDOM!
     Study the following list carefully, perhaps print it on paper 
     and mark it with a colored highlighter. This list contains a 
     roster of filename extensions which reveals the type of file and 
     its possible contents and application. 
     
           FILE EXTENSIONS WHICH PROBABLY CONTAIN DOCUMENTATION,
                       INSTRUCTIONS OR PRINTED TEXT
     .DOC       ---------> Probable DOCumentation file
     .TXT       ---------> Probable Text (TXT) file
     .MAN       ---------> Probable MANual/instruction file
     .LST       ---------> Probable file containing a LIST.
     .PRN       ---------> Probable text file from a PRINTED source.
     .INS       ---------> Probable INSTRUCTIONS in text form.
     .HLP       ---------> Probable HELP text file.
     .          ---------> NO, EXTENSION. VERY LIKELY A TEXT FILE!
     .HST       ---------> Probable text file containing HISTORY of
                           program revisions
     
           FILENAMES (WITH OR WITHOUT EXTENSIONS) WHICH PROBABLY
                   CONTAIN INSTRUCTIONS OR PRINTED TEXT
     README     ---------> VERY IMPORTANT TEXT FILE
     READ.ME    ---------> VERY IMPORTANT TEXT FILE
     READ.1ST   ---------> VERY IMPORTANT TEXT FILE
     READ       ---------> VERY IMPORTANT TEXT FILE
     READ.NOW   ---------> VERY IMPORTANT TEXT FILE
     
     NOTE! There are so many variations of the "READ..." theme that
     hopefully you can imagine other variations of this "READ..."
     concept!
     
     If you stop and think about it for a minute, most of these 
     extensions and filenames offer strong clues about file contents 
     and phonetically "hint" to you what the file contains. Here are 
     some examples you might actually see. Note the "clues" that tell 
     you text or instructions are available inside the file:
           1232XX.TXT            MAKE445.DOC       SYSOPS.       
           ASEASY.LST            MANUAL.TXT        READ.         
           DATABASE.DOC          MANUAL.           AUTHOR.       
           ENTIRE.MAN            FORMFEED.MAN      VENDOR.       
           MONEY.TXT             HOMEHELP.HLP      README.       
           README.!!!            HOMEHELP.LST      README.NOW   
           READSOON.             HOMEHELP.HST      VENDORS.      
           BBM.PRN               TRY44B.DOC        MANUAL.PRN   
     
     Once you have determined that a file contains text or 
     instructions, you need to read the information on your screen. 
     There are three ways to do this 1) the hard old DOS way. 2) the 
     better DOS way 3) use a file viewer - easiest. 
     1) THE HARD, BUT ACCEPTABLE WAY: Use DOS TYPE command: 
     Example, A>type readme.doc   (will type the document file 
     README.DOC to the screen) 
     
     Example, A>type B:readme.doc   (will type the document file 
     README.DOC which is on the B: floppy drive) 
     Example, A>type readme.doc>prn  (will type the document on your 
     printer). Important! 
     Use the Ctrl and S keys together to pause rapid screen 
     scrolling. Any key touched resumes and Ctrl-S again pauses. Use 
     Ctrl and C keys (Ctrl-C) to abort the whole process! Think of 
     this reminder: Ctrl-S means "stop." Ctrl-C means "crash the 
     process." 
     2) A SLIGHTLY BETTER WAY: DOS MORE AND PIPING 
     Here is another shortcut if the screen of information scrolls by 
     too fast to read. Use the DOS MORE filter. This MAY or MAY NOT 
     work on some computers. Switch to your hard drive where the file 
     MORE.COM usually resides in the DOS subdirectory. Now to read 
     the documentation file, for example README.DOC, on the A: drive, 
     do this: 
     C>TYPE A:README.DOC|MORE 
     Note that you are in the C: drive. You are viewing the file 
     README.DOC on the A: drive. The vertical bar | is usually on the 
     backslash key \ and is a shifted charter (uppercase). Note that 
     there are no blank spaces between the file name README.DOC, the 
     vertical bar | and the MORE command. This may or may not work on 
     all computers. MORE.COM must be pathed through the DOS directory 
     to work. More is a DOS filter. The vertical bar | is called a 
     pipe. Thus we are "piping" the output of the type command though 
     the more filter. Sounds odd, but this is one of the obscure 
     tricks of DOS! 
     3) THE BEST WAY: An external file viewer or browser. The easiest 
     and most comforable. 
     Sometimes a shareware vendor or computer club can provide a file 
     viewer. These go by many names. Popular viewers are LIST.COM,
     BROWSE.COM, VIEW.EXE, PAGE.EXE and others. These let you view 
     inside a text file and page up and down with minimum muss and 
     fuss! For our example, let's pretend you are using the popular 
     LIST.COM program.
     Example, A>list readme.doc   (will type the document file 
     README.DOC to the screen) 
     
     Example, A>list A:readme.doc   (will type the document file 
     README.DOC which is on the A: floppy drive to the screen) 
     
     Example, A>list C:\doc\readme.doc   (will type the document 
     file README.DOC which is on the C: hard drive in the \DOC 
     subdirectory to the screen) 
     Here's another tip. Sometimes a shareware program may not use a 
     file like PROGRAM.DOC or README.TXT for instructions but instead 
     a program file like README.COM or MANUAL.EXE or VPDOCS.COM. The 
     idea here is that instead of using a TEXT FILE the programmer is 
     using a program to run and display the documentation! So for 
     this variation, you simple run the program to see the 
     documentation. 
     
     Example: for VPDOC.COM at the DOS prompt simply type the name 
     of the file:  C>VPDOC  (then press return/enter key)  
     
     Example:  For README.COM    C>README  (then press return/enter 
     key)
     Let's move on and talk about other filenames and extensions 
     which do other jobs on a computer.
                    OTHER IMPORTANT FILENAME EXTENSIONS
     .EXE       ---------> An EXECUTABLE FILE which starts program
     .COM       ---------> A COMMAND FILE which starts program
     .BAT       ---------> BATCH FILE which starts program
     .BAS       ---------> BASIC file which can be run with
                           the aid of the GWBASIC interpreter
                           GWBASIC which is normally on your DOS
                           disk or hard drive.
                  FILE EXTENSIONS WHICH INDICATE THE FILE 
       IS "COMPRESSED OR ARCHIVED" AND MUST BE UNPACKED PRIOR TO USE
     .ZIP       ---------> Compressed file, use PKUNZIP to unpack
     .ARC       ---------> Compressed file, use ARC 
     .PAK       ---------> Compressed file, use PAK
     .LZH       ---------> Compressed file, use LHARC
     .ZOO       ---------> Compressed file, use ZOO
                          OTHER USEFUL EXTENSIONS
     .BAK       --------->  A backup or duplicate file
     .DAT       --------->  A data file
     .CFG       --------->  Configuration data for program
     .WKS       --------->  Spreadsheet file
     .WK1       --------->  Spreadsheet file
     .DBF       --------->  Database file in dBase format
     .ASC       --------->  ASCII file, perhaps a basic program
                            saved in ASCII format
     .BIN       --------->  Binary file, file used by a program
     Some shareware disk vendors try to help you by putting their own 
     files on a disk with a little extra information. The following 
     file examples might offer help in text or documentation form. An 
     advanced shareware user would guess quickly that these files 
     refer to a disk from a shareware vendor or computer club library 
     and are most probably disk number 565 in a larger set of 
     programs that vendor or club offers in a library collection. 
     NOTES565 TXT     1390   7-03-86   8:31a              
     FILES565 TXT     1728   7-03-86   8:37a              
     
     If you buy a disk from a disk vendor named BEST VALUE SHAREWARE 
     DISTRIBUTORS you might look for files such as the following 
     which also contain text, BAT, COM or other file startup 
     information. 
     
     Each vendor might use a different system, but watch for these 
     patterns as you list directory information on a shareware disk. 
     With the variety of methods, your best bet is to study filename 
     extensions for a few minutes and "play detective" which for some 
     folks is a bit of the interest in using shareware!
              FILES PUT ON A DISK BY A HYPOTHETICAL SHAREWARE
                DISK VENDOR NAMED BEST VALUE SHAREWARE INC.
     BESTVAL.COM     1390   7-03-86   8:31a              
     BESTVAL.TXT     1728   7-03-86   8:37a              
     BV.DOC          5656   7-03-86   8:31a
     RUNBEST.COM     1777   7-03-86   8:37a
     BESTVAL.767     8787   8-9-91    9:30P
  1. —————————————————————

COM, EXE AND BAT FILES START PROGRAMS

     
     ---------------------------------------------------------------- 
     
     A file ending in EXE or COM is a file which contains a 
     EXECUTABLE OR "RUNNABLE" program and is a way to start a 
     software package. 
     
     Examples:
     To start PCF.EXE do this    PCF  (then press enter).  
     For DBFKK.EXE               DBFKK (then press enter.) 
     
     Some files which end in BAS will need a basic interpreter such 
     as GWBASIC.EXE to operate. Example files would be GAME.BAS or 
     MUSIC.BAS. GWBASIC.EXE is usually included on your DOS disk
     which came with the computer.
     
     Another standard of shareware programs is to use batch files to 
     start programs. GO.BAT or MENU.BAT or START.BAT or INSTALL.BAT 
     are "batch files." Simply type the first word at the prompt to 
     proceed.  
     
     Example: for file GO.BAT       GO (then press enter). 
     DOS searches a disk for programs to run in a precise order:
     HELLO.COM  ---------> Run this first if found then try 
     HELLO.EXE  ---------> to find and run this then
     HELLO.BAT  ---------> try to find and run this.
            
     ---------------------------------------------------------------- 
     
                             BASIC DATA FILES
     
     ---------------------------------------------------------------- 
     If you find a BASIC program file which ends in .BAS try this
     per the following example . . .
     For the file HELLO.BAS, first copy both GWBASIC.EXE
     and HELLO.BAS to a blank formatted diskette. Then issue the 
     command:
     A>GWBASIC HELLO
     Another alternative is to leave GWBASIC.EXE on your hard drive 
     and tell it where the basic program is located. 
     Example:     C>GWBASIC A:HELLO
     The above example assumes a copy of GWBASIC.EXE resides on your 
     hard drive and a floppy containing the basic program HELLO.BAS 
     is on the A: drive.
     The program will be loaded into GWBASIC and run. If you
     don't care for the program, try to exit if the program gives
     you a menu of choices, otherwise press CTRL-BREAK keys
     at same time which will let GWBASIC exit. You will see an
     "OK" prompt. Type the word "system" and press the return/enter 
     key to return you to DOS and leave GWBASIC. 
     Basic is a rather elegant and precise programming system if you 
     are interested! Pick up a book at your local library and you can 
     learn how to use GWBASIC.EXE on your DOS disk to write and modify 
     your own elaborate custom programs! Also investigate the
     availability of affordable Basic compiler programs which prepare 
     speedy .EXE free standing programs rather than requiring you to 
     haul out your GWBASIC.EXE file each time you wish to run the 
     program.
  1. —————————————————————
                    SOME EXAMPLES - OUR FIRST POP QUIZ!
  1. —————————————————————
     Try to puzzle through this pop quiz! Small stars next to the 
     filenames indicate an educated guess as to IMPORTANT TEXT 
     information or documentation contained within. These directory 
     lists are similar to what you might see on your screen when using 
     the DIR command when you first explore a new software disk. Brief 
     notes may follow each directory listing. 
     
     ** means high probability documentation is contained within
     *  means some documentation possibly is contained within
                                                          
     BRUN10   EXE    58388   7-17-85   1:56p              
     BUSINESS DAT      384   5-04-86   6:42a              
     DELXTRA  BAT      128   5-03-86   6:55p              
     MSG1     TXT      384   5-03-86   7:10p  *            
     MSG2     TXT      768   5-03-86   7:23a  *            
     PAY      BAT       16   9-02-85  12:11p              
     PCPAY    DOC    64512   5-04-86   7:11a  **            
     PCPC     EXE    51489   5-03-86   3:36p              
     PCPR     EXE    21457   5-03-86   3:29p              
     PCPY     EXE    32017   5-03-86   3:39p              
     PRNTDOC  BAT      128   5-03-86   7:09p              
     README   BAT      128   5-03-86  12:46p              
     GO       BAT      668   7-03-86   8:39a              
     NOTES565 TXT     1390   7-03-86   8:31a *             
     FILES565 TXT     1728   7-03-86   8:37a *             
     
                                              
     Note that on the above disk the LARGEST file PCPAY.DOC contains
     64,512 bytes. Its size leads to strong suspicion it contains 
     the main documentation. Shorter files probably contain other 
     useful data. The two files at the bottom of the directory listing 
     make one suspect this disk in number 565 in a club library or 
     disk vendor collection. Sherlock Holmes would approve of our
     logic!
     
                                                          
     ASEASY   EXE   205392   7-17-90  10:29a              
     ASEASY   MSG     9636   7-16-90   6:27p *             
     ASEASY   CFG      298   1-18-90   7:47p              
     ASEASY   HLP    58346   4-25-90   9:05a **             
     HTREE    EXE     9185   4-11-90  12:36a              
     ASAU400  COM    36610   4-11-90   2:26p              
     VENDOR   DOC     3784   4-10-90  11:54p *             
     LICENSE  DOC     4133   4-11-90  12:28a *             
     ORDER    ME      4301  10-15-89  11:24p *             
     YESNO    COM       97  10-02-86   9:47p              
     SETUP    BAT     2873   7-18-90  12:26p              
     READ     ME     19512   4-12-90  11:53a **             
     
     The largest file which hints it contains text data would be a 
     good candidate to examine! The file SETUP.BAT suggests that 
     some intial setup or configuration of the program is necessary 
     prior to use.          
                                                          
                                                          
     COMFILES     <DIR>     12-05-89   4:48p              
     GOODBY            384  10-03-89   2:44p  *            
     INTRO1            512   1-11-90   8:19a  **            
     INTRO2            896  10-08-89   7:02p  **            
     MENU              640  10-03-89   3:41p              
     NEWPROD          2176  10-03-89   3:40p  *            
     MANUAL   DOC    77568   2-02-91  11:12a  **            
     QUICK    DOC    33664   2-02-91  11:10a  **            
     TUTR     DOC   109696  10-02-89   4:30p  **            
     SEBFI    COM     2270  12-10-89   2:50p              
     SEBFI    DOC     5888  12-05-89   8:04p  *            
     SEBFI    BAT      384  12-02-89   1:25p              
     LASTMIN  ANN      512  12-08-89   1:45p  *            
     GO       BAT     1362   1-31-91   6:17p              
     SEBFIM   BAT      384  12-08-89   3:05p              
                                               
     
     This is a disk with several important documentation files, but
     a highly unusual second subdirectory! COMFILES <DIR> contains
     other file(s) and must ALSO be examined. The DOS CD or
     change directory command must be used to examine this other
     subdirectory or file storage area of the disk. See your DOS manual.
     Most shareware authors try to stay away from using additional
     subdirectories on a disk which can confuse a beginner. The file
     LASTMIN.ANN would tell an advanced shareware user that the file
     contains "last minute announcements" and is most probably 
     a text file. TUTR.DOC probably means "tutorial document."
     QUICK.DOC is probably quick startup documentation.
                
                                                          
     HM       EXE   306347   8-28-90  11:48a              
     
     This is an odd disk indeed. No documentation? Actually this
     is a special SELF-EXTRACTING file which is usually copied
     to a hard drive run with the command HM. The file will proceed 
     to unpack itself and produce several files containing 
     documentation, COM or EXE files and more! Most authors would
     include a small README file on the disk to advise you of this 
     fact, but this author has omitted even that! If you locate a 
     large EXE file, copy it to your hard drive (perhaps into
     a subdirectory named TEMP or temporary) and then run the
     file to cause it to unpack and produce all the little subfiles
     which are the main program! Shareware authors do this to 
     conserve disk space or otherwise compress large programs to
     fit onto fewer disks.
                                                          
                                                          
     DBATE001 EXE   185785   3-25-90   9:07a              
     DBATE002 EXE   284884   6-22-90  11:28p              
     DBATE003 EXE   244771   9-19-90   7:47p              
     READ1ST  EXE     6267  11-26-90  11:04p **             
     
     READ1ST.EXE is run since it is a self-extracting EXE file which 
     probably produces documentation notes. The other three files are 
     probably self-extracting files which produce three separate 
     programs. This is a case of multiple self-extracting files! A 
     clever author is highly compressing his data to save space on 
     disk! 
     
                                                          
     FUNNELS  EXE    59904   9-21-84   3:01p              
     FUNNELS  DOC    14713   9-21-84   1:58p **             
     FUNNELS  INV     2432   9-21-84   3:18p              
     ATC2     BLD     4096   8-23-84   9:08p              
     ATC      EXE    50304   7-09-84  11:20a              
     AUTOEXEC BAT       11   7-12-84  10:29a              
     ATC      DAT      384   1-01-80   1:04a              
     EUCHRE   BAS    22784   7-21-84   3:09p              
     EUCHRE   DOC     3645   7-21-84   3:52p **             
     CRC      TXT     1123  11-16-84   7:06a *             
     FUNNELS  SCR      128  11-25-88  10:27a              
     
     
     A relatively simple disk. Text or documentation files indicated.
     Do you see the single basic BAS file which will require a copy
     of GWBASIC.EXE?
     Pop quiz part 2: Grab a few loose disks from any random source
     and repeat this detective process a few times and you will soon
     be a shareware GURU!
/data/webs/external/dokuwiki/data/pages/archive/computers/filename.txt · Last modified: 2001/11/08 10:19 by 127.0.0.1

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