Teeny Guide

The following is a (mostly) verbatim extract from the TEENY documentation, reformatted for readability.

Guide/Prompt

Teeny issues a two-line guide/prompt: the upper line is the guide, the lower line is the prompt. These two lines are illustrated below exactly as they appear on the 40-column screen of the laptop.

The guide line is only a visual aid. It identifies column positions of fields in the prompt line, and it has a notation (C=KLSQ) regarding arguments of the command field. The prompt line has two fields that are separated. The command field [C] is column 3. Column 4 is merely a separator [ ] between fields. The file name field [FFFFFF.XX] spans from column 5 to column 13.

Teeny provides a blinking cursor (illustrated by _ below) on the prompt line at column 3, which is the command field. Use of the command field is mandatory -- you must type a command. You do not have to use the rest of the prompt line -- its use is optional.

1111111111222222222233333333334

1234567890123456789012345678901234567890

________________________________________

Guide |> C FFFFFF.XX (C=KLSQ) |

Prompt |> _ |

Command Syntax

Regarding arguments of the command field, the notation (C=KLSQ) shows an equal sign followed by four upper case letters: K, L, S, and Q. The equal sign (=) denotes the query command. UPPERCASE letters K, L, S, and Q correspond to the Kill, Load, Save, and Quit commands.

Command syntax is the same for every command -- you may include a file name, but you are not compelled to do so. If you include a file name, then you may also append commentary after the file name -- Teeny ignores anything you type at column 14 and onward.

Letter "P" is upper case, and letter "p" is lower case. For file names that you type, the case of each and every letter may be important. For example, LAPTOP.CO and LApTOP.CO and LAPTOp.CO are slightly different file names that may refer to three distinct files, or they may all refer to the same file. Teeny takes each character of a file name precisely the way you type it and, based on the command, treats the file name in different ways -- see "File Name Treatment" for detail. For convenience however, you can keep the CAPS LOCK key engaged during a Teeny session so that file names are always treated in the same way.

There are some restrictions on the names of files. The laptop imposes the first restriction, Teeny enforces it, and it applies to every command. The first restriction is that the lead-character of a name can not be a numeral or certain special characters. For example, the name 4SCORE.DO is illegal. To make it compatible with as large a group of other masters (e.g., Floppy by Tandy, TS-DOS by Traveling Software) as practical, Teeny imposes the second restriction, which applies to the Kill, Load, and Save commands. This second restriction is that the lead-character of the file name extension must be one of three letters: B, C, or D. Other masters and Teeny use a convention where the lead-letter of the file name extension indicates the laptop file type. There are three file types: BASIC, Command, and ASCII. And the corresponding letters are: B for BASIC, C for Command, and D for ASCII. For a Load command with a file name such as WONDER.B4 for example, Teeny inserts the file content into that portion of laptop memory where BASIC file types belong.

The slave device that is attached at the RS-232C port of the laptop (a Disk Drive, or a PC during a DeskLink session) maintains its disk directory of file names and file content within its media. Certain differences among various slave devices are noteworthy and offer useful operational potential -- see "Slave Device Nuance" for detail.

See the illustration below. It shows an example for every command. Each example is a command which includes a file name. Note that the name included with the example Quit command is not legitimate for use with any of the other commands. Every example also includes commentary that begins at column 15. The file name and comment in each example form an explanation of what the command means. They are elaborate examples, yet you can use them as-is during a Teeny session because they are correct in their syntax!

1111111111222222222233333333334

1234567890123456789012345678901234567890

________________________________________

Guide |> C FFFFFF.XX (C=KLSQ) |

Prompt |> = Wonder.B4 Does file exist at disk? | Syntax of query

Guide |> C FFFFFF.XX (C=KLSQ) |

Prompt |> K AtDisk.BA BASIC file erase at disk | Syntax of Kill

Guide |> C FFFFFF.XX (C=KLSQ) |

Prompt |> L Laptop.CO Command file into memory | Syntax of Load

Guide |> C FFFFFF.XX (C=KLSQ) |

Prompt |> S OnDisk.DO ASCII file onto the disk | Syntax of Save

Guide |> C FFFFFF.XX (C=KLSQ) |

Prompt |> Q meansQuit so Teeny session ends | Syntax of Quit

For a command (except for Quit command) where you include a file name, you must type the name so it aligns correctly in the file name field. Type one or more spaces if needed to pad a name so that the file name field is completely filled (type NAME .DO for a file named NAME.DO).

Command Action

Teeny associates a file name with every command - even with the Quit command which produces no action except to end the Teeny session. The action by all the other commands is file name dependent, and the two restrictions on the names of files are pertinent.

There are two places a file can exist: at the disk, or in the memory of the Tandy laptop. A file, of a specific name, either exists or does not exist. So there are four cases for you to consider with respect to any file name. For a specific name, a file is found:

nowhere (neither place)
one place, at the disk (not in memory)
one place, in memory (not at the disk)
both places

The chart below summarizes the query, Kill, Load, and Save commands for all four cases. Below the chart, there is a paragraph for each command that explains its action. The terms "Identical file name" and "NORMALIZED file name" appear in these paragraphs to distinguish between different treatments that Teeny applies to file names. See "File Name Treatment" for the distinction.

The action of the query command merely is to respond with an error. The query command ascertains extant of the Identical file name found AT THE DISK. There are two possible responses by the query command. If Teeny fails to find any file name AT THE DISK by the Identical file name (which is case #1 and also case #3), then the response "FF Err" is given. Otherwise at least one specific name is extant AT THE DISK that is recognized by the Identical file name (which is case #2 and case #4), and the response "SN Err" is given. See "Slave Device Nuance".

The action of the Kill command is to erase a file of an Identical file name AT THE DISK. The action is possible for case #2 and case #4. For either of these cases, Teeny will erase the file AT THE DISK unless there is some condition (e.g., Write-Protected disk) that prevents the action. If the action is prevented, Teeny issues an error that is pertinent. For case #1 and case #3, Teeny issues "FF Err" because it fails to find the Identical file name AT THE DISK.

The action of the Load command is to insert IN MEMORY a file, based on content found at disk. The action is possible for case #2 only. For this case, Teeny makes an exact copy of the content and assigns a NORMALIZED file name in the memory directory of the laptop unless there is some condition (e.g., not enough free memory) that prevents the action. If the action is prevented, Teeny issues an error that is pertinent. For case #1 and case #3, Teeny issues "FF Err" because it fails to find the Identical file name at the disk. For case #4, Teeny issues "AE Err" because it finds the NORMALIZED file name already is assigned in the memory directory.

The action of the Save command is to insert AT DISK a file, based on content found in memory. The action is possible for case #3 only. For this case, Teeny makes an exact copy of the content and assigns an Identical name in the disk directory unless there is some condition (e.g., Write-Protected disk) that prevents the action. If the action is prevented, Teeny issues an error that is pertinent. See "Slave Device Nuance". For case #1, Teeny issues "FF Err" because it fails to find the NORMALIZED file name in the memory directory of the laptop. For case #2 and case #4, Teeny issues "AE Err" because it finds the Identical file name already is assigned in the disk directory.

Error Codes

Teeny issues a 2-letter error code, such as "NM Err", if it encounters some condition or fault that prevents command action. The chart below lists each error code with its meaning, and indicates the relationship, if any, to each command: query, Kill, Load, Save, and Quit. Indicators "Disk" and "Memory" identify the place (i.e., at Disk or in Memory) where a condition is pertinent. The "**" indicator is used for error codes that have a clear meaning of place (e.g., Out of Memory), or have a generalized meaning.

| NM NaMe illegal (e.g. 4SCORE.DO) | ** | ** | ** | ** | ** |

| ND No Disk media in drive | ** | ** | ** | ** | |

| WP Write-Protected disk media | | ** | | ** | |

| DF Drive Directory Full | | | | ** | |

| FL FuLL memory directory | | | ** | | |

| OM Out of Memory (i.e. capacity) | | | ** | | |

| NR RS-232 Not Ready (e.g. cable) | ** | ** | ** | ** | |

| IO I/O fault (e.g. RS-232) | ** | ** | ** | ** | |

| CM CoMmunication fault | ** | ** | ** | ** | |

The Load command can not overwrite a file in memory. You must Quit Teeny, kill the file in memory, then invoke Teeny again to load the file from disk. The example below shows the "discovery" that the file exists in memory, and the Quit of Teeny.

> L NAME .DO

> K NAME .DO

> S

AE Err (file Already Exists in memory)

> Q

The 6-command example below shows a comedy of errors that finally overwrites a file at the disk. Only the first command includes a file name -- see "File Name Memory".

> S NAME .DO

NR Err (plug in cable, power on drive)

> S

ND Err (insert disk)

> S

WP Err (remove disk write-protect)

> S

AE Err (file Already Exists at disk)

> K

> S

File Name Memory

Teeny remembers the last file name you typed. All commands need a file name and Teeny uses the remembered file name when you don't explicitly supply one. Even the Quit command needs a file name, but the name does not have to be legitimate. The 2-command example below overwrites a disk file.

> K NAME .DO

> S

File Name Treatment

Teeny treats a file name two ways:

Identical -- exactly as typed by you
NORMALIZED -- so that all letters are upper case

Mixed upper and lower case is allowed for file names at the disk directory of the slave device. A file identified by an Identical name at the disk directory is erased at disk, as a result of the Kill command. Likewise, a file inserted at disk, as a result of the Save command, gets an Identical name at the disk directory. For DeskLink, mixed case is not pertinent because the operating system of the PC treats mixed case as if it is all upper case. For a Disk Drive, mixed case is pertinent.

All upper case is the norm for file names within the memory directory of the laptop. A file inserted in memory, as a result of the Load command, gets a NORMALIZED name in the memory directory of the laptop.

The chart below shows the use of file name AnYmIx.Do in the query, Kill, Load, and Save commands. The Identical file name of AnYmIx.Do applies at the disk directory of the slave device for each of these commands. The NORMALIZED file name of ANYMIX.DO applies in the memory directory of the laptop for only the Load and Save commands.

| Directory |

__Command __| at Disk | in Memory |____ Overall action summary ____

= AnYmIx.Do | Identical | | By AnYmIx.Do, query at disk.

| | -- |

K AnYmIx.Do | Identical | | By AnYmIx.Do, erase at disk.

| | -- |

L AnYmIx.Do | Identical | | Content of AnYmIx.Do at disk,

| | NORMALIZED | insert for ANYMIX.DO in memory.

S AnYmIx.Do | | NORMALIZED | Content of ANYMIX.DO in memory,

| Identical | | insert for AnYmIx.Do at disk.

Where you use Teeny with a Disk Drive, you can use file names that have differences of letter case to your advantage. You can have content in memory under a NORMALIZED file name which you actively work with (e.g., TEXT), while you have content at disk which reflects your prior activity under one or more Identical names.

An example for media back-up purposes uses one Identical name where the last character is lower case, such as ACTIVE.Do. Use the S ACTIVE.DO and S ACTIVE.Do commands to save your active content, in duplicate, at the disk. Should the diskette media suffer from erosion (e.g., by some physical damage) there's some chance that one disk file is left intact. Ordinarily you use the L ACTIVE.DO command to insert the active content in memory under the NORMALIZED file name ACTIVE.DO. But you can resort to the L ACTIVE.Do command if the need arises.

An example for archival purposes uses a series of Identical names. A series such as Series.do, SEries.do, SERies.do and so on can be used to represent some progressive activity. And a series such as sERIES.DO, seRIES.DO, serIES.DO and so on can be used to represent some regressive activity. The query command is very useful for "learning" the limits of an archival series after you "forgot" the limits.

Slave Device Nuance

For the query command with a PC during a DeskLink session, the ? wild card character can be used within the file name extension. This forms a "file spec" which covers a range of specific file names. Note that the name portion is specific, and the extension portion is not specific. The chart below lists eight query commands for a name of WOW where each query has a different file spec. The chart assumes nine files of the name WOW are extant, and has a column for each extension of the name WOW. For each query, the indicator "met" identifies every file name that meets the file spec and thus contributes toward the response "SN Err" for Specific Name. The file spec with extension ?? is global, so all of the nine files contribute toward the response.

query & name| Files with a name of WOW exist, the Extensions are: |

____________| .B | .B4 | .BA | .C | .C1 | .CO | .D | .D4 | .DO |

= WOW .?? | met | met | met | met | met | met | met | met | met |

= WOW .? | met | | | met | | | met | | |

= WOW .B? | met | met | met | | | | | | |

= WOW .C? | | | | met | met | met | | | |

= WOW .D? | | | | | | | met | met | met |

= WOW .?1 | | | | | met | | | | |

= WOW .?4 | | met | | | | | | met | |

= WOW .?O | | | | | | met | | | met |

For the Save command with a Disk Drive, there must be at least one file name slot available at the disk directory, and the directory must manifest enough capacity in terms of sectors at the media to insert (i.e., hold) the file content. Otherwise, the response "DF Err" for Drive directory Full is given. The chart below lists the quantity of file name slots, and the capacity and quantity of sectors for diskette media that is formatted by various Disk Drives.

|________ Disk Drive _________|_ File Name Slots __|_Capacity/Sectors_|

| Brother Disk Drive FB100 | 40 | 101120 / 79 |

| Purple Computing Disk Drive | 40 | 101120 / 79 |

| Tandy Portable Disk Drive | 40 | 101120 / 79 |

| Tandy Portable Disk Drive 2 | 40 bank0, 40 bank1 | 202240 / 158 |

Diskette Formatter

Teeny does not have a command to format a diskette in a Disk Drive. If it did, the image of Teeny would not be so teeny! Make your own BASIC program and use it on occasions when you want to format some diskettes.

Just invoke the BASIC interpreter at the laptop menu and then type four entries, the last of which ends the interpretation session. The four entries are illustrated below exactly as they appear on the 40-column screen of the laptop as you type them. Note that the second entry is very long and it wraps into seven lines on the screen.

1111111111222222222233333333334

1234567890123456789012345678901234567890

________________________________________

Type |NEW | and then press ENTER.

|Ok |

Type |0CLEAR1:IFLEN(INKEY$)THENRUNELSE?"FORMAT|

| [Y]es";:IFNOTINPUT$(1)="Y"THENMENUELSE?|

|:MAXFILES=1:OPEN"COM:98N1DNN"FOROUTPUTAS|

|1:?#1,"ZZ"CHR$(6)CHR$(0)CHR$(249);:CLOSE|

|:M=PEEK(919):FORI=0TO0STEP0:IFSGN(M)XORS|

|GN(INP(179+M)AND32+4*M)THENBEEP:RUNELSEN|

|EXT | and then press ENTER.

| |

Type |SAVE"DF21 | and then press ENTER.

|Ok |

Type |MENU | and then press ENTER.

The third entry assigns DF21.BA as the file name of this BASIC program. After the fourth entry the laptop menu appears and the name DF21.BA can be seen. This BASIC program is not specific by Tandy laptop Model type so it can be used by all laptop models (200 or 10x). Use it to format diskette media placed in the:

Purple Computing Disk Drive — with DIP switches set for 19200 Baud
Tandy Portable Disk Drive — with DIP switches set for 19200 Baud
Tandy Portable Disk Drive 2

Change Working Speed

TEENY.EXE casts Teeny with a working speed of either 19200 Baud or 9600 Baud (see the "TEENY.EXE MANUAL" for detail). Where it isn't practical to recast Teeny (e.g., no PC available), this procedure can be used as an expedient. It changes the working speed of Teeny. This procedure may be used with laptop command file TEENY.CO or with a trigger file.

Use the arrow keys to navigate the wide cursor bar over the name BASIC at the laptop menu.
Press the ENTER key. This invokes the BASIC interpreter.
Two entries are illustrated below as they appear on the 40-column screen of the laptop: one for laptop command file TEENY.CO, one for a trigger file. Type the appropriate entry exactly as it is shown.
1111111111222222222233333333334 (for TEENY.CO file)
1234567890123456789012345678901234567890
________________________________________
|Ok |
Type |LOADM"TEENY | and then press ENTER.

1111111111222222222233333333334 (for trigger file)
1234567890123456789012345678901234567890
________________________________________
|Ok |
Type |LOADM"Thmreq | and then press ENTER.

As a result of the entry above, three lines appear that show the "Top", "End", and "Exe" addresses of the file. The 5-digit value of Top (and Exe) appears in column 6 to column 10. This value is the HIMEM requirement, which is illustrated as "hmreq".

Look at the line that directly follows the line that shows the "Exe" address. If "?OM Error" is seen at this line, go to step 6. If "Ok" is seen at this line (then "?OM Error" is not seen), go to the next step
Carefully type the long entry shown below.
|Top: hmreq | HIMEM requirement
|End: endat |
|Exe: hmreq |
|Ok | "?OM Error" not seen
Type |T=PEEK(7300)*7-2821:R=PEEK(T+1)*256+PEEK|
|(T):C=R+213:IFPEEK(C+1)-56THENMENUELSEFO|
|RI=0TO0STEP0:S=PEEK(C):?MID$("NormalSLOW|
|",82-1.08^S,6)" working speed. [C]hange?|
|":IFINSTR("cC",INPUT$(1))THENPOKEC,1XORS|
|:NEXTELSEIFPEEK(T+2)-1THENSAVEM"TEENY",R|
|,R+746,R | and then press ENTER.

If the screen shows either the "Normal working speed. [C]hange?" or "SLOW working speed. [C]hange?" message, all is well -- go to the next step.

If the screen shows only the " working speed. [C]hange?" message, the image of Teeny is not in place -- go back to the previous step.

If the laptop menu appears or if an Error message appears (e.g., FC Error), something is wrong. Likely, the entry was incorrectly typed -- go back to step 1 (laptop menu) or to step 3 (Error message).
The working speed of Teeny is shown at the screen along with the "[C]hange?" prompt, as shown below. Normal speed is 19200 Baud. SLOW speed is 9600 Baud. Each time you press the C key, the working speed changes.

When the desired working speed is shown, press ENTER to accept it and then type the entry shown below -- the laptop menu appears. This procedure is complete.

|Normal working speed. [C]hange? | C changes the speed.
|SLOW working speed. [C]hange? | C changes the speed.
|Normal working speed. [C]hange? | C changes the speed.
|SLOW working speed. [C]hange? | ENTER accepts speed.
|Ok |
Type |MENU | and then press ENTER.
Using the "hmreq" value, type the entry shown below and then go back to step 3 of this procedure.
|Top: hmreq | HIMEM requirement
|End: endat |
|Exe: hmreq |
|?OM Error | Out-of-Memory Error
|Ok |
Type |CLEARFRE(""),hmreq | and then press ENTER.
|Ok |

Change DSR Sensitivity

TEENY.EXE casts Teeny so that it either is sensitive to the DSR control line or is not sensitive to the DSR control line (see the "TEENY.EXE MANUAL" for detail). Where a Null-modem cable is not appropriate to the DSR usage of Teeny (e.g., DSR control line not connected while there is sensitivity to the DSR control line by Teeny) and it isn't practical to recast Teeny (e.g., no PC available), this procedure can be used as an expedient. It changes the DSR usage of Teeny. This procedure may be used with laptop command file TEENY.CO or with a trigger file.

1. Use the arrow keys to navigate the wide cursor bar over the name BASIC at the laptop menu.

2. Press the ENTER key. This invokes the BASIC interpreter.

3. Two entries are illustrated below as they appear on the 40-column screen of the laptop: one for laptop command file TEENY.CO, one for a trigger file. Type the appropriate entry exactly as it is shown.

1111111111222222222233333333334 (for TEENY.CO file)

1234567890123456789012345678901234567890

________________________________________

|Ok |

Type |LOADM"TEENY | and then press ENTER.

1111111111222222222233333333334 (for trigger file)

1234567890123456789012345678901234567890

________________________________________

|Ok |

Type |LOADM"Thmreq | and then press ENTER.

As a result of the entry above, three lines appear that show the "Top", "End", and "Exe" addresses of the file. The 5-digit value of Top (and Exe) appears in column 6 to column 10. This value is the HIMEM requirement, which is illustrated as "hmreq".

Look at the line that directly follows the line that shows the "Exe" address. If "?OM Error" is seen at this line, go to step 6. If "Ok" is seen at this line (then "?OM Error" is not seen), go to step 4.

4. Carefully type the long entry shown below.

|Top: hmreq | HIMEM requirement

|End: endat |

|Exe: hmreq |

|Ok | "?OM Error" not seen

Type |T=PEEK(7300)*7-2821:R=PEEK(T+1)*256+PEEK|

|(T):C=R+572-341*SGN(91-T/-31):IFPEEK(C+1|

|)-4THENMENUELSEFORI=0TO0STEP0:S=PEEK(C):|

|?"DSR U"MID$("nu",SAND5)"sed. [C]hange?"|

|:IFINSTR("cC",INPUT$(1))THENPOKEC,215XOR|

|S:NEXTELSEIFPEEK(T+2)-1THENSAVEM"TEENY",|

|R,R+746,R | and then press ENTER.

If the screen shows either the "DSR Used. [C]hange?" or "DSR Unused. [C]hange?" message, all is well -- go to step 5.

If the laptop menu appears or if an Error message appears (e.g., FC Error), something is wrong. Likely, the entry was incorrectly typed -- go back to step 1 (laptop menu) or to step 3 (Error message).

5. The sensitivity to the DSR control line by Teeny is shown at the screen as DSR usage along with the "[C]hange?" prompt, as shown below. DSR Used means Teeny is sensitive to the DSR control line. DSR Unused means Teeny is not sensitive to the DSR control line. Each time you press the C key, the DSR usage changes.

When the desired DSR usage is shown, press ENTER to accept it and then type the entry shown below -- the laptop menu appears. This procedure is complete.

|DSR Used. [C]hange? | C changes DSR usage.

|DSR Unused. [C]hange? | C changes DSR usage.

|DSR Used. [C]hange? | C changes DSR usage.

|DSR Unused. [C]hange? | ENTER accepts usage.

|Ok |

Type |MENU | and then press ENTER.

6. Using the "hmreq" value, type the entry shown below and then go back to step 3 of this procedure.

|Top: hmreq | HIMEM requirement

|End: endat |

|Exe: hmreq |

|?OM Error | Out-of-Memory Error

|Ok |

Type |CLEARFRE(""),hmreq | and then press ENTER.

|Ok |

Beefs, Tips, Quirks and Humor

I keep pressing the Q key but Teeny refuses to Quit.

Type Q Q to Quit -- that's the Q key, a space, and another Q key. Or, you could press the reset button. But, <BREAK> won't Quit Teeny.

Do you remember that Teeny "remembers" the previous file name? What? You say you just invoked Teeny, changed your mind and now want to quit but you haven't even typed any file name. Tough! The first file name that Teeny initially "remembers" is not something that you typed but is something that Teeny considers garbage as a file name for the Quit command. It may be garbage left by a prior operation or by the way Teeny was invoked (from the menu or from BASIC). Do you think the image of Teeny can be so teeny by having great gobs of initialization logic?

I press a function key and Teeny goes nuts and pukes and scrolls the screen.

NEWS FLASH -- When running Teeny from BASIC, don't press any function key. If you do, whatever string is assigned ("Files", "Load ", or God forbid "K MYFILE.DO") is fed to Teeny for consumption.
Everything was going well. It was cool. I was a Loadin'/Savin' dude with Teeny -- I mean fast man -- really burnin' up the disk. But now, like... you know... I mean ... Teeny just sits there -- stoned -- don't do squat. What it is Bro?

The trouble is bad Karma and lack of Cosmic vibes. Really! I checked with my Guru and she had a vision and saw what went down with you man. Like... you know... I mean ... your disk drive tuned out man. She saw you take a smoke break. I know it was some good stuff 'cause she said you was gone for a quite a while. Your disk drive took a break too! Went trance-like in low power mode she said.

Flip the disk drive power switch off and on. Now reunite with Teeny, live long & prosper. Later dude!
I created file DAMNED.2B but Teeny won't Save it. What gives?

With some devilish application programs, you can make a file name extension that's damned to be straight from Hell -- repent. Actually, the disk drive is willing to Save your file but it's Teeny that doesn't like the file name extension. The BASIC interpreter's NAME AS command doesn't change file name extensions, so no help there. Another fine pickle you've got into Ollie.

To absolve your sin, go to BASIC and kill the file. Follow the Marine Corps motto "Kill 'em all and let God sort 'em out" for any other files in memory that have condemned file name extensions.