Making a terminal locations file


 The program described in this section implements the MAKELOCS command,
 used   for   generating  a  file  which  describes  the  location  and
 characteristics of each terminal attached to the  network.   In  fact,
 the  characteristics of the terminal are held elsewhere: MAKELOCS just
 stores a unique number for each type of terminal.



Files used


 Currently,  four input files are required, and a single output file is
 produced.  In the descriptions given here, fields marked with  *  must
 be present, but are ignored.  The files are:



The PADs file


     This  file  contains a line for each PAD in the network.  It gives
 the name of the PAD, and describes where the PAD may be found.

     Each entry contains the following fields, separated by colons:

     *PAD number    -  Line number of entry
      PAD name      -  Name of PAD, up to 15 characters
      PAD location  -  Where the PAD may be found



The TTYs file


     This file contains a line for each terminal in  the  network.   It
 describes  the type, building and location of each terminal, and gives
 much other information not needed here.

     Each entry contains the following fields, separated by colons:
 
      PAD name      -  PAD to which the terminal is attached
     *Line type     -  Multiplexer, PAD or interface type
     *Hardware line -  Multiplexer port number or interface number
      Line number   -  Unique line number of terminal on that PAD
     *Line speed    -  Usually 'auto'
     *Line interface-  Usually '20ma' or 'rs232'
      Line status   -  Usually 'ok' or 'us' (null also means 'ok')
      Last change   -  Date this entry was last altered
      Local printer -  Nearest printer to the terminal
      Terminal type -  Cryptic string (ignore part after comma)
      Building      -  Building (or part) housing the terminal
      Location      -  Identification of terminal within building


The locations file


 This file contains a line  for  each  possible  PAD  location,  giving
 useful groupings of PADs.

     Each entry contains the following fields, separated by colons:

      Location A    -  All PADs in same building have the same number
                       in this field
      Location B    -  A number used to distinguish different PADs in
                       the same building
      Description   -  A string describing the location


The mapping file


     This file maps the cryptic terminal  type  names  to  the  numbers
 actually  stored  in  the  output file.  It contains one line for each
 mapping. Some mappings are one to one, and some are many to one.

     Each entry contains the following fields, separated by colons:

      Type name     -  The name found in the TTYs file
      Type number   -  The number stored in the output file.


The output file


 This  is  an  unstructured  data  file containing a compressed, easily
 accessed synopsis of the relevant information gleaned from  the  input
 files.   The  filename  '.'  causes  the  default  filename (currently
 TERMLOCFILE) to be used.


The MAKELOCS command


 This command is used to process the four input  files,  producing  the
 single output file.  It is called as follows:

     MAKELOCS(padsfile,ttysfile,locationsfile,mappingfile,outputfile)

 If a parameter is omitted, a prompt is issued for it.  At any stage, a
 reply of ?  will cause a short help message to be output.

 The program outputs a small number of statistics during the run, which
 concern the number of items found in the input files.