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| tutorials:node7.html [2011/04/30 20:26] – [6.2 COM Mode] georg | tutorials:node7.html [2011/04/30 20:33] (current) – georg |
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| Let's walk a new user named newbie through his first session in com. | Let's walk a new user named newbie through his first session in com. |
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| 1. Newbie starts on the unix command line. | 1. Newbie starts on the unix command line. |
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| 2. Newbie enters COM Mode by typing ``com'' & pressing the Return key. | 2. Newbie enters COM Mode by typing ''com'' & pressing the Return key. |
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| 3. Newbie might have to wait a few seconds, but she eventually sees com start. (I think new users see a menu of the com commands & have to answer Yes that they have read & understood the menu.) After com starts, Newbie will be in the lobby & will see a list of the people in that room. (The lobby is the default room & is where most of the chatting happens.) | 3. Newbie might have to wait a few seconds, but she eventually sees com start. (I think new users see a menu of the com commands & have to answer Yes that they have read & understood the menu.) After com starts, Newbie will be in the lobby & will see a list of the people in that room. (The lobby is the default room & is where most of the chatting happens.) |
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| 4. Newbie wants to say hello to everyone, so she types the Space Bar & waits until she sees a ''[newbie]'' prompt. Then Newbie types <nowiki>"</nowiki>Hi all. I'm new.<nowiki>"</nowiki> & then types the Return key. | 4. Newbie wants to say hello to everyone, so she types the Space Bar & waits until she sees a ''[newbie]'' prompt. Then Newbie types <nowiki>"</nowiki>Hi all. I'm new.<nowiki>"</nowiki> & then types the Return key. |
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| 5. Everyone in the room will see ``[newbie] Hi all. I'm new.''. | 5. Everyone in the room will see ''[newbie] Hi all. I'm new.''. |
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| 6. Newbie is doing well so far, but now let's have her make a mistake. | 6. Newbie is doing well so far, but now let's have her make a mistake. |
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| 7. Newbie wants to leave com, but she can't remember the command, so she types ''h'' to get a menu & pressed Return. This was a mistake. Newbie should have typed ''h'' alone & not pressed Return. | 7. Newbie wants to leave com, but she can't remember the command, so she types ''h'' to get a menu & pressed Return. This was a mistake. Newbie should have typed ''h'' alone & not pressed Return. |
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| 8. Com sees Newbie's ''h'' command & prints the help menu. That's good, but com also sees Newbies Return & assumes Newbie wants to <nowiki>"</nowiki>say<nowiki>"</nowiki> a line of text into the room. So com prints a <nowiki>"</nowiki>[newbie]<nowiki>"</nowiki> prompt & waits for Newbie to type some text, but Newbie is busy reading the help menu & doesn't notice the prompt. | 8. Com sees Newbie's ''h'' command & prints the help menu. That's good, but com also sees Newbies Return & assumes Newbie wants to <nowiki>"</nowiki>say<nowiki>"</nowiki> a line of text into the room. So com prints a <nowiki>"</nowiki>[newbie]<nowiki>"</nowiki> prompt & waits for Newbie to type some text, but Newbie is busy reading the help menu & doesn't notice the prompt. |
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| 9. Newbie sees the ''q'' (quit) command on the help menu & types ''q'' & then Return. This is a double mistake. Com thinks Newbie is typing a line of text to say into the room, so her ''q'' is not interpreted as a command. Also, Newbie is still under the incorrect belief that she must end com commands with a Return. | 9. Newbie sees the ''q'' (quit) command on the help menu & types ''q'' & then Return. This is a double mistake. Com thinks Newbie is typing a line of text to say into the room, so her ''q'' is not interpreted as a command. Also, Newbie is still under the incorrect belief that she must end com commands with a Return. |
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| 10. Because of Newbie's mistake in the previous step, com prints ''[newbie] q'' into the room. | 10. Because of Newbie's mistake in the previous step, com prints ''[newbie] q'' into the room. |
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| 11. Newbie is confused that her ''q'' command didn't work, so she types ''h'' & Return. This takes her back to step 7. | 11. Newbie is confused that her ''q'' command didn't work, so she types ''h'' & Return. This takes her back to step 7. |
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| She'll repeat this who knows how many times. Other people in the lobby will notice her problem & try to help, but Newbie has to go through the error many times before she stops typing Return after her commands. | She'll repeat this who knows how many times. Other people in the lobby will notice her problem & try to help, but Newbie has to go through the error many times before she stops typing Return after her commands. |
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| The problem is compounded by com's modality & Newbie's failure to realize that com is modal. Sometimes, com is waiting for Newbie to type a command. Some commands are single key. (The ''q'' & ''h'' commands are examples.) Other commands wait for Newbie to type something, & during that time, com does not interpret her keystrokes as commands. (The Space Bar and Return commands, both of which are for saying text into the room, are examples.) | The problem is compounded by com's modality & Newbie's failure to realize that com is modal. Sometimes, com is waiting for Newbie to type a command. Some commands are single key. (The ''q'' & ''h'' commands are examples.) Other commands wait for Newbie to type something, & during that time, com does not interpret her keystrokes as commands. (The Space Bar and Return commands, both of which are for saying text into the room, are examples.) |
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| The other people in the room see what Newbie is going through, but there isn't much they can do because they can't see Newbie's screen & help her figure out whether com is waiting for her to type a command or waiting for her to type text. What's more, whenever they say something like ''Type h by itself'', Newbie types an ''h'' & then a Return. So Newbie keeps going around & around. | The other people in the room see what Newbie is going through, but there isn't much they can do because they can't see Newbie's screen & help her figure out whether com is waiting for her to type a command or waiting for her to type text. What's more, whenever they say something like ''Type h by itself'', Newbie types an ''h'' & then a Return. So Newbie keeps going around & around. |
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| 12. Eventually, Newbie figures it out while com is waiting for her to type a command. At this time, Newbie types ''q'' (& does not type any other characters at all). | 12. Eventually, Newbie figures it out while com is waiting for her to type a command. At this time, Newbie types ''q'' (& does not type any other characters at all). |
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| 13. Newbie might have to wait a few seconds, but she eventually sees com print an ''Unlinking tty'' message, & then Newbie is dropped back into her unix command line. | 13. Newbie might have to wait a few seconds, but she eventually sees com print an ''Unlinking tty'' message, & then Newbie is dropped back into her unix command line. |
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| 6.2.3 What to Do if You Are Caught in the Newbie Loop | ==== 6.2.3 What to Do if You Are Caught in the Newbie Loop ==== |
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| The problem is that com is modal & new users sometimes fail to realize that. | The problem is that com is modal & new users sometimes fail to realize that. |
| Here's why the steps in Table 6.3 work: | Here's why the steps in Table 6.3 work: |
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| 1. If com is waiting for you to type a command, then you could type the command anyway, but you type Space, which gets you a prompt (com isn't interpreting commands). Then you type Return, which ends that prompt. So now com is waiting for a command again. So the Space Bar & Return sequence was unnecessary, but it did not harm. (People in the room won't even see it because if you try to ``say'' an empty line, com doesn't print anything.) | 1. If com is waiting for you to type a command, then you could type the command anyway, but you type Space, which gets you a prompt (com isn't interpreting commands). Then you type Return, which ends that prompt. So now com is waiting for a command again. So the Space Bar & Return sequence was unnecessary, but it did not harm. (People in the room won't even see it because if you try to ''say'' an empty line, com doesn't print anything.) |
| 2. If com has prompted you & is not interpreting your commands, the Space Bar won't do anything useful, but the Return key will end that prompt. If you had mistakenly typed Return earlier & com was waiting for you to say something into the room, the Space Bar will do nothing, but the Return will end that mode, & com will now wait for you to type a command.. (If you had typed things before the Space Bar, you will ``say'' them into the room.) | |
| | 2. If com has prompted you & is not interpreting your commands, the Space Bar won't do anything useful, but the Return key will end that prompt. If you had mistakenly typed Return earlier & com was waiting for you to say something into the room, the Space Bar will do nothing, but the Return will end that mode, & com will now wait for you to type a command.. (If you had typed things before the Space Bar, you will ''say'' them into the room.) |
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| ==== 6.2.4 COM History ==== | ==== 6.2.4 COM History ==== |
| From a section's menu, prompts you for a message number (which you must enter exactly, including leading zeros). Then it prints the message & all replies to your screen. | From a section's menu, prompts you for a message number (which you must enter exactly, including leading zeros). Then it prints the message & all replies to your screen. |
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| q | ''q'' |
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| Quits the bulletin board. | Quits the bulletin board. |
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| | [[tutorials:unix|back]] |
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