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ND 10049 SINTRAN III/VS SPOOLING SYSTEM¶
INTRODUCTION¶
In a multi-user system it is necessary to share common resources, like line printers, which are too expensive to be individually assigned. Even if each user has a hard-copy terminal, there will be occasions when a high volume of printing is required. It is both inconvenient and expensive for the user to have to wait until a line printer is free. For this reason, the concept of "virtual" line printers has been implemented in the NORD File System.
When a user or a program requests reports or data to be printed on a line printer, a disk file is assigned instead. Information is transferred in the same way as if a physical line printer had been assigned. Afterwards, the operating system automatically submits the disk file to a spooling queue. The information will be printed on the physical line printer when its turn comes according to the spooling queue.
The user program performs faster as the data is "written" to a much faster device than the line printer, and the printing capacity of the line printer increases, since it will be running at full speed all the time instead of waiting for user programs to perform operations not connected with printing.
FEATURES¶
- "Virtual" line printers or output units (any number of virtual printers per system)
- Programs execute faster, not having to wait for the line printer to become available
- Printing capacity increases, as the line printer does not have to wait for user programs
- Users can produce output to the line printer while long printing tasks are in progress
- Output from different users is well separated by a cutting line at the beginning and end of print
- Users can submit their own disk files to be printed by the Spooling System, even specifying the number of copies
- Protected commands to maintain spooling queues
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION¶
The Spooling System is an integral part of the SINTRAN III/VS Operating System and the NORD File System.
It utilizes the file version feature of the NORD File System, whereby a number of copies can exist for a given file or a peripheral unit.
The Spooling System consists of a set of small modules maintaining various parts of the system: assignment of a spooling disk file when operating a peripheral unit, inserting the file into the proper spooling queue, peripheral driver taking queue entries and transferring the contents of the file to the unit concerned, and processing commands to maintain the spooling queues.
When a user or a program requests a peripheral unit, and the Spooling System is started for this unit, a disk file is assigned with the logical device number 120 octal, selected from the next free file version available for the unit.
When closing the file, or terminating the program, the file name is inserted in the spooling queue for the peripheral unit. If the spooling queue was previously empty, a system program is activated. This opens the file, reads 2 Kbyte pages and outputs complete lines to the device driver. In the case of an electrostatic printer/plotter, the first page contains information to set the device in graphic (plot) mode if necessary.
At the start of each spooling job, a header page consisting of the user's name, the file name, the time and date
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Command Summary¶
@START-SPOOLING@STOP-SPOOLING@GIVE-SPOOLING-PAGES@TAKE-SPOOLING-PAGES@DEFINE-SPOOLING-CONDITIONS@LIST-SPOOLING-QUEUE@STOP-PRINT@START-PRINT@FORWARD-SPACE-PRINT@BACKSPACE-PRINT@MOVE-SPOOLING-QUEUE-ENTRY@REMOVE-FROM-SPOOLING-QUEUE@DELETE-SPOOLING-FILE@ABORT-PRINT@RESTART-PRINT@APPEND-SPOOLING-FILE@SET-NUMBER-OF-PRINT-COPIES@DEFINE-SPOOLING-FILE-MESSAGE@SPOOLING-PAGES-LEFT
Requirements¶
The Spooling System can be generated with any SINTRAN III/VS Operating System.
A spooling program of approximately 1/2 Kwords in the resident part of the operating system is required. In addition, for each peripheral device a spooling data field of approximately 190 octal locations, a 2 Kword segment on the system disk, and some semaphores are required.
The maximum disk space allowed for the Spooling System is initially set to 500 pages, but may be increased or decreased by user commands.
References¶
| Reference | Document Title |
|---|---|
| ND-60.050 | SINTRAN III User's Guide |
| ND-60.052 | NORD File System |
Contact Information¶
| Country | Company Name | Address | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Norway | NORSK DATA A.S | Jerikoveien 10, Box 4 Lindeberg gård, OSLO 10 | Tel. 02-391601, Tlx. 18661 nd n |
| Denmark | NORSK DATA ApS | Overødvej 5, 2840 HOLTE | Tel. 02-425055, Tlx. 37725 nd dk |
| West Germany | NORSK DATA DEUTSCHLAND | Abraham-Lincoln-Str. 30, 6200 WIESBADEN | Tel. 06121-764220, Tlx. 4186370 noda d |
| Sweden | ND NORSK DATA AB | Kanalvägen 3, Box 2031, 194 02 UPPLANDS VÄSBY | Tel. 0760-86540, Tlx. 13528 nordata s |
| France | NORSK DATA FRANCE | "Le Brevent", Avenue du Jura, 01210 FERNEY-VOLTAIRE | Tel. 050-408576, Tlx. 385653 nordata fernv |
| U.S.A. | NORSK DATA N.A., Inc. | 65, William Street, Wellesley, MASS. 02181 | Tel. 0617-237-7945, Tlx. 921740 norsk well |
| Sweden | ND NORSK DATA AB | Kängliggatan 11, Box 9052, 421 09 VÄSTRA FRÖLUNDA | Tel. 031-299350 |
| France | NORSK DATA FRANCE | 120, Bureaux de la Colline, 92213 SAINT-CLOUD-CEDEX | Tel. 01-6023366, Tlx. 201108 nd paris |
| England | RICHARD NORTON (NORD) Ltd. | NORD House, 17 Balfe Street, King's Cross, LONDON N1 9BE | Tel. 01-2785501, Tlx. 299537 norton g |
Note: NORSK DATA reserves the right to change specifications at any time without given notice.
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