2.3 Command Categories

In older Cogsys documentation, it was common to refer to commands by their control codes; for example, a section would be entitled "#R", not "Key Response". As the program evolved, however, many commands were reassigned to different codes and referring to commands by their code became confusing. The alternative would be to refer to commands by their name. However, only the developer actually assigns a name for the command--users never see them--so organization by name is no better.

For these reasons, commands in this reference are loosely grouped into eight functional categories. This provides a good overview of the program's capabilities and easy way to look up the commands for a particular function.

The categories are:

• Cogsys Control
• Direct Keyboard
• Video
• Text Output
• Picture Output
• Scope
• Game Port
• Specialized

Note again that these categories are provided purely for reference and documentation only; the Cogsys program makes no distinction between command groups.

With in each category, each command is presented on a separate page with a description of the command followed by a command template. The template has the following fields:

Name

Name of the command

Class

Documentation category

Code

Two digit command code

Syntax

Command syntax

System

How the Cogsys system is affected by this command (includes Cogsys variables).

Output

Output this command produces

Requires

What state Cogsys must be in before this command is executed

Breakout

Can the experiment be terminated at this command

History

Changes from previous version of Cogsys

Test Files

Files which test the functionality (`*.Txx'), error checking (`*.Exx'), or performance (`*.Bxx') of this command.

Examples

Examples demonstrating use of this command. An example demonstrates a possible sequence of events, and details in order what each component of the system will do in those particular circumstances. Examples are presented in a table:

input

The command Cogsys reads from the testfile

cogsys

What Cogsys does

subject

What the subject does at the console

output

What Cogsys writes to the outfile

Not all fields of the template are present for all commands. When a field is not applicable to a command (for example, the Wait command does not produce output), the field is simply not included in the table.

In the Syntax field, note the following conventions:

text

a sequence of characters no longer than TMP_STR_LEN

integer

an unsigned integer constant

number

an integer constant or a reference to a cogsys variable

time

a number that must be in the range 0 to FAIRTIME

vref

a variable reference, that is Vx where x is in the range 0 to NUM_VARS

2.3.1 Control Commands
2.3.2 Direct Keyboard Input
2.3.3 Video Control
2.3.4 Text Output
2.3.5 Picture Output
2.3.6 Scope (Digital Display) Commands
2.3.7 Game Port Commands