Updated May 2023; see History
DUMP <fspec> {,starting-block #} {switches}
The DUMP command is an implementation of the AMOS command of the same name, for displaying the contents of files only; direct disk block dumps, UFD dumps, and MFD dumps are not supported. The format of the data dump is identical to that produced by AMOS, formatted in either octal or hexadecimal depending on the current job settings (see SET). The current block number displayed under A-Shell is a sequential count of 512 byte blocks starting at one (or the specified block number).
Since there is no difference between random and sequential files under operating systems other than AMOS, and the block linking mechanism is separated from the data itself, all 512 displayed bytes contain actual data; the first two or four will not contain link information as they do for sequential files under AMOS. This may mean that dumping a sequential file under AMOS and A-Shell (which have the same hash-total) will produce differing outputs, being shifted by two or four bytes each block.
Note that 512 byte "blocks" do not necessarily have any physical significance outside of AMOS. Under A-Shell we simply use it as a convenient logical unit.
Switches
Switch |
Function |
|---|---|
/L |
Causes the output to written to the file dump.lst instead of the screen. |
See Also
| • | The notes on PAGE for how to keep the display from scrolling too fast |
| • | The notes on Scrollback to see text that has scrolled off the screen |
History
2023 May, A-Shell 6.5.1731, DUMP.LIST 1.0(108): When a starting block number is specified, it now seeks directly to that position, rather than silently reading all the prior blocks. This is a benefit mainly with very large files.
2018 November, A-Shell 6.5.1651: DUMP.LIT 1.0(108) has been updated to avoid a read-only error related to the smart-scrollback activation feature.
