2.1.1 Invoking Cogsys

Part of this information was given in 1.3 Running Cogsys and is reproduced here with more detail.

This is the full syntax of the Cogsys program:

/scripts/doit cogsys [ testlist [outfile] ]

The `/scripts/doit' script is a bash shell script, which installs the three real-time modules /apps/rtcogsys.o, /apps/tickint.o, and /apps/kbdint.o into the kernel, then runs the non-real-time part of Cogsys (/apps/cogsys). Any arguments which follow `cogsys' (the testlist and output filename) are passed in the `doit' script. Once the non-real-time `cogsys' is done, the three real-time modules are removed.

Cogsys needs to know two important things whenever it starts up:

1. Where to get its testlist (testlist name)
2. Where to write its outfile (outfile name)

At the top of the outfile, before any data is written, Cogsys will write the testlist name and outfile name. These names include the full path, relative to the workstation's `/data' directory, of the location of the two files. For instance, if the input testlist is in the /data directory and is called dt4tl10, and if the output file is to be put into the /data directory and called dt4tl10s01, then the top line of the output file dt4tl10s01 will look like:

dt4tl10 dt4tl10s01

If, on the other hand, the file is in the /u/gail/sess/dt4 directory, and the output file is to go in the same location, then the top line of the output file will look like:

/u/gail/sess/dt4/dt4tl10 /u/gail/sess/dt4/dt4tl10s01

Default values for input/output files:

1. Testlist Name
   1. first command line argument
   2. environment variable COGIN
   3. default filename `cogsys.in'

2. Outfile Name
   1. second command line argument
   2. environment variable COGOUT
   3. default filename `cogsys.out'

The environment variables and filenames allow control programs to invoke Cogsys without arguments but still have Cogsys create outfiles properly.

For example, here our bash script `fcogsys.sh' (the `control program') creates the default labelfile, `keepfile.tmp', with the names of the data as they appear on the data host. The testlist is copied from the data host to the client system with the name `cogsys.in'. Cogsys is then invoked without arguments, and so writes its output to `cogsys.out' and labels the file using the names in `keepfile.tmp'.