6. SCRIPTS

Scripts are a powerful tool for making Novaterm perform functions
automatically. Scripts can do everything from load modules to
download files to respond to specific text received from an on-line
service. Scripts can log you into a service, collect electronic
messages, download files, and do a variety of other things, all
unattended.

You write a script using Novaterm's script language. The language is
just a set of one-line instructions that Novaterm recognizes to perform
different functions. A script consists of a series of these one-line
instructions. Novaterm executes each instruction in order. When you
write a script, you are just telling Novaterm what to do, one step at a
time.

To actually create a script and run it, you'll follow these steps:

1. Load Novaterm's Text editor program from the Utility
Modules menu.

2. Type in your script, line by line.

3. Save the script source to a file. The "source" is the text you just
typed. This isn't the actual script yet...

4. Compile the script. "Compiling the script" means to convert the
text you typed into an encoded form that Novaterm can recognize.
You compile the script by pressing the RUN/STOP key in the Text
Editor, while your source is there on the screen.

5. Return to Novaterm, and execute the script by pressing C= G in
Terminal Mode (see 3.1.3, Commodore key commands, C= G).

Each of these steps are described in more detail below.

6.1 Creating a sample script

To illustrate how scripts work, let's create a sample script and execute
it.

6.1.1 Determining the sequence of responses

Suppose we want to create a script that automatically logs us into our
Internet provider, a bulletin board called Eskimo North. To do this,
the script must watch the text sent by Eskimo North as it comes in,
and output our login name and password at the right time.