Command Recalling

The last 15 commands entered on the terminal are kept in an internal buffer (the no. of commands saved can be changed via SET/BUFFER). To recall (and execute) any of these commands, simply type the associated command number. This is the number ``xyz'' appearing in the prompt Midas xyz> when that command was entered. To display the command buffer, simply hit .
If you want to recall more than one command at once, enter all the relevant command numbers (separated by a semicolon and space), e.g. enter 14; 17; 22 if you want to repeat the commands numbered 14, 17 and 22 . Also 14; read/key in_a; 17 is possible.

To recall commands not by number but by pattern, use :pattern to repeat the last command matching the specified pattern. For example, if the last two commands in your command buffer are:

22 READ/IMAGE supernova
23 show/com

Then, typing 22 as well as :READ or :nova will execute the command READ/IMAGE supernova again. Note that for the pattern matching MIDAS does make a distinction between upper and lower case.
Besides repeating complete input lines it is also possible to just use parts of the last command line. Each ``token''  of the last command line is saved internally until the next input. A ``token'' is the information separated by spaces in the command line. To repeat the tokens on a subsequent command line merely type a `.' For example, if you have in the command buffer:

READ/KEYWORD in_a
LOAD/IMAGE myframe 0 2,2

Then typing ` . yourframe . . ' as the next command is equivalent to typing `LOAD/IMAGE yourframe 0 2,2'.

All features described so far apply to genuine MIDAS commands as well as to host system commands (where the first character of the command line is the $ sign).

Some words of caution:

In VMS the version number of files may be specified using a semicolon, e.g.
$ RENAME file.typ;7 lola.bdf.
Typing such a command inside MIDAS will not work, since the monitor will interpret this input as two Midas commands. Instead, use a dot to separate the version number, e.g.
$ RENAME file.typ.7 lola.bdf.

In Unix the repetition of tokens may cause trouble. Consider the following:
Midas 123> load/ima vaca
Midas 124> $cp /elsewhere/toro.bdf .
The intention was to simply copy the file toro.bdf from somewhere else to the current directory. But instead of toro.bdf you will find a strange file named ? in your directory...
In the line `123' only two tokens are entered, so all other 8 tokens are set to the default value `?'. In line `124' the third token will be set to the third token in the line above, so it changes to: Midas 124> $cp /elsewhere/toro.bdf ?
Instead, specify also the result frame completely, e.g.
$cp /elsewhere/toro.bdf toro.bdf.

Preceding a host command by $$ will avoid the interpretation of specific symbols by MIDAS, thus
Midas 124> $$cp /elsewhere/toro.bdf .
will actually do the expected copy.