BARR/RJE manual

Receive Mode Guide

The way a receive mode affects data coming into a Barr DOS product depends on which input module is being used. For that reason, this guide is organized by input modules (RJE, TWINAX, PRINT/CHANNEL, and LPD). LAN is also an input (LAN1 through LAN4), but receive mode settings have no effect, since the Barr software simply does a binary copy and does not interpret or translate the data in any way when reading from LAN.

In theory, receive modes were intended to be used only with inputs, so this document does not discuss what happens when you attempt to use a receive mode with an output, such as SPOOL1PR0E. In most cases, it simply has no effect, but in some cases, there may be unintended features. So, in general, avoid using receive modes except for inputs.

Description of Notation Used in this Document – This document uses notation to represent the formats of print data. The notation is intended to describe the record structure and carriage control, as well as the data that might be inside the records. Here are the most common examples:

SCS(EBCDIC)	SCS data stream with EBCDIC data
SCS(BINARY)	SCS data stream with unknown data
SCS(METACODE)	SCS data stream with Xerox Metacode data records
S/370(EBCDIC)	Barr S/370 format with EBCDIC data
S/370(BINARY)	Barr S/370 format with unknown data
S/370(METACODE)	Barr S/370 format with Xerox Metacode data records
3211(EBCDIC)	Channel data stream for 3211 printers
VBM(METACODE)	Xerox Metacode wrapped in VBM (Variable Blocked) format
FBA(EBCDIC)	Fixed-length EBCDIC records with ASA carriage control
DOS(ASCII)	DOS ASCII text file using CR, LF, FF carriage control
UNIX(ASCII)	UNIX ASCII text file using LF and FF carriage control
(BINARY)	Data for which the record structure or character set is unknown

We do not list (EBCDIC) or (METACODE) as valid data formats. This is because the terms EBCDIC and METACODE do not properly describe a data format, that is, there is no inherent record structure or carriage control associated with them. Therefore, EBCDIC or METACODE must be wrapped inside a true data format, such as VBM or S/370.

BARR/RJE

Native Source Data Format: SCS(EBCDIC)
Alternative Source Data Formats: SCS(METACODE), SCS(BINARY)

Valid Receive Modes: All

Receive modes were originally designed around the Barr DOS products, which include BARR/HASP, BARR/3780, and BARR/RJE (formerly BARR/SNA RJE). Because of this, the naming of the receive modes makes most sense in the context of RJE. Typically, the name of a receive mode originally conveyed the format that you wanted the data to end up in after it was received. So, for example, ASCII receive mode means you want the data to be converted to ASCII as it is being received.

Receive Mode	Resulting Conversions	Comments
ASCII	SCS(EBCDIC)DOS(ASCII)	This is the default and is appropriate for most PC printers, network printers, and PC applications.
S/370	SCS(EBCDIC)S/370(EBCDIC) SCS(BINARY)S/370(BINARY) SCS(METACODE)S/370(METACODE)	Used to receive print data that is later intended for channel-attached (PRINT370) printers. Binary and Metacode data can get through because the data portion of the record undergoes no conversion.
Binary	SCS(EBCDIC)(EBCDIC) SCS(BINARY)(BINARY)	Carriage control is discarded and record structure is lost. This is an appropriate choice only if some program on the host has chopped up a binary file for transmission.
Transfer Files	SCS(FILE80)DOS(ASCII) SCS(FILE80)(various BARRTRAN Options)	Strictly used for receiving BARR/TRAN downloads from the host, typically on PU1.
Fixed Length	SCS(EBCDIC)FBA(EBCDIC) SCS(EBCDIC)FBA(ASCII) Other fixed-length variations	Originally intended for use with BARR/TAPE to write print data to tape. Can also be useful for file transfers when a PC application needs fixed-length records.
Transparent	SCS(EBCDIC)SCS(EBCDIC) SCS(BINARY)SCS(BINARY) SCS(METACODE)SCS(METACODE)	Intended only for the Xerox 4235 printer, which accepts SCS data. This is the closest thing to a true "pass-through" for RJE.
Postscript	SCS(EBCDIC)PS(ASCII)	Simple implementation of Postscript support. Generates ASCII text with simple Postscript commands to represent CR, LF, and FF.

PRINT/TWINAX

Native Source Data Format: SCS(EBCDIC)
Alternative Source Data Formats: SCS(METACODE), SCS(BINARY)

Valid Receive Modes: ASCII, S/370, Binary, Fixed Length

The native data format received with our PRINT/TWINAX product is a different subset of SCS than that received by RJE. Specifically, Twinax receives Skip to Line commands instead of Skip to Channel commands.

With TWINAX, a lot of the receive modes from RJE still work, although they are not really used in practice. Technically, transparent receive mode is also valid with TWINAX, but it is not listed here because the resulting data is not compatible with the Xerox 4235 (which expects the RJE type of SCS). In general, you should use ASCII for S/370 for most situations.

Receive Mode	Resulting Conversions	Comments
ASCII	SCS(EBCDIC)DOS(ASCII)	This is the default and is appropriate for most PC printers, network printers, and PC applications.
S/370	SCS(EBCDIC)S/370(EBCDIC) SCS(BINARY)S/370(BINARY) SCS(METACODE)S/370(METACODE)	Used to receive print data that is later intended for channel-attached (PRINT370) printers. Binary and Metacode data can get through because the data portion of the record undergoes no conversion.
Binary	SCS(EBCDIC)(EBCDIC) SCS(BINARY)(BINARY)	Carriage control is discarded and record structure is lost. This is an appropriate choice only if some program on the host has chopped up a binary file for transmission.
Fixed Length	SCS(EBCDIC)FBA(EBCDIC) SCS(EBCDIC)FBA(ASCII) Other fixed-length variations	Originally intended for use with BARR/TAPE to write print data to tape. Can also be useful for file transfers when a PC application needs fixed-length records.

PRINT/CHANNEL

Native Source Data Format: 3211(EBCDIC)
Alternative Source Data Formats: 3211(METACODE), 3211(BINARY)

Valid Receive Modes: ASCII, S/370, Binary, Fixed Length, Transparent

As with TWINAX, many of these receive modes are carried over from RJE but not really used. In general, use ASCII or S/370. A special version of transparent (SCS) receive mode was implemented with PRINT/CHANNEL.

Receive Mode	Resulting Conversions	Comments
ASCII	3211(EBCDIC)DOS(ASCII)	This is the default and is appropriate for most PC printers, network printers, and PC applications.
S/370	3211(EBCDIC)S/370(EBCDIC) 3211(BINARY)S/370(BINARY) 3211(METACODE)S/370(METACODE)	Used to receive print data that is later intended for channel-attached (PRINT370) printers. Binary and Metacode data can get through because the data portion of the record undergoes no conversion.
Binary	3211(EBCDIC)(EBCDIC) 3211(BINARY)(BINARY)	Carriage control is discarded and record structure is lost. This is an appropriate choice only if some program on the host has chopped up a binary file for transmission.
Fixed Length	3211(EBCDIC)FBA(EBCDIC) 3211(EBCDIC)FBA(EBCDIC) Other fixed-length variations	Originally intended for use with BARR/TAPE to write print data to tape. Can also be useful for file transfers when a PC application needs fixed-length records.
Transparent	3211(METACODE)SCS(METACODE)	Intended only for the Xerox 4235 printer, which accepts SCS data. This is good only for Metacode, because the 3211 machine carriage control is discarded and replaced with simple New Line commands in SCS.

BARR/PRINT for TCP/IP (LPD)

Native Source Data Format: UNIX(ASCII)
Alternative Source Data Formats: Anything

Valid Receive Modes: ASCII, Binary

LPD is fundamentally different from the other sources described here, in the following ways:

The other sources are natively EBCDIC; LPD is natively ASCII.
The other sources are strictly record oriented; LPD is not.

With the other sources, it is not possible to do a true binary transmission of a file, because it is necessary to first chop the file into records of some sort for transmission. With LPD, a true binary transmission is allowed.

S/370 receive mode is actually a valid choice for LPD; however, it is an unnecessary choice, because PRINT370 supports DOS(ASCII) files. Since the ASCII receive mode doesn't really convert the incoming data, it is best to use ASCII, and then let the PRINT370 software perform the ASCII-to-EBCDIC conversion on the way out to a channel printer. So, in most cases, use ASCII receive mode.

Receive Mode	Resulting Conversions	Comments
ASCII	UNIX(ASCII)DOS(ASCII)	This is the default and is appropriate for all printers, PC printers, network printers, and even channel-attached printers.
Binary	(BINARY)(BINARY) AnythingAnything	This is true binary pass-through. We receive the file with absolutely no modification or conversion. This is the only possible choice for receiving Xerox Metacode through LPD. Of course, the data must be previously wrapped as either S/370 (Metacode) or VBM (Metacode) before sending it to the Barr software.
S/370	UNIX(ASCII)S/370(EBCDIC)	In general, avoid this receive mode for LPD. It works only with simple ASCII text from the source and locks you into using the data only for PRINT370 outputs.