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.