Tame® Release 4.5e

 

Technical User Reference

 

Microsoft Windows NT, Windows XP

And Windows 2000® Based Systems

 

Installation. 2

Customization. 3

Registry reference. 8

TameView Usage. 11

Contact Information. 16

 

Installation

To install Tame on a Windows system, run SETUP.EXE and answer the questions.  The defaults should be chosen in most cases.   Setup will copy Tame system files onto the system, and update the autoexec.nt file so that Tame is loaded with each DOS application.

 

Customization

Specifying Options

Settings may be defined using a .TAM file.  A default file is in c:\Program Files\Tame\Settings\Default.tam.    By default, that file does not set any values.   However, common settings are described, and sample values are listed.    Edit this file in order to change settings.   Options for a single app may be defined by making a copy of  default.tam that is given the same name as the program file.  For example, to define settings for MYAPP.EXE the file may be copied to MYAPP.EXE.TAM or MYAPP.TAM.

CPU Tuning Options

The following options may be used to tune Tame for best results with each application.  These options may be specified on the Tame command line, in a settings file or as a settings Registry value.  

Tuning options are listed in alphabetic order.  Note that many of these replace equivalent options from pre 4.0 releases of Tame.  Most of the prior options are also supported if used on the command line, but not when specifying settings via the Windows NT registry.

Option

Description

APp_Queue_Boost

This may be specified in order to tune the /Watch_App_Queue_Work option.  This parameter represents the application response time (in microseconds) that indicates it is sufficiently busy to warrant a boost.  The default is 1000 microseconds, or one millisecond.

APp_Queue_Work

This may be specified in order to tune the /Watch_App_Queue_Work option.  This parameter represents the application response time (in microseconds) that indicates it is busy, but not enough to obtain a boost.  The default is 500 microseconds.

APp_Queue_Idle

 

Auto_Adapt

Enable or disable the automatic adaptive settings

Auto_Adapt_HighPoll

Enable detection of High Poll rate apps

Auto_Adapt_LowPoll

Enable detection of Low Poll rate apps

Auto_Adapt_MidPoll

Enable detection of Normal Poll rate apps

Auto_Adapt_NonPoll

Enable detection of apps that do not poll

Auto_Adapt_SinglePoll

Enable detection of apps that poll one time per DOS tick

Boost_CANcel

This sets a poll rate threshold that will cancel the boost.  By default, this is disabled so that the boost will not be cancelled due to a high poll rate.

Boost_Dos

Sets the number of ticks to boost after a DOS activity (e.g. Disk I/O)

Boost_Irq

Sets the number of ticks to boost after an IRQ (e.g. Serial port activity)

Boost_Key

Sets the number of ticks to boost after a key is pressed

Boost_MINor

Sets the number of ticks to boost after minor system activity

Boost_Video

Sets the number of ticks to boost after video activity

CONsole_Watch_APPend

This is similar to ConsoleWatchString except the previously defined watch strings are not cleared.

CONsole_Watch_COLumn

Optionally specify the column that the watch string must be found in, where 0 is the leftmost column. When specifying the column, the row must also be specified, and both row and column must precede the watch string they apply to.

CONsole_Watch_ROW

Optionally specify the row that the watch string must be found in, where 0 is the top row.  When specifying the row, the column must also be specified, and both row and column must precede the watch string they apply to.

CONsole_Watch_STRing

If the app displays a string while working for a long time, Tame can look for that string and allow the app to process while the string is displayed.   Up to four watch strings may be defined.  The first occurrence of this option in a settings file will clear prior watch strings before adding the new one.   Specify AppendWatchString in order to maintain all previously defined watch strings.

CPU_Idle_Percent

This option can help with some database or network bound apps that consume very little CPU while accessing the network.   If the Tame finds that the app appears to be idle, but it happens that the app is consuming less than this amount of CPU then Tame will not force a time slice yield. 

CPU_Idle_TiMe

This is the minimum length of Time that Tame will use to sample CPU usage after it appears that the app is idle.  When Tame determines that the app may be idle, CPU usage is monitored until the app is seen to meet or exceed the CPU_Idle_Percent threshold, or until it begins doing other work.  NOTE: This parameter is specified in milliseconds, and defaults to 55 (one tick).

DOS_Idle_Poll

Enable or disable interpreting the OS idle signal to mean that the application is idle.

DOS_Idle_reSET

Sets the poll threshold that should be used when the application issues the DOS idle signal.   In some cases, it makes sense to reduce the threshold when the application reports that it is idle. 

Key_Idle

This is the same as /Dos_Idle_Reset.

Key_Poll

This indicates that Tame should watch for keyboard polls.

/KeyResponseOptimize 

Specify how aggressive to be in providing fast key response.  Set from 0-9.

/KeySpikeOptimize 

Specify how aggressive to be in removing key spikes.  Set from 0-9.

Key_Spike_Optimize_Time_Slice

Set set the time slice for key spike optimization, specified in milliseconds.

LOCK_REtry

If a file lock request fails because another user holds the lock, this option causes Tame to automatically retry up to 8 times.  This option can be useful if the application does not check the status and assumes that the lock was obtained.   In most other cases, /LockYieldRetry is the preferred option.

LOCK_Yield_All

If a file lock request fails because another user holds the lock, this option causes Tame to yield the time slice before presenting the application with the bad news.  This can prevent the application from burning CPU while waiting for the lock.  However, if the application is just probing to see if the lock is available, it may cause an unnecessary delay.  For that reason, /LockYieldRetry is generally the preferred option.

LOCK_Yield_Retry

If a file lock request fails because another user holds the lock, this option causes Tame watches to see if the application retries.  If the application retries, and that lock attempt fails, Tame will yield the time slice before presenting the application with the bad news.  This can prevent the application from burning CPU while waiting for the lock.

Low_Priority_Ticks

This enables the low priority option for Windows NT based systems.  When set, it specifies the number of ticks that Tame should run the app at idle priority before yielding time slices.   This may be set to 0 to skip the low priority phase.  If set to –1 then the idle period is infinite (ended only by a key press or work/activity) – and Tame will never yield time slices.

MONitor

Enable the on-screen Tame monitor.  This may be used for some basic diagnostic purposes.

NONWORK_IDLE

Enable idle detection whenever the application is not working.  This can be necessary if the application does not poll while idle.

NONWork_Ticks_begin

 

NONWork_Ticks_Repeat

 

NONWork_STacK_Range

 

PARallel

Enable detection of parallel port (printer) activity, and provide a boost if detected.  This is automatically enabled if the /SpoolPrintout option is specified.

PSP_Poll

This indicates that Tame should watch for PSP polls, which are occasionally more reliable than keyboard polls for determining if an application is idle.  Note that this option is rarely needed.

Poll_Idle_begin

This sets the primary threshold in polls per tick for determining that an application is idle.

Poll_Idle_2

This sets the secondary threshold in polls per tick for determining that an application is idle.  This parameter is used after a task switch in order to quickly determine that the application is still idle.

SERial

Enable detection of parallel port activity, and provide a boost if detected.

SLEEP_Time_slice

This sets the amount of time In milliseconds that the deep sleep should yield to other tasks. 

SPOOL_Printout

This causes Tame to expedite spooling to the printer in some cases where Windows normally delays 15 seconds or more to begin printing.  When this option is used, the /Parallel option is also required.

Switch_REPeat_Interval

This sets how many ticks the task switch repeat should continue before giving the application a chance to indicate that it is (or is not) still idle.

Switch_REPeat_Ticks

This sets how many ticks the task switch repeat phase should continue before beginning the deep sleep phase.  This may be set to 0 to skip the repeat switch phase.  If set to –1 then this phase is infinite, in which case the deep sleep will not be initiated.

Switch_REPeat_maX

This sets the maximum number of task switches that are allowed before giving the application a chance to indicate that it is (or is not) still idle.  This should normally be set to –1 or 255 so that the limiting factor is the number of ticks, not the number of twitches.  This option is provided primarily to provide compatibility with earlier versions if Tame.

Switch_Single_MINimum_Ticks

This sets the minimum number of ticks that should be yielded while in the Single Switch phase.  This is normally 1 so that one tick is yielded.   When set to 1, if the task switch does not yield a full tick, it is repeated until a full tick has been yielded.  This parameter may be set to 0 if a single task switch is really all that is desired.

Switch_Single_Ticks

This sets how many ticks the single switch phase should continue before beginning the next phase (normally repeat switch).  This may be set to 0 to skip the single switch phase.  If set to –1 then the repeat switch or deep sleep phases will not be initiated.

Switch_Time_slice

This sets the amount of time (in milliseconds) of the time slice that is yielded.  This only affects Windows NT VDD based task switches.  The default is 15 milliseconds.

Time_Poll

This indicates that Tame should watch for time polls, which are occasionally more reliable than keyboard polls for determining if an application is idle.  Note that this option is rarely needed.

Watch_APp_Queue_Idle

Enable or disable watching for fast application response time in order to determine that an application is done working. 

Watch_APp_Queue_work

Enable or disable watching for slow application response time in order to determine that an application is busy with a background task.

Watch_BTRieve

Watch for Btrieve and compatible SQL access, and boost while SQL is being processed.

Watch_CONsole

Enable or disable watching for console activity, and break from a yield prematurely when console activity is detected.

Watch_SYStem

Watch for Win32 I/O and page faults, and boost when they occur.

Watch_eXtra_VIDeo

When this is enabled, Tame will not ignore minor video activity such as cursor movement

Watch_Mem_Alloc

When this is enabled, Tame will monitor memory allocations to determine if the application is working.

Work_Priority_Ticks

This option can improve response time for interactive users by lowering the priority of a long running processes.  This parameter sets the number of ticks an app working before it runs at a reduced priority.   Note that the process may still show as close to 100% CPU usage, but you will find that user response is nearly as good as if the process is not running.

XPoll_Key_STATus

These parameters instruct Tame to recognize a temporary high rate of key polls, which an app occasionally does.    Tame can recognize and deal with this case, even while the app is boosted by Tame.

XPoll_ Key_Status _MAX

Threshold – a poll rate above this number triggers Xpoll processing.

XPoll_ Key_Status _IN_Boost  

Recognize and deal with Xpoll while the app is boosted by Tame.

XPoll_ Key_Status _Slice

The amount of time to yield on Xpoll, and is specified in milliseconds.   This may generally be a small number of milliseconds. 

XPoll_TIME 

These parameters instruct Tame to recognize a temporary high rate of time polls, which an app occasionally needs to do when waiting for s specific interval to pass.  Tame can recognize and deal with this case, even while the app is boosted by Tame.

XPoll_Time_MAX

Threshold – a poll rate above this number triggers Xpoll processing.

XPoll_Time_IN_Boost  

Recognize and deal with Xpoll while the app is boosted by Tame.

XPoll_Time_Exclusive

Recognize and deal with Xpoll only if the app is doing nothing else except time polls.

XPoll_Time_Slice

The amount of time to yield on Xpoll, and is specified in milliseconds.   This may generally be a small number of milliseconds. 

Yield_Tick_PerCenT

This option can avoid a long time slice in cases Tame would normally yield the remainder of the DOS clock tick.

Yield_VDD

Enable or disable use of the TameVDD.dll for task switching.  This is only a valid option when running in Windows NT and when specifying settings that are processed by the VDD.

Yield_WINdows

Enable or disable use of the native Windows task switching method.  This is only a valid option when running in Windows NT and when specifying settings that are processed by the VDD.

 

 

Compatibility, Features and I/O tuning Options

The following options are provided to improve the compatibility and functionality of some applications when run in the Windows environment. Some may help performance, but that is not the primary purpose.

 

Option

Description

DesqView_Aware

Instructs Tame that the application is DesqView-Aware, and will release its own time slices using DesqView API calls.   If this is enabled, Tame will translate the DesqView calls into those appropriate for the current operating system..

FIX_DIRECT_DISK

This option may be useful in order to run an application that attempts to perform direct disk I/O.  Windows will normally pop up a dialog box and force the user to abort the application or continue.   When this option is used, the disk request is intercepted by Tame, a failure condition is returned to the application, and no dialog box is presented to the user. 

FORCE_TEXT_MODE

Do not allow the application to enter graphics mode.  Note that this is off by default, and some applications may become unstable if they attempt to enter graphics mode and cannot deal with this attempt failing.

FORCE_TIMER_HOOK

This allows Tame to always use the DOS timer, and is enabled by default for efficiency.  Set to OFF to allow Tame to use the timer only when necessary.

FOX_Video

This option can speed screen repaints for some applications that were written using Foxpro. 

HOLD_DATE

Do not allow date changes made in the DOS session to be passed on to the rest of the system, and do not update the date of this application to match the system date.  This allows the application to change the current date for its internal processing purposes independently of the current date as seen by other applications.

INITial_TEXT_MODE

Do not allow the application to enter graphics mode during its initialization stage.  This option can prevent some applications from forcing full screen mode if they sim0y pop in and out of graphics mode during initialization.  This option is off by default, and some applications may become unstable if they attempt to enter graphics mode and cannot deal with this attempt failing.

Key_Wait_Poll

This indicates that Tame should poll the keyboard when the application requests a key and there is no key ready.  This seems to be needed on many Windows based systems.

LOAD_LIMit_CPU

Set this on to limit CPU usage during program loading.

LOAD_Single_THReaD

Set this on to single thread application loads.  While one application begins loading, startup of other applications will be delayed until the first application has become idle.

LOCK_REtry

If a file lock request fails because another user holds the lock, this option causes Tame to automatically retry up to 8 times.  This option can be useful if the application does not check the status and assumes that the lock was obtained.   In most other cases, /LockYieldRetry is the preferred option.

LOCK_Yield_All

If a file lock request fails because another user holds the lock, this option causes Tame to yield the time slice before presenting the application with the bad news.  This can prevent the application from burning CPU while waiting for the lock.  However, if the application is just probing to see if the lock is available, it may cause an unnecessary delay.  For that reason, /LockYieldRetry is generally the preferred option.

LOCK_Yield_Retry

If a file lock request fails because another user holds the lock, this option causes Tame watches to see if the application retries.  If the application retries, and that lock attempt fails, Tame will yield the time slice before presenting the application with the bad news.  This can prevent the application from burning CPU while waiting for the lock.

MONitor

Enable the on-screen Tame monitor.  This option is obsolete.    The TameView utility provides a much more detailed view, and should be used instead.

SMooth_TYPe

This option can dramatically improve interactive response from the keyboard.    With SmoothType, the keyboard response of most DOS apps can rival that of native Windows applications.   This option has been superseded by the /KeyResponseOptimize option to provide more control.

SPOOL_Printout

This causes Tame to expedite spooling to the printer in some cases where Windows normally delays 15 seconds or more to begin printing.  When this option is used, the /Parallel option is also required.

TRACK_Queue_Time

Enable QTime measurement even if no options are enabled that require it.

USE_WIN32_Time

This option forces time inquiries made from a DOS app to use the system time, and not the DOS timer.  This option is enabled by default, but will automatically become disabled if the application sets the time of day using a DOS request.

WIN16_WATCH_MOUSE

Allow Tame to monitor Windows mouse usage when determining if the application is active.  Enable basic support for 16 bit Windows applications.

Settings files

Common options may be placed into a file if desired.   Settings are loaded automatically based on the name of the application being run.  The following files are installed with Tame in a subfolder named DefaultSettings.  Other named settings are possible.  To use custom settings, create a file containing the options that are desired, and place it in the Settings subfolder.

Value Name

Description

default.tam

These are the default settings.   Common alternatives are included in the file as comments.

krnl386.exe.tam

These are default settings for 16 bit Windows applications. 

command.com.tam

Settings for command.com.

pco.exe.tam

Settings for PC Outline.  This is an example of settings for a specific application.

 

Registry reference

Application Registry reference

The following registry values may be specified in HKCU\Software\Tame or HKLM\Software\Tame.  They may also be in an application key which is a key off the Tame key with the name of the executable as the key name.

 

Value Name

Description

ConsoleTitle

Set the title text of the console window.  This can provide immediate confirmation whether Tame is (or is not) loaded in a process.  The value may contain environment variable references that are expanded at run time.  The following environment values are set by Tame for inclusion into the title: TameVersion, TameSettings, TameDosAppName, TameDosAppPath, TameDosAppArgs.

InhibitMouse

This option can be useful for applications that do not support use of a mouse.   This option will reduce CPU usage by preventing mouse actions from interrupting the process. 

ProcessorMask

This can be useful on a multi-processor system in order to limit which CPUs an application is allowed to run on.    Specify 1 for CPU0, 2 for CPU1, 4 for CPU2, 8 for CPU3, etc…  More than one CPU may be specified.  To do this, provide the sum of the individual CPUs that are allowed to run the application.  For example, a mask of 3 specifies CPU0 and CPU1.

RunLogFile

This is the path to a file where the run log is to be written.   The path may contain environment variable references that are expanded at run time.

ScreenLogFile

This is the path to a file where the screen log is to be written.   The screen log contains an image of all screens that the application displays, along with the task switches that Tame issues.  This can be a very large file, so it should be enabled only when necessary for diagnostic purposes.  This file will normally compress to a small fraction of its size.   Compression is recommended if it is necessary to transmit or store this file

Settings

This specifies custom settings to be used with the application.    Settings may be specified if needed by the application.  This may be a string containing the command line options, or a string containing the name of the settings file.

SingleThreadInit

This specifies the name of the thread and enables single threaded startup.  With this option, Tame will restrict the launches so that only one may initialize at a time.  Once Tame detects that the first application is idle, the second is allowed to launch.  This continues until all launch requests have completed.

Global Registry reference

The following registry values may be specified in either the user registry key or the machine registry key (HKCU\Software\Tame or HKLM\Software\Tame).  These values will be read only when the DOS box (NTVDM process) is created.  Changes to these values are not applied to NTVDM processes that are already running.

Note that additional values may be specified in this area to serve as default settings for applications. 

Value Name

Description

DosChangesDosTime

Set this to true or false to specify whether time changes made by the DOS application are to be honored.  When set to false, an error condition will be returned to the application if it attempts to update the system date or time.

The default value is true.

DosChangesSystemTime

Set this to true or false to specify whether time changes made by the DOS application are to be applied to the system as a whole. 

The default value is false.

SystemChangesDosTime

Set this to true or false to specify whether system time changes are to be applied to the running DOS applications.  The time change may not propagate right away.  It will be passed to the DOS application on the next VDD task switch. 

The default value is false.

SmoothTypeColor

Note: If this option is desired, the recommended setting is a REG_DWORD value of hex 7FFF0008, or 7FFF0080.

This option provides visual feedback to assess the effectiveness of the SmoothType (or KeyResponseOptimize) option.    Portions of the screen show with different coloring for a brief period of time.  This period illustrates the improved screen response time that Tame can provide.   One effective way visualize response improvement is to toggle brightness so that portions of the screen show as bright letters, then suddenly become normal.    To use this option, create this as type REG_DWORD and set it to hex 7FFF0008 or 7FFF0080.

Other values require knowledge of screen attribute codes.  Screen attributes are changed using a bitwise AND with the upper 16 bits and then XOR (toggle) with the lower 16 bits of the supplied value.  

LogPath

This specifies the name of a folder where log files should be placed.  Note that if log files are used, this folder must be accessible with read and write privileges by all users.

The path may contain environment variable references that are expanded at run time.

LogEnable

This may be used to enable or disable the VDD trace log.  The default is enabled if a LogFile is set, so this value may be used to disable the use of the log without deleting the file name from the registry. 

Tame will also read this value from the user registry, where the user registry has precedence over the machine registry.   This provides the ability to enable the trace for an individual user or group of users.

LogFile

If this entry is set, trace of VDD operations may be dumped into the file.  This is primarily a diagnostic log. 

This is a file that may be used to diagnose configuration issues.  Note that it is not currently intended for tuning purposes.  This registry value may be located in either the machine or user registry.   The specified value may contain environment variable references (e.g. C:\Logs\%UserName%.Tame.Log).

Not e that this is not the same file as the DOS trace log.  The VDD  trace log is much less verbose, and does not require post processing in order to view the log.

 

Application Settings registry entry values

The following values may be used in the Settings parameter

Value Name

Description

Settings File

Additional settings files may be accessed if desired.  The file may be specified by name only, as long as it is in the Tame directory.   The default file extension is .TAM.

/Options

Any of the standard command line options may be specified.   Note that this does not include many options that were provided with previous versions of Tame.

For a complete list of options that may be included, see the Command Line Options. Section of this document.

 

TameView Usage

TameView is a separate utility that simplifies administration and diagnostics of DOS processes.   The following functions are provided:

·         Centrally manage all DOS processes without the need to visit client workstations

·         View a compact list with basic information on each running DOS tasks

·         Continuously monitor all DOS tasks

·         Optionally filter the process list (e.g. list tasks that exceed a CPU threshold)

·         List the current tame options and Tame statistics for any DOS task

·         Provide a map of all modules that are loaded in a DOS process

·         Display the contents of the current console screen of a DOS process

·         List open files and file locks that are currently in use by a DOS process

·         Initiate diagnostic trace procedures for a DOS user that may be experiencing problems

·         Post-process diagnostic trace files

Display a Summary of DOS Processes

TameView can produce a summary of some or all of the DOS apps that are currently running.  By default, TameView will list all DOS processes.   A variety of  Process Selection Options are available to filter which processes are included in the list.   Here is an example of the summary screen.

 

              Proc           Elapsed  Tot  Cur  AA   Open Lock

UserId          Id Command      Time  CPU  CPU Mode Files Stat Tame Status

------------ ----- -------- -------- ---- ---- ---- ----- ---- ------------

LSKYWALKER    3392 INVEN     2:31:17   0%   1%  Non     4      NonWorkIdle

HPOTTER       3508 INVEN        7:06   1%   0% OneQ     4      Yield     

DVADER        4120 INVEN     1:12:46   4%   0% OneQ     4      Yield

JKIRK         5518 PINBALL      1:21  75%  92%  N/A    12      Not Loaded

H9000         5590 INVEN        2:45   7%  24% OneQ     5      Boost

 

5 processes listed

 

 

The following information is provided for each process.

 

Value Name

Description

UserId

This is the user name the process is running under.

Proc Id

This is the process ID that is assigned to the process.  The process ID is assigned by the system, and it may be used to obtain additional information about the process.

Elapsed Time

This is the length of time that the NTVDM process (or DOS session) has been running.  

Tot CPU

This is the percentage of a CPU that the process has used since it was started.  On a multiprocessor machine, this is the percent of a single CPU, not the total CPU that is available on the machine.

Cur CPU

This is the percentage of a CPU that the process has used since the last TameView sample.  Note that this is only available when the /I option is used to indicate that multiple samples are desired.

Tame Status

This represents the way that Tame is treating the process at this time.  The following values may be displayed:

 

Status              Meaning
Not Loaded    Tame is not loaded in the process
Sleep               The app is idle and is in a deep sleep mode
Working Xnn   The app is active.  The Xnn value indicates why Tame considers it active.
Yield               The app is idle and Tame is yielding time slices.

When the app is working, one of the following values will be listed in place of X in the status.

W         Meaning

1           IRQ activity

B           Btrieve activity

D          DOS activity (nn will list the DOS function)

K          A Key was read

P           Parallel port activity

Q          AppQ response time is slow, Application assumed to be busy

S           Serial port activity

T           A key was pressed by the user but not yet requested by the application

V          Video activity

Y          System activity (Win32 I/O or page faults recently detected)

Open Files

The number of files that the process currently has open.

Lock Stat

The lock status indicates the overall status of file locks that the application currently holds or needs.  The status consists of a number which is a count of file locks that are held by the process.  If the process is waiting on a lock that is currently held by another process, the letter “W” will also be included.  This may be blank indicating that no locks are currently held or pending. 

Examples:

2          two locks are held
5W      five locks are held, and the process is waiting on another lock that is currently in use by another process

Note that more detailed lock status is available using the /LL command line option.

Last QTime

This is the most recent App Queue time.  This is a measure of the response time of the application.  For many applications, this is a low value while the app is waiting for input, and high when it is busy.   For those applications, Tame can be tweaked for increased efficiency.  To improve effectiveness in cases where the application does no I/O during busy periods, specify the /AppQueueWork option to be higher than the QTime that is seen while the app is idle and lower than the QTime value during busy times.   To reduce CPU usage during idle periods, specify the /AppQueueIdle option to be slightly above the QTime that is common during idle periods and below that of busy times. 

Command

This is the name of the program that is running.  This will normally be the name of the EXE or COM file minus the extension.  If the executable is listed as KRNL386.EXE then this is a process that hosts 16 bit Windows applications.

Full Command Line

This is the currently executing command line, including options.  In some cases, this information is not available.

 

List Process Details

Would you like to see what is going on with these processes?  TameView can do that and much more. 

 

Process ID  : 3080
User ID     : Greg
DOS Command : CV

Elapsed Time: 8.984 Seconds
Process CPU : 7.734 Seconds
Cur CPU Pct :  98%

Adapt Mode  : SinglePoll+WorkQ
Tame Status : Yield - Application is waiting for input.
Last QTime  :      61 us

PIF file    : D:\TameDev\ZZ_Links\All\CurTest\BTRTST.pif
Options From: C:\Tame\DefaultSettings\default.tam
Tame Folder : C:\Tame\Tame Options:

 

If more detailed information is needed, additional Command Line Options are available to select which details are to be displayed.   The ultimate level of detail is a full trace, which may be collected and post processed using the Trace Options.

Command Line Options

TameView can display information or change one or more DOS processes with a single command line.  Simple filtering is supported so that commands may be applied to all DOS processes that meet one or more criteria.

View options

The following options may be used.   If none of the /L options are specified then the compact table view with one process per line is displayed, and the default is to list all DOS processes.  If any /L option is used then the default will list the DOS process most recently launched by the current user.

 

Option

Description

/I

Repeat the view at a regular interval.  The interval may be specified in seconds.  The default value varies between 1 and 5 depending on the number of processes that are listed.

/L

List details about the process.  This is equivalent to /LP /LM /LS /LF /LL

/LC

Show the console screen

/LF

List open files and enumerate sections of those files that are currently locked.

/LL

List file lock status including all file locks that are currently held.

/LM

List a memory map to include all modules currently loaded in memory

/LO

List Tame options that are currently in effect

/LP

Show a process summary

/LS

List Tame statistics

/LVx

Verbose options for list items that follow

/LX

Show a list of running DOS apps, and list details of one that is selected.   This option also allows starting and stopping a trace of the selected process.

/M

Continuously monitor selected details for the most recently launched DOS application for this user.

Process Selection Options

The following options may be used to specify which processes apply.

Option

Description

/P

Specify one or more process IDs

/PA

All DOS processes (may be further filtered by other options)

/PC

Select only processes that are using CPU.  An optional parameter may specify the minimum CPU

/PL

List processes that are currently waiting on a file lock

/PM

List only processes where a specific module is loaded

/PN

List the most recently launched (New) processes.  The number of processes to list may be specified, but normally the default ob 1 is used.

/PT

Select only processes where Tame is loaded

/PU

Select processes owned by the current user.  The user ID may optionally be specified to select a different user.

Trace Options

 

Option

Description

/TB

Begin a DOS trace of the process.  This option should only be used when directed by Tame support.  The resulting file may be many megabytes, but it may be reduced to a small fraction of its size by using a compression utility.

/TC

Insert a comment into a running trace.   Text of the comment should be quoted.

/TE

Stop the DOS trace if it was previously started.

/TK

Post process a DOS trace file to list the state before and after each key press and other significant events.  Some of the information in the resulting file requires knowledge of DOS operation in order to interpret. 

The name of the trace file must be specified after this option.

/TS

Create a tick by tick summary of a DOS trace file. 

The name of the trace file must be specified after this option.

Other Options

Option

Description

/XA

Add tame-mon.com to the autoexec.nt file

/XR

REMark tame commands from the autoexec.nt file (turns them into a comment line)

/XS

List the tame command(s) in the autoexec.nt file

 

TameView Access Permissions

On a multi-user system, TameView may be used by an administrator to access any DOS session on the machine.  A non-administrator may still run TameView, but access will be restricted to processes running in the same user session.

Contact Information

Tame is produced by TameDOS, and written by David G. Thomas. 

Email: info@tamedos.com

Web:   www.tamedos.com

Address:

            David G. Thomas
            4290 Bells Ferry Road
            Suite 106 PMB # 576
            Kennesaw, GA 30144-1300