1)Transact : The brief message and the EXIT/RESTART prompt, is "Automatic
Error Handling"  :). You can disable this if you use the STATUS option on
the dataset verbs. We use STATUS and have a common piece of code which
displays a highlighted message to the user, waits for the user to press
enter and then does a printscreen to a circular file (it's handy for
debugging when you can see the data entered as well).

However, the STATUS option apart from disabling TRANSACTs automatic error
handling, does have various other "sideffects" depending on the verb you
use it with. You should check the manual for each verb you apply it to. Now
once you get as far as creating a piece of error handling code, you could
even include a TELLOP command with the details of the error.

2)Communication problem : This one's real easy. All you have to do is
fssssss crackle !@!^#%%1 88712 crackle hissss woooeeee ... to guarantee
perfect communication every time. ;]

3)Real hard problem : Is this a trick question ? ... It is isn't it ! ... I
know !! It has something to do with the speed of the train doesn't it ?

I trust you excuse the humor(?), but comms are not a strong point and I'm
not too "hot" on metallurgy either. For the later though I do have a couple
of -in all probability, silly suggestions : I suppose letting it cool to
soldering temperature and using bar code technology used in the electronics
industry is out of the question, so how about attaching something to the
tip and not the side or leaving a bit of metal sticking out (anchor) and
then snapping it off later.


Costas Anastassiades,
INTRACOM SA
Athens - Greece