mars_dosutils

DOS client-side utilities for mars_nwe and compatible NetWare-style NCP environments.

This repository contains the source for a small DOS utility suite built around a single multi-call executable, net.exe. The program can be used either as:

• net <command> [args...], or
• a renamed executable such as login.exe, map.exe, flag.exe, flagdir.exe, capture.exe, or logout.exe.

The command dispatcher lives in net.c, and the install rules deploy the same binary under multiple command names in SYS:PUBLIC and selected names in SYS:LOGIN.

Current status

The tree is a modernization of the historical mars_nwe DOS utilities. It still keeps the original Borland-era style and APIs where useful, but now also has an Open Watcom/CMake build path and working DOS Client32 support for the FLAG-family tools.

Validated recently:

• FLAG file attribute read/modify through DOS Client32
• FLAGDIR directory attribute read/modify through DOS Client32
• Novell-tool comparison for FLAG, including ALL, N, RO, RW, high bits, and display layout
• Novell-tool comparison for FLAGDIR, including Normal, System, Hidden, DeleteInhibit, Purge, RenameInhibit, and combined attributes
• CMake/Open Watcom build using binary-directory object files, so .obj/.o files are no longer written into the source tree

Still to validate or continue:

• DOSX/VLM/NETX fallback behavior for FLAG and FLAGDIR
• More complex FLAGDIR paths beyond the simple mapped-directory cases already tested
• OS/2 requester/tool behavior
• Additional Novell-like utilities such as RIGHTS, GRANT, REVOKE, NDIR, PURGE, and SALVAGE

Features

• Login and logout against an NCP server
• Password change support
• DOS drive mapping and unmapping
• Search-path management (PATH, PATHINS, PATHDEL)
• Printer capture and release (CAPTURE, ENDCAP)
• Scripted session setup through command files
• External program execution via SPAWN and EXEC
• Server listing through SLIST
• File attribute management through FLAG
• Directory attribute management through FLAGDIR
• Optional mars_nwe debug control hooks
• Developer diagnostics through TESTS

Available commands

The current command dispatcher includes these built-ins:

• LOGIN
• LOGOUT
• PASSWD
• PROFILE
• SPAWN
• EXEC
• MAP
• MAPDEL
• PATH
• PATHINS
• PATHDEL
• CAPTURE
• ENDCAP
• SLIST
• FLAG
• FLAGDIR
• DEBUG
• ECHO
• CD
• TESTS developer/testing only

The CMake install rules also install the multi-call net.exe under several of those command names.

How it works

The program resolves the command from either:

1. the executable name itself, or
2. the first command-line argument.

That means all of the following styles are valid:

NET LOGIN alice secret
NET MAP F:=SYS:
NET FLAG LOGIN.EXE
LOGIN.EXE alice secret
MAP.EXE F:=SYS:
FLAG.EXE LOGIN.EXE A
CAPTURE.EXE LPT1 Q1

Client32 NCP support

The modern Client32 path is implemented through a small reusable helper layer:

• c32ncp.c
• c32ncp.h
• Client32 assembly entry points in kern_wasm.asm

The working sequence is:

C32_MapVar_Probe(4,0)
  -> obtains the active connection reference

C32_OpenRef_Probe()
  -> opens that reference and returns a Client32 handle

C32_NCP87_Raw5_Probe()
  -> sends NCP 87 requests through COMPATNcpRequestReply

This path is currently used by:

• FLAG
• FLAGDIR

The old Net_Call / INT 21h requester path is kept as a fallback where appropriate, but Client32 is now preferred for the validated FLAG-family operations.

Command reference

LOGIN

Authenticate to an NCP server as a user.

LOGIN [-u] [user | user password]

• -u forces the older unencrypted login path.
• If no username is provided, the tool prompts interactively.
• If no password is provided, it prompts for one after the username.
• Successful login clears and rebuilds NetWare search-path state before running a local post-login script named login from the executable directory.

LOGOUT

Log out from the current NCP session.

The implementation also removes configured network search paths before performing logout.

PASSWD

Change a user password.

PASSWD [user]

If no username is supplied, the tool attempts to resolve the currently logged-in user. The password-change code prefers the encrypted/keyed flow where available and keeps older unencrypted calls as fallback.

PROFILE

Execute a command script.

PROFILE <filename>

The command reader parses non-empty lines, ignores # comments, uppercases the command token, and dispatches it through the same internal command table used for direct invocation. ECHO is treated specially so the rest of the line is preserved as a single string.

SPAWN

Run an external program and wait for it to finish.

EXEC

Execute an external program using overlay-style execution.

Both commands share the same implementation and differ only in whether they use spawnvp(..., P_WAIT, ...) or execvp(...).

MAP

List current drive mappings or map a DOS drive letter to a network path.

MAP [d:[=[path]]]

Examples:

MAP
MAP F:=SYS:
MAP H:=HOME:

The implementation lists active mappings, distinguishes local vs. redirected drives, and uses DOS-style drive letters.

MAPDEL

Remove an existing drive mapping.

MAPDEL d:

Example:

MAPDEL F:

PATH

List or set a search-path entry.

PATH sn:[=[path]]

Where sn is s1 through s16.

PATHINS

Insert a search-path entry instead of overwriting one.

PATHINS sn:[=[path]]

PATHDEL

Delete a search-path entry.

PATHDEL sn:

CAPTURE

List printer captures or redirect a local printer device to a queue.

Typical usage:

CAPTURE [device [queue]]

Examples:

CAPTURE
CAPTURE LPT1 Q1
CAPTURE PRN Q1

PRN is normalized to LPT1 internally. The command can also display existing captures.

ENDCAP

Cancel a printer redirection.

Typical usage:

ENDCAP device

Example:

ENDCAP LPT1

SLIST

List known NetWare file servers.

Typical usage:

SLIST [server] [/Continue]

The current slist.c implementation scans bindery file server objects and prints known servers.

FLAG

Display or modify NetWare DOS file attributes.

Typical usage:

FLAG file [option...]

Examples:

FLAG LOGIN.EXE
FLAG LOGIN.EXE A
FLAG LOGIN.EXE -A
FLAG LOGIN.EXE P T DI RI CI RA WA
FLAG LOGIN.EXE N
FLAG LOGIN.EXE ALL
FLAG LOGIN.EXE RO
FLAG LOGIN.EXE RW

Supported attributes and aliases include:

• RO
• RW
• S
• A
• H
• SY, SYS, SYSTEM
• T
• P
• RA
• WA
• CI
• DI
• RI
• ALL
• N / NORMAL

The output is intentionally close to Novell FLAG formatting:

Ro/Rw S/- A/- - H/- Sy/-- T/- P/- Ra/-- Wa/-- CI/-- DI/-- RI/--

The Client32 path handles both low and high NetWare attribute bits. High bits such as P, DI, RI, CI, RA, and WA must be handled as 32-bit values in 16-bit DOS builds.

FLAGDIR

Display or modify NetWare directory attributes.

Typical usage:

FLAGDIR [path [option...]]

Supported 386-style options:

• Normal
• System
• Hidden
• DeleteInhibit
• Purge
• RenameInhibit

Examples:

FLAGDIR UDIR
FLAGDIR UDIR SYSTEM
FLAGDIR UDIR HIDDEN
FLAGDIR UDIR DELETEINHIBIT
FLAGDIR UDIR PURGE
FLAGDIR UDIR RENAMEINHIBIT
FLAGDIR UDIR NORMAL

For simple mapped paths, the display is kept close to Novell FLAGDIR style:

MARS/SYS:UDIR
        UDIR        System Hidden DeleteInhibit Purge RenameInhibit

Private is intentionally rejected for the current NetWare 386-style path.

DEBUG

Set mars_nwe debug levels for selected server-side modules.

DEBUG NCPSERV|NWCONN|NWBIND level

• level must be between 0 and 99.
• This requires the matching mars_nwe server-side debug call to be enabled.

ECHO

Print a string, mainly for use inside profile/login scripts.

CD

Change the current DOS directory. It also adjusts the active drive if a drive-qualified path is supplied.

TESTS

Internal developer test routines. Not intended as a regular end-user command.

The currently useful Client32 test is:

TESTS NCP87C32ATTR

It verifies the working Client32 NCP87 attribute path.

Login script workflow

A particularly important feature is the automatic execution of a file named login located beside the executable after a successful login.

Example:

map     f:=SYS:
map     h:=home:
map     z:=SYS:PUBLIC
path    s16:=z:.
capture lpt1 q1
profile h:\profile

This makes the tool suite useful not just for authentication, but for setting up a full DOS network session: drive mappings, search paths, printer capture, and then a user-specific profile script.

Building

Historical DOS build

The included makefile.bcc is the primary historical build file and targets Borland C / Borland tools on DOS.

Key settings from the makefile:

• compiler: bcc
• linker: bcc
• assembler: tasm
• memory model: -ml
• define: -Dmsdos
• output: net.exe

The historical object list includes the original C sources plus kern.asm.

CMake / Open Watcom maintainer build

The modern CMake build can rebuild net.exe with Open Watcom v2 on Linux.

Configure with:

cmake -S . -B build -DMARS_NWE_BUILD_DOSUTILS=ON
cmake --build build

The CMake build:

• assembles kern_wasm.asm with wasm
• compiles each C file to a binary-directory .obj
• links net.exe from those binary-directory objects
• keeps .obj/.o intermediate files out of the source directory

If old object files were produced in the source tree by an earlier build, remove them once:

cd dosutils
rm -f *.o *.obj

Default install behavior

When MARS_NWE_BUILD_DOSUTILS is disabled, CMake installs a prebuilt net.exe from the source tree.

That keeps the normal mars_nwe build independent from Open Watcom. Maintainers can enable the Open Watcom build only when they want to regenerate the DOS binary.

Installation layout

The install rules deploy the same binary multiple times into SYS/public, including:

• net.exe
• login.exe
• profile.exe
• spawn.exe
• passwd.exe
• path.exe
• pathins.exe
• pathdel.exe
• map.exe
• mapdel.exe
• logout.exe
• slist.exe
• flag.exe
• flagdir.exe
• capture.exe
• endcap.exe

They also install selected copies such as login.exe, map.exe, and slist.exe into SYS/login where appropriate.

Development notes

• kern_wasm.asm is the 16-bit Open Watcom assembly implementation used by the modern build.
• kern.c was an experimental C-side test wrapper and is no longer required by the current Client32 FLAG/FLAGDIR path.
• c32ncp.c and c32ncp.h contain reusable Client32 NCP helper functions for DOS tools.
• The verified Client32 path uses NCP 87 subfunction 6 for obtaining DOS information and subfunction 7 for modifying DOS information.
• For modify operations, use the modify information mask DM_ATTRIBUTES (0x00000002) rather than the read-side RIM_ATTRIBUTES mask.
• High NetWare attributes must be stored and displayed as 32-bit values even in 16-bit DOS builds.

Project status and limitations

This is legacy DOS networking code from the mid-1990s, and a few caveats are worth keeping in mind:

• The code is tightly coupled to DOS, IPX/NCP behavior, and mars_nwe/NetWare requester semantics.
• Client32 support has been validated for the FLAG-family tools, but not yet generalized to every command.
• DOSX/VLM/NETX fallback testing is still pending.
• FLAGDIR currently focuses on the NetWare 386-style attributes and simple mapped directory paths.
• OS/2 requester behavior is still future work.
• Some authentication and password-change paths still keep older calls as compatibility fallbacks.

Historical metadata

From the included project metadata:

• project: mars_dosutils
• version: 0.10
• entered: 21-May-96
• keywords: mars_nwe, dos, dosemu
• platforms: DOS, DOSEMU
• author/maintainer: Martin Stover

License

No standalone license file is included in the provided snapshot. The source files do contain copyright notices naming Martin Stover. Anyone planning to redistribute or modernize the project should verify licensing status before publishing derivative releases.