In This Book

You may conclude one day that there are good reasons for knowing a little more about what goes on inside your computer. You may wonder:

What really happens when you use your MPE/iX computer -- what makes it work?
Why you must do certain tasks, or why you must do them in a certain way.
Whether it is time to investigate more of the full potential of your computer.

This book will not turn you into a computer expert. Instead, it provides an introduction to what computers do, and how they do it.




	Worth Knowing: This book is not required reading. There is no requirement to memorize anything here, although there are ideas Worth Knowing, as well as facts Worth Remembering. What you will find are facts that you may want to know as you work with your computer and as you begin to discover its potential.

Each chapter presents a set of related ideas and facts about your computer. No chapter is very long. You may read the chapters in any order. But as with any body of knowledge, some facts and ideas are basic, while others are more advanced. Becoming comfortable with the basics will give you an advantage with everything that comes later.

Chapter 1:

What Is A Computer?

The parts of computer, including the hardware and the programs that make it run.

Chapter 2:

Where Am I?

When log on, where do you find yourself inside the computer's account structure? Knowing the account structure, and how files are named, will help to guide you to the work you want to do. The meaning of user names, session names and passwords.

Chapter 3:

What Are Files?

The nature and structure of files—where they are kept. How the computer uses files to move information from one place to another.

Chapter 4:

Here I Am—What Can I Do?

How your user capabilities affect your work. Programs and how to start them running on your computer.

Chapter 5:

Where Does the Information Go?

How the computer gets information from you, and what it does with that information. Protecting your information once it is in the computer.

Chapter 6:

Behind the Scenes

How the computer sees things.

Chapter 7:

Commands

Types of commands, using parameters, understanding how to read the syntax diagram of a command.

Chapter 8:

Command Files and Jobs

You create them for your own use—command files and jobs.

Chapter 9:

Jobs and Job Files

You create them and tell the computer how and when to do your work for you.

In This Book

Technical documentation

» Table of Contents

» Index