Introduction

Introduction

Registration

Thank you for buying BLAST Data Pump and welcome to the world of BLAST! Before doing anything else, it is very important that you complete the Warranty Registration Card. Without it, we cannot provide you with the complete support and continued service that comes with every copy of BLAST Data Pump.

The services available to registered owners of BLAST include:

A ninety-day warranty stating that the software will operate according to specifications in effect at the time of purchase.
Professional help from our experienced Technical Support staff for a nominal fee.
New product announcements.
Discounts on product upgrades.

Extended maintenance, custom scripting, special training, and corporate licensing are also available. Please call BLAST, Inc. Sales at (800) 242-5278 or refer to the enclosed literature for more information.

The BLAST Data Pump Package

The BLAST Data Pump package includes:

One CD containing the BLAST Data Pump program and Netscape Navigator 4.0, which supports the BLAST Data Pump Online Manual.
One Warranty Registration Card. The serial number of your BLAST program is printed on this card. When placing a call to BLAST Technical Support, please have this number available. Read the card, fill it out, and send it immediately to BLAST, Inc.
A FAX coupon for a 3.5"-diskettes version of BLAST Data Pump, for users who do not have a CD ROM drive.

If the package does not contain all of these items, please call the BLAST Customer Support staff at 919-545-2535.

BLAST Features and Design

Data Pump is a series of 32-bit applications for file transfer automation on Windows 9x, Windows 2000, and Windows NT. Data Pump is designed for hands-off, non-interactive usage. It is ideal for automating regularly performed file transfer tasks requiring no user intervention. It is also suitable for integration into other applications to provide file transfer services.

Data Pump is not designed for interactive usage. It is controlled by command line switches and scripts written in the BLASTscript language. It provides only a minimal user interface for the purpose of assisting the process of writing and debugging file transfer tasks. Data Pump has no terminal emulation capabilities.

Applications in Data Pump include:

BlastDP.exe
The Data Pump command line application.
Blast.exe
The Data Pump Viewer, a GUI-based application designed to assist in the process of writing and debugging file transfer applications. The Data Pump Viewer has a terminal viewer, a script viewer, and a log viewer. During file transfers, the Data Pump Viewer also displays the File Transfer Status dialog.
PBEditor.exe
The Phonebook Editor, a GUI-based application for managing phonebook listings. Phonebook listings store communications settings such as network addresses, logins, passwords, and phone numbers.
SUConvert.exe
A utility to convert setups (.su files) from other releases of BLAST (see Converting Setups to Phonebook Listings).

Data Pump supports the error-free BLAST session protocol for network and dial-up serial communications. Data Pump also supports FTP and provides a simple means of automating and checking for errors in FTP transfers over TCP networks. Xmodem and Xmodem1K are supported for communications with machines that do not support the BLAST protocol or FTP.

How To Use This Manual

This manual contains the information necessary for operating BLAST Data Pump, including file transfer procedures, general information, specific Data Pump functions, BLASTscript reserved variables, and BLASTscript statements. The listing for each BLASTscript statement includes syntax, usage details, and examples.

Documentation System Conventions

To help reduce confusion, BLAST documentation shares several common name conventions, display conventions, and defined terms.