Simtel MSDOS 1992 June

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Text File | 1989-02-10 | 23.7 KB | 453 lines

LiSST --------- version 2.0 (c) 1989 by Sam Bellotto Jr. "LiSST" IS A MENU-DRIVEN utility that adeptly compiles, maintains and organizes a variety of everyday listings. In addition, the program offers: * a choice of output to either console, printer or disk * sorting that is "The," "An" and "A" exclusive * sorting on any field * comprehensive record editing, deleting and undeleting. * multiple and individual search capability * compatibility with most word processors Only 33k, "LiSST" is the solution to a wide range of record- keeping problems for which more powerful database management systems would be overkill. It can be placed on a single disk, along with dozens of separate listings, and randomly access any or all of them. Invoking "LiSST:" You run it like any EXE file, with the added advantage of being able to call up any listing directly from the command line. The syntax d:LiSST d:filename is optional. If employed, "LiSST" displays the Main Menu with the named listing loaded. Otherwise, you will initially be prompted for "Name of list?" Enter the name of any existing list or, enter the name of a file you wish to create. Use the standard DOS convention d:filename. "LiSST" doesn't require a file extension. All of its lists are given an extension of LST, and those are the only files that "LiSST" recognizes. In fact, if you inadvertently enter, for example, MYFILE.TXT or B:MEMBERS.DBF at "LiSST's" prompt (or in the command line), the program disregards the incorrect extension and either opens or creates MYFILE.LST or B:MEMBERS.LST. Note: if "LiSST" is unable to locate a list, a new one is created. "LiSST" utilizes the top line of the computer screen as its Status Line. Information always available on this line includes the particular menu selection in current use, the name of the list being accessed and, depending upon which program mode is functioning, record count, printer/console/disk output assignment, or operational prompts. This is what the screen looks like at the Main Menu: LiSST Relational Listmaker [B:MYFILMS.LST] #0000 vers 2.0 Get List F1-Delete F6-Copy List Input F2-Undelete F7-Rename List Edit F3-Change F8-Erase List Sort F4-Labels F9-List Lists Output F5-ASCII F10-Quit Select? Menu selections on the left are considered ordinary functions. Choose them by entering the initial letter (upper or lower case). Menu selections in the center are special features and can be called by striking the function key shown. (In other words, entering F4 runs the "Labels" option. Menu selections on the right are DOS functions, also initiated with function keys. The question mark is "LiSST's" prompt. Enter an initial letter or function key to select an option. To Get a List (either another existing list or create a new one), enter "G" or "L" at the prompt. Similarly, to Quit, enter F10. CREATE: To create a new listing, simply enter a name for the new file in the command line or in response to the "Name of list?" startup prompt. Again, no extension is required. But if you provide one that is not LST, the program will change it. "LiSST" displays "New list ...." to inform you that it is creating a list and displays the new filename in the Status Line along with an indication that you are in CREATE mode. Now select the parameters for the list, the structure of which will be written to a disk file. Enter "Field 1 heading?," "Field 1 length?," "Field 2 heading?" ... and so on, until you have established all the fields for a typical record, or a maximum 79 character line, whichever comes first. "LiSST's" largest record length is 79 bytes, which should be more than adequate for ordinary listings. Individual fields within a record can vary, so long as the aggregate length of all fields does not exceed 79. "LiSST" helps keep track of the number of characters used by echoing the tally, field after field, to the Status Line. The program "builds-in" one character of space to separate each field column: you needn't do this. Furthermore, the program won't accept a field length if it brings the total above the 79 character limit. (Note: field headings should be no longer than their respective field lengths, otherwise "LiSST" truncates any field heading to fit the established size for its field.) The maximum number of fields per record has been fixed at 9. It is not recommended that this limitation be exceeded. Creating lists with more than 9 fields will likely cause the program to crash. When the character total reaches 78 or 79 "LiSST" signals this with "max len!" in the Status Line and halts CREATE. Otherwise, when all field headings and sizes have been entered, you can halt CREATE simply by hitting <enter> at the next "field heading" prompt. ("LiSST" halts CREATE at 78 as well as 79 chars because of the extra space byte the program appends to each field. This makes the minimum field size, in actuality, two characters long.) How to Abort from CREATE: Should an unintentional "Name of list?" response take you into CREATE mode, or you decide after the fact that you really don't want to create a new list, <enter> at the VERY FIRST Field heading? prompt will return you to "Name of list?" without opening a new listing. A second <enter> will boot out of "LiSST" altogether. After establishing the field heads and sizes for a new listing, and hitting <enter> to quit (or reaching the maximum character length), "LiSST" inquires "Input data now?" Answer 'Y' and "LiSST" switches to INPUT mode. Typing <enter> or any other key signifies "no" and the program returns to the Main Menu. (Your newly created file remains quite safe on disk, only empty.) "LiSST" does not provide a CREATE mode option in the Main Menu per se. The function is accomplished as previously explained: (1) selecting Get List from the menu and, at the "Name of list?" prompt, entering the name of the list to be created; or (2) placing the name of the list to be created in the d:LiSST command line. INPUT: Entering data is simple with "LiSST." Select "I" or "i" from the Main Menu. For each new record, all of the field headings are individually prompted on-screen. Again, the program rejects any input larger than the established field length. After data has been entered for each field in a single record, the program prompts "OK?" in the Status Line. A response of any key other than "N" or "n" writes the completed record to the file, updates the record count, and proceeds to the next record. A response of "N" or "n" clears the data from the screen, does not write the record to the file, and permits you to re-enter data for that record. [This procedure can be undertaken ad infinitum until you are satisfied with the particular record.] To exit INPUT, hit <enter> at any field heading prompt. The incompleted record won't be included in the listing. Note that while inputting data, "LiSST" keeps updating the number of records in the list. The count appears in the upper right side of the Status Line. "LiSST" first tallies the number of records already in the list (whether or not they have been deleted) to the Status Line before it accepts additional entries. MAKING EMPTY FIELDS: Oftentimes is is desirable to intentionally leave a field or a field heading blank. You may want to do this in CREATE mode, or in INPUT mode when you don't have any information available for a specific field. But entering <enter> in CREATE mode forces termination of the setup process. Similarly, an <enter> response in INPUT halts data entry. To get around this, many "LiSST" owners have been using symbols such as "--" or "n/a" as place holders. But this is not necessary! Merely enter one or two spaces with the space bar, followed by <enter>, to produce completely empty fields. NOTE: If this technique is used in CREATE mode to make a blank field heading, during INPUT mode the field will be prompted as " : ". Also be aware that the standard ASCII sort order places the "space" (20 hex) first. EDIT: Complete editing of records either singly or throughout an entire list is possible with "LiSST." In EDIT mode, the program asks "Search for?" Enter a unique character string. The program responds "Searching ... " while it looks for a match to the string. Systematically, you will be prompted with each field by heading and current entry in the located record and asked "Change?" To change, type in a new entry. Otherwise, <enter> is interpreted as no change; "LiSST" verifies this by echoing the unchanged entry. Following display of the last field in each record located, you will be asked to "Delete?" If you want the entire record removed from the list, a "Y" answer (plus a carriage return to make accidental erasures more difficult) deletes that record. Hitting <enter> (or any key other than "Y") only implies "no" and the record, with any alterations, if made, is returned to the list. The program displays "Still searching ..." while it looks for other occurrences of the search string. If no other matches are found, the program informs you and loops to "Search for?" Continue editing or exit EDIT mode with <enter>. The EDIT feature also makes it a snap to do multiple record corrections. At the "Search for?" prompt, enter a character string common to all the records you wish to change and "LiSST" will present each record right down the line. In fact, to edit every record in the list, enter <space><enter> at the "Search for?" prompt. (This latter technique could take a very long time with a large listing, however.) If no records contain the search string entered, "LiSST" responds with "No records contain [search string]" and pauses briefly before returning to the Main Menu. SORT: "LiSST's" sort routine is one of the most powerful implementations of the program. A listing may be sorted on any field. Upon invoking the SORT mode from the Main Menu, you are first prompted for "Sorted file name? " Input d:filename. The LST extension is unnecessary. You are then asked "Sort on?" Reply with the appropriate field heading. You do not have to enter the entire field heading -- enough of the first few letters to make a unique character string will suffice. However, they must be the first few letters or the sort may have unexpected results! (E.g., to sort on the field COMPANY NAME, the string COMPANY, COMP or even CO may do the trick.) Your original list remains on disk; it is never sorted. This allows the user to create a variety of sorts from the "master" list. Please note that each time a list is sorted, however, a new LST file is created. When sorting on the first field, "LiSST" employs an algorithm which is "blind" to initial "The," "An" or "A" articles. This makes "LiSST" ideal for cataloging books, films, records, etc. For example, one can enter "The Maltese Falcon," verbatim, without having to corrupt the title to "Maltese Falcon, The." "LiSST" sorts all titles beginning with "The," "An" and "A" at optimum speed and accuracy, provided the first field is the title field. (Most listings of this kind place the title in the first field, anyway.) "LiSST" incorporates a sort method based upon the well-known Shell Sort, proven to be the fastest routine for lists that are already largely in alphabetical order. Most listings, after all, require significant sorting only once, as re-sorts involve less than 25 percent new entries. "LiSST" will not initiate a sort if it cannot locate the "Sort on?" input string within any field heading. "LiSST" sorts entirely in RAM memory. This makes the routine extremely fast. However, a listing that is larger than the TPA (transient program area), aborts. But it is anticipated that most lists won't overflow the 640k DOS limitation (and LiSSt itself occupies less than 35k of RAM). In the event a list does exceed RAM, "LiSST" exits from the sort routine and indicates that the list is "too large for available memory," displaying the record count of the list. [Any listing that is too large for "LiSST" to sort should probably be handled with a more powerful DBMS, like dBase, anyway.] PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS CONSTRAINT APPLIES ONLY TO "LiSST's" RAM-RESIDENT SORT ROUTINE. Files can be as large as available disk space allows, and be edited, searched and output with no difficulty whatsoever. OUTPUT: "LiSST" provides three channels to which listings, either totally or selectively, can be output: to the printer, to the console, or to a disk file. In OUTPUT mode, "LiSST" initially prompts "Listing of?" for a particular scope. As in EDIT mode, enter an unambiguous search string common only to the records you want. This string can be in any field or fields. For a complete listing of all records, type <enter> (default for "all.") "LiSST" next asks "To printer/disk/console?" Reply "P" or "p" if you want a printed listing, "D" or "d" to output to a disk file, or "C," "c" or <enter> for output to screen. Before printing, you are asked to supply a "Heading of list?" Lists are printed approximately 51 lines per page, with page numbers, margins, and a heading (if given). Field headings for each column are automatically printed; the heading option allows a more general title such as "My Videotape Collection" or "Current Club Members." If no general heading is desired, <enter> defaults to no heading. Finally, "LiSST" asks "Pause between pages?" This facilitates printing to single sheets or printing on both sides of the paper. Answer "Y" to pause, <enter> or any other key to print normally on fanfold paper. If you selected to output to disk, "LiSST" asks "Disk file name?" Enter d:filename.ext. Output is directed to that disk file. Simultaneously, output is echoed to the screen, allowing the user to see exactly what is being ported to the disk file. There are a lot of advantages to disk output. For one, the resulting disk file can be incorporated into any word processing document. The following, sorted by year: FILM TITLE DIRECTOR YEAR The Man Who Knew Too Much Hitchcock 1934 The Secret Agent Hitchcock 1936 Rebecca Hitchcock 1940 Suspicion Hitchcock 1941 Lifeboat Hitchcock 1944 Spellbound Hitchcock 1945 Rope Hitchcock 1948 Stage Fright Hitchcock 1950 Strangers on a Train Hitchcock 1951 Psycho Hitchcock 1960 was output from a much larger listing, to disk, and pulled into this document with WordStar's ^KR command. (Output to disk in conjunction with "LiSST's" ^ASCII menu option is one way to produce sub-listings sorted on multiple fields.) If you replied with "C," "c" or <enter> (indicating output to screen) "LiSST" defaults to console output. During output to both disk and console, "LiSST" sends about 21 lines to the screen, pauses and prompts "More?" Striking any key except <end> scrolls another 21 lines, and so on, until "[end of list]" is displayed. At any time, output may be aborted by striking thσ <end> key at the "More?" prompt. Further records will not be output to either screen or disk file and the program will return to the Main Menu. Incidentally, should you enter an output scope character string that "LiSST" is unable to locate, or if the particular list is empty (which can happen), you will be notified! LIMITATIONS AND CONSTRAINTS number of fields per record .......................... 9 number of characters per record ..................... 79 number of records per list ................... unlimited number of records sorted ................. RAM dependent COMMAND SUMMARY FOR ORDINARY OPTIONS Startup: d:LiSST "Name of list?" d:LISTNAME or d:LiSST d:LISTNAME Create: "Field [1-8] heading?" string "Field [1-8] length?" integer <enter> at any "Field heading?" prompt to quit or until max char length equals 78 or 79. Input: "[Field head]:" string repeats for each field head in record, for each new record. "OK?" Y/N <enter> at any prompt to quit. Incompleted record is not written to disk. Edit: "Search for?" search string <enter> to quit "[Field head: Entry]" "Change?" new entry, or <enter> repeats for each field in record, for each record matching search string. "Delete?" Y or <enter> repeats until end of list Sort: "Sorted file name?" d:filename "Sort on?" field head start string aborts sort routine if list too large for RAM Output: "Listing of?" search string, <enter> for all "To printer/disk/console?" if P or p "Heading of list?" optional title or <enter> "Pause between pages?" Y or <enter> if D or d "Disk file name?" d:filename.ext creates ascii file "More?" Y or <end> if C, c or <enter> defaults to console, screen-by-screen output "More?" Y or <end> Quit: F10 USING KWIKLISTS WITH TEXT EDITORS Lists produced with "LiSST" are binary; however, output to disk from the Main Menu creates ASCII text files which can be accessed with virtually any word processor in non-document mode. Because of this, it is often easier to undertake heavy LST file editing tasks with WordStar or Word Perfect than with "LiSST's" EDIT option. Most word processors' find & replace, tab and macro features make editing very long lists quite uncomplicated and fast. To edit a "LiSST" file with a word processor, keep in mind the following: (1) Work with the ASCII disk file output via "LiSST's" OUTPUT mode "D" selection only. (2) Use only non-document mode. (3) Do not add to or subtract from the total length of any field in any record. If you've used the "Change" option to add new field(s): enter data in the new field(s) for two or three records with "LiSST" first. This way, you will have a "guide" in place if you then wish to use a word processor as described in the above method to complete entering data into the new field(s) for the rest of the list. MULTIPLE LINE LISTINGS It is possible to get multiple line listings per record with "LiSST." Simply establish one field (on which the full list will be sorted) for a common "key." Then, for however many lines you'd like a record to occupy, give them the same "key" in that field. There are obvious limitations to this technique, but it does work. For example: Bailey, George 320 Sycamore Bedford Falls 17 " " Epson Equity bank officer 17 Smith, Winston London England 18 " " Kaypro 286i historian 18 and so forth. Get the idea? SORTING ON MORE THAN ONE FIELD This is possible; there is some doubt as to whether it is practical. Let's assume you have a large listing of movies that you would like sorted alphabetically, but also by category (e.g., comedy, drama, adventure, sci-fi, documentary). First run a general sort by title for alphabetical order. With "LiSST" outputting To disk, create a text file for each category. Join all the text files together with a text editor, eliminating extra spaces and the column headings. Use the "ASCII" option to convert the combined text files into a new LST file. And there you have it. The list is now sorted by category and in alphabetical order. AND THERE'S MORE: This should be enough explanation to get you going with the ordinary functions of 'LiSST.' I have deliberately left out any reference to the Special Functions or the DOS functions. You may well be able to figure those out with no documentation at all. Good for you! But whether or not you want additional documentation, if 'LiSST' appeals to you, a suggested registration fee of a mere $25 will bring you your own pristine copy of LiSST, and a real nice instruction manual covering ALL of 'LiSST's' features and uses. PLUS, if you act now, you will be entitled to one free upgrade! The 'LiSST' Relational Listmaker System is shareware, and is copyright (c) 1989 by Sam Bellotto Jr. If you like it, send $25 to Sam Bellotto Jr. 45 Rowley Street Rochester, NY 14607 (716) 461-1008 ***********************************************