CD ROM Paradise Collection 4/CD ROM Paradise Collection 4 1995 Nov.iso/hobby/ast44exe.zip/UPDATE.440

Text File | 1995-02-11 | 29KB | 500 lines

####################  ASTROLOG 4.40 UPDATE FILE  #####################

     Happy Valentine's Day everyone! :) Sure Mercury may still be
retrograde, but I always spend the last few weeks of a release doing
documentation, i.e. polishing and finishing things from the past that
such times are good for. Besides, a much stronger influence for me
now is that my first Jupiter return since 1983 is next week! Anyway:

     This file describes the improvements and fixes made in Astrolog
4.40, over the previous version, 4.30, released a little over two
months ago. This update includes two major additions: First, Astrolog
now supports the Macintosh platform, where the source code compiles
for it without problem, and official ready to run Macintosh
executables are available. Second, Astrolog may now compute a wide
selection of Arabic parts. Other than that there are no major changes
other than the usual batch of improvements and fixes, so this is
another stable version.

     If you are reading this document as posted in the newsgroup
alt.astrology, this release consists the following files, each posted
as a separate article or group of articles:

1. "Update.440" - A text file describing new additions to Astrolog
   4.40 made over the previous version (what you're reading now).
2. "Readme.440" - A text file describing Astrolog in general and what
   the program offers and can do, for those interested in a summary.
3. "ast44exe.zip" - A uuencoded, zip archive containing a DOS executable
   ready to run on PC's, config file, icon file, two ephemeris files,
   a Readme, small summary file, Helpfile, and this Update file.
4. "ast44mac.sea" - A BinHex 4.0'ed self extracting archive program of the
   Macintosh executable, config file, two ephemeris files, Readme, summary,
   Helpfile, and this Update file (like ast44exe.zip but for the Mac).
5. "ast44unx.shr" - A uuencoded, compressed Unix shell archive containing
   source code, makefiles, Readme, summary, Helpfile, and this Update file.

     In addition, there are several other relevant files, which have
not been posted so as not to waste too much newsreader bandwidth.
They may be obtained by other means which will be described:

6. "ast44src.zip" - A uuencoded, zip archive containing the source code,
   and makefiles (not necessary unless you want to compile on a PC).
7. "History.440" - A text file describing additions in all previous
   releases (only useful if upgrading from several versions ago).

     The "Helpfile" consists of a large comprehensive documentation
file of all of Astrolog's features. The "config file" is a default
settings file called astrolog.dat (not necessary to have to run but
useful). The "icon file" is a Microsoft Windows icon that can be used
when invoking Astrolog from MS Windows. The "summary file" is a
file_id.diz like that included in many zip distributions, briefly
describing the program in whole. The "Update file" is again this
document. The "ephemeris files" are two binary files used for more
accurate calculations of planetary positions (again optional but nice
to have). The "source code" consists of 24 files (21 "C" program
files and three header #include files). The "makefiles" are five
files: a generic makefile for Unix systems with their "make" command,
a nmakefile for Microsoft PC compilers, a makefile for Borland PC
compilers (with a second subfile to go with it), and a command script
for compiling on VMS systems.

     Some of these files may be posted in more than one part in
multiple articles, due to newsreader size restrictions. For these
files, extract each part in turn to a separate file, go into a text
editor and strip off the header and any trailing text, and
concatenate them together. If you are using the Unix "rn" newsreader,
one can have it automatically extract multiple articles, and even
remove their headers and "uudecode" the final result if needed, using
the "e" command. For example, one can do "1200-1203:e" to extract the
four articles starting with article number 1200. Commas in addition
to a dash may be used to specify discontiguous ranges or for when the
parts aren't listed in order.

     All the files described above have been uploaded to Michael
Bulmer's anonymous ftp site for the alt.astrology group at
hilbert.maths.utas.edu.au in the directory /incoming. They should be
moved to the standard /pub/astrology/Astrolog directory there soon.
All of the ephemeris files are already in the subdirectory
/pub/astrology/Astrolog/ephem. For PC's, Astrolog including all
source and ephemeris files are also available at Carl Baewer's Astro
Net-1 BBS at 414-481-9976. Fellow employees at Microsoft connected to
its network can get a copy of this version out of my public share in
the directory \\<myemailname>\soleil!astrolog.


#####################  ASTROLOG 4.40 MAIN FEATURES  #####################

MACINTOSH SUPPORT:

     Macintosh Version: Astrolog is officially supported and runs on
the Mac. The standard ready to run Mac executable is distributed in a
BinHex 4.0'ed self extracting archive. To unpack it, use a utility
that can un-BinHex such files to generate the self extracting
archive, and then double click the archive program to unpack the
executable, documentation, and other such files. I used Compact Pro
1.34 to create the Mac archive, a useful utility that can also BinHex
and un-BinHex files. The executable should run on most any 68K
processor Mac, and will run on PowerMacs in emulation mode. It
requires 750K of heap to run, with 1.5M preferred.

     The Mac Astrolog executable has the same icon as the PC version,
a ringed planet with tilted red rings and surrounding stars, except
the planet body is tan (gray in four bit color mode) instead of
yellow. It and the other files are unpacked into their own "Astrolog
4.40" folder, where the folder's icon has the same ringed planet
overlaying it. When the program is actually run, you'll be prompted
to enter command switches in a terminal window. There aren't many
options available on the Mac menu bar, although you can File Quit and
copy selected text to the clipboard with it. The window doesn't have
scroll bars for when text runs off the top of the screen, but the -YQ
pager will prompt you to press return to continue scrolling if
needed, and the -os switch can be used to send all the output to a
file in your Astrolog folder. When the program terminates, the window
title will prompt you to press return one more time to exit before
the window actually goes away.

     The program can read from the astrolog.dat file, and will use
the ephemeris files for very accurate calculations if -b is in
effect. These and chart info files are the same and fully compatible
with such files from PC and Unix versions. All files must however be
in the Astrolog folder for the program to find them. The -n chart for
now switch will work accurately provided the current time and zone
are set up correctly in the Control Panels. The -k Ansi text feature
does exist in Mac Astrolog, but the terminal won't be able to display
the control codes properly, so this isn't really useful unless the
output is sent to a file and later displayed in an environment that
understands the codes and can show the colored text. Mac Astrolog
doesn't yet support any interactive screen graphics. One can however
create nice graphics files using all of the programs -X graphics
switches. PostScript, Windows bitmaps, or Windows metafiles generated
may then be inserted into a program such as MS Word for the Macintosh
and viewed or printed.

     Macintosh Compilation: Astrolog's source code can be compiled
and run on the Macintosh perfectly with no special modifications
needed. In making the official Mac executable, I used the compiler
Symantec C/C++ 7.0 for the Mac. When compiling, uncomment the new
"MAC" compile time option in astrolog.h, and turn on the "far data"
flag in the compiler. Other Astrolog compile time option settings
should be SWITCHES off, ENVIRON off, and PROTO off.

--

ARABIC PARTS:

     -P switch: Astrolog has the ability to display the positions of
177 Arabic parts! The "ARABIC" compile time option in astrolog.h may
be commented to leave this feature out if you don't want it. Display
a chart with the new -P switch to show each part and its position,
one per line for the chart in question. The listing contains five
columns: First is the full name of the part, i.e. the part of
whatever. Second is its position in the zodiac (which will be shown
to the nearest arc second when the -b0 setting is active). Third is
the house the location falls in.

     Fourth is the formula used to compute the part, given so one
knows what the program is doing and to aid in interpretation. The
formula is expressed in the form <term1> - <term2> + <term3>. Also
included is a flag indicating whether the formula should be flipped
for night births, i.e. charts where the Sun is below the horizon in
houses 1 through 6. For night charts where the flip status is "Y",
the real calculation done is <term1> + <term2> - <term3>. Each <term>
consists of an "object" plus a "modifier". The object is usually
given as the abbreviation of a planet, or it may be a number from 1
to 12 indicating that house cusp. The object may also be "For" or
"Spi" meaning it's the position of the Part of Fortune or Part of
Spirit, or it may reference an actual degree in the zodiac. The
modifier indicates how to get the actual position of the term from
the object. It's usually blank meaning the term is just the position
of the object. It may be "H", meaning the term is the location of the
house the given object is in; it may also be "R", meaning the term is
the location of the planet ruling the house the given object is in;
it may be "D", meaning the term is the location of the planet that's
the dispositor of the given object, i.e. ruler of its position; or it
may be "&", meaning the term is 10 degrees beyond the position of the
given object.

     The last column is the "type" of Arabic part. Most parts are
normal psychological indicators like the Part of Fortune, and don't
have anything listed here. Seven parts reference elements and weather
and are used for charts cast at the time of equinoxes, solstices, and
New and Full moons, and are indicated by "Evnt". 21 parts reference
crops and are parts used in the commodities market for
prognostication, and are indicated by "Comm". Finally 16 parts are
specially used for Horary questions and are indicated by "Hora".
Special thanks to Jennierose Lavender for making me aware of most of
the 177 parts included here and how they are computed.

     The -P switch accepts an optional parameter to indicate how many
of the Arabic parts to show. When given, only the first 'n' parts
will be displayed. As the special part types are shown after all the
standard ones, this may be used to restrict parts you don't care
about. For example, "-P 161" will leave off the horary parts, "-P
140" will leave off the horary and crop parts, and "-P 133" will
leave off the horary, crop, and event parts. Related to this,
standard -R object restrictions will affect the parts shown; if a
planet is restricted, than any parts referencing it in its formula
will be left out.

     -P[z,n,f] switch: As with the fixed stars, the Arabic part
listing may also be sorted in various useful orders. Invoke the -P
switch as -Pz and they will be displayed in order of position, with
parts in Aries first and Pisces last. Invoke it as -Pn and the parts
will be sorted by name, with the part of Accomplishment first and
Worldliness last. Finally, invoke it as -Pf and they will be ordered
by formula, where the ordering reflects the contents of each term,
with Ascendant and early planet terms first, and cusp and other
special ones last. Note that regardless of the ordering, passing a
value to -P will still leave off the same parts as in the standard
display. Especially with -Pz and -Pf, notice that several parts may
have the same position. Some formulas differ only in their night flip
flag, meaning they will be the same for day charts, while a few parts
of different category types can even have the same formula period.

     -P0 switch: If the -P switch is invoked as -P0 (or -Pz0, etc)
the output will be identical to before, except that the formula
column will exchange the positions of the second and third terms,
i.e. instead of showing as <term1> - <term2> + <term3>, -P0 will
show <term1> + <term3> - <term2>. This isn't too useful in itself,
unless combined with -Pf, where -Pf and -Pf0 sort differently giving
different terms priority. Here's how to conceptualize formulas: if
the planets were rotated through the zodiac so that object2 is at the
position of object1, then the new position of object3 is the part.
For example, with the Part of Fortune being Asc - Sun + Moo, if you
rotate your chart so that the Sun is on the Asc, then the Moon's
position is the POF, Mercury's position is the Part of Commerce, its
formula being Asc - Sun + Mer, and so on. The default -Pf sorting
allows one to easily see, if one rotates this planet on the Asc, what
parts indicate the positions of the other planets. The -Pf0 ordering
allows one to easily see, where is the position of a particular
planet, after all rotations where some other planet is on the Asc.

     -YP <value> switch: This is an obscure -Y prefix switch allowing
one to force whether night chart formula inverting is done, since
sources differ on which parts are best inverted. This option takes
one parameter, either -1, 0, or 1. Zero is the default setting,
meaning the program will invert only those parts that have the flip
flag set, for charts cast at night. If the setting is 1, then no
inverting will ever be done for any part, even in night charts. If
the setting is -1, then inverting will always be done for every part,
even in day charts. The last setting will even invert the computation
of the Part of Fortune, i.e. object 18, in the main object list. Note
that the POF does appear both in the -P full part list, as well as
being the only part that's also a standard object, meaning it's the
only part one may automatically do aspects or transits to. Note also
that the -P list POF inverts for night charts, while the standard
object doesn't; Astrolog has never inverted its computation of this
object in previous versions and I didn't want to suddenly change it.


#####################  ASTROLOG 4.40 NEW ADDITIONS  #####################

Here are other new items in version 4.40 that weren't in 4.30 and before:

1. -EY <years> switch: The -E ephemeris list, which does an ephemeris
   for the month of the current chart by default, and the whole year
   when done as -Ey, may now do an ephemeris for a range of years all at
   once. Invoke the switch as -EY, and pass a parameter indicating the
   number of years to span with the ephemeris, and it will be done,
   starting with the year in the current chart. For example, to do an
   ephemeris for all this century from 1900 through 1999, do "astrolog
   -qy 1900 -EY 100".

2. -dY <years> switch: The -d search for aspects and events among
   transiting planets during a span of time switch, which displays
   what's going on for the day of the current chart by default, the
   month when done as -dm, and year when done as -dy, may now do a range
   of years all at once. Invoke the switch as -dY, and give a parameter
   indicating the number of years to span, and it will be done, starting
   with the year in the current chart. For example, to display the times
   of all New and Full moons for the rest of the century (1995 through
   2000), do "astrolog -n -dY 6 -R0 sun moo -A opp". (This, and -EY
   above, are like the existing -tY transit search feature which also
   allows doing a range of years in addition to a single year or month.)

3. -dpY <year> <years> switch: Related to above, the -dp switch to
   display all aspects within one's progressed chart for a span of time,
   may also be done for a range of years. Invoke the switch as -dpY, and
   pass in not only the year to search within as with -dpy, but the
   number of years to scan from then. For example, do display the times
   of all aspects within your progressed chart for the next decade, do
   "astrolog -i yourchartfile -dpY 1995 10".

4. -r, -p switch extensions: This is a command switch trick only
   useful when doing multiple charts in a -Q loop, or when passing extra
   command lines to a graphics screen with the return key or through
   macros. Astrolog's -r relationship chart switches set relationship
   chart mode, but there's no easy way to return to single chart mode.
   Yes when a graphics screen is up, the 'c' key will toggle
   relationship comparison mode, but that's not available from the
   command line. If the -r switch is invoked as "_r" with the underscore
   reset prefix, whatever relationship mode will be canceled. Unlike
   the standard -r switches, _r takes no file parameters. Related to
   this, the -p switch to progress all charts to whatever time, may be
   turned off by being done as _p, again with no parameters needed.

5. -> <file> switch: The new -> switch taking one parameter, is used
   to send chart text output to the given file. This is identical to the
   existing -os switch, and is included as a convenience with its
   similarity to the ">" output redirection featured in many shells. As
   with all switches, one may leave off the dash and invoke it as just
   ">". When just ">" is included on the command line, the system's own
   output redirection will tend to be used. This switch allows one to
   also include ">" when prompted for command lines within the program,
   or when running from MS Windows, where the shell plays no part.

6. -x switch extension: The -x harmonic chart feature has allowed one
   to do harmonic charts up to the 360th. This limit has been increased
   for those who want to do even more extreme harmonics, where the -x
   switch now accepts values up to 30000 for any harmonic to the 30,000th!

7. Parsing addition: When processing time zone values as entered by
   the user or given in switches such as -z, a couple new time zone
   abbreviations will be accepted, over the several dozen already
   recognized. They are:

   Time Zone Name           Abbrev.     Hours   Longit.
   Alaska Hawaii Standard   AHS         +10     150  W
   Alaska Hawaii Daylight   AHD         + 9     150  W

--

Here's a summary of the new command switches in Astrolog 4.40 that
weren't in the previous version:

  -dY <years>: Like -d but search within a number of years.
  -dpY <year> <years>: Like -dp but search within number of years.
  -EY <years>: Display planetary ephemeris for a number of years.
  -P [<parts>]: Display list of Arabic parts and their positions.
  -P0 [<parts>]: Like -P but display formulas with terms reversed.
  -P[z,n,f]: Order parts by position, name, or formula.
  -> <file>: Redirect output of text charts to file.
  -YP <-1,0,1>: Set how Arabic parts are computed for night charts.


#####################  ASTROLOG 4.40 BUG FIXES  #####################

Here are problems with version 4.30 that have been fixed in this release:

1. -sh bug: The -sh switch to display zodiac positions in hours and
   minutes form would display the minutes incorrectly, specifically
   about 2/3 of what the value should be. The hours were still correct,
   as are the related standard displays in the -sd and -sz switches.

2. -rm error: Time space midpoint charts as accessed with the -rm
   switch would be slightly off from the exact middle of the times in
   the two charts. This offset would be anywhere from 0 to 40 minutes of
   time after the precise correct point. (An easy way to see this was to
   do a -rm chart between your natal chart and itself, and see that the
   result wasn't your exact chart.) These charts are now accurate.

3. -rp0 bug: The -rp0 switch to compare a solar arc progressed chart
   to natal, taking two chart file arguments, would actually require
   four, ignoring the last two arguments or giving an error if the
   command line wasn't long enough. This switch now takes just two
   arguments as expected like the other -r relationship chart options.

4. -p error: Most of the various progression charts in the program
   were only accurate to the nearest day. For example, the -pn switch to
   show your chart progressed to the current moment, would only be to
   the current date. Standard progressed charts change slowly, but for
   the fast moving Moon this could offset its position by a couple arc
   minutes. Another example, the -Tp progressed to natal aspect
   influence list would only compare from midnight on the day in the
   natal chart instead of the actual chart. (An easy way to see this was
   to do a -rp progressed to natal comparison chart from your natal
   chart to itself, and see the result wasn't your exact chart.) Various
   improvements have been done so all these charts should be exact.

5. -rc bug: Some house cusps in -rc composite charts would be 180
   degrees opposite the expected position when comparing charts with
   nearly opposing house locations. This would only be visible in charts
   where the cusps are treated as objects, e.g. with aspects to them.
   The house lists as used in the -v or -w text charts would be
   corrected appropriately to prevent out of order composite cusps. Now
   both sets are adjusted.

6. Return key bug: Pressing the return key when a graphics chart was
   up, to be able to enter a command line to change settings, and doing
   any -r relationship chart switch, wouldn't work as the new chart
   files specified would not ever get loaded in. The -r switch here now
   will work as well as it does everywhere else.

7. Return key bug: Pressing the return key when a graphics chart was
   up to enter a command line, and displaying the -HO object list table,
   would distort the time and location of the current chart being
   displayed. This would only happen if fixed stars were also active.

8. -M bug: Running a defined -M macro on the command line would
   clobber the currently set chart information with one for the year
   2000. This would only happen on the initial command line and not in
   later command line promptings such as in -Q loops, and only affected
   switches before the start of the macro, e.g. "astrolog -i file -M 1"
   wouldn't do the chart for file, but "astrolog -M 1 -i file" would work.

9. Display bug: The feature of being able to display static help
   tables along with actual charts was broken, e.g. "-H -i file" should
   display the list of switches and then the chart in the file, but
   would only display the switch list in version 4.30 (and 4.20).


#####################  ASTROLOG 4.40 PROGRAM CHANGES  #####################

As with every release, a few changes that aren't feature additions or
bug fixes were made to this version, where certain old assumptions
are no longer valid. A list of these (which aren't useful to be aware
of unless you have used previous versions of the program) follows:

1. New source files: The source code for Astrolog 4.40 contains two
   new files. The file data2.c has been split off from data.c, and the
   file extern.h has been split off from astrolog.h. Also, the file
   placalc2.c is compiled separately, instead of just being #included
   into placalc.c. All this means of course that makefiles from previous
   releases aren't compatible with this version.

2. Sidebar change: The info sidebar in graphic wheel charts, to the
   right of the house cusp positions, now displays the sign glyph of the
   sign the cusp is in, instead of always just the twelve signs in
   order. People seem to prefer the new way and think it more logical.

3. Previous chart change: The initial contents of the "previous"
   chart as accessed with "-i set" has been changed from the
   astrological "chart" of version 4.30 of the program to the release of
   this version 4.40. This chart is now set to the exact time of the
   Aquarius New Moon, specifically for 2:48pm PST (8 hours before GMT) on
   Monday, January 30, 1995 for here in Seattle, WA (122W20, 47N36).


#####################  4.40 COMPILING INSTRUCTIONS  #####################

     Compiling Astrolog version 4.40 is identical to compiling
previous versions: First edit the top of the file astrolog.h,
commenting out any of the #define's which set various features that
aren't valid on your system or you don't want, and changing default
values and directories to your preference. (Just see the
self-explanatory section comments in this file.) Then in the same
manner, also edit these default parameter values in the astrolog.dat
settings file to your liking, at least the location and time zone
values. (I also really recommend turning on the -k Ansi color feature
if your system will support it - text charts look much nicer in color!)

     For Unix systems, just run the command 'make' in the directory
containing the included Makefile. (You can also always compile by
hand: "cc -O -c *.c; cc -o astrolog *.o -lm -lX11" will do it; just
make sure to compile each source file and link them together at the
end with the math library, and if applicable the X11 library.)

     It is possible to compile Astrolog on a VMS system, even with
its X windows functionality. There's an example of a simple VMS .COM
file included which can automatically compile and link Astrolog on
VMS, which should work for version 4.40, although you might need to
include "/noopt" after the CC's since some compilers may cause the
program to pass parameters incorrectly with optimization on.

     Compiling Astrolog on a PC is easy too. One can usually do it by
simply compiling each file in turn and then linking them all
together. In some cases you don't have to worry about explicitly
mentioning things like the math library if your environments are set
up properly. (I used the Microsoft C7 compiler to generate the ready
to run PC executable, but I linked with the improved graphics.lib
included with Microsoft Visual C 1.00 (C8) for the DOS graphics
features.) If you have the nmake utility, the makefile included in
the zip archive will nicely compile and link astrolog 4.40 on a PC,
with properly set options and all. I compiled under the Large memory
model, with 16K bytes of stack space. The default directory for chart
info files, the astrolog.dat file, and the ephemeris files in the
official PC executable are all set to C:\ASTROLOG, although this
location can be overridden with several environment variables if set.
The time and location defaults are set to my own area, but you can
easily override them with your own values in the astrolog.dat file.

     Astrolog 4.40 may be also compiled for DOS using the Borland
Turbo C/C++ compiler. Graphics support works too using the Borland
BGI graphics libraries. If you want to compile in Borland graphics,
uncomment the "#ifdef BGI" line in astrolog.h (instead of the "#ifdef
MSG" for the Microsoft graphics.lib). If you don't want to compile in
graphics, just make sure the "#ifdef PC" line is uncommented (there
are some #ifdef __TURBOC__ lines in the sources to do non-graphical
Borland specific things). To actually compile, use the "makefile.bgi"
makefile, and invoke it with "make /f makefile.bgi" (or rename it to
be just "makefile" and run just "make"). Note that the file
"makefile.cfg" is also needed and is used during compilation by the
main makefile. If you are compiling in graphics, you will need to
have object files for all six of the BGI drivers in the directory you
compile in. To make these files, go into your BGI directory (e.g.
"CD C:\BORLANDC\BGI") and do the command "BGIOBJ /F <file>". Do this
six times, where <file> is "ATT", "CGA", "EGAVGA", "HERC", IBM8514",
and finally "PC3270".

     Compiling Astrolog 4.40 on the Macintosh was described earlier.

--

#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#
+       Walter D. "Cruiser1" Pullen      !      [e-mail]       +
#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#
+   "Who am I, What am I?  As I am, I am not.  But as we are, I AM.  And to   +
#   you my creation, My Perfect Love is your Perfect Freedom. And I will be   #
+   with you forever and ever, until the End, and then forever more." - GOD   +
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