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Text File | 1987-08-31 | 16KB | 292 lines

* * * G E O - C H R O N * * Version 1.0 * * * * (C)opyright 1986 * * All Rights Reserved * * * * GeoGraphics Software * * 126 Mountain View Road * * Glastonbury, CT 06033 * *----------------------------------------------------------* * GeoChron is user-supported software provided to * * you at no charge on a trial basis. If you use this * * software and find it of value please register your * * copy for $15.00 and support the shareware concept. * * Registered users will be provided with information * * about program updates. Please make checks payable * * to G. K. Marek at the above address. * * * * You are encouraged to share this software with * * others provided that it is distributed complete * * with documentation and in unmodified form and * * that no fee or other consideration is charged or * * accepted. All commercial, business and government * * users must register each copy in use. * * * * We hope you enjoy using GeoChron. Your comments and * * suggestions to improve this product are always welcome. * ************************************************************ PROGRAM DESCRIPTION GeoChron is a program which tracks and displays the local time in as many as 43 cities all around the globe. Unlike other programs of this type, GeoChron accounts not only for time zone effects but also for daylight savings time at each city. Information is provided on a full-screen color non- graphics display. Windows and menu-driven commands are used for program modifications. Program options provide users with the ability to tailor the display for their specific needs. As many or as few cities as desired can be displayed. Military or 12 hour clock can be selected and the layout of the world map can be varied to suit the user. Additional program features include time zone differences and great circle distances between cities and a special alarm feature which can be set for any world city time. HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS This program is designed for IBM Personal Computers and close compatibles. It will execute on the IBM-PC, PC-XT, and PC-jr. DOS Version 2.1 or later is required. GeoChron does not require an internal clock and will accept the time set by you during DOS boot-up. Of course, the use of the internal clock will allow for automatic timekeeping. Since the program relies extensively on color, a color monitor is recommended. The program will run, however, unmodified, on the Compaq. GeoChron requires about 64K of memory and does not require BASIC to operate. PROGRAM FILES GC.EXE executable program module GC.DAT default settings and cities information GC.DOC documentation file (ASCII); (this file) The first two files must reside on the current directory or path for the program to be accessible. None of these files is copy-protected. GeoChron is executed from the current directory or path with this command at the DOS prompt: GC There are no optional arguments. PROGRAM START-UP Upon execution, GeoChron will load from the current directory and access the GC.DAT data file to load current settings and cities information. Once the program and data are loaded, the program no longer requires these files unless a new configuration is filed to disk for future use. The program is virtually self-explanatory and uses menus extensively. The program will load into [AutoTime] mode incorporating the default values and cities information in GC.DAT at time of execution. GENERAL PROGRAM FEATURES GeoChron generates a stylized world map with cities indicated by three letter codes. The map is divided into 24 time zones each of which is further divided into three twenty-minute segments. One timezone, normally the one you are in, is specially designated as the "local" timezone. The local timezone (initially set by the program defaults to New York) is indicated on the top scale by a magenta symbol. Time and date details about the local time zone as indicated in the center of the black area below the world map. The local time indication is standard time if it is shown in yellow and daylight savings time if it is shown in brown. The black background on the map itself indicates the portion of the globe between 6PM and 6AM (that is, approximately "nighttime") and moves with the time in twenty minute intervals. A gray band will appear momentarily around the display border while the map is being updated. Cities are indicated on the map in bright yellow if they are presently on standard time and in brown if they are presently on daylight savings time. HOUR-DAY SCALE Across the bottom of the world map is an hour-day scale with some features in white and some in yellow. The white (upper) scale indicates the STANDARD time in that particular world zone. One point on this top scale is the yellow letter M which represents midnight; N indicates noon. The lower scale, in yellow, is in the form: << Sun | Sat >> and is used to determine the day of the week for any time zone. The symbol | represents the International Date Line in the central Pacific Ocean. From this symbol to the left (west), it is Sunday until the M (midnight) symbol is encountered on the scale above. It is Saturday toward the east until the M symbol. Of course, the scale wraps at the left and right edges of the map. A WORD ABOUT TIME SYSTEMS GeoChron displays time using the standard US AM/PM 12 Hour Clock and the International (or Military) 24 Hour Clock. For simplicity, all INPUTS to GeoChron must be IN 24 hour clock format hh:mm (the same as DOS). The ACTUAL local time (whether daylight or standard) should be input and GeoChron will take care of the rest. If you have an internal computer clock, you must set it forward and back during switches between daylight and standard time just as you do with your other clocks. Some computers have clocks that lose the seconds when time is reset. For example, the time 10:15:53 would be set to 10:15:00 and 53 seconds would be lost. In these cases time adjustments should be made just after the minute has turned to minimize time loss effect. PROGRAM FEATURES GeoChron incorporates a number of special features and options which are explained below. These features are accessed by selecting the letter [F] from the [AutoTime] mode. Some features require that a particular world city be identified. Each city has been assigned a three letter abbreviation. City codes must be referred to in CAPITAL letters (NYC, not nyc) to be recognized by the program. ALARM The GeoChron alarm can be set for a specific time in a specific world city. This could be the local time or the time in a foreign location. For example, assume that you are in New York. You can set the clock to ring when it is 7PM (1900) in Paris without having to compute time differences simply by indicating PAR and 1900 when the alarm is set. GeoChron keeps track of the timezones and any savings time that might be in effect at either city. Activating the alarm will illuminate a note in the lower left corner of the screen. The alarm will ring at the appropriate time, chiming every five seconds for one minute or until any key is selected to stop it. The alarm will be turned off once it has rung and will have to be activated again even to ring again at the same time on the next day. The command [Activate] will engage the alarm with the current settings unchanged. The [LOC] city code can be used for local time alarm. Be sure to input the alarm time in HHMM format, two digits for the hours and two for the minutes using a 24 Hour clock. TIMEZONES The [TimeZones] feature allows you to check the number of hours (timezones) any city is ahead or behind any other. A base zone is initially set to the local city but can be moved to any other city, one zone at a time, with the [W]est or [E]ast keys. DISTANCES GeoChron can also compute the distance between any of the cities in the program database (not just those shown on the map). A listing of cities can be selected. The distance shown is the "great circle distance," which is the shortest distance between the two points on a globe. This distance is provided in statute miles (ordinary measure) or in nautical miles, a system used extensively in aviation. One nautical mile is about 1.152 statute miles. TIMESET/DATESET Times and dates must be valid and follow the format specified. Dates cannot precede 1980 since DOS will not recognize any date before 1-Jan-1980. Since the Local Time display also computes the day-of-the-week, this feature will allow the determination of the day-of-the-week on which some future date will occur, such as a birthday or Christmas. MAPSHIFT The displayed map can be centered on the US, on Europe, or on the Far East with this option. There is no effect on the time. 12/24 HOUR SELECTION The times displayed with the cities on the map can be presented in either US 12/Hr format or Intl 24/Hr format using this option. LOCALZONE Any city in the GeoChron city list can be designated the Local time city. The Local Time strip in the black area below the map will take on the attributes of this designated city and the LocalZone marker on the top scale will move. When a new LocalZone is selected the times in all cities remain unchanged. Only the alarm, local time strip and other features using the local time are affected. HELP COMMAND A Help Screen with a Brief description of these features is available in a window within the [Settings] option of the program. FILE COMMAND When you have chosen a configuration of features and cities that you prefer, they can be saved to the GC.DAT file and subsequently automatically loaded with the program. Any changes made in program features or options will be in effect only for the remainder of the current session unless they are saved with the [File] command. Once a new configuration is saved (in file GC.DAT) the previous configuration is lost. Be sure you have saved a backup copy of the original program and data files in case you want to start over or reinstate the original options. A file called GCDAT.BAK is provided as a backup duplicate of the GC.DAT file. Ensure that the file containing the information you want displayed is called GC.DAT. CITIES COMMAND The [Cities] settings command allows the user to see and change the attributes of the cities provided in the GeoChron database. For example, any city can be excluded or included from the map display. The following information about each city is displayed and can be altered as indicated. CODE - The city code is a three letter designation in capital letters. Any code except LOC and XXX can be selected. This code is used to identify the city on the map and to select and save city features. INCLUDE/EXCLUDE - If this parameter is set to INCL, the city is included in the map display; if EXCL is selected, the city will not be displayed. The [List] command will provide a list of all of the cities in the GeoChron database, indicating whether or not they are included in the display. Although the default settings do NOT include all of the cities, all cities are designed to fit on the display map without overlap (although leaving a somewhat cluttered appearance). ZONE - The zone parameter represents the number of timezones east (positive) or west (negative) of the Prime Meridian (Greenwich, England) that the subject city lies. For example New York Zone is -5.0 and Paris is 1.0. Some cities are in timezones which are not an exact integer number of hours from GMT (Greenwich Mean Time). Bombay, India, for example, is 5 and one-half hours ahead of GMT. Its zone is indicated as 5.30, with the 30 indicating 30 minutes more advance than five hours. The zone parameter is for information purposes and cannot ordinarily be changed. DAYLIGHT This parameter is either 1 (if Daylight Savings Time is ever applicable to this city) or 0 (if is not). START This is a four digit value which indicates the month and day that is the first day of daylight savings time. It is specified in the form MMDD, so 0531 would mean May 31st is the first day of daylight savings time. DD can be specified as 00 to indicate that the day should be the last Sunday of that particular month; for example 0400 would mean that daylight savings time should start the last Sunday of April. END This value indicates the LAST day of daylight savings time. Otherwise, the comments indicated above for START apply. Note that it is possible for the END date to precede the START date when summer comes in the months of December, January and February as it does in the Southern hemisphere.