╘HE FOLLOWING FILES ═╒╙╘ BE ON YOUR DISK IN ORDER TO RUN ╙TOCK ╨LOT:
╙╨╠╧╘.├╪
╟┬┴╙╔├.$0├33
╟┬┴╙╔├.$├400
╟┬╨╥╔╬╘2
(╘HE CHARACTERS AFTER THE PERIOD ARE A DATE CODE.)
╠OAD AND RUN ╙╨╠╧╘.├╪. ╘HIS WILL INSTALL ─AN ╥OTHWELL'S ╟RAPHICS ┬┴╙╔├ AND THE MACHINE LANGUAGE SCREEN PRINT ROUTINE, AND ╙PLOT WILL BEGIN TO EXECUTE.
╘HERE SHOULD ALSO BE INSTRUCTION FILES ON THE DISK, INCLUDING:
╙╨╠╧╘.─╧├
╙╨╠╧╘.╔╬╞╧
╙╨╠╧╘.╔╬╙╘
╘HERE SHOULD ALSO BE A FILE CALLED "╙╘╧├╦─┴╘┴" WHICH IS A SAMPLE DATA FILE.
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2. ╟ENERAL ╔NSTRUCTIONS
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╙TOCK ╨LOT IS A STOCK CHARTING PROGRAM FOR THE ├OMMODORE 64. ╘HE HIGH, LOW, AND CLOSING PRICES, DAILY VOLUMES, AND AN ADJUSTABLE MOVING AVERAGE IS DRAWN. ╒P TO 13 MONTHS OF DATA CAN BE DISPLAYED. ─ATA FOR THE CHARTS ARE ENTERED IN A TEXT FILE USING A STANDARD TEXT EDITOR WHICH STORES FILES AS ┴╙├╔╔, SUCH AS ┼ASY ╙CRIPT.
╘HE GRAPHS ARE DRAWN ON THE SCREEN OF THE ├OMMODORE 64 USING THE HIGH RESOLUTION DRAWING ROUTINES OF ╟RAPHICS ┬ASIC BY ─AN ╥OTHWELL.
╘HE SCREEN MAY BE PRINTED ON ANY ┼PSON COMPATIBLE PRINTER. ╨RINTERS KNOWN TO BE COMPATIBLE INCLUDE ╟EMINI ╙TAR, ╨ANASONIC, AND ╥ITEMAN, ALTHOUGH THERE MAY BE OTHERS. ╨RINTERS KNOWN TO ╬╧╘ BE COMPATIBLE INCLUDE ├OMMODORE, ╬┼├ AND ├ ╔TOH. ╘HE SCREEN CAN BE PRINTED IN EIGHT DIFFERENT WAYS. ╙CREEN PRINT OPTIONS ARE SELECTED FROM THE POST-GRAPHING MENU.
╙╨╠╧╘.├╪ ADDS THE ABILITY TO STORE THE SCREEN AS A ─OODLE FILE. ╨ROGRAMS ARE AVAILABLE TO PRINT ─OODLE FILES ON MOST PRINTERS. ╘HE ─OODLE SCREEN SAVE THUS MAKES ╙╨╠╧╘ USEFUL TO PEOPLE WITH PRINTERS OTHER THAN THOSE WHICH USE THE ┼PSON COMMAND SET.
┴ SAMPLE DATA FILE IS INCLUDED. ╘HIS DATA FILE SHOULD BE FOLLOWED AS AN EXAMPLE WHEN PREPARING THE CHARTS YOU WANT.
─ATA FILES CAN BE MODIFIED WITH A BUILT-IN FILE EDITOR. ╘HIS IS A SIMPLE LINE EDITOR, BUT IT IS ADEQUATE FOR MINOR EDITING. ╒SE A WORD PROCESSOR FOR MAJOR ALTERATIONS OR DATA ADDITION.
╔T IS RECOMMENDED THAT THE NEW USER PRINT OUT THE SAMPLE CHART AND THIS DOCUMENTATION FILE. ├OMPARING THE RESULTS WITH THE SAMPLE DATA FILES WILL HELP TO EXPLAIN SOME OF THE NOMENCLATURE.
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3. ╘ROUBLESHOOTING
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═OST OF THE PROBLEMS YOU WILL HAVE WITH THIS PROGRAM WILL OCCUR BECAUSE OF INAPPROPRIATE DATA FILES. ╚ERE ARE SOME OF THE MOST COMMON ERRORS:
╘YPE MISMATCH ERROR: ╘HIS MAY OCCUR WHEN YOU TRY TO READ IN A FILE NOT INTENDED FOR USE WITH ╙TOCK ╨LOT.
╙TRING TOO LONG: ═OST LIKELY YOU HAVE TRIED TO WRITE A STRING WHICH WILL NOT FIT ON THE HI-RES SCREEN. ╒SE A SHORTER LABEL.
╔LLEGAL QUANTITY ERROR: ═OST LIKELY YOU HAVE TRIED TO PLOT A POINT WHICH ISN'T ON THE SCREEN. ╘HIS CAN HAPPEN, FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU SET THE TOP OF THE CHART AT 50 AND THEN HAVE A DATA POINT OF 70. ╒SE A HIGHER VALUE FOR TOP OF CHART. ╘HIS ERROR MESSAGE CAN ALSO RESULT FROM A TOO-LONG STRING AS DESCRIBED ABOVE.
╔F YOU RUN INTO A PROBLEM WHILE THE GRAPH IS BEING DRAWN, IMMEDIATELY TYPE "╥╒╬ 2000", AND SELECT THE "POST GRAPH" OPTION FROM THE MAIN MENU. ╘HEN SELECT THE "VIEW GRAPH" OPTION. ┬Y LOOKING AT THE LAST PORTION OF THE GRAPH DRAWN, YOU CAN TELL WHERE IN THE DATA FILE THE PROBLEM OCCURRED.
╞OR ╙TOCK ╨LOT TO WORK CORRECTLY, EACH LINE IN THE PRICE PART OF THE DATA FILE MUST BEGIN WITH A PERIOD. ╘HE STRUCTURE OF THE SAMPLE FILE MUST BE MAINTAINED, AND PRICE DATA MUST BE ENTERED IN EIGHTS, NOT TENTHS. (╘HIS IS EXPLAINED IN SECTION 4 OF THESE INSTRUCTIONS.) ╔F THE INSTRUCTIONS ARE NOT FOLLOWED, ╔ REALLY DON'T KNOW WHAT CRAZY THINGS MIGHT HAPPEN.
╔F YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT ╙TOCK ╨LOT OR NEED ADDITIONAL HELP, ╔ CAN BE CONTACTED ON THE ─ELPHI COMPUTER NETWORK IN THE ═ICRO ┴RTIST (═┴╬╔┴├) ╙╔╟. ╠EAVE ┼MAIL FOR ┬╧┬╚╒╞╞ OR POST A MESSAGE IN ═ANIAC ╞ORUM. ╔ WILL BE GLAD TO HELP YOU ANY WAY ╔ CAN.
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4. ─ATA ╞ILES
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╘HE FOLLOWING IS A SAMPLE DATA FILE. ╔T IS A SHORTENED VERSION OF THE SAMPLE FILE ON THE DISK:
╬╔╨╙├╧ ╙TOCK ─ATA 1986-87
14 ═AXIMUM PRICE
9 ═INIMUM PRICE
5000 ╓OLUME ═AXIMUM
2 ┬AR SPACING
30 ═OVING AVERAGE PERIOD
═O ─A --╓OL. -╚IGH --╠OW ├LOSE -├HA.
. 8 1 702 11.0 10.7 11.0 ---
. 8 4 1437 11.1 10.7 10.7 -.1
. 8 5 917 11.1 10.7 10.7 ---
. 8 6 1717 11.0 10.6 10.6 -.1
. 8 7 730 10.7 10.5 10.5 -.1
. 8 8 2657 10.6 10.4 10.4 -.1
. 8 11 1020 10.4 10.2 10.4 ---
. 8 12 1284 10.6 10.4 10.5 +.1
╔T IS RECOMMENDED THAT YOU LOAD THE SAMPLE FILE INTO YOUR WORD PROCESSOR AND EDIT IT TO REFLECT THE STOCK YOU WANT TO CHART. ╔T IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU FOLLOW THIS FORMAT EXACTLY. ╘HE PROGRAM EXPECTS TO FIND DATA IN A CERTAIN PLACE, AND WILL FAIL IF IT ISN'T THERE.
╘HE ╞╔╥╙╘ LINE IS A TITLE LINE. ╘HIS WILL BE PRINTED AT THE TOP OF THE CHART. ╔T WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY CENTERED.
╘HE ╙┼├╧╬─ LINE IS THE MAXIMUM PRICE. ╙ET THIS SLIGHTLY HIGHER THAN THE HIGHEST VALUE IN YOUR DATA FILE.
╘HE ╘╚╔╥─ LINE IS THE MINIMUM PRICE. ╙ET THIS VALUE SLIGHTLY LOWER THAT THE LOWEST VALUE IN YOUR DATA FILE.
╘HE ╞╧╒╥╘╚ SETS THE MAXIMUM VOLUME. ╘HIS VALUE SHOULD BE SET AT A VOLUME WHICH IS FAIRLY HIGH FOR THE STOCK, BUT DOES NOT NEED TO BE HIGHER THAN THE HIGHEST VALUE. ┼XTREMELY LARGE VOLUMES WILL EXTEND INTO THE AREA NORMALLY USED FOR THE STOCK PRICE.
╘HE ╞╔╞╘╚ VALUE IS THE BAR SPACING. ╘HE VERTICAL LINES WILL BE DRAWN THIS MANY PIXELS APART. ╬ORMAL VALUES ARE 1, 2, OR 3. ╔F THE BAR SPACING IS SET AT 3, ABOUT 4 MONTHS OF DATA CAN BE CHARTED. ╔F IT IS SET TO 2, ABOUT 7 MONTHS OF DATA CAN BE CHARTED. ╔F IT IS SET TO 1, ABOUT 13 MONTHS OF DATA CAN BE CHARTED. ╔N THIS CASE, HOWEVER, ONLY THE HIGH, LOW AND VOLUME ARE SHOWN FOR EACH DAY. ╘HE MOVING AVERAGE AND THE CLOSING PRICES CANNOT BE SHOWN. ╒SUALLY, SETTING THE BAR SPACING TO 2 IS THE BEST COMPROMISE.
╘HE ╙╔╪╘╚ LINE SETS THE MOVING AVERAGE VALUE. ╘HE PROGRAM CALCULATES THE AVERAGE OF THE CLOSING PRICE FOR THIS MANY TRADING SESSIONS. ╘HE MOVING AVERAGE IS A KIND OF TREND LINE. ╘HE HIGHER THE VALUE, THE LONGER THE TREND. ╙OME STOCK TRADERS THINK THERE IS SPECIAL SIGNIFICANCE WHEN THE CURRENT PRICE CROSSES THE MOVING AVERAGE LINE FOR A PARTICULAR PERIOD. ╔T IS ALSO INTERESTING TO OBSERVE THAT THE MOVING AVERAGE FOR DIFFERENT PERIODS MAY BE MOVING IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS. ╞OR EXAMPLE, THE 120 DAY AVERAGE IS MOVING UP WHILE THE 90 DAY AVERAGE IS MOVING DOWN. ╘HE MOVING AVERAGE VALUE IS DISPLAYED ON THE SCREEN IN THE LOWER RIGHT CORNER OF THE PRICE CHARTING AREA. ╔T IS IMPORTANT TO KNOW THE MOVING AVERAGE PERIOD WHEN INTERPRETING THE GRAPH. ╔F THIS INTERFERES WITH THE PRICE CHART, DECREASE THE MINIMUM PRICE VALUE.
╘HE ╙┼╓┼╬╘╚ LINE IS A GUIDE LINE. ╔T IS IGNORED BY THE PROGRAM, BUT IT IS THERE TO HELP YOU KEEP THE REST OF THE FILE LINED UP.
╘HE REST OF THE DATA FILE CONSISTS OF LINES SET UP LIKE THIS:
.DD MM VVVVVV HHHHH LLLLL CCCCC +++++
╫HERE "DD" IS THE DAY, "MM" IS THE MONTH, "VVVVVV" IS THE VOLUME, "HHHHH" IS THE HIGH PRICE FOR THE DAY, "LLLLL" IS THE LOW PRICE FOR THE DAY, "CCCCC" IS THE CLOSING PRICE FOR THE DAY, AND "+++++" IS THE CHANGE. ╘HIS PATTERN MUST BE FOLLOWED EXACTLY FOR THE PROGRAM TO WORK. ╘HE DAY-TO-DAY CHANGE ISN'T USED BY THE PROGRAM, BUT IT IS HELPFUL TO HAVE IT TO VERIFY THE ACCURACY OF YOUR DATA.
***** ╔═╨╧╥╘┴╬╘ ╬╧╘┼ #1 *****
┬E SURE TO START EACH LINE WITH A PERIOD. ╘HIS WAY, THE PROGRAM CAN READ THE FILES ACCURATELY USING THE ┬┴╙╔├ "╔╬╨╒╘" ROUTINE WHICH IS MUCH FASTER THAN THE "╟┼╘" ROUTINE.
***** ╔═╨╧╥╘┴╬╘ ╬╧╘┼ # 2 *****
╘HE PRICES ARE ENTERED IN ┼╔╟╚╘╚╙, NOT TENTHS. ╔N OTHER WORDS, 10.4 MEANS 10 1/2, 10.5 MEANS 10 5/8, 10.6 MEANS 10 3/4, ETC. ╘HIS TECHNIQUE SAVES DISK SPACE, IT MAKES THE PROGRAM RUN FASTER, AND IT IS EASIER TO EDIT ON THE 40 COLUMN SCREEN OF THE ├OMMODORE 64. ╧NCE YOU GET USE TO THINKING IN TERMS OF EIGHTS, IT IS REALLY QUITE EASY TO EDIT DATA THIS WAY.
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5. ╚INTS AND ╘IPS
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1. ╫HEN YOUR ARE DEVELOPING A CHART, YOU MAY WISH TO SEE WHAT THE CHART LOOKS LIKE WITH DIFFERENT VALUES OF MAXIMUM PRICE, MINIMUM PRICE, MOVING AVERAGE, BAR SPACING, OR MAXIMUM VOLUME. ┘OU CAN DO THIS WITHOUT EDITING THE DATA FILE BY TEMPORARILY MODIFYING THE PROGRAM. ╘HERE IS A SECTION OF THE PROGRAM AT LINE 3050 WHERE THIS SHOULD BE DONE. ╘HE VARIABLES ARE AS FOLLOWS:
═AXIMUM PRICE: PT
═INIMUM PRICE: PB
═AXIMUM VOLUME: VT
┬AR SPACING: BS
═OVING AVERAGE: MA
╞OR EXAMPLE, ╔F THE BAR SPACING IS SET IN YOUR DATA FILE AT 2, AND YOU WANT TO SEE WHAT THE GRAPH LOOKS LIKE WITH A BAR SPACING OF 1, EXIT THE PROGRAM AND ENTER THE FOLLOWING LINE:
3050 BS=1
╘HEN RUN THE PROGRAM AGAIN. ╘HIS FEATURE IS ESPECIALLY USEFUL WHEN YOU WANT TO LOOK AT SEVERAL DIFFERENT MOVING AVERAGE VALUES FOR THE SAME DATA FILE.
2. ╫HEN YOU ARE BEGINNING A DATA FILE, THE MOVING AVERAGE WON'T SHOW UNTIL YOU HAVE MORE DATA POINTS THAN THE VALUE TO WHICH THE MOVING AVERAGE IS SET. ┘OU CAN'T GET AN AVERAGE OF THE LAST 30 VALUES WHEN YOU ONLY HAVE 20 VALUES IN THE DATA FILE.
3. ╫HEN YOU HAVE A VERY LARGE DATA FILE, THE PROGRAM MAY PAUSE WHILE READING THE FILE INTO MEMORY. ╘HIS IS A RESULT OF THE INFAMOUS "GARBAGE COLLECT" ROUTINE OF ┬┴╙╔├. ╔T'S NORMAL. ┬E PATIENT AND THE PROGRAM WILL CONTINUE. ┴LSO, WHEN YOU HAVE A LARGE DATA FILE, THERE WILL BE A DELAY WHILE THE PROGRAM PROCESSES DATA WHICH IS TOO OLD TO PLOT, BUT IT STILL HAS TO DO THE MATH ROUTINES TO KEEP TRACK OF THE MOVING AVERAGE.
4. ╠INE 1560 SETS THE DEFAULT FILE NAME. ╔F YOU WANT THE DEFAULT DATA FILE NAME TO BE SOMETHING OTHER THAN "STOCKDATA", SIMPLY EDIT THIS LINE TO THE FILE NAME YOU WANT.
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6. ╨ROGRAM ╔NFORMATION
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╙TOCK ╨LOT WAS WRITTEN BY:
┬OB ╚UFFMAN
9607 ─OGWOOD ╠ANE
═UNSTER, ╔NDIANA 46321
╔ HEREBY CLAIM AND RETAIN THE COPYRIGHT TO ╙TOCK ╨LOT. ╔T USES THE HIGH RESOLUTION DRAWING ROUTINE OF ╟RAPHICS ┬┴╙╔├, WRITTEN BY:
─AN ╥OTHWELL
1911 ╙TEWART ┴VENUE
╠AWRENCE, ╦╙ 66046
╘HIS PROGRAM IS RELEASED TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC. ╒SERS ARE HEREBY GRANTED THE RIGHT TO USE AND DISTRIBUTE THE SOFTWARE FREELY. ─ONATIONS TO THE AUTHORS ARE, OF COURSE, WELCOME AND WILL ENCOURAGE ENHANCEMENTS TO ╙TOCK ╨LOT AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF MORE FREE SOFTWARE.
