OS/2 Shareware BBS: InfoMgt/InfoMgt.zip/random31.zip/Randomizer.txt

Text File | 2000-05-24 | 4KB | 85 lines

Randomizer v3.1
(c) 2000 by Don K. Eitner

Sections you'll find in this readme file:
 * What is it?
 * How does it work?
 * What's new in this release?
 * How much does it cost?
 * What is it good for?
 * What do I need to run Randomizer?

What is it?

   Randomizer is a collection of Rexx language scripts designed to
   select random items out of a lightweight database.  There is a
   front-end script (Randomizer.cmd) and a back-end script
   (DataInput.cmd) which is the lightweight database.  Randomizer.cmd
   provides a simple interface for selecting one or more items from
   each of the fields you have set up with DataInput.cmd.  The
   determination of whether to select multiple items is based on the
   existence of an added character flag carried on the field name.

How does it work?

   First you run DataInput.cmd with an optional command line
   parameter being the datafile name to create your database file
   with the name you want.  You add field names and items within
   each field.  When finished, select Save. Note that Randomizer
   comes with two basic starter datafiles.

   Now you are ready to run Randomizer.cmd either with or without
   command line parameters.  The possible parameters are /Y or /N,
   telling Randomizer whether or not to run DataInput for you to
   further edit your datafile.  Additionally, since Randomizer
   supports datafiles with any name you give them, there is also
   the /D parameter mentioned above.

   Note that if you are upgrading from Randomizer v2.2 you can
   quickly and easily convert your old style double datafile set
   (RandomData.dat & RandomField.dat) to the Randomizer v3.0 single
   datafile format as RandomData.dat using the Upgrade.cmd file.
   This will, of course, overwrite your existing RandomData.dat but
   will retain all of its data.  You still might want to make a
   backup copy first to be on the safe side.

What's new in this release?

   New in version 3.1 is the ability to have more than 45 fields and
   more than 45 items within each field using basic paging controls.

   Also corrected an issue where DataInput.cmd could crash if you
   pressed Enter while viewing the list of field names.

How much does it cost?

   Randomizer is absolutely free of charge and the source code is
   here for you if you want to modify it for your own uses (but if
   you're in a generous mood, you can always send me a donation to
   say thanks).  :-)

What is it good for?

   Good question!  Randomizer is not warranted to be useful nor to
   be fault-tolerant, so you use it at your own risk.  However my
   hope is that it will be useful in any case where you need to
   pull items randomly out of a 'hat' on multiple subjects.  For
   instance, in creating characters for a novel, you could set up a
   datafile to hold information about hair color, eye color,
   disposition, etc and then randomly select one or more from each
   category using Randomizer.  It may also be useful in scientific
   work involving random events but again there is no warranty so
   please do not put our world at risk with the use of this simple
   program.  :-)

What do I need to run Randomizer?

   To the best of my knowledge, Randomizer will run on any OS/2 system
   which is running IBM's Rexx language interpreter (Warp 3 and Warp 4
   do this by default).  It has been tested and used extensively on my
   OS/2 Warp 4 home PC.

If you have any other questions, suggestions, or want to pay me for my
bizarre work, please feel free to contact me at [e-mail].