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BRUCE509.DOC 1 Revised: 09/11/95
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Contact information
For the following routines: AV, BFIND, COPSINCE, DATES, DIRCOMP, DIRTOTAL,
FILL, FIXTEXT, FORTUNE, PAGINATE, READINIT, and READMAKE-created files:
Bruce Guthrie
Wayne Software
113 Sheffield St.
Silver Spring, MD 20910
fax: (301) 588-8986
For the following routines: CHANGE, CONVERT, FILUPDAT, ISAMFIND/ISAMMAKE, READ,
READY, and SPLITREC:
Bruce Guthrie
Room H-4885
U.S. Dept of Commerce/ESA/STAT-USA
Washington, DC 20230
fax: (202) 482-2164
voice: (202) 482-3234
E-Mail: bguthrie@doc.gov
Foreign users: Please provide an Internet-reachable e-mail address in all
correspondence if you have any hope of getting a reply! Internet e-mail is the
preferred method of contact for all other users as well. America On-Line,
CompuServe, and Prodigy all offer Internet e-mail access so get with it!
Since these programs are typically "freeware" (with the exception of people
trying to make money from them instead of me), they generate maybe $100/year in
revenue for me. As such, my ability to afford wonderful customer support is
somewhat restricted. Please do not leave messages saying "Call me long
distance". Also, please be specific about what problems you encounter and
include command-line inputs as well as any control or INI files that you're
using.
The "production" releases of these programs are posted directly by me (Bruce
Guthrie, the author) on the Simtel ftp site at ftp.coast.net. More information
about locations at this site is provided later. People are encouraged to upload
them to bulletin board systems but I do not upload them to BBS's myself.
Standard disclaimer in this society: Wayne Software disclaims all warranties as
to this software, whether express or implied, including without limitation any
implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose,
functionality, data integrity or protection.
BRUCE509.DOC 2 Revised: 09/11/95
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Introduction
This documentation provides some overview information on a number of utilities
that have been posted by Wayne Software. All programs described herein were
written by Bruce Guthrie. Most are distributed with a Wayne Software copyright.
Others were written for the U.S. Department of Commerce. All are free for use
provided relevant documentation is kept with the programs, no changes are made
to the programs or documentation, and they are not bundled with commercial
programs or charged for separately.
CHANGE, CONVERT, FILUPDAT, ISAMFIND/ISAMMAKE, READ, and SPLITREC are excluded
from the commercial-packaging restriction. These programs are owned by the U.S.
Department of Commerce and may be re-distributed without restriction.
People who need to bundle AV, BFIND, COPSINCE, DATES, DIRCOMP, DIRTOTAL, FILL,
FIXTEXT, FORTUNE, PAGINATE, READINIT, or READMAKE files in commercial packages
other than shareware/freeware collections must pay a $50 registration fee to
"Wayne Software" at the following address. READMAKE-created files are also
subject to this limitation. I don't expect to make any money from these
utilities but I don't want others to sell them instead.
This collection of utilities were compiled using Microsoft's Visual BASIC for
DOS 1.0 compiler. In each case, Thomas G. Hanlin III's excellent PBClone
routines, release 2.3, provided additional functionality. Since Tom has
announced that he will be dropping support for his PBClone routines to allow
himself to spend time on a real life, future directions for my routines is
uncertain. The basic routines should be able to be maintained indefinitely;
we'll see. I keep thinking that I should be doing Windows programming but it's
hard to get psyched up for that when you think of Windows as a computer virus.
Each of the utilities are separately described in a like-named *.DOC file. This
documentation (BRUCEymm.DOC--the file release date is indicated by the "ymm"
parameter) serves to summarize the various utilities.
Most of the routines have defaults that can altered by using initialization
files (inifiles). These are described in the appropriate documentation. (One
thing about *.INI files; if you don't have one, it's in your interests to
specify the "/-I" parameter. Otherwise, the program searches your entire DOS
path looking for the file.)
Wayne Software also writes programs, batch files, and sets up menu systems for
people on a for-fee basis. If you desire this service, contact Wayne Software
at the address specified above.
BRUCE509.DOC 3 Revised: 09/11/95
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The programs themselves
The utilities are uploaded with a ZIP name that includes the year and month of
the release in a "ymm" format ("409" is September 1994 version). The files are
posted directly by the author to the Simtel archives at ftp.coast.net and are
available via anonymous ftp through that site. Users are encouraged to post the
files on bulletin boards and such but, again, the author directly posts only to
the Simtel archives.
If you're using a version of the programs that's more than a year old, it's
almost always the case that there's a newer version. Please check the ftp site
for an update. Alternatively, send $10 made out to "Wayne Software" to the
Wayne Software address above and I'll send you everything on diskette. (If you
need anything other than 3.5" high density, specify that too please.)
The current version of each program is documented below. In addition, the
Simtel subdirectory name, the Simtel one-line description, and the regular short
file description (from the *.DIZ file) are provided for each of the programs.
This listing is current as of the September 1995 (509) release.
SimTel/msdos/arcutil/
av509.zip Archive view: Free ZIP etc directory viewer
AV.EXE: Archive directory viewer. Presents list of files in archive (ZIP, ARC,
etc) and lets you sort as desired. Also allows resetting of the file date based
on the archive's contents.
SimTel/msdos/textutil/
bfind501.zip Boolean FIND command (BFIND BEGIN & END)
BFIND.EXE: Allows Boolean-type FIND requests. For example, find any line with
one string AND another one, or any line with one string OR another.
SimTel/msdos/textutil/
chang509.zip Change strings in text files
CHANGE.EXE: Processes change commands in files. Files can be of any size and
type (e.g. binary or text) and are processed quickly. Up to thirty change
commands can be processed in a single pass. Also provides ability to remove
trailing spaces from text files.
SimTel/msdos/spredsht/
convr505.zip Convert dBase, ASCII-delim, fixed, 1-2-3
CONVERT.EXE and SPLITREC.EXE: Converts between data formats: FROM dBase,
ASCII-delimited (typically commas between fields and quotes around strings), and
fixed field TO Lotus WKS, ASCII-delimited, dBase, and fixed field. Additional
SPLITREC program is primarily intended for handling mainframe-derived data sets
(which don't use CR/LF to indicate records), typically copied to the PC from a
tape; splits up the logical records into physical records.
SimTel/msdos/dirutil/
cops509.zip Copies files modified since given date
COPSINCE.EXE: Copies all files modified since a given date. Primarily used for
making sure you have a back-up of stuff and also to copy updated programs to
BRUCE509.DOC 4 Revised: 09/11/95
another place. Lets you define your own groupings of files if desired.
SimTel/msdos/batutil/
dates507.zip Warns you in advance of birthdays etc
DATES.EXE: Program that warns you in advance when an event like a birthday,
anniversary, or holiday is coming up. The idea is to give you advance warning
so you can send a card or get out of town in time.
SimTel/msdos/dirutil/
dirco509.zip Updates files based on source directory
DIRCOMP.EXE: Similar in some ways to DOS's REPLACE command but adds ability to
delete extra files in the destination subdirectory, copy hidden and system
files, and prepare a report showing inconsistencies. Is frequently used by
network administrators to update workstation files.
SimTel/msdos/dirutil/
dirto505.zip Directory lister and totaller
DIRTOTAL.EXE: Prepares report showing files in subdirectory or drive. Allows
some restriction requests (show only files with date greater than a certain
value). Similar to Norton's FF and Ray Van Tassle's WIZ command (which is a
great program but it doesn't work on network or CD-ROM discs) in some ways but
presents a more formal report. Also allows you to look for duplicate file names
and search by attributes or dates.
SimTel/msdos/diskutil/
fill506.zip Stuffs as many files as possible on disk
FILL.EXE: Program designed to move files off to floppy diskettes, taking the
biggest files first and skipping those that won't fit. Also provides option of
splitting large files up, creating a status report, and other features.
SimTel/msdos/dirutil/
filup503.zip Copy updated files based on a control list
FILUPDAT.EXE: Program which compares a selected list of files in a source path
against those in another path and copies those that have been updated. Similar
to DOS' REPLACE command but works from a stored list of files and can handle any
number of directories.
SimTel/msdos/textutil/
fixtx509.zip Translate text file characters en masse
FIXTEXT.EXE: Program which applies a user-definable character-translation table
to a text file. Can allow you to convert graphics characters to their ASCII
equivalents, lowercase letters to uppercase letter, etc. Can also be used to
translate DOS text files to Mac or Unix text files and vice versa. Can also
expand tabs, remove trailing spaces, and remove backspaces.
SimTel/msdos/batutil/
fortn411.zip Fine-tunes DOS FOR command w/options
FORTUNE.EXE: A tuner-upper for the DOS FOR command. Generates a batch file
which does all those wildcard things you wished FOR could do (like "FORTUNE IN
(*.BAS) DO RENAME %A %2*.*" to remove parts of file names). Lets you do all
sorts of things including distinguishing file name roots from their extensions
BRUCE509.DOC 5 Revised: 09/11/95
as well as incrementing file names by specified values.
SimTel/msdos/textutil/
isamf509.zip Full-text searching help desk documents
ISAMFIND.EXE and ISAMMAKE.EXE: Programs that work in conjunction to provide
full-text searching of text files. This is useful for helpdesk applications and
other functions where you want to search for files and retrieve the "best"
document that matches your search criteria.
SimTel/msdos/textutil/
pagin509.zip Paginates text (headers, indexes, sorting...)
PAGINATE.EXE: Reformats text files with imbedded formatting codes. Handles
things like titles, footers, indexes, alignment, justification, multicolumn
listings, etc. Also provides support for imbedding tabular data in
ASCII-delimited or dBase formats which can be imbedded and/or sorted in your
reports.
SimTel/msdos/textutil/
read509.zip Free viewer, also make any text self-viewing
READ.EXE, READY.EXE, READINIT.EXE, and READMAKE.EXE: Text file browsing
utilities. READ--Supports marking, copying text, reading Unix and Mac text
files, etc. Handles with files of 16,000 lines or less (approx 800,000 bytes).
READY--truncates or wraps lines over 80 characters in length but handles files
of an unlimited number of lines. READMAKE--Takes an ASCII-text file and makes
it self-viewable (using a READ clone).
BRUCE509.DOC 6 Revised: 09/11/95
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Revision history
Detailed revision histories for the programs are only maintained for the last
three releases. After that, you get the major revision summaries only for the
next three releases. After that, you get almost nothing. No one reads this
junk anyway, right? Programmer types like to put in it in just to justify what
they've been doing over the last couple of years.
-------------- (full detail; revisions made 1 to 3 months ago)
Release 95/09:
All programs: Switched documentation to include page headers, full
justification, etc. I'm using the PAGINATE command (which has never gotten
the attention I thought it deserved) for all of the documentation now. Was
relatively easy to implement too!
AV: Fixed a number of bugs related to being in non-page (/-P) mode. Also
fixed up a bug which ignored the "Q" (quit) option.
CHANGE: Added wildcard specs for the input file.
COPSINCE: Maintenance release. Been over a year since it came out and a
number of things have been modified in terms of documentation and *.INI files.
DIRCOMP: Made screen colors configurable.
FIXTEXT: Maintenance release. Been over a year since it came out and a
number of things have been modified in terms of documentation and *.INI files.
ISAMFIND/ISAMMAKE: Made the /Fcorename parameter optional in ISAMMAKE;
defaults to something based on the /Cctlfile parameter. Dropped support for
input formats (FI=format string) and renamed output formats (FO=format string)
to be just F=format string. Dropped support for /STOP and /CONT parms in
ISAMMAKE. Completely changed the documentation for ISAMMAKE so it now actually
makes some sense. Added support for combining files to be processed in a
single file using a /SPLIT=splitstring parameter when the file is read; you
can combine a thousand files as one and just have something like </TITLE>
separating them. Changed a number of defaults. Added support for showing
either the filename or the first line instead of a filled-in file description.
Added /VP1=parms and /VP2=parms to the ISAMFIND command; allowing you to pass
in the desired viewing parameters. Some tinkering with colors and status
indicators. Several changes made in the READY.EXE program were to accomodate
changes in the ISAMFIND program.
PAGINATE: Added support for the output file name in titles, footers, etc.
Also allowed the replacement fields in titles, footers, etc to be a specific
field width to insure that they end up more uniformly presented. Fixed up
bugs with the /-HTML command.
READ: Modified program so Alt-xxx keys work for searching just in case you
want to search for non-ASCII characters. Fixed some problems with searching
for short (1 character or less) strings in reverse. Fixed a lock-up that
happened when you asked for "next" search and there wasn't anything to search
for yet. Allowed the program to read a file called "HELP" (used to bring up /?
help).
READY: Added line processing ranges (e.g. only read the first 100 lines).
BRUCE509.DOC 7 Revised: 09/11/95
Added /AFTERP=string and /AFTERF=string options. Fixed a bug when doing
"next" search when no previous search was specified. Fixed bug which
prevented the program from finding the text in the first line.
Release 95/07:
All programs: Now allow the *.INI files to be combined into one file with
named blocks. This lets you avoid having multiple *.INI files all over the
place. They also all recognize a SET BG=filespec environmental parameter which
lets you define the *.INI file once and be done with it.
All programs that allowed &Hxx codes: Changed the way that these were
detected by the programs. The subroutine's a little more efficient now and
the subroutine now figures that the hex codes end with the first pair of
characters that don't match the list of valid hex codes. So "&H00Go" will
take the first four characters as being \000 and then "Go" will be there. In
keeping with the older version, the first space after a hex code will be
dropped by the routine (presumed to be a delimiter only). Also note that any
occurence of "&H" will disappear from your strings; use &\072 or something if
you really need that string.
AV: Kept running into system maximums with the program so switched to using
ISAM files to store file members. As a result, can handle archives of any
size but it's slower. Added sorting option for path plus file name. Also
added the ability to specify a filter so only members with certain strings in
their member names will show up.
DATES: Added the ability to include imbedded decimal codes in the file. This
is primarily of use if you want multi-line items to be displayed. It can also
be used to alter the color of the line within the line itself. There's an
example in the documentation using this technique to draw a (crappy) little US
flag for patriotic events. Added the ability to have a day repeat each month
such as "XX/10/XX Mortgage due".
DIRCOMP: Program was ignoring /ATTR=xxx requests. Modified program so a
detailed summary report shows up on the screen (not just in the status file).
Also added support for *.INI files. (The whole time I was doing this, I was
reminded of the fact that I had dropped this program a couple of years ago
because I didn't think anyone would find a use for it.)
ISAMMAKE/ISAMFIND: Lots of debugging done. Changed ISAMFIND so it would
prompt you for more search words if none provided. Fixed a problem which
prevented the program from running correctly if you didn't have EMS. Added
READY.EXE to the ZIP file and switched it to be the default text viewer. This
works well with the fact that READY supports text highlighting now. This
change required that the /READ and /-READ parameters be dropped; a new /-VIEW
option have been added instead.
PAGINATE: Didn't work if you didn't have EMS. Also fixed a problem which
caused an overflow stack error if you ran the demo.
READ and READMAKE: Made it so you could leave off color settings after you
set the number of them you want to change. For example, "/COLOR=150" will
change the text color but leave the others as they were.
READMAKE: Fixed a bug which sometimes gave you "permission denied" errors
when trying to view the help screen.
BRUCE509.DOC 8 Revised: 09/11/95
READY: Added tab expansion. For long lines, added /TRUNCATE, /SPLIT, /WRAP,
and /INDENT=n options. Added ability to highlight up to 10 words throughout
the text. Added ability to Ctrl-PgUp/Ctrl-PgDn among up to 100 documents.
Added support for /COLOR=nnn etc, /PORT=port, /Iinitfile, /-I, /MONO, and
/COLOR parms. READY defaults to reading the READ.INI file (if present) and
just ignores any parameters READY doesn't directly support. Similarly, READ
and READMAKE *.INI files can include READY-specific parameters and these are
ignored by those programs.
-------------- (kind of terse; revisions made 4 to 6 months ago)
Release 95/06:
FILL: Added /LETTER and /-LETTER parameters.
ISAMMAKE: Added option of reading the first line of the file to provide the
file description.
READ: Tossed in READY text-file viewer too.
Release 95/05:
MULTICOL: Dropped.
-------------- (real terse)
Release 94/12:
New: PAGINATE.
Release 94/11:
New: ISAMFIND/ISAMMAKE.
Release 94/06:
New: DATES.
Release 94/02:
New: FORTUNE.
Release 94/01:
New: COPSINCE and FIXTEXT.
Release 93/03:
New: AV and READINIT.
Release 93/01:
First release posted on SIMTEL (Internet).
New: The DEMO System (shareware and not part of normal package).