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WSIMP332.DOC
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1988-09-16
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Copyright (C) 1988 by Robert W. Babcock and WSS Division of DDC
All Rights Reserved
Instructions for WSSINDEX comment import routine version 3.32
WSIMPORT is a utility for adding comments to an existing WSSINDEX
database. It can be used to extract comments from such sources
as a listing of files from a bulletin board or the ascii output
from another disk indexing program. It does not create a
database from scratch from an ascii input file, so it is not
quite what is normally called an import routine.
Features:
1. Filename format may be either FILENAME.EXT or FILENAME
EXT (but not a mixture)
2. Filenames may be in mixed case
3. Tabs are expanded
4. Processing speed is around 1000 lines per minute,
depending on the database size and your CPU speed
Requirements on the input file:
1. File names must appear before the comments
2. Nothing can appear after the comment
3. File names and comments must begin in fixed columns
4. Comments must be on the same line as the file name.
5. Lines must end with line feeds (if you can type the file,
it meets this requirement)
Before starting the program, you should examine the comment file,
either by typing it or with a text editor, to determine which
columns the file names (and extensions if the format is not
FILENAME.EXT) and comments begin in. Number the columns starting
with one, not zero. In general, it is not necessary to remove
headers or other extraneous lines from the input file; they will
simply not match any files in the database and will thus be
ignored. But if there are any control characters embedded in the
comments (such as might be introduced by line noise in a
downloaded file) they should be removed or else they will be
interpreted as the end of the comment. You can be a little
sloppy with the starting column for comments since the program
will remove any leading (or trailing) blanks.
The executable module in the distribution package is WSIMPnnn.EXE
(WSIMnnnR.EXE for Rainbow version), where nnn is the version
number. You might want to rename it WSIMPORT.EXE. When the
program starts up, it goes through the same configuration
procedure as WSSINDEX, although the only configurable parameters
which matter are the size limits on the database and whether or
not to create BAK files. The database is read and you are
prompted for the name of the comment file and the format
(FILENAME.EXT or FILENAME EXT and starting columns). You will be
given the option to override or keep previously existing comments
in the database if a new comment is found. You can also specify
a category string which will be applied to every file which has a
new comment assigned (unless you prohibit replacing comments and
the file had a category but not a comment previously assigned).
At most points you can terminate the program by hitting escape.
After initializing, the database is sorted by file name and
extension. You already know about how long this will take if you
have used any of the sorting options in WSSINDEX. The program
remembers the sequence number where each letter first appears,
and starts searching for matching files there. A fancier hashing
algorithm and a binary search could be used, but my testing
indicates that the sorting time will typically be as long or
longer than the processing time for reasonable sized input files,
so not much can be gained here.
The comment file is read line-by-line, and lines which appear to
contain a filename and a comment are processed. Note that the
same comment may be applied to multiple database entries, since
disk and subdirectory names are not checked.
When the program finishes procesing the comment file, it prints
out a few statistics (number of input lines, number of comments
applied, etc.) and gives you the option of making another pass
with a different comment file. When you finally select no
further passes, you specify the output file name and the updated
database is saved. As usual, a previously existing database of
the same name will be renamed with a BAK extension (if so
configured)
Your comments are invited on the usefulness of, and possible
enhancements to, this utility. Use of this program is covered by
the same shareware terms as WSSINDEX; see the WSSINDEX DOC file
for more information.
Robert W. Babcock
WSS Division of DDC
4 Reeves Road
Bedford, MA 01730
USA
617-275-1183