Monster Media 1996 #15/Monster Media Number 15 (Monster Media)(July 1996).ISO/win_utl2/pspa370a.zip/CHANGE.DOC

Text File | 1996-04-26 | 18KB | 356 lines

===============================================================================
==========================                         ============================
==========================     VERSION HISTORY     ============================
==========================                         ============================
===============================================================================


     For easy reference, this history is presented in reverse order (most
     recent version first).  Remember:  if you have previously registered
     Parse-O-Matic, you can self-register any evaluation copies we create
     for two years (six years for deluxe registration).  Thus, your small
     investment in the  initial  registration  can provide you  with many
     free updates.  Since we do not  automatically  ship new versions, we
     encourage you to drop by our BBS (514-345-8654) every few months, or
     visit our Web site (http://www.cam.org/~pinnacl) to see what's new.


+------------------------- WE ARE CUSTOMER-DRIVEN! ---------------------------+
|                                                                             |
|    Most of the enhancements to Parse-O-Matic are inspired by POM users.     |
|    We charge a nominal fee for custom work, but we will usually provide     |
|    a discount if the requirement seems to be beneficial to other users.     |
|                                                                             |
|    ******* PARSE-O-MATIC'S EVOLUTION IS GUIDED BY OUR CUSTOMERS *******     |
|                                                                             |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+


------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------
 VER.  WHAT'S NEW IN THIS VERSION
------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------

3.70A  New commands
         CVTCASE converts a variable to uppercase or lowercase
         GETENV  obtains a system environment variable (e.g. PATH)
         MSGWAIT controls the behaviour of error messages
         REMAP   transforms sub-strings into other strings
         MAPFILE reads a file containing data transformations for REMAP
       Enhancements to PARSE, PEEL and FINDPOSN
         Search strings (e.g. "2*,") are now known as decapsulators
         Overlapping decapsulators now behave more gracefully
           PARSE and PEEL return an empty string; FINDPOSN returns "0"
             This situation used to generate an error message
               i.e. "From" value exceeds "To" value
               Most users found this unhelpful or confusing
               For details, see "Overlapping Decapsulators" in the manual
         New search parameter looks for "last occurence" or "first occurence"
           Example of  "last occurence":  PARSE xyz $FLINE ">*$" ">*.00"
           Example of "first occurence":  PARSE xyz $FLINE "<*$" "<*.00"
       Documentation
         Improved quick-reference section
           The "importable" version has moved from EXAMPL04.POM to QUICKREF.POM

       ------------------------
       IMPORTANT UPGRADE NOTICE
       ------------------------

       This notice concerns you if:

       - You have created POM applications that are run unattended
       - You use the HALT command

       (See "Unattended Operation" and "The HALT Command" in the manual)

       Since version 3.20, error messages would "time out" after sixty seconds
       (or when a key was pressed), whereupon Parse-O-Matic would terminate.

       Parse-O-Matic now waits for permission to continue if an error occurs.
       You can control this behaviour with the new MSGWAIT command (see "The
       MSGWAIT Command" in the manual).

       To make Parse-O-Matic behave as it did before (i.e. timing out sixty
       seconds), add this line to your POM file:  MSGWAIT "60"

       If you simply want to make your HALT commands work the same way (i.e.
       allowing them to time out after about a minute), insert MSGWAIT "60"
       prior to each HALT command.


------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------
 VER.  ENHANCEMENTS IN PREVIOUS VERSIONS
------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------

3.61A  Added inline decrement (e.g. SET y = x-)
       LOG command now allows two additional (optional) values
       Rationalized null specs and empty fields in Parse, Peel and FindPosn
         Customers were using these in creative ways that we had not foreseen
         We have taken these into account and fully documented the behaviour
         See "The Null Decapsulator", "Left-Peeling" and "Insoluble Searches"
       Minor improvements to the processing display

3.60A  New commands
         MAKEDATA converts text data to binary
         MAKETEXT converts binary data to text
         ZERODATE initializes the date for serialized date format
         GET      reads variable-length records and delimiter-terminated data
         GETTEXT  combines functions of GET and MAKETEXT commands
         AGAIN    allows you to return to an earlier BEGIN comparison
       Enhancements
         CHOP now allows manually-controlled reading (via the GET command)
         Read-only files are opened as such, avoiding sharing problems on LANs
         Improved appearance of trace logs
         Hexadecimal literals (e.g. $39$34 means "94")
       Utilities
         SHOWNUM.EXE: reference tool converts decimal to hex and vice-versa
         DEVELOP.BAT: simple interactive development environment (IDE)
       Documentation
         New material added for the READNEXT and LOOKUP commands
         Several new sections about techniques and operational planning
         Additional material about running Parse-O-Matic under Windows
       Improved file-handling
         OFILE now adds the default extension, if necessary
           In 3.50, OFILE "XYZ" would not automatically add the .TXT extension
         The default extension routine is no longer "fooled" by ..\ or .\
           Earlier, a file name like ..\XYZ would not get the default extension
       Problems fixed
         Fixed "FRAME-UUI" problem affecting Quiet mode
         Fixed routine to search through DOS PATH for "missing" files

3.50A  Corrected a bug in the LOOKCOLS command (affected Parse-O-Matic v3.4x)
         It would set the "Key-End" value to the last number listed in LOOKCOLS
         It would set the "Data-Start" and "Data-End" to defaults (12 and 255)
       New commands
         ERASE   deletes a file
         OUTPAGE sends a page eject to the output file (or device)
         PAUSE   delays the specified number of milliseconds
         OFILE   switches between output files
           You can overwrite a file or append (add to the end)
             See "How Parse-O-Matic Opens an Output File" in the manual
             The append feature is also available at the command-line level
       Enhancements
         Processing display now shows input and output in appropriate units
           Input units  (Bytes or Records)
           Output units (Bytes or Lines)
         Additional information in "processing completed" line in POMLOG.TXT
           It now specifies the amount of output (in bytes or lines)
         Output can now be sent to a generic device (e.g. COMx or LPTx)
           See "Sending Output to a Device" in the manual
       Documentation
         New "File Handling" section in the manual (POM.DOC)

       ------------------------
       IMPORTANT UPGRADE NOTICE
       ------------------------

       POM now creates the output file ONLY when it first receives output
       See "How Parse-O-Matic Opens an Output File" in the manual for details
       If the output file does not receive any output...
         If it did not previously exist, it will not be created
         If it already existed, it will contain the old data
           To ensure old data is gone...
             Delete the output file before running Parse-O-Matic, or ...
             Use the ERASE command in the PROLOGUE

3.41B  PEEL reports precise nature of certain impossible parsing situations
3.41A  Fixed trimming problem affecting PEEL when using "null" delimiter

3.40   New commands
         DATE and TODAY provide date formatting, in any language
         MONTHNUM converts text month to numeric month, in any language
         COPY copies a variable from one character position to another
         DELETE removes selected characters positions from a variable
         EXTRACT moves selected characters from one variable to another
         FINDPOSN locates the position of a string in another
       Enhancements
         All control files (including POM) are searched for, if necessary
           If a directory is explicitly specified, POM looks there only
           Otherwise, POM searches logged dir, POM's dir, then the DOS PATH
           This makes it easier to build a library of standard files
         INSERT now allows "insert to left" and "insert to right"
         Automatic numeric comparators
           The old method used text comparisons, which required pre-padding
           Comparisons automatically determine if number is real or integer
         CALC and CALCREAL now explicitly report "divide by zero" attempts
         User manual reformatted for easier reference
           Explanations of commands are preceded by an improved overview
       Problems fixed
         There were no problems reported in the last release

3.31A  Numeric command parameters are now more forgiving
         Spaces, tabs and commas are removed

3.30A  New commands
         LOG command writes a message to the log file POMLOG.TXT
         HALT command allows termination with a DOS errorlevel
         CALC command performs integer arithmetic functions
         CALCREAL command performs decimal arithmetic functions
         EPILOGUE command defines code to be run before input is processed
         PROLOGUE command defines code to be run after  input is processed
       Enhancements
         Optional MINLEN setting controls the READNEXT command
         Tracing no longer shows code inside skipped BEGIN/ELSE/END blocks
         Increased variable name length from 8 to 12
         Increased number of DBF fields from 50 to 100
         Increased maximum line length in look-up files from 80 to 255
         Increased maximum number of POM lines from 500 to 750
           This does not include comment lines
         Lookup file (LOOKFILE) is now searched for in various directories
           If a directory is explicitly specified, POM looks there only
           Otherwise, POM searches logged dir, POM's dir, then the DOS PATH
         Restructured tutorial for easier reference
         New deluxe registration provides 6 years of new version registration
           Three times the standard benefit, but only twice the price
       Problems fixed
         Clustered ACCEPTs inside "false" code blocks were sometimes executed
         Some error reporting caused problems on extremely large POM files
         Ran out of file handles if you had a large number of input files
         Incomplete trimming of multiple character delimiters in PEEL

3.21A  Custom version; not released to public

3.20A  Parsing of multiple input files into one output file
         DOS wildcards are now permitted in POM command for input file name
           For example:  POM XYZ.POM *.TXT OUTPUT.TXT
         New NEXTFILE command skips to next input file
         New predefined variable $COMMAND, showing current POM command
       New PEEL command
         Works like PARSE, but removes parsed text from source variable
       New SOUND command
         Sets error-message sound or generates a sound
       The DONE and READNEXT commands now have optional comparisons
         For example:  DONE x = y
       Restructured example files as an interactive tutorial
       Enhancements for unattended operation
         Log file (POMLOG.TXT) records processing, and any errors
         Error and warning messages pause for a minute, then the program ends
       Fixed problem with ELSE statements nested two deep

3.11A  DBF file enhancements
         Improved reporting of DbF fields when tracing
         Corrected data alignment error that affected some DbF files

3.10A  New ELSE command
         Allows BEGIN/ELSE/END blocks
       New READNEXT command
         Reads next line from input file, maintaining current place in POM file
       New SETLEN command
         Sets a variable to the length of a value (e.g. "XYZ" is length "3")
       New DONE command (useful only in BEGIN/ELSE/END blocks)
         Jumps to the end of the POM file; equivalent to IGNORE "X" = "Y"
       New ~ comparator ("does not contain")
       PARSE returns a null value if given impossible parsing task
         Example: PARSE x "FRED/MARY" "1*/" "2*/" (problem: no second slash)
       Maximum number of variables and literals increased to 1000 (was 225)

3.00A  New PARSE command
         You can now parse free-form data (including comma-delimited files)
       New APPEND command
         Allows you to concatenate up to four values
       Data in output buffer (via OUT) is now flushed at end of input file
         You can now use POM to create binary and fixed-record-length files
       Varied comparators (equals, not equals, less than, contains, etc.)
         Affects the commands IF, IGNORE, ACCEPT, BEGIN, OUT[END]
         For example:  IF x > y THEN z = "YES"

       -------------------------------------------
       CHANGES REQUIRED IN YOUR EXISTING POM FILES
       -------------------------------------------

       This notice involves a change in the behaviour of IGNORE and ACCEPT.

       With the addition of varied comparators, you may have to change some of
       your old POM files.  The IGNORE and ACCEPT commands were considered
       "true if the string contains the specified text".  In other words, they
       performed a "contains" comparison rather than an "equals" comparison.
       (IF, BEGIN and OUT[END] used an "equals" comparison.)  IGNORE and ACCEPT
       now default to an "equals" comparison.

       There are two situations in which you must modify an IGNORE or ACCEPT:

       (1)  If you padded the line with "=" (for clarity or aesthetics), yet
            you meant "contains", the line should be changed.  For example:

            IGNORE $FLINE[1 10] = "YES"    (old style, using "=" for clarity)
            IGNORE $FLINE[1 10] ^ "YES"    (new style, using "contains" symbol)

       (2)  If you omitted the "=" character, and you want to do a "contains"
            comparison, you must insert the "contains" symbol:

            IGNORE $FLINE[1 10] "YES"      (old style, stated tersely)
            IGNORE $FLINE[1 10] ^ "YES"    (new style, using "contains" symbol)

       If you are comparing two strings of equal length, there is no need to
       modify an IGNORE or ACCEPT.  For example:  IGNORE $FLINE[1 3] "YES"
       will continue to work properly, since either a "contains" or "equals"
       comparison will produce the same result.

2.71B  Fixed SPLIT bug
         POM quit early if file length was an exact multiple of 32767

2.71A  Added PROPER command
       Updated manual to explain licensing options

2.70C  Minor fix to unregistered (trial copy) reminder

2.70A  POM can now read DBF (DBase) files directly
       New ASCII literals (using the # character)
       New TRACE, OUTHDG and PAGELEN commands
       Documented the /Q command-line switch
       User manual expanded to 30 pages; new examples (walk-throughs) provided

2.60   New BEGIN and END commands (blocked "IF" operations)
         Command lines may now be indented for clarity
       New predefined variable $SPLIT
         This indicates which CHOP or SPLIT segment you are on (1, 2, 3 etc.)
       New look-up processing
         New LOOKUP, LOOKSPEC, LOOKCOLS, LOOKFILE commands
         New /L start-up option
       Improved error detection and reporting
       Comparison operation is now optional for OUT and OUTEND

2.52   Added new symbol $TAB; fixed operation of $BRR and $BRL
       New provisions for international registration

2.51   Fixed Program Error MV-P-2 caused by padding with tabs instead of spaces

2.50   CHOP command breaks up fixed-length (non-text) files
       User manual restructured and partially rewritten

2.40   SPLIT command breaks up long (over 255 characters) input lines

2.33   New /Q (quiet) function:  type POM /? for explanation
       Fixed bug: long output lines (>255) occasionally would lose some text

2.32   Fix to CHANGE to correct lock-up when matching single-character string
       Added registration via credit card
       Added new version of SEE to allow full browsing of wide documents
       While tracing, processing display now shows precise line number

2.31   MINLEN now supports zero-length lines
         Default MINLEN is, however, still "1"

2.30   Output (via OUT and OUTEND) can now be more than 255 characters
         However, no individual OUT or OUTEND can output a line longer than 255
       New commands:  PAD, INSERT
       Ease-of-use changes
         More informative processing display
         Variable names are no longer case sensitive
         Improved error checking
         Added another example to documentation

2.20   Provided 2-year self-registration for registered users
       Increased number of variables and literals from 100 to 225
       Allowed "=", "THEN" and "ELSE" to improve readability
       New commands:  SET, ACCEPT
       Now possible to trace variables by name (SET POM=var/var/var...)
         SET POM=T (older versions) is now specified as SET POM=ALL
       Improved documentation (more examples)

2.10   First public release

2.00   Custom version; not released to public

1.00   Custom version; not released to public