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Text File | 1991-05-21 | 17KB | 439 lines

"TurboCALC"(tm) News by: Paul Meiners. Copyright (c) 1991 by P&M Software Co. 5-21-91 ------- TurboCALC(tm) v9.03 is now ready for release. Another minor bug fix. Several minor problems were fixed. As with the previous release, these bugs were concerned with the presentation of items that overwrote the columns to the right. Hopefully, this issue has now been laid to rest. Also, the special version for 8087 equipped computers has been discontinued. The main problem is the lack of availability of a 8087 equipped computer for compliation and testing of this version. Perhaps in the near future, the 8087 version will reappear. 3-24-91 ------- TurboCALC(tm) v9.02 is now ready for release. This version is another bug fix release. The main problem was centered around the printing of labels that overwrote the columns to the right. This has now been corrected. 11-26-90 -------- TurboCALC(tm) v9.01 is now ready for release. This version is a bug fix release. Among other things, the [M]ove command was not working properly in the worksheet module. It has been corrected. 8-8-90 ------ TurboCALC(tm) v9.00 is now ready for release. Many handy things have been added to the spreadsheet portion of the product. No changes have been made to the text editor - which is a canned package from Borland International and uses the WordStar command keys. The changes to the spreadsheet fall into two catagories: 1. Additional functions added. 2. Interface changes. Mostly the new point and shoot interface to read and store worksheets. But, in addition, a vertical hold, which allows the top 10 lines of the screen to be held - similar to the previous capabilites that allowed 4 columns to be held. 3. Auto-start capability added. Here are the new functions: DAY360 The DAY360 function computes the number of days between two dates, based on a 360-day calendar year or 30 days per month. DAY360(beg_date,end_date) The dates are in the normal serial date format. VDB The VDB function calculates depreciation expense for a specific period using a variable declining balance method. This function differs from DDB in that the last function argument contains the percentage, allowing you to control the percentage used in the calculation. With DDB, the percentage is always 200%. Also, this function switches to straight-line when straight-line would be equal or greater. Finally, this function can compute depreciation for periods other than a year at a time. VDB(cost,salvage,life,start-period,end-period,factor,switch) The last two items are optional and may be omitted. For example: VDB(10000,1000,5,0,0.5) The 'factor' defaults to 200% and the 'switch' defaults to 1, or TRUE. Which would be the same as VDB(10000,1000,5,0,0.5,2,1) STDS The STDS function determines the sample standard deviation of a set of values, for a sample of a population. If the entire population is included in the values, the STD function should be used. STDS(a20..c30) VARS The VARS function determines the sample variance of a set of values, for a sample of a population. If the values include the entire population, use the VAR function. VARS(a20..c30) CHAR Returns the character that corresponds to an ASCII code. For example, CHAR(65) would return an 'A'. CODE Returns the ASCII code that corresponds to a character. For example, CODE("A") would return 65. Note: When strings (of even 1 character) and given as parameters they should be surrounded by "..." marks. EXACT The EXACT function allows you to determine whether two string values are exactly equal. A 1 is returned when the two strings are exactly equal, otherwise a 0 is returned. EXACT("abc","qed") This would return a 0. Strings may be stored in cells and referenced just like numbers. For example: EXACT(a3,"abc") Would test the string value of cell A3 to see if it contained the string "abc". FIND The FIND function permits you to search a character string to find out if a substring appears within it. If the substring is found, the function returns the starting location of this string. FIND(substring,entire-string,start-location) The 'start-location' is the position in the 'entire-string' where you wish to begin the search. The leftmost character in the string is character 0. The return value is ERR when the 'substring' is not found. LEFT The LEFT function allows you to extract a specified number of characters from the left side of a string. LEFT(string,num-of-chars) LEFT("abcdef",3) would return "abc". LENGTH The LENGTH function returns the number of characters in a string. LENGTH("abcd") would return 4. LOWER The LOWER function converts a string to lowercase characters. LOWER("ABCD") would return "abcd". MID The MID function extracts characters from the middle of a string when the number of characters and the starting location is specified. MID(string,start-location,num-of-chars) PROPER The PROPER function converts strings to proper case (a format where the first letter of each word is capitalized). PROPER("HUBBARD MILLING CO") would return "Hubbard Milling Co". REPEAT The REPEAT function is used to duplicate a character string a specified number of times (up to a maximum of 80 characters may be generated). REPEAT(string,num-of-times) For example: REPEAT("+-",3) would return "+-+-+-". REPLACE The REPLACE function replaces characters in a string with other characters. REPLACE(orig-string,start-location,num-of-chars,repl-string) This function first deletes the indicated characters and then inserts the 'repl-string' in their place. For this reason, if the 'repl-string' is a null string, i.e. "", then the result is the same as if the indicated characters had simply been deleted. RIGHT The RIGHT function allows you to extract a specified number of characters from the right side of a string. RIGHT(string,num-of-chars) For example: RIGHT("abcd",2) would return "cd". TRIM The TRIM function allows you to strip away extraneous blanks from a string. For example: TRIM(" abc ") would return "abc". UPPER The UPPER function will convert input strings to all uppercase. UPPER(string) VALUE The VALUE function converts a string that looks like a number into an actual numeric value. VALUE(" 1.5 ") would return the numeric value 1.5. Strings may be manipulated using the '+' operator. For example: ("abc"+" def") is a valid formula. It could easily be re-written to strip the extra blank, for example: ("abc"+trim(" def")) The final result would be "abcdef". The maximum string size is 80 characters. Strings will be truncated to fit, if necessary. Also, just about any cell may contain a string. Even if the cell has a numeric value, it may be considered to contain a string, as the string function will automatically convert the number to a string using the formatting instructions you provide the worksheet. Auto-Start ---------- Turbo CALC may now be started with the name of a SSF file on the command line. For example: tc900 foobar When the program loads, it will automatically enter the spreadsheet and load 'foobar.ssf'. Each spreadsheet may additionally have an auto-start macro specified. This is done by placing macro commands in the spreadsheet starting in cell A1. To be properly recognized, these commands *must* begin with the characters "~/", the "..." are not entered, naturally. If this is done, then the program will automatically start this macro whenever the spreadsheet is loaded. 7-25-89 ------- It has been awhile since the prior release of TurboCALC(tm). But here it is. Version 8.11 is a bug fix release. Two small changes were made, the later being the most signficant, i.e. a bug which caused the program to abnormally terminate, thus losing the worksheet, has been corrected. This involves the handling of multiplications which could create floating point overflow -- numbers are too big for the program to handle. This has now been corrected. The program can handle numbers between 1.0E+37 and 1.0E-37, if a number outside of the range is calculated, the "ERR" indicator now results. 3-03-87 ------- Here is 8.10 of TurboCALC(tm). It contains one new feature and a bug fix. The description of the update follows: 1. New feature. Fixed column import. Users may now import data that is fixed length fields. This is handy when the DIF format is not available. The field lengths should match the column widths in Turbo CALC, in this manner TurboCALC(tm) will know how wide each field is. 2. Whenever a wide area, greater than 80 columns, of blank space preceeded a group of numbers, in printed output, the numbers would shift to the left by a random number of columns. This has been fixed. 2-05-87 ------- Release 8.01 of TurboCALC(tm) is now ready. There were a couple of minor bug fixes, for example the worksheet will now recalculate as soon as the "autocalc" option is selected - to assure that the spreadsheet is up-to-date whenever "autocalc" is selected. Two new feature items are included in the release level. 1. It is now possible to select the "key" column for a sort, it no longer must be the 1st column of the data range of the sort. 2. An option was added to the Alt-J command, so that a jump-to-cell can now be done either by cell address or by cell content. For example: one can now say "go to the cell that contains the value 1.52". Or any other value for that matter. The value need not be numeric, it can be a label as well. The F5 key is used to repeat the search started with the Alt-J, so that you could locate all the cells that contain 1.52, for example. 01-10-87 -------- Here is 8.00 of TurboCALC(tm). The release levels of TurboCALC(tm) have been slow in coming because the program is becoming a mature product. I do hope you find the new features rewarding: 1. Range Names. Now you can name a range or individual cell so that you need not remember the cell address. For example you could refer to your cashflow range with the name @CASHFLOW! This is very handy, especially in conjunction with macros! 2. Macros. TurboCALC(tm) now supports macros, styled in the tradition of the more expensive commercial spreadsheets. There are 30 macro keys and they may refer to locations in the spreadsheet to allow macros of virtually unlimited power. 3. The erase command has been expanded so that it is possible to erase just a part of the worksheet, as well as being able to erase the entire worksheet. 10-13-86 -------- Release 7.00 of TurboCALC(tm) has been awhile coming! But here it is. Some of the new features are: 1. New, better high lighting of the row/column labels. 2. Text import. 3. Worksheet merge. 4. Support for 8087 math chip - up to 3 times faster! 5. Color options in the edit module. 6. Save graph to disk file for later editing and/or printing. Also, this release will auto recalculate after a row/column deletion, if autocalc is turned on. Bugs ---- Bugs are disgusting things. I hate 'em. Especially when I find them in my programs. Well, I found one in TurboCALC(tm) and I killed it. The result is release 6.31. The bug was located in the cell input area, if the user attempted to revise a formula that was more than 13 positions long, the program forgot that is was a formula and treated the result as text. Not so nice! Well, I found it. But it makes me wonder, the bug had gone unobserved for a long time. Why hasn't somebody said something? I know, I am the only one who uses formulae longer than 13 positions! Graphics -------- With TC 6.30, graphics are being introduced. The program will now do bar graphs, with up to 6 variables on display. Now the program also supports an Environment variable for Hard Disk users, so that TC can find its home directory without being there when started. Put the following or similar in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file: PATH=c:\dos;c:\tc set TCPATH=c:\tc Assuming that you have TC and related files stored on drive C in the TC directory. Use the appropriate drive and directory for your system. Registration Plan ----------------- With TC 6.20, a user registration plan is being introduced. All copies of TC will now carry a serial #. The purpose of the serial # is to encourage registration and contribution. When someone registers a copy of TC that contains your registered serial #, we will split the contribution with you. You will receive 25% of the contribution or $10 when the suggested amount is received. The suggested contribution has been increased, to $35. This is to cover the expense of including an automatic upgrade in initial registration. Finally, a suggested contribution has been decided upon for old users who wish to upgrade, $10. Already registered users may send this contribution and receive a registered copy of TC - one with their own serial number. This will allow them to be able to obtain shares of contributions, just like the newly registered folks. Cleaning up the bugs. --------------------- Version 6.11 of TurboCALC(tm) represents a bug fix release. There were no major bugs, but a few small ones. Among the most notable of the bugs fixed was: 1. The EDIT module will ask you to save the buffer if you exit to the CALC module with the F2 key. 2. The CALC module handles the printer init string correctly now. It had the habit of "eating" it before. Expanding the worksheet. ------------------------ With the appearance of the new "ExpressCalc"(tm) from Expressware, really the old PC-Calc with a new name and some new features, the race to increase the size of worksheets is on! Expressware has increased the capacity of the old PC-Calc from 256x64 to 8192x2, and all variations thereof. This is pretty good. However you arrange the cells, you get about 16,384 total cells. A brilliant achievement. Now how about "TurboCALC"(tm) from P&M Software? Well, we are not to be outdone. With version 6.10 of "TurboCALC"(tm), the worksheet can now have the following dimensions, with some to spare: Rows Cols Total Cells ---- ---- ----------- 8192 2 > 20,000 640 32 > 20,000 90 256 > 20,000 "ExpressCalc" is the trademark of Expressware. "TurboCALC" is the trademark of P&M Software. One more new feature in this release: protected fields! Keeps you from accidentally destroying a field. Use Alt-T to protect a field. TurboCALC(tm) Editor News ------------------------- With version 6.10, some bugs have been fixed, but the big news is that the scrolling has been improved dramatically. In the original version, 6.00, the screen would scroll with a rippling effect, this has been eliminated to a great degree. Regards, Paul Meiners P&M Software Co.