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1991-12-10
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▄████████▄ █████████▄ ║
▄███▀ ▀███▄ ██ ▀███▄ ║ RELEASE 1.1
▄██▀ ▀██▄ ██ ▀███▄ ║ Copyright (C) 1991 Greg Clow
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A Compact Disc, Record and Cassette cataloguing application
This SHAREWARE program may be freely copied and distributed on a
non-commercial basis. If you wish to use it regularly and did not
purchase this software from a liscensed distributor (as listed
below), please register as a user. For details, please see the
last two pages of this document.
The only retail outlet currently liscensed to sell this software
is Hypermedia in Toronto, Ontario. A portion of the retail price
paid for this program at Hypermedia will be given to the programmer
as the registration fee. As well, copies of this software sold at
Hypermedia are accompanied by a special registration form indicating
the registration fee for that copy of CDbase has been paid.
If you PURCHASED this software from anywhere besides Hypermedia,
you have NOT paid the registration fee, and must do so in order to
become a registered user.
DISCLAIMER, COPYRIGHTS, ETC.
I, Greg Clow, hereby disclaim all warranties relating to this software
(CDbase), whether expressed or implied, including, and without limitation to,
any implied warranties or merchantability or fitness for a particular
purpose. I will not be liable for any special, incidental, consequential,
indirect, or similar damages due to the use or misuse of this software or for
any reason, even if I or an agent of mine have been advised of the
possibility of such damages. In no event shall my liability for any damages
ever exceed the price I am charging for these files, regardless of the form
of the claim. The person using the software bears all risk as to the quality
and performance of the software.
The program known as CDBASE.EXE and all associated files are provided to you
without warranty of any kind. USE IT AT YOUR OWN RISK. The files may be
distributed to anyone provided my copyright notice is not removed from within
the executable. You may NOT distribute or sell this program as your own
creation.
Clipper (R) is a registered trademark of the Nantucket Corporation.
dBASE III+ (R) is a registered trademark of Ashton-Tate Corporation.
BACKGROUND
I've been a music fan for a long time (well, not that long, but long for a 22
year old!). When I got my first computer back in my mid-teens, I decided to
develop a little dBASE III+ application to catalogue my record and cassette
collection. I wasn't a great programmer, and it wasn't a great program, but
it did the job.
Then, a couple of years ago, I entered the digital age and bought a CD
player. Owning this new technology inspired me to improve my application as
well, so I used my new-found knowledge of Clipper (Summer '87) and developed
a new application. Once again, it wasn't great, but it did the job.
Well, along came Clipper 5.0, and I started thinking "Now would be a good
time to improve my application again". I kept putting it off, however, until
recently, when a new store called Hypermedia opened here in Toronto.
HyperMedia sells alternative music, video, literature, and COMPUTER SOFTWARE!
Seeing this finally inspired me to re-develop my little system into what you
now have: CDbase.
WHAT IS CDbase?
As I said, CDbase is an application written in Clipper 5.01 that is used to
catalogue your compact disc, record and tape collection. It also prints a
couple of simple listing reports which you can use to impress your friends
and amaze your neighbours ("Wow, Jerry, I never knew you owned so many Wayne
Newton CDs! Can I get a copy of this list?").
One thing that CDbase is NOT is perfect. It doesn't have any major bugs
(hopefully!), but it might not have everything you want as far as data that
can be entered, reports that can be generated, etc. SEND ME COMMENTS! If
you have a problem with the program, an idea you think is good, or anything,
let me know. My address is on the last page.
CHANGES FROM RELEASE 1.0 TO 1.1
Just a couple of minor bug fixes:
Fixed the headers/footers on the report, which sometimes didn't appear.
Fixed logic in data entry & edit which sometimes caused the table to go
past the end of file, or sometimes appended a blank record.
WHAT YOU SHOULD HAVE
The CDbase disk (or .ZIP file, or .ARC file, or whatever) should contain the
following files:
CDBASE.DOC - you're reading it!
CDBASE.EXE - the program (duh!)
CDBASE.DBF - the database file
CDBASE.NTX - index file (used for database searches, etc.)
LOWERCAS.DBF - the lower case table (discussed later)
LOWERCAS.NTX - index file
If you're missing one or more of these files, you got ripped off! Go yell at
whoever gave you this stuff, and if that doesn't work, write to me for the
latest version of CDbase (see last two pages).
INSTALLING AND RUNNING CDbase
Installing this thing is easy:
1) Create a subdirectory on your hard drive (the name is unimportant, but
I'd recommend something recognizable, like maybe... I don't know...
"/CDBASE" or something...).
2) Copy all the CDbase files into the new directory.
3) Go into the new directory.
4) Type CDBASE to run the program.
And there you are. The CDbase logo screen should appear before you. Hit
ENTER. The MAIN MENU screen appears, and off you go...
************* IMPORTANT!!! *************
UPDATING FROM RELEASE 1.0 TO RELEASE 1.1
If you have already been using Release 1.0 of CDbase, copy ONLY the new
CDBASE.EXE (and CDBASE.DOC, if you choose) into your CDbase directory. DO
NOT overwrite the .DBF and .NTX files with the Release 1.1 versions, or you
will lose your data!
MAIN MENU
The CDbase Main Menu (and all other menus) are of the popular "light bar"
variety. One of the options on the menu is highlighted, and using the Up and
Down cursor keys moves the highlight up or down. Hitting ENTER will activate
the currently highlighted option (this can also be done by pressing the first
letter of one of the options).
The Main Menu has three options, each of which will be discussed in detail in
the following pages:
Enter and Maintain Data
Produce Report
Utilities
Pressing the ESCape key from this screen will cause you to exit CDbase.
ENTER AND MAINTAIN DATA
As the name suggests, this option allows you to enter, change, or delete data
in the CDbase database of compact discs, records, and cassettes.
The first time you select this option, you will be faced with a (almost)
blank screen. Once you have entered data, each CD, record and tape entered
will appear as one line on this screen.
Across the top will be names of the various fields you will be entering into
the database (ARTIST, TITLE, etc.). Across the bottom are the various keys
that are active on this screen. Each of these keys and what they do are
described below:
ESC key:
Cancels ENTER AND MAINTAIN DATA and returns to the Main Menu.
Cursor Keys:
Moves the highlight "bar" from field to field and line to line.
PgUp and PgDn:
Scrolls to the next screen up or down of data.
S key:
Starts the search function, which allows you to search for a particular
ARTIST in the database. You are prompted to enter the name of the
artist you wish to find. If the artist is found, the screen will go to
that area of the database.
ENTER key:
Allows you to edit the line that the highlight bar is currently on. The
record will come up in the Data Entry/Edit Screen (which is described in
the INSert key section below).
INSert key:
Allows you to add a new CD, record or tape to the database. The Data
Entry/Edit Screen will appear. On this screen are the following fields:
ARTIST - The person or group who recorded the recording (that
sentence was brought to you by the Department of
Redundancy Department!).
(Just a note... I prefer to enter the names of single
artists [i.e. DAVID BOWIE] in a "last-name-first" fashion
[i.e. BOWIE, DAVID]. The program, however, will accept
either format.)
The ARTIST field is in upper case, and when reports are
generated, this is the field used to sort the data.
However, you may prefer to have certain "artists" to
appear out of order. For example, I prefer to have
recordings by "VARIOUS ARTISTS" and "SOUNDTRACKS" to
appear at the end of my reports. Since the standard
ASCII sort sequence is upper case and then lower, I have
set up a table into which you may enter data which, when
found in the ARTIST field, should be stored internally as
lower case. This table is available from the UTILITIES
option on the Main Menu.
ENTER AND MAINTAIN DATA (cont.)
It should also be noted that having this field renders
CDbase almost useless for cataloguing classical music
releases, since they tend to have both a composer and a
conductor/orchestra. Personally, for the few classical
releases that I do own, I tend to put the composer if the
release features only one, and the conductor/orchestra if
the release is a "compilation" of music by different
composers.
TITLE - The title of the recording.
TYPE - This field contains the type of recording as indicated on
the following list:
7" : 7 inch single
10" : 10 inch single
12" : 12 inch single
EP : Extended play or "mini-album"
LP : Full length album
-- : Not applicable (i.e. "bootleg" recording,
recording from radio, etc.)
FORMAT - This field contains the format of the recording as
indicated on the following list:
D : Compact Disc
V : Vinyl
C : Pre-recorded cassette
H : "Homemade" cassette (this is not meant to
endorse home taping, but let's face it - it
happens!)
UNITS - Number of CDs, records or cassettes contained. This
defaults to "1", but would be changed to "2" for a double
album, "3" for a triple album, etc.
SEQUENCE # - The Sequence Number is used to sort releases within the
Artist and Type for reports, etc. (i.e. when you generate
a report, the recordings will be sorted by Artist, Type,
and Sequence Number in that order.) This is useful if
you wish to have recordings listed in the order of
release.
The Sequence Number is automatically generated when you
enter the Type, but can be changed. For example, if you
own 3 Kate Bush LPs, and add a fourth to the database, it
will be given Sequence Number "4". However, if you
realize that the new addition is actually the second Kate
Bush LP, you can change the Sequence Number to "2". It
will be inserted in the proper place and all following
Sequence Numbers on Kate Bush LPs will be incremented
accordingly.
LABEL 1-3 - These three fields are used to enter the record label(s)
of the recording. There is space for three labels to
allow for subsidiaries of larger companies, distributors,
etc. to be entered. For example, Nettwerk is distributed
by Capitol here in Canada. Vertigo is a subsidiary of
PolyGram. (NOTE: These fields are optional.)
ENTER AND MAINTAIN DATA (cont.)
CATALOG # - This field is pretty self-explanatory: it is used to
store the Catalog or Serial Number that is usually found
on the spine or back cover of the recording. This field
is optional... I don't enter it myself, but I'm sure
someone will find it useful!
NOTES - Space for miscellaneous notes such as "Has a gatefold
sleeve", "Limited edition release", "#@$!in' excellent
album, man!" or whatever you like
While entering or editing as entry, several keys are active: the right/
left cursor keys move within a field, the up/down cursor keys move from
field to field, the ENTER keys moves to the next field, F4 saves the
entry, and ESC cancels all changes and returns to the list screen.
DELete key:
Deletes the currently highlighted line (don't worry, it warns you and
gives you a chance to cancel in case you hit the key accidentally!).
PRODUCE REPORT
Currently, there is only one report available from CDbase. This report lists
all recordings in the database, and has a format as shown below:
29 NOV 1991 YOUR REPORT TITLE HERE! PAGE: 1
(LEGEND: D - compact disc V - vinyl C - cassette H - "homemade" cassette)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
ALIEN SEX FIEND
Who's Been Sleeping In My Brain? LP H
Acid Bath LP V
BAUHAUS
She's In Parties 7" V
Bela Lugosi's Dead 12" V
In The Flat Field LP D
Mask LP D
1979-1983 2xLP V
...
Well, you get the idea. As mentioned before, the report is sorted by Artist,
Type, and Sequence Number.
When you select Produce Report from the Main Menu, you are asked to enter a
title for the report, and also whether or not you want the "LEGEND:" line to
appear on the report. Once you've done this, the report is sent to the ASCII
text file "CDBASE.RPT", which you can then browse, edit or print.
Any ideas for reports you'd like to see added to future releases of CDbase
are welcomed and encouraged.
UTILITIES
The Utilities menu has two options:
(1) MAINTAIN LOWER CASE TABLE
This is the table I mentioned earlier that specifies which Artist values
you wish to be stored in lower-case format so they appear at the end of
the report. As with the main CDbase database, you add to this table with
the INS key and delete with the DEL key.
(2) RE-INDEX FILE:
Corrupted index files can occur in Clipper applications. If your database
seems to be acting strangely (i.e. Led Zeppelin is appearing before AC/DC
on your report), try running this utility. 95% of the time, this will
take care of the problem. The other 5%... let me knoe so I can try to
find the problem and fix it.
THIS IS SHAREWARE!
By now, I'm sure you're familiar with the ShareWare concept: masochistic
programmers like myself slave away for hours (DAYS, even!) over a hot
keyboard and end up with relatively useful applications and utilities that
they figure might be useful to someone besides themselves. So they spread
them around and say "Hey! I wrote this nifty program. Here's a copy...
if you like it, please send me money!" And, of course, people get these
programs and try them out, and some of them take pity upon the poor,
unappriciated programmer and send him or her a few measly dollars for thier
troubles.
So here's what I want you to do. Try CDbase. If you like it, send me
money. Any amount. $100 would be nice. $1000 would be nicer. But, I must
be realistic... so I'm offering this fine, fine program for the bargain
basement price of $10 (but larger amounts will be gladly accepted.). Send
cheque, money order, cash, or other valuables to the address on the
registration form on the following page. And while you're at it, fill out
the form and send it too!
When you register, you will receive the latest version of CDbase. As for
later releases: I don't anticipate that I will be charging a fee for upgrades
in the near future, but that may change depending upon the response to this
product (i.e. postage ain't cheap, folks!). For now, I'll say that the 1.x
releases should be free. Once I get into 2.x, etc., upgrade fees may appear.
So, please register. And let me know what you think of CDbase.
Greg Clow
December, 1991
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▄██▀ ▀██▄ ██ ▀███▄ ║ Copyright (C) 1991 Greg Clow
███ ███ ██ ▀██ ║ 192 Jarvis St. #702
███ ██ ██ ║ Toronto Ontario M5B 2J9
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A Compact Disc, Record and Cassette cataloguing application
Thank you for registering your copy of CDbase! As a registered user, you will
receive the usual benefits offered to ShareWare users, such as updates and
information regarding the future of this product. Also, your comments and
criticisms of CDbase are always welcome. Thanks again!
NAME: __________________________________________________________________
ADDRESS: __________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
PHONE #: (____) ____-_______ (optional)
Where did you get CDbase?: ________________________________________________
What release of CDbase do you have?: ______
What diskette format do you prefer for updates?: 3 1/2 _____ 5 1/4 _____
COMMENTS/CRITICISMS:
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