Monster Media 1993 #2/Image.iso/math/mpad13.zip/MATHPAD.DOC

Text File | 1993-06-13 | 9KB | 180 lines

               MathPad 1.3, Copyright (C) 1993 by Duane Bailey


 Requirements: IBM PC or compatible, 80286 or higher microprocessor
               80x25 display (80 columns by 25 rows)
               probably needs DOS 2.1 or higher.
               A maximum of about 112,000 bytes of free RAM is all I need.

 I recommend:  A hard drive
               Color display (makes any color program easier to understand).
______________________________________________________________________________

 Most of the help you'll probably need comes up every time you choose a
 subroutine, except for subroutines 1 thru 10, where you compute the volume or
 radius of a right circular cylinder. Say you choose F, "surfsphr". Well, the
 algebra involved first must compute the radius, because radius is always what
 circles are based on. So you enter the surface area of your sphere in
 "square" units. You first get the automatic readout of the other measurements
 of your sphere. Then you get a prompt to enter a height for a right circular
 cylinder. This cylinder has the same diameter as the sphere. The file
 "CYLINDER.EXE" can illustrate this. The picture supposes that the cylinder is
 transparent. It is a side view. The height could also be less than the
 diameter. Same for a right circular cone. Press a key to exit the picture. If
 you need more help, mail questions to me. I can offer phone support only to
 registered users. For the 10 programs which use Pi, I have plugged in Pi
 accurate to 19 decimal places, which is 3.1415926535897932385. This package
 can be registered for $10.00. This software is copyrighted! If you keep it,
 you must send me $10.00 check or money order. Then I can keep you on record
 for special deals on other software I make. (See registration information at
 the end of this document).


 A scientific calculator can be had for about 17 to 20 dollars these days, and
 they can do a few things MathPad can't. Correspondingly, MathPad can do some
 things a calculator can't. With how many calculators can you dump 15 numbers
 into the register at once, press a key, and it adds or multiplies them? How
 about enter any one thing computable about a circle or sphere and instantly
 find out everything else computable about it. And a calculator can't keep a
 text log file viewable at leisure and printable on a printer. So it's a
 trade-off, actually you need both, and you're only 30 dollars behind.


 The log file: If you decide to keep a log file, MathPad asks you to name it.
 Any valid DOS path and/or file name goes. Be careful not to name a log file
 the same thing next time you use MathPad without first viewing, making use
 of, or moving or renaming the previous one or whatever, because it would be
 overwritten according to standard DOS rules. It is a "plain-Jane" ASCII text
 file, and its contents are self-explanatory and easy to understand.


 To set up MathPad as a Windows 3.x application:  Highlight the -group- called
 Applications. A bar will appear across the top. From Program Manager, choose
 File New. Choose Program Item. For the description type MathPad. For the
 path, that's up to you where you keep MathPad, but the executable file is
 MathPad.Exe. So for your command line you might type in something like
 C:\MATHPAD\MP.EXE. You click OK once or twice, and Windows gives you a
 generic icon. Click once on the icon to highlight it, then choose File,
 Properties, Change Icon. Windows will probably tell you no new icon is
 available. Ignore this, click OK, and just start typing something like
 C:\MATHPAD\MATHPAD.ICO, a file I have provided. Click OK a couple times.






 Note that the program counts your entries, -except- when you make some sort
 of input error. When this happens, you'll get a text message instead of a
 number answer. These errors are not counted. There is -one- exception,
 however, in the one named "quadrati" (choice Q). If you get a message saying
 that your solution set is empty, that entry is counted as valid, since if you
 knew your problem had no real solutions, you wouldn't need my program! This
 is the only case when an entry that results in text instead of numbers is
 counted. Note also that in the three temperature conversion choices, (K, L,
 M) that if you enter a temperature too low, you get a message. These aren't
 counted. If you want to know the lowest possible temperature that can exist
 (absolute zero), enter zero for kelvin. Usually in nature the coldest places
 in the universe are at about 2.7 degrees k. Note also that a kelvin degree is
 the same unit size as Celsius, but offset by 273.15 degrees k (or c).


 MathPad is an outgrowth of my previous shareware number-cruncher: "MyMath".
 It consisted of no less than 22 executables, and it ran stick, baling wire,
 and gum fashion by a long batch file. Its approximate length on disk,
 compressed, was about 150 KB. Uncompressed it was about 250 KB long! The
 uncompressed program file MP.EXE is only about 105 KB long. If yours is
 smaller, it's been compressed. It expands in RAM when run. If you ever used
 "MyMath", you may remember that the only logging function available was
 Ctrl-PrintScreen. The days of those horrors are long gone. (See "The log
 file", above, line 46 of page 1). "MyMath" will go the way of masterpieces
 like Edlin and Algol-68  (flowers and "Taps", please).


 I am author of all files. If you distribute this software, you must always
 include -ALL- files;

 They are:  "MP.EXE", "MATHPAD.DOC", "MATHPAD.ICO", "SCIENCE.WRI", and
 "CYLINDER.EXE". No-one may collect more than $3.00, and you must inform the
 person that it's only a "disk charge". You must also inform them that if they
 keep the program after 30 days evaluation, they must mail me $10.00 check or
 money order. Professional shareware distributors: If you can't sneak in at
 $3.00 or under before tax, you can't distribute MathPad. (And you need to
 visit a reformed man named Scrooge for advice). MathPad may be included with
 other shareware as long as all five files are present and unaltered. I will
 be concentrating on distribution mainly by bulletin boards, which skips the
 middleman and saves people up to 3 of their hard earned dollars.


 Registration entitles a person to:
 Phone support (on their nickel), "almost free" upgrades, (I would compute the
 exact price of the diskette and postage, and charge only that, in order to
 break even). Notices of other programs I write, and 20% off on those if you
 buy. This is for registered users only. So if John Doe writes the check for
 MathPad, and his daughter wants some program I write in the future, and she
 did not register MathPad too, she does not get 20% off. But if she registers
 the new program, then she gets 20% off of any other program I write (and that
 includes MathPad 1.3, this program). Please don't send cash. I can accept
 only checks or money orders. I am not authorized to accept credit card
 numbers either.


 Site usage of MathPad:
 1 to 5  copies: $10.00 each
 6 to 10 copies: $ 8.00 each
 over 10 copies: $ 7.00 each







 Revision history:

 1.0: Initial release
 1.1: Added distance formula calculation, optimized all code
 1.2: Added floating point emulation, added choice of how many decimal places
 1.3: Added ability to generate user's manual from within the program

______________________________________________________________________________


                            ABOUT  "FOSSILS.WRI"


 Dear Reader,                                                      April, 1993



 This is a book I have written and copyrighted. The material is about half
 scientific, and half human/Christian. The first half contains the science.
 This book is divided into 9 chapters. It is readable by Microsoft Windows 3.1
 or higher. (Windows "Write").


 I have set the margins for my own printer. If you need to adjust margins,
 adjust only left and right ones, and by the same amount each. (Where you see
 a new paragraph apparently shoved up against the previous one, look left and
 you will see the symbol >>. This is a page break. It insures the top margin
 will remain the same when a new paragraph also happens to start on a new
 page). Leave it "justified". Only 8.5" x 11" paper should be used. The page
 numbers are embedded and will appear at the bottom of the pages when printed.
 They don't appear on screen, however. The pages can be 3-punched and placed
 into an inexpensive 3-hole folder. A laser printer will give best results.


 How much is my book? Well, it represents 3 months of work in my spare time.
 Since I possess copyright, let's go by "shareware" rules. If you like it,
 $5.00 will do just fine. Then I will record you and keep you in mind for
 information about my future writings, and maybe a special deal on those.


 Duane Bailey
 409 W. First St, Apt. C
 Winston-Salem, NC 27101