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README
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1990-01-13
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HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS
CoreDBMS will run on PC, XT, and AT class machines and close-
compatibles running DOS 2.0 or above, with at least 320k of free
memory, and one disk drive.
A hard-disc drive is highly recommended.
A CGA or EGA monitor is required to view or print graphics. Print-
ing graphics requires an Epson or Pro-Printer compatible printer.
But without graphic-capable devices, the database and all of its'
searching tools are still available.
Installing the Program
If you have a floppy-based system, copy the distribution disk(s),
place the original in a safe place, and use the copy for all work.
DO NOT USE THE DISTRIBUTION DISKETTE!
With a two-disk copy of CoreDBMS: Insert the PROGRAM floppy in one
drive, make that drive the active drive with the DOS command 'A:'
(or 'B:') and type the command line as given below.
Then; remove the program floppy, insert the DATA floppy, and hit
ENTER.
The speed of the floppy drive limits the speed of searching and
displaying data. With a 5-1/4 inch drive and a large database the
speed is about acceptable for occasional use.
If you have sufficient memory, a RAM-disk is faster. Move all
files ending in .db1, .db2, .db3, and .hlp to the RAM-disk and make
the RAM-disk your active disk before running the program. The
program itself need not be on the RAM-disk.
If you have a hard disk drive create a directory and load all of
the files from the distribution disks to that directory. For
example, to place the files in a new directory, c:\cores, a set of
commands to do this would be:
C:
mkdir \CORES
A:
copy *.* C:\cores
Before running the program, add the following line to your
config.sys file :
files=10
and re-boot your system.
If files is already greater than 10, you may skip this step.
Coredbms keeps a number of files open simultaneously - files=10 (or
more) notifies DOS to make provision for these files.
Running the Program
To execute CoreDBMS make its' directory the default with the DOS cd
command, and type:
COREDBMS {options}
Options configure the program for your monitor, printer, and
personal preferences; they may be in any order, and need not be
separated by spaces.
Options are usually not required. HOWEVER, you should read the
following section to insure this is true for your system.
MONITOR OPTIONS
CoreDBMS can recognize most EGA adapters, CGA adapters, and mono-
chrome monitors and configure the program properly. CoreDBMS can-
not recognize MDA and HGA (Hercules) monitors, and may not success-
fully configure for VGA adapters.
Options over-ride the recognition functions of the program, so that
if you are using an EGA monitor and specify the /CGA option, graph-
ics will in CGA mode. This may be required to use image capture
programs or the DOS graphics.com program.
You can control the monitor settings using the following switches:
/EGA specifies your monitor is an Enhanced-Graphics-Adapter type.
Use this switch if you have a VGA monitor or if CoreDBMS does
not properly configure to your system.
/CGA specifies your monitor has CGA-graphics capabilities.
/NGT tells the program that the monitor cannot display graphics.
This will disable all attempts to write graphics to the
screen - attempting to draw graphics to a non-graphics
terminal will usually cause a run-time error and halt the
program.
/BW specifies that the monitor is monochrome - black and white.
This will cause the program to output white text or graphics
on a black back-ground. High-lighted text will be in bright-
white. If you have a mono-chrome monitor you should use this
option.
COLOR OPTIONS /FG=n, /BG=n, and /HL=n sets the colors used for
text screens. The default - FG=3/BG=7/HL=4 - is a good
selection for most monitors in most lighting conditions.
For use in brightly lit areas, try /FG=1/BG=7/HL=5.
Not all monitors follow the standard color definitions. If your
monitor appears to be missing data or the colors appear to be a bad
choice, adjust the above values.
In graphics mode the background color defaults to zero, or black
and the line-drawing color to white. The fore-ground and high-
light color options affect text drawn on the graphics screen.
Specifying a fore-ground or high-light color of zero will render
text invisible in graphics mode.
A utility program - colors.exe - is included on the distribution
diskette to show the color options on your monitor.
PRINTER OPTIONS
/LPT1, /LPT2, /LPT3 tell Coredbms where your printer is attached.
If you have a printer connected to a serial port, you will
have to either use re-direction - see your DOS manual - or
FILE the output and use COM1 or COM2 as the file name.
/IBMPRO tells CoreDBMS that your printer is a ProPrinter or
compatible. The graphics format of IBM ProPrinters and
Epson-compatible printers is slightly different. Most
printers will accept graphics in one of these two formats.
/NGP (No-Graphics-Printer) disables all attempts to print graphics.
Attempting to print graphics to a printer without graphics
capability will result in a confused jumble as output,
usually taking up many pages.
If you require any of the above options to run CoreDBMS, you might
consider creating a batch file to simplify running the program.
A batch file is identified by a file name ending in .BAT . When
the name of the batch file is typed the contents of the batch file
is executed as DOS commands. Batch files can be useful to estab-
lish initial conditions for a program and save typing.
For example, if CoreDBMS is placed in a directory named CORES, a
batch file with the following lines could be used to move to the
proper directory, set the colors, set the monitor for CGA-mode, and
the line printer for port 2:
cd c:\CORES
Coredbms /hl=3/fg=1/bg=7/lpt2/cga