ASP Advantage 1993

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Text File | 1990-11-30 | 21KB | 529 lines

MATCH (Ver. 2.01) Copyright (C) 1990 SOFTWEST All Rights Reserved. _______ ____|__ | (tm) --| | |------------------- | ____|__ | Association of | | |_| Shareware |__| o | Professionals -----| | |--------------------- |___|___| MEMBER 5120 Campbell Ave. Suite 216 San Jose, CA 95130 (408) 370-7095 (408) 370-7096 (FAX) CIS: 70205,533 (Tom Crosley) Packing List ------------ The complete MATCH 2.0 evaluation package (typically compressed into a .ZIP or self-extracting .EXE file) should contain the following files. Please be sure that each file is present. If any of these files are missing then the package is not complete and is not suitable for distribution to others. File Name: Purpose of File: ------------ ----------------------------------------- MATCH.DOC This text file. User manual, warranty disclaimer, plus information on registering your copy of MATCH. MATCH.EXE The executable program for IBM PC/XT/AT/PS2 and 100% compatible computers running MS-DOS/PC-DOS 2.10 or later with a minimum of 256K RAM (and any compatible display). MATCHDEM.OLD Sample file MATCHDEM.NEW Sample file with minor differences ORDER.DOC Self-contained order form/mailer SYSOP.DOC Information for Bulletin Board System distribution. VENDOR.DOC Information and restrictions for disk vendors, distributors, user groups, and more. - 1 - Disclaimer of Warranty ---------------------- Users of MATCH must accept this disclaimer of warranty: "MATCH 2.0 is supplied as is. SOFTWEST disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, including, without limitation, any warranties of merchantability or fitness for any purpose. SOFTWEST does not assume any liability for the use of this software beyond the original purchase price of this software. In no event will SOFTWEST be liable to you for any additional damages, including any lost profits, lost savings or other incidental or consequential damages arising from the use of, or inability to use, this software, even if SOFTWEST has been advised of the possibility of such damages." This program is produced by a member of the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the shareware principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware-related problem with an ASP member by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does not provide technical support for members' products. Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at P.O. Box 5786, Bellevue, WA 98006 or send a Compuserve message via easyplex to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536. Overview -------- MATCH is a program designed to compare documents line by line. For a summary of program usage and options, simply run MATCH with no parameters. To compare two files run MATCH from the DOS command line with the following parameters: C>MATCH old_file_name new_file_name MATCH will process each file and display the old file's line numbers on the left and the new file's line numbers on the right. Each lines contents will be appropriately displayed to the right of each file's line numbers. If there is a mismatch, the incompatible lines will be displayed as a deletion from the old file and/or an addition to the new file. Enter: C>MATCH MATCHDEM.OLD MATCHDEM.NEW and the following is displayed: - 2 - MATCHDEM.OLD MATCHDEM.NEW 1 1 Line 111 | | 3 3 Line 333 +------------------------------------------------------ | 4 /DELETED/ Line 555 | 5 /DELETED/ Line 444 | | 4 **ADDED** Line 444 | 5 **ADDED** Line 555 +------------------------------------------------------ 6 6 Line 666 | | 8 8 Line 888 In the above example, the author of the two files had two lines reversed in his old version. In the newer version of his document, the lines were in numerical order. Try this example yourself; the two files are included in the package. MATCH takes wildcards such as: *.BAT or FILE??.D* For example, to match two versions of C language source files contained in directories VER1 and VER2, you could type: C>MATCH VER1\*.C VER2 and MATCH would compare each file with a .C extension in directory VER1 with its counterpart in directory VER2. If a list of specific files needs to be matched on a repetitive basis, use @files. @Files contain just filenames, with or without wildcards. For example: where: @L1 @L2 --- --- C>MATCH @L1 @L2 THIS.C D:*.C TEST3 \T\TEST? TEST5 TEST7 If the above is executed, MATCH will attempt to compare the following pairs of files: .\THIS.C D:.\THIS.C .\TEST3. \T\TEST3. .\TEST5. \T\TEST5. .\TEST7. \T\TEST7. MATCH uses the same algorithm with respect to wildcards that the DOS 'COMP' command uses. This method assumes that the set of files represented by the second file name (using wildcards and/or an @file), is a subset of the set of files represented by the first file name (also using wildcards and/or an @file). - 3 - Options ------- The options must be preceded by one of these symbols: -, +, or /. Options may be typed in upper or lower case. Each option must be entered separately (surrounded by spaces): -A Ask user for confirmation before displaying more lines to the screen when it fills up. This option controls output to console (screen) allowing the user to display the next line of the match session (by pressing Enter), the next page (by pressing the Space bar), or to skip the rest of the current file comparison and start the next one (by pressing the Esc key). The latter works only with filenames containing wildcards or '@' (response) files. -Bnnnnn With this option, increase the maximum number of lines that MATCH can handle at a given time. nnnnn is the maximum number of lines and must be less than 65536. The corresponding buffer size can be determined by: size = (#lines * 2files * 4bytes) Since the default number of lines is 20,000 (same as -B20000), the default buffer size is: (20,000 * 2 * 4) = 160,000 bytes This number (160 KBytes) can be added to the program length plus about 20 KBytes to find the total amount of memory needed to run MATCH. -C[n[,n]] Use this option to send codes (condensed, etc.) to the printer. -C alone sends a condensed code for Epson printers (15 decimal, 0F hex). To send several codes, just separate them by commas: '-C1,2,3,4,5'. -Dnnn Increase the comparison depth with this option. MATCH defaults to comparing 150 (same as -D150) lines before assuming there is no match for the current line compared in the other file. If your files have deleted or added text larger than 150 lines use this option. -F Ignore any existing form feeds. Only applies when -S is used also. -H Displays a help screen. This option is useful when you have typed a long line of filenames and options, and then need some help. Type -h Enter, and the help screen is displayed. To continue where you left off, press F3 and backspace twice. - 4 - -I Ignores case during file comparison. -J With this option, MATCH will not display any information about files that match exactly. This is a contrast to the -L option which displays all lines, no matter what. -L Display all lines, not just those not found in the other file. -Mnnn Number of consecutive lines that must match or they will be rejected as an addition/deletion. Used to avoid falsely matching up on common sequences of lines that might be found several times in the same document (such as blank lines) or language files (such as end of functions). MATCH defaults to 4 lines (same as -M4) that must match. Consider the case where the following was produced by MATCH: FILE.OLD FILE.NEW 1 1 1111 +--------------------------------------- | 2 /DELETED/ 2222 | 3 /DELETED/ 3333 | 4 /DELETED/ 4444 | 5 /DELETED/ 5555 | | 2 **ADDED** AAAA | 3 **ADDED** 3333 | 4 **ADDED** 4444 | 5 **ADDED** BBBB +--------------------------------------- 6 6 6666 | | 8 8 8888 If MATCH was rerun with the -M2 OR -M1 option, MATCH would then display the following: FILE.OLD FILE.NEW 1 1 1111 +--------------------------------------- | 2 /DELETED/ 2222 | | 2 **ADDED** AAAA +--------------------------------------- 3 3 3333 | | - 5 - 4 4 4444 +--------------------------------------- | 5 /DELETED/ 5555 | | 5 **ADDED** BBBB +--------------------------------------- 6 6 6666 | | 8 8 8888 -P Paginate MATCH's output. With this option only, MATCH displays the files' date and time of last modification. MATCH will also put the current date and page number at the top of each page, and in the case of wildcards, start each pair of files on a new page. -R Displays registration information and an order form. To print a copy of the order form, type: C>MATCH -R > PRN, and the instructions will remain on the screen while the form will be sent to the printer. -S Ignore spaces and tabs when matching. -T Change tab size. The default is 8 spaces per tab. Use this option when the input files were created in an environment having a different tab size. -Vnnn Vertical spacing, or lines per page. This only applies with the -P option, and defaults to 54 lines per page (same as -V54). This of course is for 6 lines per vertical inch. For 8 lines/inch use -V76. -W Disallow wrapping of long lines (i.e., truncate the lines longer than the screen is wide). The following line will print, in condensed mode and paginated, just the differences between all files in directories ONE and TWO: C>MATCH -c -j -p ONE TWO >prn Or, you could redirect the output to a file first, and then print the file using DOS's background PRINT command. - 6 - Error Codes and Messages ------------------------ MATCH returns a status code upon program termination, which can be tested with the DOS IF ERRORLEVEL command. The status code for MATCH is the number of file comparisons with mismatches that occurred. This means that if ten file pairs were matched, and two pairs mismatched at least once the DOS status code will be 2. However, there is one exception. If there is some type of error, such as not being able to find the files, or lacking sufficient memory for the comparison, the DOS status code is 255. To efficiently match very large files, up to 65535 lines (not bytes) each, MATCH does its comparisons using a 32-bit hash code of each line. It is possible, but unlikely, for two different lines to have the same hash code. In this case, the difference is not noticed until the second pass when the files are listed, and is output as a "jackpot". History ------- An early version of MATCH was written in SNOBOL4 by Tom Crosley on an IBM mainframe around 1970. It was rewritten in PL/M ten years later when Tom started his consulting company (SOFTWEST), and was used on several micros. This latest version, written in C, was done by Devon Sumner who also works for SOFTWEST. Shareware --------- Shareware distribution gives users a chance to try software before buying it. If you try a Shareware program and continue using it, you are expected to register. Copyright laws apply to both Shareware and commercial software, and the copyright holder retains all rights, with a few specific exceptions as stated below. Shareware authors are accomplished programmers, just like commercial authors, and the programs are of comparable quality. (In both cases, there are good programs and bad ones!) The main difference is in the method of distribution. The author specifically grants the right to copy and distribute the software, either to all or to a specific group. Shareware is a distribution method, not a type of software. You should find software that suits your needs and pocketbook, whether it's commercial or Shareware. The Shareware system makes fitting your needs easier, because you can try before you buy. And because the overhead is low, prices are low also. Shareware has the ultimate money-back guarantee -- if you don't use the product, you don't pay for it. - 7 - MATCH 2.0 is a "shareware program" and is provided at no charge to the user for evaluation. Feel free to share it with your friends, but please do not give it away altered or as part of another system. The essence of "user-supported" software is to provide personal computer users with quality software without high prices, and yet to provide incentive for programmers to continue to develop new products. Registration ------------ If you find this program useful and find that you are using MATCH and continue to use MATCH after a 21-day trial period, you must register it by sending a payment of $25.00 to SOFTWEST. To print out a registration form, either run the program with the -R option, e.g. MATCH -R >PRN or print the file ORDER.DOC (which is a combination order form and self-contained mailer): PRINT ORDER.DOC When you register, you will be entitled to technical support. You will also receive a disk containing the latest version of the program, including the source code for MATCH set up to compile under both Microsoft C 5.1/6.0 and Turbo C 2.0. The $25.00 registration fee will license one copy for use on any one computer at any one time. You must treat this software just like a book. An example is that this software may be used by any number of people and may be freely moved from one computer location to another, so long as there is no possibility of it being used at one location while it's being used at another. Anyone distributing MATCH 2.0 for any kind of remuneration must first contact SOFTWEST (see VENDOR.DOC for more information). This authorization will be automatically granted to distributors recognized by the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP) as adhering to its guidelines for shareware distributors, and such distributors may begin offering MATCH 2.0 immediately. You are encouraged to pass a copy the shareware version of MATCH 2.0 along to your friends for evaluation. Please encourage them to register their copy if they find that they can use it. By registering your copy of MATCH 2.0, you will be encouraging future versions of the program. I hope you enjoy using MATCH, and let me know what you would like to see in the next version. -- Tom Crosley November, 1990 - 8 -