DP Tool Club 24/CD_ASCQ_24_0995.iso/vrac/fill506.zip/BRUCE506.DOC

Text File | 1995-06-13 | 19KB | 414 lines

BRUCE506.DOC
06/13/95

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                              Contact information

For the following routines:  AV, BFIND, COPSINCE, DATES, DIRCOMP, DIRTOTAL,
FILL, FIXTEXT, FORTUNE, PAGINATE, READINIT, and READMAKE-created files:

                Bruce Guthrie
                Wayne Software
                113 Sheffield St.
                Silver Spring, MD 20910

                fax: [phone]

For the following routines:  CHANGE, CONVERT, FILUPDAT, ISAMFIND/ISAMMAKE,
READ, READY, and SPLITREC:

                Bruce Guthrie
                Room H-4885
                U.S. Dept of Commerce/ESA/STAT-USA
                Washington, DC 20230

                fax: [phone]
                voice: [phone]

                E-Mail: [e-mail]

Foreign users:  Please provide an Internet-reachable e-mail address in all
correspondence if you have any hope of getting a reply!  Internet e-mail is the
preferred method of contact for all other users as well.  Remember, CompuServe
and Prodigy are now Internet accessible.

Since these programs are typically "freeware" (with the exception of people
trying to make money from them instead of me), they generate maybe $100/year in
revenue for me.  As such, my ability to afford wonderful customer support is
somewhat restricted.  Please do not leave messages saying "Call me long
distance".  Also, please be specific about what problems you encounter and
include command-line inputs as well as any control or INI files that you're
using.

The "production" releases of these programs are posted directly by me (Bruce
Guthrie, the author) on the Simtel ftp site at oak.oakland.edu.  More
information about locations at this site is provided later.  People are
encouraged to upload them to bulletin board systems but I do not upload them to
BBS's myself.

Standard disclaimer in this society:  Wayne Software disclaims all warranties as
to this software, whether express or implied, including without limitation any
implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose,
functionality, data integrity or protection.


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                                  Introduction

This documentation provides some overview information on a number of utilities
that have been posted by Wayne Software.  All programs described herein were
written by Bruce Guthrie.  Most are distributed with a Wayne Software copyright.
Others were written for the U.S. Department of Commerce.  All are free for use
provided relevant documentation is kept with the programs, no changes are made
to the programs or documentation, and they are not bundled with commercial
programs or charged for separately.

CHANGE, CONVERT, FILUPDAT, ISAMFIND/ISAMMAKE, READ, and SPLITREC are excluded
from the commercial-packaging restriction.  These programs are owned by the
U.S. Department of Commerce and may be re-distributed without restriction.

People who need to bundle AV, BFIND, COPSINCE, DATES, DIRCOMP, DIRTOTAL, FILL,
FIXTEXT, FORTUNE, PAGINATE, READINIT, or READMAKE files in commercial packages
other than shareware/freeware collections must pay a $50 registration fee to
"Wayne Software" at the following address.  READMAKE-created files are also
subject to this limitation.  I don't expect to make any money from these
utilities but I don't want others to sell them instead.

This collection of utilities were compiled using Microsoft's Visual BASIC for
DOS 1.0 compiler.  In each case, Thomas G. Hanlin III's excellent PBClone
routines, release 2.3, provided additional functionality.  Since Tom has
announced that he will be dropping support for his PBClone routines to allow
himself to spend time on a real life, future directions for my routines is
uncertain.  The basic routines should be able to be maintained indefinitely;
we'll see.  I keep thinking that I should be doing Windows programming but it's
hard to get psyched up for that when you think of Windows as a computer virus.

Each of the utilities are separately described in a like-named *.DOC file.  This
documentation (BRUCEymm.DOC--the file release date is indicated by the "ymm"
parameter) serves to summarize the various utilities.

Most of the routines have defaults that can altered by using initialization
files (inifiles).  These are described in the appropriate documentation.  (One
thing about *.INI files; if you don't have one, it's in your interests to
specify the "/-I" parameter.  Otherwise, the program searches your entire DOS
path looking for the file.)

Wayne Software also writes programs, batch files, and sets up menu systems for
people on a for-fee basis.  If you desire this service, contact Wayne Software
at the address specified above.


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                            The programs themselves

The utilities are uploaded with a ZIP name that includes the year and month of
the release in a "ymm" format ("409" is September 1994 version).  The files are
posted directly by the author to the Simtel archives at oak.oakland.edu and are
available via anonymous ftp through that site.  Users are encouraged to post the
files on bulletin boards and such but, again, the author directly posts only to
the Simtel archives.

In addition, beginning in June 1995, I will be posting the current versions of
everything on the anonymous ftp site ftp.cu.nih.gov.  Check under the directory
BGUTHRIE.  While the Simtel archives will have the official versions, the NIH
site will have the absolute most current version.  There won't be any
significant differences between the Simtel versions and the NIH versions; the
NIH versions will just have some minor tweeking differences.  The NIH site may
also have beta versions of the software that the Simtel site won't have until
it's ready.  The NIH site may not be available to me in the long-term whereas
the Simtel site will be.

The current version of each program is documented below.  In addition, the
Simtel subdirectory name, the Simtel one-line description, and the regular short
file description (from the *.DIZ file) are provided for each of the programs.

This listing is current as of the June 1995 (906) release.

SimTel/msdos/arcutil/
av412.zip       Archive view: Free ZIP etc directory viewer

AV.EXE:  Archive directory viewer.  Presents list of files in archive (ZIP, ARC,
etc) and lets you sort as desired.  Also allows resetting of the file date based
on the archive's contents.

SimTel/msdos/textutil/
bfind501.zip    Boolean FIND command (BFIND BEGIN & END)

BFIND.EXE:  Allows Boolean-type FIND requests.  For example, find any line with
one string AND another one, or any line with one string OR another.

SimTel/msdos/textutil/
chang501.zip    Change strings in text files

CHANGE.EXE:  Processes change commands in files.  Files can be of any size and
type (e.g.  binary or text) and are processed quickly.  Up to thirty change
commands can be processed in a single pass.  Also provides ability to remove
trailing spaces from text files.

SimTel/msdos/spredsht/
convr505.zip    Convert dBase, ASCII-delim, fixed, 1-2-3

CONVERT.EXE and SPLITREC.EXE:  Converts between data formats:  FROM dBase,
ASCII-delimited (commas between fields and quotes around strings), and fixed
field TO Lotus WKS, ASCII-delimited, dBase, and fixed field.  Additional
SPLITREC program is primarily intended for handling mainframe-derived data sets
(which don't use CR/LF to indicate records), typically copied to the PC from a
tape; splits up the logical records into physical records.

SimTel/msdos/dirutil/
cops407.zip     Copies files modified since given date

COPSINCE.EXE:  Copies all files modified since a given date.  Primarily used for
making sure you have a back-up of stuff and also to copy updated programs to
another place.  Lets you define your own groupings of files if desired.

SimTel/msdos/batutil/
dates501.zip    Warns you in advance of birthdays etc

DATES.EXE:  Program that warns you in advance when an event like a birthday,
anniversary, or holiday is coming up.  The idea is to give you advance warning
so you can send a card or get out of town in time.

SimTel/msdos/dirutil/
dirco505.zip    Updates files based on source directory

DIRCOMP.EXE:  Similar in some ways to DOS's REPLACE command but adds ability to
delete extra files in the destination subdirectory, copy hidden and system
files, and prepare a report showing inconsistencies.

SimTel/msdos/dirutil/
dirto505.zip    Directory lister and totaller

DIRTOTAL.EXE:  Prepares report showing files in subdirectory or drive.  Allows
some restriction requests (show only files with date greater than a certain
value).  Similar to Norton's FF and Ray Van Tassle's WIZ command (which is a
great program but it doesn't work on network or CD-ROM discs) in some ways but
presents a more formal report.  Also allows you to look for duplicate file names
and search by attributes or dates.

SimTel/msdos/diskutil/
fill506.zip     Stuffs as many files as possible on disk

FILL.EXE:  Program designed to move files off to floppy diskettes, taking the
biggest files first and skipping those that won't fit.  Also provides option of
splitting large files up, creating a status report, and other features.

SimTel/msdos/dirutil/
filup503.zip    Copy updated files based on a control list

FILUPDAT.EXE:  Program which compares a selected list of files in a source path
against those in another path and copies those that have been updated.  Similar
to DOS' REPLACE command but works from a stored list of files and can handle any
number of directories.

SimTel/msdos/textutil/
fixtx407.zip    Translate text file characters en masse

FIXTEXT.EXE:  Program which applies a user-definable character-translation table
to a text file.  Can allow you to convert graphics characters to their ASCII
equivalents, lowercase letters to uppercase letter, etc.  Can also be used to
translate DOS text files to Mac or Unix text files and vice versa.  Can also
expand tabs, remove trailing spaces, and remove backspaces.

SimTel/msdos/batutil/
fortn411.zip    Fine-tunes DOS FOR command w/options

FORTUNE.EXE:  A tuner-upper for the DOS FOR command.  Generates a batch file
which does all those wildcard things you wished FOR could do (like "FORTUNE IN
(*.BAS) DO RENAME %A %2*.*" to remove parts of file names).  Lets you do all
sorts of things including distinguishing file name roots from their extensions
as well as incrementing file names by specified values.

SimTel/msdos/textutil/
isamf412.zip    Full-text searching help desk documents

ISAMFIND.EXE and ISAMMAKE.EXE:  Programs that work in conjunction to provide
full-text searching of text files.  This is useful for helpdesk applications and
other functions where you want to search for files and retrieve the "best"
document that matches your search criteria.

SimTel/msdos/textutil/
pagin506.zip    Paginates text (headers, indexes, sorting...)

PAGINATE.EXE:  Reformats text files with imbedded formatting codes.  Handles
things like titles, footers, indexes, alignment, justification, multicolumn
listings, etc.  Also provides support for imbedding tabular data in
ASCII-delimited or dBase formats which can be imbedded and/or sorted in your
reports.

SimTel/msdos/textutil/
read506.zip     Free viewer, also make any text self-viewing

READ.EXE, READY.EXE, READINIT.EXE, and READMAKE.EXE:  Text file browser.
Supports marking, copying text, reading Unix and Mac text files, etc.  READ and
READMAKE only work with files of 16,000 lines or less (maybe 800,000 bytes).
READY truncates any lines over 80 characters in length but handles files of an
unlimited number of lines.  Includes program which takes an ASCII-text file and
makes it self-viewable (using a READ clone).


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                            Beta-zoids...  Thanks to

Beta testers are always desired for these utilities.  You don't get a damned
thing out of being one (which is about what I get for writing them) but it
doesn't cost you much besides an hour or two and lets you have more of an impact
on the future courses of the routines.

In order to be a beta tester, you have to be able to receive and processed large
uuencoded files via e-mail (which probably precludes AOL, CompuServe, or Prodigy
subscribers; sorry).  If you're interested, drop a message to me at
[e-mail] and tell me which routine(s) you're interested in being on the
list for.

Existing routines have gotten suggestions, comments, and even complements from
all over the world (definitely something I *love* about the Internet).  No money
of course but the ego's a powerful thing to feed!  (The flamers of course should
be burned at the stake or maybe start writing their own programs instead of
criticizing other people's.) Thanks to (and sorry for screwing up some of these
addresses and for forgetting to put in others)...

CHANGE:         [e-mail]
CHANGE:         [e-mail]
CHANGE:         rallings@[e-mail]
CHANGE:         [e-mail]
CONVERT:        [e-mail]
CONVERT:        [e-mail]
CONVERT:        [e-mail]
CONVERT:        [e-mail]
CONVERT:        [e-mail]
CONVERT:        [e-mail]
CONVERT:        [e-mail]
DATES:          [e-mail]
DATES:          [e-mail]
DATES:          [e-mail]
DATES:          [e-mail]
DATES:          [e-mail]
DIRCOMP:        [e-mail]
DIRCOMP:        [e-mail]
DIRTOTAL:       [e-mail]
DIRTOTAL:       [e-mail]
DIRTOTAL:       [e-mail]
FILL:           [e-mail]
FILL:           [e-mail]
FILL:           [e-mail]
FILL:           [e-mail]
FORTUNE:        [e-mail]
ISAMFIND:       [e-mail]
PAGINATE:       [e-mail]
PAGINATE:       [e-mail]
READ:           [e-mail]
READ:           [e-mail]


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                                Revision history

Detailed revision histories for the programs are only maintained for the last
three releases.  After that, you get the major revision summaries only for the
next three releases.  After that, you get almost nothing.  No one reads this
junk anyway, right?  Programmer types like to put in it in just to justify what
they've been doing over the last couple of years.

-------------- (full detail; revisions made 1 to 3 months ago)
Release 95/06:

  All programs:  Started posting in BGUTHRIE subdirectory on ftp.cu.nih.gov.
  This site may not be permanently accessible to me.

  FILL:  Added /LETTER and /-LETTER parameters.

  ISAMMAKE:  Added option of reading the first line of the file to provide the
  file description.

  PAGINATE:  Added /HTML and /-HTML commands to remove imbedded HTML commands.

  READ:  Tossed in READY text-file viewer too.  Also free.  Similar to READ but
  operates by rewriting the file to your hard disk.  This is a disk hog but
  allows you to view files of an unlimited line count.  Truncates any lines over
  80 characters in length.  You might not see this program in there in the
  future but I kind of like it.

Release 95/05:

  All programs:  Removed the message about "Init file xxxx could not be found"
  if the init file was the default init file.  I got tired of people saying that
  the message was an error message instead of a status message.  It's still
  turned off automatically if you pass in /Q or if the output is being
  redirected to an output file.

  CONVERT:  Maintenance release.  Bundling with SPLITREC now.  Made a minor
  change to fix errors when ASCII-delimited character fields were
  null-delimited.

  DIRCOMP:  Added some error checking.  Otherwise, maintenance release.

  DIRTOTAL:  Fixed a bug with respect to SET DIRTOTAL= settings.  Otherwise,
  maintenance release.

  FILL:  I didn't realize the maximum number of files in the root varied based
  on the size of the diskette.  Changed that.  Also mentioned in the
  documentation this time that switching diskette densities (e.g.  putting in a
  1.44MB and then a 720K diskette) in the middle of a /MULTI operation can cause
  problems.  Minor other changes.

  MULTICOL:  Finally dropped this one.

  PAGINATE:  Had problems with footers.  Fixed that.  Fixes for CONVERT were
  incorporated.  There were problems sorting on numeric columns; fixed.
  Maintenance release.

  SPLITREC:  Throw-away program for mainframe data sets, converting logical
  records into physical records (ending with CR/LF).  I never intended to
  release this but people started asking for it.  Bundled with the CONVERT ZIP.

-------------- (kind of terse; revisions made 4 to 6 months ago)
Release 95/03:

  DIRTOTAL:  Fixed division by zero errors when using /CLUSTERS option.

Release 95/02:

  FILL:  Added support for @flistfile specification.

  READ:  Changed program so that Find brings up text about two lines before the
  actual found text.  The also affects READMAKE-created files.

Release 95/01:

  All routines:  Dropped references to CONFIGWS.EXE in the documentation.  Now
  accept an environmental variable as another way of setting the desired
  defaults (e.g.  "SET FILL=/-I").

  CONVERT:  Now allows dBase files with memo fields to be read; the memo fields
  are automatically ignored however.

  DATES:  Added the ability to include certain options within a dates input
  file.  Fixed leap-year problem.

  FILL:  Added some some rudimentary error-detection (e.g.  for bad sectors).

-------------- (real terse)
Release 94/12:
  New:  PAGINATE.

Release 94/11:
  New:  ISAMFIND/ISAMMAKE.

Release 94/06:
  New:  DATES.

Release 94/02:
  New:  FORTUNE.

Release 94/01:
  New:  COPSINCE and FIXTEXT.

Release 93/03:
  New:  AV and READINIT.

Release 93/01:
  First release posted on SIMTEL (Internet).
  New:  The DEMO System (shareware and not part of normal package).