The Original Shareware 1.1

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Text File | 1990-05-27 | 26KB | 361 lines

╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ STORM ║ ║ Version 6.0 ║ ║ (c) 1987,1990 by UTopia Software, All Rights Reserved ║ ║ Programmed by: Thomas Pesek ║ ╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ This program is provided as Shareware. It may be copied and distributed, but only in it's complete, original, and unaltered form. Every effort has been made to assure that this product is free of defects, however it is provided as is and no warranty, either expressed or implied is given. If you use this product, I ask that you send me a $25 contribution for registration (Texas residents add $2.00 State Sales Tax). You will receive the latest version of STORM with several added features including the STORM GENIE hurricane track matching feature and over 100 Storm tracks. Mail to: UTopia Software P. O. Box 420324 Houston, Texas 77242 Registering your program will entitle you to notification of updates and enhancements and product support. It has taken hundreds of hours of research, design, and programming to produce STORM. I hope that you enjoy it and that you will drop me a letter of encouragement (hopefully with a registration enclosed). At any rate, I hope that you enjoy this program as much as I do. -- Tom Pesek ╔═══════════════════════╗ ║ PROGRAM DESCRIPTION ║ ╚═══════════════════════╝ The purpose of this program is to track hurricanes. Storm tracks can be stored in disk files for future use. You can enter storm data and print reports on the storm's location by date and time. In addition, you can generate tracking maps showing the storm's position and track. STORM generates hardcopy plots using an Epson or IBM printer or an HP Plotter. You can track to one of 17 track-to cities or enter the coordinates of your own city. ╔═════════════╗ ║ MAIN MENU ║ ╚═════════════╝ The MAIN MENU presents six (6) options: 0) CONFIGURE - Configure the program to your computer hardware 1) NEW STORM - Enter data for a storm not yet on the disk. 2) UPDATE/PRINT - Edit, Update, List, and Print Storm Data 3) PLOT - Plot a Storm on a map on the screen, a Dot Matrix Printer, or an HP Plotter. 4) TRACK-TO CITY - Change track-to city or enter your city's data. 5) DOS - Return to DOS. ╔═════════════════════════╗ ║ CONFIGURE YOUR SYSTEM ║ ╚═════════════════════════╝ This option allows you to custom tailor STORM to your computer. You can choose your Adapter, Monitor, and Plotter types, Plotter port, Default map, Time Zone, Wind Speed Units, and Central Pressure Units. You can also set the path to your storm files subdirectory and the name of your plot file. Once set, these options are automatically saved and used each time you start STORM. If you have trouble seeing STORM before changing these options, start STORM using: STORM /M <Return>. This sets STORM to use the monochrome mode. MONITOR TYPE This option allows you to select your monitor type. Some monochrome monitors will display "OK" in the color setting, others won't. If you have difficulty reading your monochrome screens, set the monitor type to Monochrome. ADAPTER TYPE Select the type of graphics adapter in your system: VGA- For a VGA Graphics Card and VGA or Multisync Monitor (Displays 16 Color Storm Map (640 x 480)) EGA- for an EGA Graphics Card (with 128 K memory) & EGA Monitor (Displays 16 Color Storm Map (640 x 350)) CGA- for CGA or Hercules Graphics Card (Displays 4 Color Storm Map (320 x 200) NOTE: Storm requires a graphics adapter. If a Hercules Graphics adapter is used, STORM must be started by typing STORM-H <RETURN> to invoke the CGA emulator. DEFAULT MAP This option selects the map view that appears when you use Option 3 to plot the hurricane on the map. Select GULF for the Gulf coast map, EAST for the US East Coast, FULL for a map of the entire STORM tracking area, or LAST to use your last map setting (This setting automatically remembers your last zoom or pan location.) PLOTTER TYPE If you have a plotter on your system, use this option to select your plotter type. If your plotter is not listed try using one of the listed plotters. Compare your results until you find the best match. The Epson HI80 plotter is supported only with a HP emulation board installed. If you Plot to File, be sure to set the plotter type for the type of plotter you will eventually use. STORM uses several high-level HP-GL commands. Many HP-GL translation programs do not translate these commands. If you are using a translate program on a STORM plot file and are having trouble, you may want to try a screen capture utility instead. If you don't have a plotter, set the plotter type to NONE. PLOTTER PORT Select the port to which your plotter is connected. Valid entries are: NONE, COM1, COM2, LPT1, LPT2, LPT3, & FILE. COM Ports should be configured: 9600 Baud, No Parity, 8 bits and 1 Stop Bit. File plots are written to the Path/Filename entered in the Path/Filename field. If you don't have a plotter, set the plotter port to NONE. TIME ZONE Time data is stored in storm files in GMT to correspond to the data format of the NOAA weather archives. Select the time format in which you wish to enter and display your data, and STORM will translate the data for you automatically. Current valid choices are: GMT (Greenwich Mean Time), EST (Eastern Standard Time), CST (Central Standard Time), AST (Atlantic Standard Time), EDT (Eastern Daylight Time) and CDT (Central Daylight Time). WIND SPEED UNITS Wind speed data is stored in storm files in knots to correspond to the data format of the NOAA weather archives. Select the wind speed format in which you wish to enter and display your data, and STORM will translate the data for you automatically. Current valid choices are: MPH (Miles per Hour) and Kts (Knots). CENTRAL PRESSURE UNITS Central pressure data is stored in storm files in millibars to correspond to the data format of the NOAA weather archives. Select the central pressure format in which you wish to enter and display your data, and STORM will translate the data for you automatically. Current valid choices are: in (inches) and mb (millibars). STORM FILES PATH This field allows you to enter the location of your storm data files. Enter the full path including drive and directory. I recommend the following settings: C:\STORM\STORMS\ (for hard disk drives) or A:\STORMS\ or B:\STORMS\ (for floppy disk drives) If you leave the field blank, STORM will look for its files in the current default directory. This will cause STORM not to find any storm files on the program disk. Storm files are stored in a subdirectory on your disk rather than in the root directory, because the root directory is limited to only 112 entries. If STORM ever has trouble locating its storm data files, check this path for errors. STORM PLOT FILE PATH/NAME This field allows you to enter the path & name of the file to which plots are sent if the PLOT TO FILE option is selected in the port settings list. You don't need to fill-in this field unless you plan to use the PLOT TO FILE option. ╔═════════════════════════╗ ║ ENTER A NEW HURRICANE ║ ╚═════════════════════════╝ This option allows you to enter the INITIAL data on a storm which is not currently on the disk. You will be prompted to enter: 1) DATE, 2) TIME, 3) LATITUDE, 4) LONGITUDE, 5) WIND SPEED and 6) CENTRAL PRESSURE. (Set data units using Option 0 - Configure) NOTE: Latitudes less than 0 degrees North or greater than 45 degrees North and Longitudes less than 40 degrees West or greater than 110 degrees West will not be displayed on the map in option 3. Information will, however, be listed for these points on the printed summary in option 2. WARNING: This option should NOT be used for storms that are currently stored on the disk, as it will overwrite the existing data. You will be warned if a storm name already exists, before it is overwritten. ╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ UPDATE, EDIT, LIST, PRINT, RENAME, OR DELETE A STORM ║ ╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ This option allows you to modify your storm data files. You can update a storm, enter ADDITIONAL data points, or Edit previously entered data. You can rename storm files or delete them if you desire. This option also allows you to list storm data on the screen and print it to a printer, if desired. When you enter data, remember that storm coordinates less than 0 degrees N or greater than 45 degrees N Latitude and less than 40 degrees W or greater than 110 degrees W Longitude won't show on the map. Dates are in the format (mm/dd/yy) and times are in the format (hh:mm) Data entry formats are set in Option 0 (Configure) When editing use <UP ARROW> to go to previous record, <DOWN ARROW> to go to the next record, <HOME> to go to the first record, <END> to go to the last record, <INS> to insert a record before the displayed record, <DEL> to delete record, <ENTER> to edit, or <ESC> when done. ╔═══════════════╗ ║ STORM GENIE ║ ╚═══════════════╝ This feature selects Storms from the Storms database which match your selection criteria. You can select storms by year of occurrence, location, time of year (season), track-to city location, and storm strength. Matching storms are displayed. You can then continue or choose to change the settings, if desired. The Year of Occurrence option finds storms which occurred between the selected starting and ending years. The Location option finds storms which passed within the tracking radius of the specified location. This location defaults to the current location of the current storm. NOTE: Actual Data Points are matched, not storm tracks. In high Latitudes where storms move at high speed you may need to adjust the tracking radius to 200-300 Miles to find all the matching storms. The Season option selects storms that occurred between a starting and ending date. The default dates are set according to the season in which the current storm occurred, as defined by the National Weather Service. These are: Early - May 1 thru July 15; Mid - July 16 thru Sept. 20; and Late - Sept. 20 thru Nov. 30. Any set of dates may be entered, however. If you choose to input dates other than the default dates, the season indication will not change and should be ignored. The Track-to option selects storms that passed within the tracking radius of the track-to location. This location defaults to the location of the current track-to city. The Storm strength option selects storms of a certain strength or greater. It uses the following intensity classifications: Tropical Depression - Winds of up to 39 miles per hour Tropical Storm - Winds from 40 to 73 miles per hour. Category 1 Hurricane - Winds of 74 to 95 miles per hour. Category 2 Hurricane - Winds of 96 to 110 miles per hour. Category 3 Hurricane - Winds of 111 to 130 miles per hour. Category 4 Hurricane - Winds of 131 to 155 miles per hour. Category 5 Hurricane - Winds greater than 155 miles per hour. You can select whether this intensity occurs at the current location, at the track-to location, or anywhere along the track. You may select one or more than one of these options at a time to limit the number of storms selected. If you are unhappy with the storms found, select the re-try option, change your selections and try again. When you are pleased with your selections, continue on to the plotting map. NOTE: This program is not intended to be used to make life or death decisions. As you know, if you have studied past hurricanes, they seldom maintain constant course and speed. Please don't use this program to predict a storm's path. Instead, please follow the advice of your local authorities. It's always better to be safe than sorry. I want to keep you around as a customer for a long time! ╔═══════════════════════════╗ ║ PLOT A STORM ON THE MAP ║ ╚═══════════════════════════╝ This option allows you to track the storm on a screen map and print it on an Epson style printer or plot it with an HP plotter, if desired. The map can be zoomed and panned to get the desired view using the <F10> key. The <F9> key terminates the map at any time. The <ENTER> or <ESC> keys leave the map after it is drawn. You can choose the storms to plot by tagging them on the list. You may choose as many storms as you wish. (Only 4 storms in Shareware version) This feature allows you to compare the current storm with past storms. The map can be plotted with or without 5 deg Latitude/Longitude lines. You can advance the storms using "AUTO ADVANCE" or "MANUAL" advance. If you choose MANUAL ADVANCE you will be prompted to "PRESS ANY KEY" to advance the storm to the next position. If you choose "AUTO ADVANCE" you can set the time delay for plot advances. This delay is multiplied by the time between data points to move the storm at a speed relative to its actual movement. 0 time delay defeats this feature and plots the storms as fast as possible. If you choose pause between storms, the program will pause after each storm is plotted, and you will be prompted to "PRESS ANY KEY" to plot the next storm. If you wish to mark every point on your storm track choose <Y> on the annotate feature or if you wish to mark only the first point of each day choose <D> on the annotate feature, if you want no marks choose <N> on the annotate feature. Storm has three display modes. If you choose <S> (standard), Storm uses 5 colors or 5 line types to distinguish storms. If you choose <I> (intensity) each storm track is displayed in Purple or wide dash if a Tropical depression; green or medium dash if a tropical storm; yellow or close dash if a category I,II, or III Hurricane; and red or solid line if a category IV or V hurricane. Finally, if you choose <C> (compare), the first storm is tracked in red or solid line type and all other storm tracks are plotted in blue or dashed line type. The <PROJECT FEATURE> will plot the projected location of the storm in 12 hours using the last speed and direction. I don't put much faith in these projections, but my users ask for it, so here it is. When the storm is not moving on the map, you may press the <PRINT SCREEN> key and print the map out on your IBM or Epson dot matrix printer, provided that you have run the "GRAPHICS.COM" program found on your DOS disk before running STORM. A "shades of gray" hard copy of the map is generated. STORM supports Hewlett Packard 7470A, 7475A, 7550A, & ColorPro Plotters & the EPSON HI80 plotter with HPGL emulator card installed. PAN / ZOOM FEATURE To activate the PAN/ZOOM Feature press <F10>. Press <PgUp> to zoom-in. Press <PgDn> to Zoom-out. Press arrow keys to pan up/dn or left/right. Press <END> to display the entire storm tracking map. Press <HOME> to display default map. Press <ENTER> when you are finished and your map will be redrawn using your new image window. ╔════════════════════════╗ ║ CHANGE TRACK-TO CITY ║ ╚════════════════════════╝ This option will allow you to change the Track-To City. Use the highlight bar to select the city and press <RETURN> to select the city. If your city is not listed you can choose the "your city" option. This option allows you to enter the name, latitude and longitude of your city. The program will then track to your city. Values for the latitude and the longitude of your city can be obtained from various maps and reference books. In addition, a list of latitudes and longitudes for several cities is included on the data disk in a file called "LATLONG.ADD". If NONE is entered, no track-to city is used. ╔═══════════════╗ ║ EXIT TO DOS ║ ╚═══════════════╝ This option will terminate the program and return you to DOS.