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The DEMO System
Wayne Software
113 Sheffield St.
Silver Spring, MD 20910
42 61 74 6D 61 6E 20 4C 69 76 65 73 21
Fax: (301) 588-8986
This file is a miscellaneous grab-bag of textual information. Sections:
* The various files included here
* Think about the future! Future plans to The DEMO System
* Revision history
If you're desperately looking for the description of what The DEMO System is,
read the DEMOSYS.DOC documentation.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The various files included here
The DEMO System comes in a ZIP file with the following files:
* DEMO.DOC: This file.
* DEMOMAKE.EXE: The DEMO System screen compiler. Creates the self-viewing
demonstration screen.
* DEMOSYS.DOC: Documentation on how to create and use control files used
by The DEMO System.
* DEMOSYS.REF: Reference manual detailing every command in The DEMO System.
(Excludes documentation on the DEMOSAVE.EXE program.)
* DEMODEMO.EXE: The DEMO System sampler, showing various features
* DEMODEMO.CTL: Control file used to create DEMODEMO.EXE.
* DEMOSCRS.EXE: TSR that saves screens in a file that can be processed by
the DEMOSCRX.EXE program.
* DEMOSCRS.DOC: Documentation for the DEMOSCRS.EXE program.
* DEMOSCRX.EXE: Program that takes screen files saved by DEMOSCRS.EXE TSR and
converts them into control files for The DEMO System or regular ANSI.SYS-
compatible files.
* DEMOSCRX.DOC: Documentation for the DEMOSCRX.DOC program.
* SAMPLES.ZIP: Contains all sample control files in the tutorial.
* TSHOW.EXE: Free GIF viewer required by the DEMODEMO.EXE program.
* WAYNESOF.GIF: GIF file required by the DEMODEMO.EXE program.
Registered users get the following two extra files:
* DEMOSAVE.DOC: Documentation for the DEMOSAVE.EXE program (available to
registered users only).
* DEMOSAVE.EXE: The DEMO System decompiler. Available to registered users
only.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Think about the future!
Well, I've been adding stuff like mad to The DEMO System. Most of the
enhancements I can't justify for real work-related reasons. The previous
version had enough features to allow me to write the menu program for the U.S.
Department of Commerce's diskette version of Clinton's Economic Plan with it.
(If you'd like to see that, call 1-800-647-6329 with a credit card and ask for
the diskette. It's $12 and you'll get it within a couple of days.) It also
worked fine for the full-screen menu system for our compact disc product the
National Trade Data Bank (1-202-482-1986, $35 for a double-disc issue).
The changes that came out with the current (DEMOS304.ZIP) version in part sprung
from related work I had to do for the diskette as well as a waiting laundry list
of features that couldn't be implemented until I had more symbol table space to
play with. I finally unwrapped VisualBASIC for DOS and suddenly I had space.
In any case, I (once again) plan to stop making revisions to this product and
wait for it to generate some revenue. (Do people actually pay for software?)
I'd like to hold off on the next release until I get at least 10 paid
registrations for the product. I have no idea if that's a ridiculously high
number or not but $500 would justify buying a CD-ROM drive and some other stuff
so that sounds like a good number to me. Still won't buy me a social life but
hey...
This sounds a little like pledge week on PBS.
Anyway, I'd like to add the following:
* The ability to view screens that are longer than 25 lines. These screens
would automatically support (UP), (DOWN), (HOME), (END), (PGUP), and (PGDN).
An additional VIEW command would be added for this function for label pages.
* A more universal IF test with ELSE, multiple statements, etc.
* Allow variable length cursor input lengths on a single screen.
* Ability to display some user-defined pop-up menus. For example, have someone
be able to establish a pull-down menu that, at any point, lets the user go
back to the start, end, turning sound on/off, etc. This will make more sense
if it ever gets implemented!
* Other suggestions are welcome. Registered users will get more consideration
of course.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Revision history
Release DEMOS304:
Much to my chagrin, I found I had uploaded an older infinite loop version of The
DEMO System on one BBS as DEMOS303.ZIP. I tried to put out a quickie fix
(DEMOX303.ZIP) and then decided to just hold off and put out a more stable
DEMOS304.ZIP release. So DEMOS304 is the same as DEMOS303 with a few bugs fixed
up.
-----------------
Release DEMOS303:
Boy! And I thought I did a lot of work to get DEMOS302 out!
Shifted the code from being compiled in QuickBASIC 4.5 to being compiled in
VisualBASIC for DOS 1.0. The result is a somewhat larger program that may
run slower because VBDOS uses far strings for everything. On the other hand,
the number of features in the old version was pushing the QB limits so the
shift was necessary. In general, you won't see any GUI functions from VBDOS
in this program; most of the standard functions don't have as much flexibility
as The DEMO System already had.
Split environmental variables into three logical groups:
* ^Uvar^: User-defined variables. Can be used in most places and can have
their values reassigned. These are the variables that have to be on the
receiving end of an ASSIGN, PROMPT, or LOADLOGO statement.
* %func%: System-defined functions. 60+ functions have been added
to the system, replacing the 13 (previously) environmental variables and
four PROMPT patterns that used to be required for verification and display
purposes. Functions all return a value. The functions are documented in
the DEMOSYS.REF manual.
* ^Evar^: True DOS-defined environmental variables. These can be displayed
and used on the sending end of an ASSIGN statement but they can't have their
value reassigned.
This change required a whole mess of changes to the program and in control files
themselves so be prepared to make some changes if you used ^Evar^ under the
older versions. The changes:
^ECOL^ becomes %Col%
^EDATE^ becomes %Date%
^EDIR^ becomes %Dir%
^EDISPLAY^ becomes %Display%
^EDISPLAYN^ becomes %DisplayNum%
^EETIME^ becomes %TimeElapsed%
^EFIELD^ becomes %FieldNum%
^EFDESC^ becomes %PageDesc%
^EFNAME^ becomes %PageName%
^EFSCR^ becomes %PageNum%
^EINITDIR^ becomes %DriveDirOrig%
^EROW^ becomes %Row%
^ETIME^ becomes %Time%
^E1^ to ^E9^ becomes %1% to %9%
FILESPEC pattern becomes %FileValid%(s)
MM/DD/YY pattern becomes %DateValid%(s)
PATH pattern disappears
VFILESPEC pattern becomes %FileExist%(s)
VPATH pattern becomes %PathExist%(s)
Added the ability to specify repetition factors in PROMPT patterns. You can now
specify the number of times to repeat the pattern character right before the
character so "10X" translates as "XXXXXXXXXX".
Totally recoded the prompting module. Previously, the PROMPT command syntax
was:
PROMPT/PROMPTA ^Evar^ pattern prompt
The new syntax is:
PROMPT/PROMPTA ^Uvar^ "pattern" [ LEN=n ] [ RANGE=n-n ] [ DEF=s ]
[ TEST=cond [rel cond] ] [ QUIT=key ] [ VQUIT=key ] [ HELP=key ]
[ COLOR=n ] [ REQ ] [ NOESCAPE ] [ QUIET | -QUIET ]
Note that this is almost identical to the syntax being used in the new data
entry form command "@". Also note that the prompt itself now has to be issued
as part of a prior ECHO/ECHOA statement. The use of patterns like "MM/DD/YY"
has been replaced by the new TEST parameter. You can recode the following:
PROMPT ^Evar^ MM/DD/YY
PROMPT ^Evar^ FILESPEC
PROMPT ^Evar^ VFILESPEC
PROMPT ^Evar^ VPATH
as (in order):
PROMPT ^Uvar^ "NN/NN/NN" TEST=%DateValid%(^Uvar^) <> 0
PROMPT ^Uvar^ "25!" TEST=%FileValid%(^Uvar^) <> (NULL)
PROMPT ^Uvar^ "25!" TEST=%FileExist%(^Uvar^) <> 0
PROMPT ^Uvar^ "25!" TEST=%PathExist%(^Uvar^) <> 0
Added a new data entry form command @. Using this will turn your screen into a
full-screen entry form (without mouse support unfortunately).
Added HOP and DROP commands. The words are certainly unusual. The logical ones
like GOTO and POP were already in use so I couldn't use them to tell the system
to branch somewhere. And labels and colons already had some meaning so I
couldn't use them as places where you'd end up. Embarassingly, HOP and DROP
comes from a Rick Springfield song that I personally detested but it kept coming
back to me: "Bop 'Til You Drop". That title was probably based on "Shop 'til
you drop". In any case, in The DEMO System you now "HOP to a DROP"... This
lets you do looping.
Added an (admittedly primitive) IF statement. You can now do (again, primitive)
iterative loops and a mess of other things.
Added SET SETTINGS CLEAR which resets all SET statements to the system defaults.
Added MSGBOX and MSGBOXA action commands.
Added CLSA action command.
Added "- (GLOBALNC)" page reference which works like (GLOBAL) but doesn't clear
the key assignments when it starts ("Global No Clear"). You can use SET KEYS
CLEAR and SET SETTINGS CLEAR if you want.
Used Spectra Publishing's PowerBASIC 3.0 compiler to create the DEMOSCRS TSR
program which is used in conjunction with new DEMOSCRX.EXE program to create
control files for The DEMO System or regular ANSI.SYS-compatible files.
Now allow an optional "=" in ASSIGN commands: "ASSIGN ^UTest^ = Testing".
Changed PROMPT so it resets the colors after the user input.
Added the ability to pass multiple-word parameters into CALL, GOTO, and the
DEMOMAKE program itself by enclosing the words in quotes.
Removed case sensitivity for most control codes and variable names. Previously,
the program wouldn't recognize a variable as "^etest^", it had to be "^Etest^".
Fixed up bug with FIELD @n command.
Added code to clear up temporary files when bad control cards are encountered.
Previously, just left them around.
Fixed more errors in the documentation. Added others of course.
A lot of internal restructuring went on this time. Again.
-----------------
Release DEMOS302:
Added mouse support (SET MOUSE ON, SET MOUSE OFF, and SELECT action verb).
Previously, the ECHO and ECHOA commands removed leading spaces. Stopped this.
Added SET BASE n command to allow you to specify the base color for a given
screen. Previously, all screens were done in color set 0.
Added /-OVERWRITE and /OVERASK parameters to DEMOMAKE.EXE. Made the exename
optional (defaults to the input file with an .EXE extension). The /OVERxxx
parameters are now CONFIGWS-able.
The ^EFNAME^ variable will now reflect the original name for *ref files;
previously indicated ~DEMOINT.nnn.
Added ability to pass in parameters resolved as &P1 to &P9 during compilation
time (not viewing time). These can be used to change your program without
editing the source files.
Added ability to specify the absolute field or screen by using of @1 to @999 in
the FIELD command.
Added ability to turn off the "Wayne Software" copyright notice for registered
users only.
Internally: Lots of internal recoding, in part to prepare for other changes.
Lots of other bug fixes too.
Made SCREEN and GOTO virtually synonymous.
Documentation: Fixed up some typoes and worse in the documentation too (I kept
talking about "SET KEY key" instead of "KEY key"; that was one of the last
minute changes that didn't quite get worked into the brain). Added a section on
mouse support.
Samples: Replaced BUGS.GIF with WAYNESOF.GIF. The latter was created in
Windows and includes a "drawing". Artists have described drawing with a mouse
to be like painting with a brick. Wayne Software doesn't have any artists
(any volunteers?) so don't expect much. Renamed the DEMO4.* stuff to be
DEMODEMO.* (the original name was a working title that never got changed).
Thanks: Thanks to Thomas G. Hanlin III for comments and suggestions (and for
PBClone of course).
-----------------
Release DEMOS301:
First release. Just glad it made it out the modem!