The World of Computer Software/World_Of_Computer_Software-02-385-Vol-1of3.iso/t/tcnbp2o3.zip/DISKROOM.DOC

Text File | 1992-08-08 | 8KB | 265 lines

     EFFICIENT UTILIZATION OF DISK SPACE

     This file contains information about efficient disk space utilization with
     The CONSTITUTION Notebook Program.  Tips for saving space on 5-1/4"
     floppies, 3-1/2" floppies, and fixed (hard) drives are provided.


     5-1/4" Floppy Tips

     With version 1.22, you can delete the GO.EXE file.

     You can also make another copy of the Index (Main) Diskette (2 of 4) and
     delete some of the seminar directories on each of them.  The seminar
     directories have a path name "VERSION1\SMNR#" where # is an Arabic numeral
     between 1 and 6, inclusive.  You can put 1 - 3 on one diskette and 4 - 6
     on the other.  Do NOT delete the same seminar from both diskettes.  When
     you access the various seminars, the swap index diskette prompt will be
     repeated until you get the right diskette in the floppy drive.

     NOTE:  The information in the preceding paragraph is for the benefit of
     those users who have no fixed drive or a very crowded one.  TCNbP Company
     recommends a hard drive for use of the TCN program beyond evaluation.


     3-1/2" Floppy Tips

     You can delete the GO.EXE file from your working copy.  Restore it from
     your original if you ever need it.

     You can copy the HELP.TCN, HELPINDX.TCN files to other floppies and erase
     them from your working copy.

     You now have more available room on diskette 1.  You can fill it up, but
     you'll have to do a LOT of work.


     Hard Disk Tips

     About all hard disk users can do is erase GO.EXE from the directory you
     installed to on the fixed disk.



     DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT DISK SPACE REQUIREMENTS


     A full disk error is a fatal error.  You will get kicked out of the
     program.  Depending on what file is being saved when a disk gets full, you
     could lose all your subject cross references or all your synonym cross
     references including notes in a seminar.  The program provides no warning.
     You have to manually monitor available space on a diskette to make the


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     appropriate decisions.  The following information tells you what you need
     to know to prevent loss of data resulting from a full disk error.

     The Simple Rule

     A simple rule to follow regarding diskette use is 1 version or portion per
     360 K 5.25 inch diskette, 2 per 720 K 3.5 inch diskette, or 3 per 1.44 M
     3.5 inch diskette.  This rule will always work.  It results in decent
     diskette utilization (better than 50% if version includes complete text of
     Constitution) while leaving adequate room for additional comments and
     cross references that you generate manually.

     If you are analyzing small portions of the text of the Constitution, you
     may wish to place more than one version or portion on a diskette.  There
     is an absolute limit of 9, 18, or 36 such portions per 360K, 720K, or 1.44
     M diskettes, respectively.  Placing this number of portions on each size
     diskette leaves very little room for exported files, or for additional
     comments and cross references that you generate manually.  Practical
     maximums are 4, 12, and 27.


     When to Check Space Left on Floppies

     The above guidelines give you a good way to estimate the number of
     diskettes you will need over the life of this program.  There are two
     times that more specific information should be considered.  One of these
     times is before you analyze a version or portion of the Constitution using
     Main Menu option 10.  Another time is before creating another seminar or
     adding a lot of notes.


     What You Need to Know

     The specific information that you need is the amount of unused space on
     the diskette.  If the diskette has just been formatted and no data is
     saved on it, the amount of unused space is equal to the capacity of the
     diskette.  Otherwise, you can use the DOS DIR command (or a disk status
     information feature of your desk top software) to obtain this information.


     Absolute Minimum Required Space

     If the diskette has less than 40,000 bytes available, there is no way you
     can save the output produced by Main Menu option 10 on it.  Don't even
     try.  Even if you are analyzing a portion of the Constitution with only
     one sentence in it, this much disk space is required.


     Estimation of Additional Space Requirements




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     To estimate additional space required by larger portions of the
     Constitution, determine the size of the source file using the DOS DIR
     command (or a related feature of your desktop), and double the size.  This
     is the additional space.  To determine total estimated space, add the
     doubled size to 40,000.  This number is an absolute minimum.  To give
     yourself a little working room, add 20,000.  If the diskette has less
     space than this, clear off some space by deleting unrelated files
     including exported files, if any, (don't delete files with the file type
     .lex or .lxx), or use another diskette.


     Sample Space Calculation

     Example calculation using USACONST.DOC with a size of 51,352 bytes.

        40,000   absolute minimum
       104,000   2 times 51,352 (rounded up to 52,000)
        20,000   working room
         -----------
       164,000   minimum practical space required.



     Space Requirements for Seminars

     Concerning notes and seminars, 20,000 bytes is the minimum practical space
     to open a new seminar.  Additionally, allow 1,000 bytes of disk space for
     each 20 lines of notes that you estimate you will write.


     Consequences of a Disk full Error

     Remember, a disk full error is a fatal error.  It can result in the loss
     of a considerable amount of work.  It is up to you to manually monitor the
     available disk space to prevent this error.  This is a simple check that
     can be performed from DOS or your desk top before starting the program.
     If you are generous with spare space, you can prevent this error with
     occasional checks.


     Summary

     The purchased materials require about 1.5 Megabytes of disk space install.

     If you intend to analyze different versions, additional space is required.

     The files generated by the program as a result of analyzing the
     Constitution occupy 40 Kilobytes of disk space (minimum, even if the
     portion or version consists of one word) to 164 Kilobytes (worst case,
     unless amendments are added).



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     If you don't write very many notes, the disk space used by the cross
     reference functions is nominal.  Each line of notes requires 41 bytes of
     disk space.  (This holds even if the entire line is blank and even if it
     was created using the down arrow key.  Don't worry, the PG DN key will not
     create blank lines.)  Once a line has been created, it's there whether it
     was created by wrapping from a previous line or with the down arrow key.
     That 41 bytes of disk space is forever taken.  If you don't enter a line,
     no disk space is used.

     You can enter 190 lines per subject or synonym.  This is a maximum of 8
     Kilobytes per subject or synonym.  You can enter up to 200 subjects or
     2,000 synonyms. Hence, if you type in the maximum allowed notes for 45
     subjects or synonyms, you can exceed the capacity of a 5.25 inch diskette
     forcing you to use a fixed drive.  The same thing happens at 90 subjects
     with maximum notes for a 3.5 inch diskette.  In practice, this is a lot of
     notes and most users will not encounter this limit.





































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