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DBS-KAT (TM) The Easy, Practical, Super Capacity Diskette Cataloger And Hard Disk Archive Utility TECHNICAL REFERENCE MANUAL by R.H. Martin Applied Foresight Inc. P.O. Box 20607 Bloomington, Minn. 55420 July 6, 1986 Version 2.0 Copyright 1986 by R.H. Martin All Rights Reserved A DB-SHAREWARE Software Product A limited license is hereby granted to copy & distribute wholly unmodified copies of the DBS-KAT Software Diskette which contains this manual (Read the manual, "THE DB-SHAREWARE PROGRAM" for full details about this limited license) Trademark Pending DBS-KAT TECH REF MANUAL Copyright 1986 R.H. Martin P. 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 About This Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Efficiency Of DBS-KAT. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 DBS-KAT Inquiry Search Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Recovering Your Database. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Upgrading A PC-KAT/Pre-2.0 DBS-KAT Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 DBS-KAT Version History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 ABOUT THIS MANUAL With the exception of the Registration Benefits section, this manual restricts itself to the base DBS-KAT software diskette. The concept of "base software" is discussed in greater detail in the THE DB-SHAREWARE PROGRAM manual. A section is designated by a centered & underlined heading. Centered but NOT underlined headings are referred to as a subsection. DBS-KAT TECH REF MANUAL Copyright 1986 R.H. Martin P. 3 EFFICIENCY OF DBS-KAT DBS-KAT is fast & efficient, minimizing the amount of disk space required to store the cataloged information. Each date & time field is concatenated together & stored as a 4 byte long integer. In plain words, what you see on the screen as 10 bytes of information is stored in 4 bytes of storage. The four byte volume ID is stored as a 2 byte integer. If a diskette filename is associated with a floppy subdirectory, the directory name is separately stored in the database only once in its alphabetical description form, & given an ID number. This ID number is carried in the appropriate individual filename records. The entire DBS-KAT database is kept in the files prefixed as KATDB.DA & KATDB.KE. The database contains the system control record, the diskette volume text information & the directory file information for all cataloged files. In addition, all the record pointers are stored in the database to allow quick updating & retrieval of information. The file KATDB.DBD is the data base structure dictionary which never grows but is needed for the programs to work & must reside in the same directory area on the hard disk alongside the other KATDB files. What this means is that although DBS-KAT must keep its inter- relationships connected at the disk drive level versus smaller packages which do most of their inter-relationships at runtime in memory, DBS-KAT does not use up hardly any more disk space, & that is because of its efficient use of disk space. Additionally, DBS-KAT has to allow for its database pointers to expand up to 16 million records. What this means is that on the average, DBS-KAT uses up only 7 percent more space per cataloged directory entry than does its competitors. The other packages gain their processing efficiency by storing the entire database in memory at run time. That is why they can't get larger, because they are constrained by available program data memory space. Yet, without significantly sacrificing additional disk space, DBS-KAT uses disk space to hold its pointers, & achieves comparable processing efficiency on a catalog database capable of holding 16 million records. The author maintains for himself a DBS-KAT database of over 18,000 filenames & around eight hundred diskettes. Throughout the built-up of this database, the author has not noticed a worsening of processing performance, except that a display request for a floating substring phrase within any & all cataloged filenames does take a little longer as the database grows. To use the DOS DIR command syntax to explain this type of search request, although DOS does not honor such a search request, if it did, a request might look like this: DIR *CAT*. On a COMPAQ PLUS, with 8,000 filenames in a DBS-KAT database, it takes under 2 minutes for such a search to finish, whereas with 6,000 filenames, it takes under 1.5 minutes. Search requests for left-hand anchored substring phrases within any & all cataloged filenames is extremely rapid, taking only a couple of seconds to fulfill. A search request at the DOS DIR level might look like: DIR CAT*. DBS-KAT TECH REF MANUAL Copyright 1986 R.H. Martin P. 4 DBS-KAT is fast because of the tools used in developing DBS-KAT (discussed earlier) & because of its streamlined design. For instance, if you have a diskette previously cataloged by DBS-KAT, when you change, add or delete a few files on the diskette, DBS-KAT concentrates on these modifications. A less efficient design might start out the processing of each diskette with the deletion of all prior database information for that diskette. Because of DBS-KAT's usage of the sophisticated DB-VISTA database manager, it is able to immediately access prior information for the at-hand diskette in the correct processing order in which it needs it. Finally, DBS-KAT is fast because it allows the user to use a RAM disk emulator to store the subprograms & work files for DBS-KAT on the RAM disk. DBS-KAT is also fast because it is smart. If you mistakenly insert a diskette which hasn't changed since it was last processed by DBS-KAT, you are told this is the case. DBS-KAT keeps for each diskette both a numeric total of the number of files on the diskette plus the sum of all dates + all times + all file sizes of all the files on the diskette. Before DBS-KAT considers updating directory entries for a diskette, it compares these two new totals with the prior run's old totals. DBS-KAT TECH REF MANUAL Copyright 1986 R.H. Martin P. 5 DBS-KAT INQUIRY SEARCH STRATEGIES To understand the many ways you can search your DBS-KAT database & how efficient will be your search, you need to know how your DBS-KAT database is structured. For searching purposes, you can think of the database being ordered in two different ways: (a) by alphabetical, indexed, order by FILENAME.EXT, regardless of the volume ID; & (b) by numeric, indexed, order by volume ID, & within volume ID order, subordered alphabetically, by FILENAME.EXT. The path information is carried in the database, but it has no ordering effect in terms of aiding retrieval of information. Based upon the structure of DBS-KAT's database design, the following examples represent a range of searchs ordered by a most efficient search argument to a least efficient search argument: FILENAME ARGUMENT TYPE EXT ARGUMENT TYPE PATH/NOTE ARG TYPE -------- - --- - -------- - MYFILE E DOC E MYPATH E MYFILE E DOC E MY A MYFILE E DOC E AT U MYFILE E D A <left blank> MYFILE E O U <left blank> MYFILE E <left blank> <left blank> MY A DOC E MYPATH E MY A DOC E MY A MY A DOC E AT U MY A D A <left blank> MY A O U <left blank> MY A <left blank> <left blank> FIL U DOC E MYPATH E FIL U DOC E MY A FIL U DOC E AT U FIL U D A <left blank> FIL U O U <left blank> * FIL U <left blank> <left blank> ** <left blank> DOC E MYPATH E <left blank> DOC E MY A <left blank> DOC E AT U <left blank> D A <left blank> <left blank> O U <left blank> <left blank> <left blank> MYPATH E <left blank> <left blank> MY A <left blank> <left blank> AT U Don't be afraid to use the search strategy you need to accomplish the job you want done. For instance, against a database of 12,000 directory entries, to search using an argument like the above line with an asterick preceeding it, took around two & a half minutes. This search argument DBS-KAT TECH REF MANUAL Copyright 1986 R.H. Martin P. 6 causes the entire database keyfile to be scanned from start to end. The last three searches are the most disk intensive types of searches, as they cause the entire database keyfile and datafiles to be scanned from start to end. Search strategies beginning with the double astericked line are significantly slower than those above it. These search strategies involve intensive disk accessing. That is because both the key and data record must be read from disk for every database record in order to be considered for retrieval. For search strategies before the double- astericked line, the data record was hardly ever accessed if at all. DBS-KAT TECH REF MANUAL Copyright 1986 R.H. Martin P. 7 RECOVERING YOUR DATABASE "Into each life a little rain must fall." It can happen to one's database too. Recovery should be done when you loose your hard disk or when something has damaged your database. In either case, the database recovery procedure is the same. True, you have to restore everything else in a hard disk failure, but you're on your own to figure that dilemna out. Just the database recovery procedure is documented here. Follow these procedures. # ACTION EVENT OR COMMAND COMMENT -- ------ ---------------------------------- ----------------------- 1 Type C: Move to your hard disk. 2 Type CD \ Move to the root directory. 3 Type VERIFY ON Ensure better file copies. 4 Type COPY KATDB.LOG KATDB.FIX Save current log file. 5 Type KATLOG Print your current log file. 6 Find Latest DBS-KAT database backup disks Insert disk 1 into drive. 7 Type RESTORE A: C:KATDB.* Restore old DBS-KAT database. 8 Do DBS-KAT Integrity Analysis if not If integrity fails go using a "VERIFIED" backup set. back to step 5. 9 Read KATLOG printout for line # of B/U state which you're restored to. Call this number "RESTORE-LINENUM". 10 Read KATLOG printout for last line # of printout. Call this number "LAST-LINENUM". 11 Calc Write down what LAST-LINENUM minus RESTORE-LINENUM equals. Call this number STRIP-LINENUM. 12 Type KATSTRIP STRIP-LINENUM Substitute real number. KATDB.FIX now contains an unsorted list of disks to reprocess. 13 Type SORT <KATDB.FIX >PRN This printout is sorted by yet-to-redo volume ID within location. DBS-KAT TECH REF MANUAL Copyright 1986 R.H. Martin P. 8 14 DO KAT -U or some variation Reprocess listed diskettes. 15 Type DEL KATDB.FIX No longer needed. You're done! Consider doing a DBS-KAT Integrity Analysis & Backup to preserve the recovery work you just went through. DBS-KAT TECH REF MANUAL Copyright 1986 R.H. Martin P. 9 UPGRADING A PC-KAT/PRE-2.0 DBS-KAT DATABASE Raima Corporation, the developer of DB_VISTA, which is the database manager used by DBS-KAT, found some rare occurring problems with 2.10 of DB-VISTA, which was used for PC-KAT and pre-2.0 versions of DBS-KAT. DB- VISTA release 2.11 was released to fix these rare occurring problems (so rare, that I never noticed anything amiss except once after processing 18,000 filenames and nearly 900 diskettes). DBS-KAT releases as of 2.0 use DB-VISTA 2.11. There are two ways to upgrade your existing, pre-2.0 DBS-KAT database: 1. Send $6.50 US (foreign users add $10 US) to Applied Foresight, Inc. for a diskette with a DB_VISTA database rebuild program and a DB_VISTA database consistency checkout program, along with instructions on how to use them. This approach costs money but involves no manual re-entry of database information. Use the KAT -O option to printout an order form to place your order. OR ELSE 2. Build up from scratch a brand new, post-release DBS-KAT 2.0 database. To do this, follow the steps below. If you have less than 100 diskettes, you'll find that this isn't all that bad of a task and it will save you the money to pursue option 1. Option 1 however will provide you with a database rebuild program (KEYBUILD) and consistency checkout program (DBCHECK) which is fast and thorough, as they were written by the developers of DB_VISTA. With these programs, you can forever more bypass the DBS-KAT specific integrity analysis procedure, which is not as thorough as DB_VISTA's DBCHECK program. Raima corporation has authorized Applied Foresight Inc. to offer these programs to its customers. To perform step 2, you need to perform the following steps: # ACTION EVENT OR COMMAND COMMENT -- ------ ---------------------------------- ----------------------- 1 Type C: Move to your hard disk. 2 Type CD \ Move to the root directory if DBS-KAT was installed there, else move to the directory where DBS-KAT resides. 3 Type VERIFY ON Ensure better file copies. 4 Type KATLOOK -M Look at your existing DBS-KAT TECH REF MANUAL Copyright 1986 R.H. Martin P. 10 System Control Record setup information and using the PrtSc key, record how it is already setup. 5 Type KATLOOK Print out a list of the cataloged volumes that you already have, along with their description. 6 Choose option 4 & have it go to P(rinter) To get a "Listing of cataloged diskette volumes" of your pre- 2.0 DBS-KAT database. 7 DO Delete all old DBS-KAT or PC-KAT files off your hard disk. (Do not undo nor delete whatever is in CONFIG.SYS or your AUTOEXEC.BAT files; nor should you delete whatever DOS pro- grams were needed to work with your old DBS-KAT.) For example, in the directory where you previously installed DBS-KAT, type: DEL KAT*.* 8 Insert DBS-KAT 2.0 diskette in drive A:. 9 Follow DBS-KAT 2.0 manual instructions to install DBS-KAT. 10 Type: KATLOOK -M Update your System Control Record similar to your old one, as given by the Print Screen done above under step 4. 11 Type: KAT -U Process every diskette listed under step 6 above. Update the volume header database record for each diskette with the printout information. 12 You're done! Consider backing up this database now. Back up the database from inside KAT -U program with the "B" option. DBS-KAT TECH REF MANUAL Copyright 1986 R.H. Martin P. 11 DBS-KAT VERSION HISTORY REL. CATEGORY CHG. WHEN COMMENT------------------------------------- 1.0 BETA RELEASE 6/85 Not released to general public. 1.1 BETA UPDATE 6/85 " ". 1.2 PUBLIC REL. 1/86 First public release under PC-KAT name. 1.2A RARE BUG FIX 1/86 If diskette had multiple directories on it, 1.2 occassionally would abort. 1.2B RARE BUG FIX 1/86 Improvement upon 1.2A fix; changing all copyright statements to 1986 year. 1.2C COSMETIC FIX 2/86 KATLOOK handled printer formfeed wrong when doing multi-page volume header subselection retrieval; added version history notes; shortened novice install instructions. 1.3 NAME CHANGE 2/86 Product renamed DBS-KAT. 1.3A NAME CHANGE & 3/86 DB-SHARE concept renamed DB-SHAREWARE & UPD.ENHANCE. Improved support for cataloging remove- able disk cartridges. 1.3B UPD.ENHANCE. 4/86 Support cataloging non-std disk labels. 1.4 INQ.ENHANCE. 5/86 Support inquiry against ext.path/note field. 1.4A COSMETIC CHG 5/86 If DB not in root but present, don't CD \. 2.0 DB_VISTA UPD & 7/86 Update from 2.1 to 2.11 DB_VISTA. Added new ADDED KATSCAN programs, KATASK & KATSCAN, & updated KPRINT.