Crawly Crypt Collection 1/crawlyvol1.bin/apps/database/collect/collecte.doc

Text File | 1990-06-04 | 15KB | 310 lines

Albert Baggetta
P.O. Box 351
Feeding Hills, MA  01030-0351



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      Baggetta  Shareware

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                 The Collector

               By Albert Baggetta



     The Collector is a coin or stamp database for the
novice to intermediate collector.  In fact, with small
modification the program could be used to catalog
almost any items.  I will go into this in more detail
later.
     Along with the program, you will find two data files:
COIN.DAT and STAMP.DAT.  These are two dummy files I
have included to demonstrate how the program works.
Please don't take their contents seriously.  I needed
some data to test the program so I just fabricated a
lot of entries.  When you are ready to use The
Collector for your own collection, delete these two
files and create your own as explained below.  Boot up
the version of your choice and let's see how the
program works.
     Clicking on one of the two boxes you see will put
you into the Stamp or Coin Collection programs.  Since
they operate pretty much the same, I will discuss
program operation from the Coin Collection point of
view, with reference to the Stamp Collection as needed.
     Selecting the COIN box will produce the Coin
Collection Menu screen.  It has four selection bars
down the center, flanked on either side by two wheat
penny icons.  You will mouse-click on the bars to
activate these options.
     At the bottom of the screen you will see three
information boxes.  The one on the far left indicates
the name of the file that is or will be in memory.  All
data will be saved to either COIN.DAT or STAMP.DAT.
The center box is used to flash messages such as SAVING
to disk or LOADING from disk.  The final box indicates
the number of items (call them records if you wish)
presently on file.
     If you boot up with the dummy files on disk, you
should see that thirty records have been created.  If
there was no data file on the disk, the indicator would
remain at zero.  Starting anew, you can create a
COIN.DAT or STAMP.DAT file by entering information with
the ENTER COIN DATA option and saving it or QUITting
the program.  But we will get into this later.  For now
we will use the demo data.
     Before we get to the program itself, let's play
around with a hidden function on the menu.  The penny
on the left is what I call a "hot" penny.  (In the
Stamp Collection it is a "hot" stamp.)  You can use
this to change from the Coin Collection to the Stamp
Collection or vice versa.  Go ahead, try it.  Click on
the left penny.
     You are now back at the main selection screen.  If
you click on the stamp box you will go to the Stamp
Collector.  Give this a try, too.  You should now see
the Stamp Collection Menu.  It looks exactly like the
Coin Collection Menu, with appropriate modifications.
Instead of two pennies you see two stamps.  And again,
click on the left stamp (the "hot" stamp), and we are
back to the selection box.  You can do this as often as
you like but BEWARE.  If you click on either "hot"
item, any data you have newly entered will be lost.  So
be sure to SAVE it before making the switch.  Now,
click on the coin box again and put us back at the Coin
Collection Menu.
     Since we already have some data loaded, let's take
a look at it.  Click on SEE CURRENT DATA.  The screen
will wrinkle, and the data will list on screen.  The
information bar along the top shows that we have seven
fields of information: DATE (date of issue), WORTH
(denomination on stamp or coin), SRSC (short for SOURCE
- the mint for the coins, the country of origin for the
stamps), IDENTIFICATION, MILLIONS (the number of stamps
or coins issued in the millions), COND. (the condition
of the coin or stamp), VALUE (what you or some
authority thinks the coin or stamp is worth).
     Study these columns carefully to get an idea of
how the information must be set up.  I will go into
entry format shortly, but for now notice that you do
not have a lot of space for information, so coding your
entry is very important.  This is no handicap for the
collector, of course, since much information about
stamps and coins is done in code -- a jargon understood
and relished by most collectors.
     The data fills the screen a page at a time.  At
the end of each screen page, you will see a message to
click the mouse.  If there is more information to be
displayed you will get succeeding pages with similar
commands.  Mouse-clicking on the last page will produce
a final prompt, asking if you would like a hard copy of
the information.  Click on Y to get a hard copy, N to
return to the main menu.
     If you decide to print, be sure your printer is
ready.  Set the page to top of form and be sure that
the printer is on-line.  After printing, click the
mouse, and you will return to the main menu.
     Ok, let's get down to business.  We can add more
coins to our dummy "collection by pressing on ADD
COINS TO BASE.  The screen you see has two windows.
The top window is where you will enter your
information.  Notice that the first window tells the
number of the coin you will be adding to the file.
There is also the prompt and the cursor where you will
enter information.
     This identification prompt will also be your
doorway back to the main menu.  When you are through
entering coins type in an asterisk (*) here and hit
RETURN to leave.
     We must establish one very important rule before
starting entry of a collection of coins.  Be
consistent.  If you use an abbreviation for one type of
coin, date, identification, etc., be sure to use that
abbreviation throughout.  If you set up a certain
format for the date or the source, for example,
consistently use this format.  This will prove very
helpful when it comes time to search for pieces of
information.
     Well now, it seems we have just acquired one very
valuable coin: One Dollar (Liberty Seated) 1866 in Very
Fine condition.  Let's add this to the collection.
     At the Coin Identification prompt, enter the
following: LIBERTY SEATD.  You have only thirteen
characters here, so a longer identification like this
one will have to be abbreviated.  Press <RETURN>, and you
will be asked to verify your answer.  If you type N,
you will get a chance to re-enter the identification.
If you are satisfied, press either RETURN or Y to move
on to the next prompt.
     The Date of Coin is asked for next.  Enter the
following: 1866.  You may enter up to six characters
here (some dates have letters after them); but if you
have more that six characters, it might be better to
enter that information as part of the coin
identification.  Press RETURN, verify and on to the
next prompt.
     The Denomination of Coin is the face value
engraved on the coin.  Enter this as a decimal but do
not include the dollar sign.  Enter the following:
1.00.  Press RETURN and verify to go on.
     Up to this point the information for coins and
stamps has been similar in nature.  This next prompt
will vary with the collection mode.  The Mint Source of
the Coin Collection will change to Source of Country in
the Stamp Collection.  Since there is a limited number
of mints from which coins are issued, I have included a
listing of the most common ones and their abbreviations
as understood by coin collectors (see the bottom window
on screen).  The stamp collector will have to fabricate
an abbreviation for the country of origin, of no more
than 10 characters.
     For our Liberty Seated dollar we are not sure of
the mint so we will enter the following: Unknown.  On
future reference, I will take this to mean that the
mint is unknown to me.
     The next prompt inquires about the Number of Coins
In Circulation in millions.  Enter this as a sort of
rounded out number using a decimal point as a divider.
For example six million five hundred thousand might be
entered as 6.5.  Records show that our new found coin
had 3,603,948 copies made.  Enter the following: 3.69.
After verifying, press RETURN, and you will see the
next prompt.
     Condition of Coin is a rather subjective item, but
collectors have come up with a grading system that is
represented by the abbreviations offered in the bottom
window on screen.  Even though you may enter any two
characters here, try to use the suggested
abbreviations, since they seem to be the accepted
forms.  We have a Very Fine example of the Liberty
dollar so enter the following: VF.
    After pressing RETURN again, you will see the last
entry prompt, Current Value of Coin.  Again this might
be a judgement you call as a collector, but the
estimated value is usually determined by some
authoritative source.  Type the amount in decimal
fashion, but do not use the dollar sign or comma as
separators.  Enter the following for our coin:
5000.00.  (Ok, so I'm a dreamer!)  You are limited to
10 characters here, but I think that should be enough
to describe any coin values we might encounter.  Press
RETURN, and you will be sent to the final verification
screen.
     This screen is your last real-time chance to make
any changes in the information you have just entered.
Study the list carefully.  If you are not satisfied,
press N, and you will get to re-enter the information.
Press Y, and you will see the Coin Identification
prompt again but with the next coin number on display.
This cycle is available until you are all done entering
coins.  Type the asterisk now and press RETURN so that
we can go back to the main menu.
     Notice that the record counter has indicated that
one more coin has been added to our coin base.  If you
go back to SEE CURRENT DATA, you will notice that
indeed the coin has been entered as the last item in
our file.  Instead of doing this, however, lets get
some experience searching for information.  Click on
the SEARCH COIN DATA bar.
     The screen changes, and you see a layout similar
to the ADD COINS TO BASE option.  In the top window,
you will see six selector buttons.  They should look
familiar because each one represents a field
for searching.  In this base you can search for, view
and print matched records based on date (DATE),
denomination (DENOM.), source (SRCS), identification
(ID), condition (COND.),and value (VALUE).
     Let's try a couple of examples.  Click on DENOM.
and type in .10.  We want to find out how many dimes we
have on file.  Hit RETURN, and the display will change
to reveal that five coins of this kind are in our
collection.  Exit by pressing the left mouse key and
responding to the hardcopy prompt.  Go back to SEARCH
COIN DATA, click on COND. and enter VF, to find out how
many of our coins are in Very Fine condition.  Son-
of-a-gun!  We have four of these Very Fine coins on
file.
     If you click on a search field and do not enter
anything at the prompt, you will get a complete listing
of your data on file -- the same as if you had
mouse-clicked on the SEE CURRENT DATA option.
     The search option can also be very handy for
finding certain coins with similar dates, sources,
values and identifications.  Hard copies of these lists
can be made and kept on file to show off your
collection and supply information for other collectors.
The next time you go to a coin show you can have all
the information at your finger tips.  Everyone will be
amazed, so be sure to tell them you created your list
with your Atari.
     Back at the main menu there are two other option
bars.  SAVE COIN DATA should be used to save your
updated lists.  Be sure to do this after each update
session so that no data will be lost, due to a power
failure or some other catastrophe.  Also be sure to
SAVE if you are planning to switch from the Coin
Collection to the Stamp Collection.
     The final option, QUIT, is self explanatory.  This
allows you to leave the program.  You do not have to
sit at your computer weeping tears all over the keys if
you accidentally hit this bar because you will be given
the chance to save your data before departing.
     That is pretty much all there is to the operation
of The Collector.  Since this is primarily a program
for the casual collector there are not a lot of extra
features that require a lot of extra time and patience
to learn.  One feature I eliminated is an edit option.
It is however easy to edit a file (change an item,
delete an item, etc.) such as COIN.DAT or STAMP.DAT by
loading the file into your word processor (What! You
don't have a word processor?) or text editor as an
ASCII file and carefully making changes there.
     The ASCII file consists of a number at the top
(COIN.DAT will show a 30), and all of the records
listed sequentially with the quoted fields separated by
commas.
     If you delete any complete records, decrease the
top number by that same amount.  For example, if you
delete two records the number at the top of the file
should be changed to 28.  Theoretically you could also
add files here in the same manner, but it is much more
sensible to do this with The Collector and have the
search and view facilities on hand at the same time.
When you are done editing be sure to re-save the file
as an ASCII file of the same name as before.
     As I mentioned earlier, it is possible to use or
modify The Collector for other types of collections.
Do you collect books, beer cans, matchbooks, magazines,
etc.?  Well you might find your collection more orderly
and more easily accessible by using The Collector to
keep it in shape.
     With a little imagination and ingenuity, you could
simply leave the headings as they are and adjust your
input accordingly; but if you know at least a little
bit about programming in GFA BASIC, you can use the
BASIC editor to change the titles and general formats
in the source code to meet your needs.
     The Collector is presently set up to hold 1000
records.  If you need more room to hold your
collection, you can try changing this figure as a
further modification of the program.  You are, of
course, going to be limited by the amount of memory
that you have.

If you would like the code, simply register as above and ask for
the GFA code to the Collector.  Thank You.