Loadstar 244/244.d81/t.sllib

Text File | 2022-08-26 | 11KB | 410 lines

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        SUPER LOADSTAR LIBRARY
           by Dave Moorman


[2006 UPDATE!] This library program
has been a life-saver here at the
Tower! But the size of the database
was growing beyond the confines of a
1541 disk side. So today, I tracked
down DTEXT and PACKMEISTER (using the
library, of course) and compressed all
the data files. With some luck, we
will have enough space to get us
through issue 256.

Therefore, this program is [NOT]
compatible with your existing Super
LOADSTAR Library files.

[NOTE:] This is a program you will
definitely want to copy to a working
"LIBRARY" disk. Every couple of
months, LOADSTAR will include an
updated data file to replace and
existing file or add to the total
number of files. Right now, the entire
data base just fits on a 1541 side.
So, our Copy It feature will not work
(for 5.25" disk users). You will have
to use your own file copier to do the
job.


    What a project! Stay tuned at the
end of this file to hear my many woes.

    Back in the early days of Fender
Tucker's reign atop the Mighty
LOADSTAR Tower, he had C.E. "Spock"
Prince help him write up the "LOADSTAR
List" -- the first database for
LOADSTAR programs. Later he updated
the "List."

    Then Jeff Jones arrived on the
scene, and the LOADSTAR Library was
born around issue 58. It was designed
to hold maybe 100 issues-worth of data
-- that being the better wisdom of Dan
Tobias and other knowledgable pundits
as to the potential longevity of
LOADSTAR.

    After exceeding that bench-mark
(which disappointed only Dan), Jeff
packed and crunched the data to force
in more information. Then he added
external files. Jeff left LOADSTAR to
pursue other things, and Fender had to
do a hack or two to continue the
Library's database.

    When I took over, we had [three]
Library programs to cover the 199
issues -- a bit unwieldy by anyone's
standard. This Library thing was
compleatly out of hand! My answer was
to replicate Jeff's excellent
interface, but add the capability to
load Library data files at will.

    Last I looked (just now), we have
eleven "LSL.*" files containing
information about every program and
many of the articles that have
appeared on LOADSTAR in 243 issues.
And several of you were less than
ecstatic about the operation of the
LOADSTAR Library v.7.x.

    So I decided to start all over
from scratch. Well, I didn't scratch
the data files! (Anyone who wants to
retype those eleven files has my
blessing -- and condolences!) But I
redesigned the LOADSTAR Library
compleatly, into

     The Super LOADSTAR Library!


 The User Interface
 ------------------

    Everything can be accessed with
the mouse, joystick, cursor keys, or
hotkeys. Your choice. As you move the
mouse pointer over enabled "buttons",
the color changes, indicating "focus".
The Cursor Keys move the "focus". And
a click or RETURN turns on the
function. You can also simply press
the letter key that corresponds to the
first letter of the function's title.


 Range
 -----

    The Super Library allows you to
search any and all issues of LOADSTAR
-- from 1 to 243. The last issue is
"learned" from the datafile names, so
when you updata the Super Library with
a new file, the program is updated as
well.

    When you click/RETURN the "Range"
button or press <R>, you are presented
with a dialog box requiring two inputs
-- the "From #" and the "To #". Type
and RETURN each. When you Begin the
search, engine will start with the
From and end with the To.


 Category
 --------

    As with LOADSTAR Libraries of the
past, the programs and articles are
categorized more or less by the
LOADSTAR Presenter folder in which
they will be found. I say "more or
less" because many programs from the
early years were not assigned to the
same folder names (such as Utility
Ware). Some programs were from
Commodore Magazine, collected into one
folder. But for the Library, they are
categorized by what they do.

    This menu is where you can choose
a category to control your search. But
in fact, the next function is more to
the point.


 Search For
 ----------

    Here you can choose exactly what
you want to search for -- Program
Name, Author Name, Category, or by
Issue(s). The Program and Author
searchs are "mutually exclusive" --
you can do one or the other. When you
choose one, you will be asked to type
in the search string.

    When you choose Category, the
Category menu comes up. Make your
choice this way. (OK, I changed my
mind about the operation of this
program but didn't want to rewrite the
code all over again. See below for the
gory details.)

    Issue(s) actually supercedes the
Range function -- and is more
powerful. You can choose single issues
(e.g., 24,35,88), or subranges (e.g.,
115-175), or use both ways at once
(e.g., 5,17-22,88-91,112).

    The engine searches by Range or
Issues, then by Category, then by
Program or Author name. You can
disengage any of these items by
selecting it a second time. You will
see a summary of your search
parameters at the top of the black
Result Box:

 R:001-228 C:Z I:-
               A:Tucker

 This search looks for Tucker as the
author of Zero Page articles in all
issues from 1 to 228.

    By the way, all the choices in the
Search For and Category menus are
hotkeyed to their first letter.


 Output
 ------

    You can send the results to the
Result Box on the SCreen, or to a
printer on device 4 or 5. (Hotkeys are
<S>, <4>, and <5>.)


 Exit
 ----

    Leaves the program when you choose
<Y>, or click/RETURN Yes.


 Begin
 -----

    This is where you Begin your
search. When the search starts, the
Begin button becomes the Next button.
Press <N> or <Space> or click/RETURN
on the button to go to the next found
item in the Result Box.

    Tag works something like the Mark
function did on the old Library. When
you see a program entry you want to
later send to the printer, press <T>
(or mouse/cursor to this button and
click/RETURN). The screen will flash,
and you will note that the "Tagged"
item in the Category display shows how
many items you have Tagged.

    This is not quite the same as the
old LSL, for the information is not
really marked or tagged, but tucked
away in memory. You can use the Tagged
Category Search For to retrieve this
list to the Screen or to the Printer.

    To clear the Tag Buffer, choose
Exit, and choose No.

    Quit does just that, pressed at
any time. If you feel the program has
run away from you, press <Q> or
click/RETURN this button and the
search will stop immediately.


 Putting It All Together
 -----------------------

    Let's say you want a print out of
every BASICS Zero Page program Fender
Tucker ever wrote. You might want to
set the Range to 042-199, since that
is the period Fender led the LOADSTAR
Dreadnaught. Then press <S>, then <A>,
and type "Tucker". Then press <S>,
<C>, and <Z>. Finally, press <B> to
begin the search. A little "clock"
spins in the upper left corner, and a
yellow bar moves across the Result Box
(showing how much of each file has
been scanned). And, the issue number
being scanned is in the box at the
left center of the screen. Lots of
eye-candy!

    When Tucker's name is found, the
entry is displayed. If this is a
BASICS article, press <T> to Tag it.
Otherwise, press <Space> to move to
the next find.

    Now to get your Tagged list out to
the printer. Press <O>, the <4> (for
your printer on Device 4). Press <S>
then <A> to disengage the Author
search (not exactly necessary for the
Tagged File), then <C>, <T>.

    Be sure your Printer is on, with
the paper aligned, and press <B>. All
your Tagged files will soon be on the
hard copy!


 Dave's Tale of Woe
 ------------------

    First of all, I would not have
even tried to write this program
without Lee Novak's Mr.Mouse 2+. All
the mouse-easy bells and whistles are
from his masterpiece of ML madness.
But Mr.Mouse does not have an INSTRING
command -- and I needed one to find
string patterns in the Program and
Author fields.

    So I did a bit of ML to create a
case-insensative INSTRING command. I
also added a PUT.STR command, which
allowed me to put a string anywhere in
memory (except under $D000). This was
needed for my Tag technique.

    Things