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Loadstar 128 17
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q17.d81
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2022-08-28
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M A S T E R B A S E
by Dick Heckert
MASTER BASE is a two-part program that will allow you to create and
maintain a huge card file database of information. Dick Heckert first sent
this program in as a one-part program, which is why the label on this
LOADSTAR 128 says SEARCH MASTER. Dick added the second part, RBASE MASTER,
for power users who have hard drives, RAMLink or RAMDrive. For huge files,
a 1541 disk may not be large enough.
The opening screen of MASTER BASE lets you choose which of the two
modules you'll use. Once in either module, you can move to the other
without coming back to the opening screen. Each module has its special
features and uses.
Use SEARCH MASTER to enter, edit, sort and search SEQuential data
files. You can search any of the SEQ files on your data disk and load only
the ones that meet your search criteria. Or, you can search the file in
memory and save only the records you want to another SEQ file. You can
append files to other files, too. With SEARCH MASTER, you have complete
control over the data on the disk and in memory, limited by the size of
memory in the C-128. If every field is completely full (not likely) you can
enter 200 records. In actual practice the number of records allowed is
closer to 600. You can save your SEQ files as RELative files, starting at
record #1 or at the end of a current file.
Use RBASE MASTER to maintain a RELative file database. This database
is limited only by the size of your storage device. A 1581 disk can hold
2400 records. CMD devices can hold even more. Another big advantage of
RBASE MASTER is that when you change a record, only that one record is
changed. Obviously this is much quicker than changing and saving a whole
SEQ file. Also, with RBASE MASTER when you create "index files" that are a
subset of the main data file, any changes to the main file are automatically
made in the index files, since they get their data from the main file.
NOTE: There is no RELative file on the LOADSTAR 128 disk. You must create
one with SEARCHMASTER on a disk with plenty of room. Until you do this,
there is no reason to even boot up RBASE MASTER.
A range of records (or even a complete index file) can be saved from
RBASE MASTER as a SEQ file for use with SEARCH MASTER. The SEQ file can
also be read and edited with a word processor for formatted printing.
The recommended way to use MASTER BASE is to use SEARCH MASTER to
create data records to be added to the large, comprehensive RELative file
used by RBASE MASTER for day-to-day maintenance.
I found that MASTER BASE doesn't work with WarpSpeed installed. Not
many compiled programs do, I'm afraid.
Both modules are very similar in style and interface. In fact, if you
remember Dick's program from LOADSTAR 128 #13, PHONE BOOK, the interface
will be quite familiar. All of the menu options are listed on the left side
of the screen. There are two record boxes on the right. You can switch
between them so that anytime you want to have one record in sight while
working with other records, you can do this easily.
My original plan was to publish, as a sample file for you to use as you
try these programs out, Dick's incredible list of users' groups.
Unfortunately, his comprehensive RELative file is over 1000 blocks long and
the SEQ file is over 160 blocks. However, Dick has a list of all of the
LOADSTAR 128s that is small enough to fit on the disk for you to check out.
Just press L in SEARCH MASTER when the directory comes up to load the sample
file, "m.128 loadstar".
Many of the commands are the same in each module. SEARCH MASTER is
described below, with RBASE MASTER following.
SEARCH MASTER
-------------
SEARCH MASTER is set up as an address database with six fields of 40
characters each. The program has all the key commands displayed on the
screen whenever you need or want them. You just follow the prompts and soon
you will not even have to refer to these instructions.
The super feature of this program is the ability to SEARCH. You can
enter the word or part of a word and have all the records with that word
listed to the screen. You can then GOTO the ones that interest you. It is
possible to search files on disk and load only those matching the search
word. On the other hand, with a large file in memory, you can save only
those records that match your search word.
SEARCHMASTER allows you to set up a database for any purpose. It will
print out mail labels if you use the lines as an address book. Ideas for
other data base subjects are endless: library catalog of your books or VCR
tapes; magazine subject/author files; sports records; home inventory;
software directory; price lists and inventory control; language
translations; stock market data.
In addition, the files created in SEARCHMASTER are SEQuential and can
be easily loaded into your word processor for formatting. The program will
print out lists of record Titles, mail labels or complete records and you
can even set the left margin before printing, so you can print in multiple
columns.
The program can be booted from any drive number. It reads the last
drive used and sets it as the active drive. Any drive from 8 to 16 can be
used as data storage.
Once the program is run, you will see three windows: the command window
along the left side of the screen and two data box windows to the right.
Between the data boxes is an area used to provide prompts, give you
alternative choices and keep you up to date with information. The lower
data box shows the Help descriptions for the current data. Press B and the
record in the top box is copied into the bottom box. Press B again and
you're back in the top box. You can use this feature to compare records.
You can get the Help back in the bottom box at any time by pressing H.
The directory of data files is loaded and shown in the left window.
You have four choices:
(1) LOAD by moving the cursor to the file you want and press L, or
(2) APPEND (add a file to the one already in memory) by pressing A, or
(3) SEARCH load from one or more files according to your specified search
word, or
(4) ESCape without loading by pressing the ESC key. This is the way to
create a new file from scratch.
For a SEARCH LOAD you mark the files you want searched by pressing the
SPACE BAR over the files. The number next to the filename shows the order
of the search load. Press RETURN when complete and you will have a chance
to abort or start the search, which will load only records that have a match
with the keyword you give.
You can move through the records with +, -, A, and Z, which represent
forward, backward, first record, last. You can move to DIRECTORY mode by
pressing F or L. You can insert record cards or delete them with the arrow
keys. Change to another active drive with U. Press D to send disk commands
to open a partition, format a disk, or scratch a file. (use the Basic 2
commands without the "open15...close15 stuff). The P key gets you to the
PRINTER mode and S changes to SAVE mode. Prompts in the info window will
tell you your options. After printing a range of records, the data of the
ending record will be displayed although the pointers will be to the
starting record. Just press + or - to get them to agree.
TITLE mode is where the fun begins. Press T and you have a choice of
seeing all the titles (the first line of data), or searching for records
containing your search word (anywhere in the data or limited to a particular
line). The title window will open and the list will start. You can stop
the scroll with the NO SCROLL key and abort the listing with the ESC key.
At the end of the listing, the number of files found is given and you have
the option of printing the list or returning to COMMAND mode. Any part of
the searched line will result in a find and the title will be listed. The
search in case-sensitive, which means that you MUST enter uppercase and
lowercase exactly. It is highly recommended that you settle on a co