The Business Master (3rd Edition)

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ The Business Master (3rd Edition) / The Business Master (3rd Edition).iso / files / finacial / commtrk / trader.prn < prev

Wrap

Text File | 1984-06-07 | 109.5 KB | 2,575 lines

AGREEMENT LICENSE You may: 1. Use the program; 2. Copy the program for backup purposes; 3. Copy the program for the use of others. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY This software and documentation are offered "as is" and without warranties as to performance or merchantability. This program is offered without any express or implied warranties whatsoever. Because of the diversity of conditions and hardware under which this program may be used, no warranty of fitness for a particular purpose is offered. The user is advised to test the program thoroughly before relying on it. The user must assume the entire risk of using the program. Any liability of manufacturer will be limited exclusively to product replace- ment or refund. IN NO EVENT WILL SAGE SYSTEMS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES, INCLUDING ANY LOST PROFITS, LOST SAVINGS, OR ANY OTHER DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THIS PROGRAM. I hereby acknowledge that I have read this agreement, understand it and agree to be bound by its terms and conditions. Name and Signature ______________________________________________ Company _________________________________________________________ Street __________________________________________________________ City, State and Zip Code ________________________________________ Program name and serial number___________________________________ Sage Trader is distributed as "User Supported Software." In order for us to provide you with quality software, we need your suggestions and support. If you like this program, we request that you contribute $50 to help cover the cost of produc- tion, maintenance and improvements. Mail this form to: Sage Systems Rt. 1, Box 96A Lovelock, NV 89419 SAGE TRADER Sage Systems Rt. 1, Box 96A Lovelock, NV 89419 1983, 1984 Sage Systems tries to provided the best possible product and service. If you have questions, problems or suggestions, write or call (702) 273-2183. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION Features 1 System Requirements 1 Diskette Preparation 1 Files Management 2 Commonly Asked Questions 3 TUTORIAL Introduction 4 Lesson 1 - Display 5 Lesson 2 - Update, Summary and Spread 9 Lesson 3 - Print 15 COMMANDS Display - Screen Presentation 17 Edit - Window, Edit, Help and Quit 17 Numeric - Numeric Values 20 Price - Price Bar Graph 21 Averages - Moving Averages 23 RSI - Relative Strength Index Graph 24 Print - Printed Hard Copy 24 Go - Begin Printing 25 Range - Limit Printed Lines 25 Device - Redirect Output 25 Install - Set Printer Instructions 26 Numeric - Numeric Values 28 Price - Price Bar Graph 28 Averages - Moving Averages Graph 28 RSI - Relative Strength Index Graph 29 File - Storage and Retrieval of Data 29 Retrieve - Load a File into Memory 29 Update - Automated File Management 29 Spread - Compute Spread 30 Abandon - Clear Memory 31 Directory - Change Current Directory 31 Summary - View the Current Activity 32 Help - Obtain Help with the Activity 32 Quit - Terminate Activities 32 ERROR MESSAGES Error Indications - No Messages 33 Error Messages - Listing of Messages 33 GLOSSARY - Definitions of Terms 35 INTRODUCTION Features SAGE TRADER analyzes, displays and prints commodity price records. It permits the commodities trader to concentrate on trends instead of details. The data entry and review process is speeded by the use of an automatic response file. This feature allows you to update files at the rate of more than two files per minute or summarize the day's activity with one key stroke. The program can be easily adapted to make good use of your printer's special features. A permanent file of printer control codes can be created to meet your special needs. It offers menu driven convenience with command driven speed. A brief description of each menu selection appears under each menu. More detailed information is provided by the Help option. Your data is automatically saved to disk file when you change files or end the program. This protects your data from careless errors. The graphics are "typewriter" graphics. Only the turning points are plotted. These points are represented by letters or numbers. This makes the program compatible with most parallel printers and the monochrome display. You may use dot matrix, daisy wheel or thimble printers. System Requirements The program requires an IBM PC with 128 K of memory and one disk drive. It will work with the monochrome or graphics screen and most printers. Version 1 will run on any version of DOS. Version 2 requires DOS 2.0 and supports the advanced features of DOS 2.0. A parallel printer is recommended. Diskette Preparation STOP! Before you do anything, complete the following steps. 1. Place your DOS diskette in drive A. 2. Turn on the computer. 3. When the A> appears, type [FORMAT/S] and press [enter] to format a blank diskette with the operating system files. 4. Remove the formatted diskette and place the distribution diskette in drive A. Type [INSTALL] and follow the directions provided. Install will copy the program files to the blank diskette, creating a working copy of the program diskette. You should store the distribution diskette in a safe place and use the working copy. 1 Files Management Version 1 expects data files, ST.SPC, ST.HLP and ST.ARF to reside on disk drive A. The data files may be stored on the program disk or on a separate data disk. Version 2 expects data files, ST.SPC, ST.HLP and ST.ARF to be in the current directory. Start the computer with the working copy in drive A. The DOS A> prompt will appear. The program and data files can now be arranged in the following ways: 1. Data on program diskette Place the program disk in drive A. Type [ST] and press [enter]. The program is now ready to use. This is not recommended for single sided drives, because the program files will occupy most of the disk space. 2. Data on separate diskette Format the data disk with the operating system files (FORMAT/S) and copy the program files ST.SPC, ST.HLP and ST.ARF to your data disk. If you have a single drive system, place the program disk in the A drive, type [ST] and press [enter]. This will load the pro- gram. Remove the program disk and place the data disk in the A drive. The program is now ready to use. If you have a two drive system, place the data disk in drive A, the program disk in drive B and type [B:ST] and press [enter]. The program is now ready to use. 3. Hard Disk System Hard disk systems must use version 2. The program may be loaded from any drive or directory. You may group data files on sep- arate directories and move from one directory to another within the program. The data files, ST.SPC, ST.HLP and ST.ARF must all be located on the current directory. Therefore, you will need copies of ST.SPC, ST.HLP and ST.ARF in each directory where you have data files. Backup Data Files After you have updated your data disk, you should backup your files. Making a copy of the data disk is recommended. The DOS DISKCOPY and DISKCOMP utilities can make the copy quickly. This backup disk should be stored in a safe place, away from your data disk. At the end of each session, you will be reminded to make a backup copy of the data disk. You should make a backup regularly but not necessarily daily. Only you can decide how much work you wish to risk before making a backup. 2 Technical Note: To save file space, the data files use a binary structure. To access the data files from another program will require the following Pascal type declarations: Type line = record date : lstring(8); high, low, close : real; end; storage = file of line; Accessing the data files should only be attempted by experienced programmers. The program creates ASCII text files with the Print Device and Summary options. These text files may be read by most spread sheet, graphics and word processing programs. Commonly Asked Questions 1. What can I do if I need help? The menus offers a brief explanation of each option. When a menu option is highlighted, the third line presents a description of that option or the next menu. These descriptions can provide considerable help as you use the program. More detailed help screens are available throughout the program. Typing [H] or [h] will cause a help screen to be presented. Help is not available when you are being prompted for a response. If you are being prompted, you must respond to the prompt. Once you respond, you will be returned to a menu or the edit mode. You may then type [H] to receive help with your problem. 2. How do the menus work? There are three types of menus used in the program. The menus that appear at the top of the screen can be activated by typing the first letter of the selection or by "pointing." Pointing is accomplished by pressing the right or left arrow key to move the reversed video box that highlights the selections. When you have highlighted an option, press the [enter] key to make your selec- tion. The menus are arranged so that the common choice is high- lighted first. To choose that, you will only need to press [enter]. The directory menu presents the data files from the current directory. You may "point" to a file name with the up, down, right or left arrow keys and select the highlighted file name by pressing [enter]. You may also type the name of a new or existing file and press [enter]. Help may be received by typing [Alt H] and you may quit by typing [Esc]. Alt H and Esc are used because H, h, Q and q are interpreted as part of a file name. 3 The menus that appear at the bottom of the screen are command menus. They are provided to remind you of the commands that are available. The menu is activated by pressing the appropriate key. Pointing is not available. 3. If I know what to enter, do I need to wait until I see the menu or receive a prompt? No, you may enter your responses rapidly if you wish. The key- board stores up to fifteen characters until the program is ready for them. 4. Do I need to answer yes or no to each question? You do not need to give an explicit reply to each question. Each Yes/No question allows a default response. The default response is given in parentheses at the end of the question. To enter the default response, just press the enter key. The default response will be either the "safe" response that protects your data, or the convenient response that will speed your work. The menus are arranged so the most common alternative appears first. Many operations can be accomplished with the enter key alone. 5. When I am finished, do I need to Quit or can I just turn off the computer? You should Quit at the end of each session. Quitting automati- cally saves your last file. If you just turn off the computer, the last file in memory will not be saved and your changes will be lost. Introduction This Tutorial will provide you with a series of activities that demonstrate the capabilities of the SAGE TRADER program. Let's start from the beginning. If you have not prepared your working copy of the program diskette, please refer to Diskette Preparation. These general files are on your working diskette. 1. COMMAND.COM DOS Command Processor 2. EDLIN DOS Line Editor 3. ST.EXE Program File 4. ST.HLP Help Text File 5. ST.SPC Printer Specification File 6. ST.ARF Automatic Response File 7. LCFEB84 Demonstration Commodity File 8. LCAPR84 Demonstration Commodity File 9. CNMAR84 Demonstration Commodity File 10. CNMAY84 Demonstration Commodity File We will use the program to manipulate the four commodity files. 4 Certain keys have special meaning to Sage Trader. The Backspace key is used to delete the previous character. The enter key, just below the backspace key, tells the program to process your entry. It must be used after entering data to start processing. Ins, the insert key, is used to insert a line of data. Del, the delete key, is used to delete a line of data. The window keys move the screen "window" up and down the column of data. The up and down arrow keys move the window up and down one line. The Page Up and Page Down keys move the window up and down ten lines at a time. The Home key move the window to the first lines of the file. The End key moves the window to the most recent lines in the file. The left and right arrow keys are used to move the high- lighted region when pointing to menu selections. When pointing to file menus, you may also use the up and down arrow keys to move up and down the file name list. The function keys duplicate the ten key pad. This allows you to set the number lock toggle to the number lock position and make your data entries with the ten key pad. With the number lock toggle on, you can move the window with the function keys. Esc and Q permit you to quit the current activity. When you quit an activity, you move back to the previous menu. If you are in the main menu, quitting returns you to the operating system. In the directory menu, type [Esc] to quit. Typing Q or q would be interpreted as part of a new file name. One other important key is not illustrated. Typing H or h calls help except when you are being prompted. In the directory menu, type [Alt H] to get help. Typing H or h in the directory menu would be interpreted as part of a new file name. Lesson 1 Insert the working copy of the program into drive A and turn on the computer. Enter the date and time when prompted. Type: [ST] [Enter] The program will introduce itself. Press any key to con- tinue. The first menu is called the Main Menu. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Display Print File Summary Help Quit ---------------------------------------------------------------- FIG. 1 Main Menu It allows you to choose five options. Let's choose the Help option first. To do this press an arrow key until Help is high- lighted. Press [enter] to select the highlighted alternative, Help. A Help screen is written to the screen and the program waits for you to press a key before continuing. When you press a key, you return to the Main Menu. 5 Before we can manipulate our data, we must load one of the commodity files into memory. Press the right arrow key two times until File is highlighted. Notice that the third line discribes the alternative that will be available if you choose File. Press [enter] to select File. We need to retrieve a file so press [enter] again to select Retrieve. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Retrieve Enter the name of the file to edit - lcfeb84 Current Directory - A: CNMAR84 CNMAY84 LCFEB84 LCAPR84 ---------------------------------------------------------------- FIG. 2 Retrieve Screen A directory is presented. Let's load the file LCFEB84 by typing lcfeb84 after the prompt. Press [enter]. Notice that it is not necessary to capitalize the file name. You will now be returned to the Main Menu. The name of the file we are working with is displayed in the upper left corner of the screen. Press [enter] again to select Display. Press [enter] to select Numeric. ---------------------------------------------------------------- High Low Close 3 Day 5 Day 10 Day RSI 6O.8O 6O.52 6O.67 6O.96 61.24 61.33 5O.61 61.45 6O.65 61.1O 6O.93 61.O9 61.39 56.12 61.25 6O.5O 6O.62 6O.8O 6O.92 61.35 46.97 61.27 6O.O5 6O.5O 6O.74 6O.78 61.22 4O.51 6O.5O 59.3O 59.37 6O.16 6O.45 60.96 35.14 59.3O 58.75 59.O5 59.64 6O.13 6O.68 35.OO 59.6O 59.1O 59.25 59.22 59.76 6O.42 31.58 59.6O 39.O5 59.15 59.15 59.46 60.19 16.25 59.9O 59.OO 59.27 59.22 59.22 6O.OO 18.29 59.82 59.22 59.62 59.35 59.27 59.86 24.72 ---------------------------------------------------------------- FIG. 3 Partial Display Numeric Screen The most recent twenty days are written to the screen and you enter the Edit mode. A menu appears at the bottom of the screen. This menu only serves as a reminder of the available choices. To make selections, you must type the key that is represented. You cannot "point" and press enter. Press the up arrow key. Notice that the "window" moves up one line. Press the down arrow key. The window moves back down. Press the [PgUp] and the window moves up ten lines. Press [Home] and the window moves to the beginning of the file. Press [End] to see the most recent 20 lines. Press [L] for locate and enter 6 9-23 for a date. The line 09-23-83 is now the bottom line. This is a quick way to move in a large file. Notice that partial dates are acceptable. Let's insert a new line of data just below 09-23-83. Press [Ins] to add a line at the bottom of the window. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Edit Date: O9-24-83 High: 61 Low: 6O.25 Close: 6O.25 ---------------------------------------------------------------- FIG. 4 Inserting a Line of Data A series of four prompts will appear. Type [09-24-83] after the Date: prompt and press [enter]. Type [61] after the High: prompt and press [enter]. Type [60.25] after the Low: prompt and press [enter]. Type [60.25] after the close: prompt and press [enter]. Notice that the new line is now written to the bottom of the file along with the 3, 5 and 10 day moving average and the RSI. 09-24-83 was a Saturday so no business was conducted. We should now delete the line. Press [Del]. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Edit Do you wish to delete the bottom line (default to no)? Y ---------------------------------------------------------------- FIG. 5 Deleting a Line of Data Respond with a [Y] when the question appears. The line is now removed. 7 Next, we will examine the screen graphics. To do this, press [Esc] to move back to the Display menu. Instead of point- ing to our next choice, just type the first letter of the choice. Press [P] to select the price option. ---------------------------------------------------------------- 58.5 59.O 59.5 6O.O 6O.5 61.O 61.5 62.O 62.5 . . . . --+- . . . . . . . . .--------+----- . . . . . . --+----------- . . . . . . -------+------------ . . . . . -+---------------. . . . . .------+--- . . . . . . . . .--+----- . . . . . . . -+------- . . . . . . . ----+----------- . . . . . . . -------+--. . . . . . ---------------------------------------------------------------- FIG. 6 Partial Display Price Screen Notice how the same twenty lines are now displayed as a price bar graph. The scale is automatically calculated to give the best possible resolution. Press [Q] to return to the Display menu and press [A] to select Averages. ---------------------------------------------------------------- 58.5 59.O 59.5 6O.O 6O.5 61.O 61.5 62.O 62.5 . . . . . 3. 5t . . . . . . . . 3. 5 t. . . . . . . . 35 . t . . . . . . . . 35 . t . . . . . . .3 5. t. . . . . . . 3 . 5 . t . . . . . . 3 . 5 . t . . . . . . . 3 5. . t . . . . . . . 5 . t . . . . . . . 5 3. t. . . . . . ---------------------------------------------------------------- FIG. 7 Partial Display Averages Screen The bar graph changes to a moving average display. 8 ---------------------------------------------------------------- 1O 2O 3O 4O 5O 6O 7O 8O 9O . . . . .r . . . . . . . . . r . . . . . . . . r . . . . . . . . .r . . . . . . . . r . . . . . . . . . r . . . . . . . . . r . . . . . . . r . . . . . . . . . r . . . . . . . . . . r . . . . . . . ---------------------------------------------------------------- FIG. 8 Partial Display RSI Screen Press [Q][R] to change to the RSI display. Notice the 0-100 scale. The labels 0 and 100 are omitted for clarity. Finally, we will end the lesson by ending the program. Press [Esc][Esc] to return to the main menu. Press [Esc] again and a message appears reminding you to back up your work. Your current file was saved before the program ended. In lesson 1 you used the Display option to edit a file. In lesson 2, we will update our files and compare two files. Lesson 2 In the first lesson, we used File Retrieve to load a file from disk storage. File Retrieve works well when you want to see a single file. However, often you will want to retrieve the same files, in the same order, day after day. To do this, use File Update. Update reads a text file called ST.ARF. This text file is simply a list of file names. As each name is read, the program loads the respective file for editing. The file ST.ARF can be created with your word processing program in non-document mode or with the DOS EDLIN program. Let's change the current ST.ARF file by using the EDLIN program. Place your working copy in drive A and turn on the power. The DOS prompt, A> will appear. Type: [EDLIN ST.ARF] and press [enter]. The message "End of input file" appears followed by the EDLIN prompt, *. 9 Type [L][enter] to list the contents of the file. ---------------------------------------------------------------- *1L 1:*LCFEB84 2: LCAPR84 3: CNMAR84 4: CNMAY84 * ---------------------------------------------------------------- FIG. 9 Edlin Listing of ST.ARF To delete a line, type the line number followed by a [D]. Let's delete line 2. Type [2d] and press [enter] Type [L] [Enter] This lets you see your change. ---------------------------------------------------------------- *2D *1L 1: LCFEB84 2:*CNMAR84 3: CNMAY84 * ---------------------------------------------------------------- FIG. 10 ST.ARF without line 2 LCAPR84 is now missing. Let's put LCAPR84 back into the file. Type [2I] [enter] to insert a line before line 2. Type [LCAPR84] after the * prompt. Press [enter] and the line is returned to its original location. Press [Ctrl Break] to end the insert command. ---------------------------------------------------------------- *2I 2:*LCAPR84 3:*^C * ---------------------------------------------------------------- FIG. 11 Inserting LCAPR84 into ST.ARF Type [L][enter] to list the file and confirm that the file still looks like the listing in Fig. 9 except for the location of the asterisk. To save the file, type [E] and press [enter]. A detailed discussion of the EDLIN program is given in your DOS 10 manual, if you have questions refer to the manual. Let's start SAGE TRADER from the A> prompt. Type [ST] and press [enter]. Press any key to move to the Main Menu. Type [F] to select File ---------------------------------------------------------------- Retrieve Update Spread Abandon Directory Help Quit ---------------------------------------------------------------- FIG. 12 File Menu Type [U] to select Update. The program now loads the first file named in ST.ARF, which is LCFEB84. There are five options available now. Press [enter] to choose the Update option. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Update Display Skip Help Quit ---------------------------------------------------------------- FIG. 13 File Update Menu Update writes the last line of the current file and calls Insert. You now see the "Date:" prompt from the Insert command. You can enter today's date by typing [enter], then enter a High of 61, a Low of 60.0 and Closing price of 60.55. After you have entered the Close, the program enters the edit mode. While we are in the edit mode let's delete the line we just entered. Type [Del] and respond [Y][enter] to the question. All of the editing options are available but you would have to move the window to get a screen of data. Display is a better option if you wish to edit the files. Type [Q] to quit the edit mode. The current file is saved and the next file is loaded into memory. Choose the Display option. Type [D]. This option is similar to Display from the Main Menu. The only difference is that when you quit this Display option, the current file is saved and the next file is loaded into memory. Type [P] 11 This displays the Price bar graph for LCAPR84. After the graph is completed, Type [Q] to return to the Display Menu. Type [Q] to end the display session and load the next file on the ST.ARF list. The next option, Skip, simply skips the current file. Type [S] and we load the next file. Help presents a help screen that explains the functions that are available during Update. The Quit option allows you to quit the update session without going through all of the remaining files. Since we are on the last file, we could return to the Main Menu by typing [S] or [Q]. Type [Q]. As you can see, the Update Update option can be used to quickly enter the day's prices. It also makes it easy for a clerk, who doesn't understand the entire program, to enter the daily prices for you. Then you can use Update Display to sys- tematically review the files. Summary also uses the Automatic Response File. Type [S] to select Summary. Summary first saves the file in memory. Then Summary reads ST.ARF and loads the last line of each file. It also displays the file name and last line on the screen. If you have more than ten files, the window keys allow you to move the window and view all of the lines. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Summary File Date High Low Close 3 Day 5 Day 1O Day RSI LCFEB84 1O-14-83 59.82 59.22 59.62 59.35 59.27 59.86 24.72 LCAPR84 1O-14-83 61.95 61.45 61.87 61.57 61.54 62.14 23.94 CNMAR84 1O-14-83 3.56 3.52 3.53 3.53 3.52 3.53 48.O2 CNMAY84 1O-14-83 3.56 3.52 3.53 3.52 3.52 3.54 45.16 ---------------------------------------------------------------- FIG. 14 Summary 12 Let's quit Summary. Type [Q] Let's turn our attention to the File Spread option. Type [F][S] File Spread allows you to subtract the closing prices of one file from the closing prices of another file. This is called the spread between the two commodities. Think of the relationship between the files as a subtraction problem: oscillator file - basis file = spread file. Enter LCAPR84 by pressing the left arrow key one time and pres- sing [enter]. The next prompt asks for the basis file name. Enter CNMAR84 by pressing [enter]. The last prompt asks for the Spread file name. If you plan to save the file, you should give it a descriptive name. Other- wise, just enter a convenient single letter name. Do not use the name of an existing file because the existing file will be lost when you leave the spread option. Type [S] for spread and press [enter]. The current file is now the spread file. It is not automatically displayed. Spread is a file operation like Retrieve, it only loads the spread file into memory. You can now print or display it in any format. Let's display it as a numeric screen. Type [enter][enter] to select Display Numeric. 13 Date High Low Close 3 Day 5 Day 1O Day RSI O9-19-83 59.43 59.43 59.43 59.61 59.51 59.35 O.OO O9-2O-83 59.13 59.13 59.13 59.45 59.45 59.37 O.OO O9-21-83 59.55 59.55 59.55 59.37 59.5O 59.44 O.OO O9-22-83 6O.22 6O.22 6O.22 59.63 59.62 59.58 69.O4 O9-23-83 6O.11 6O.11 6O.11 59.96 59.69 59.64 74.5O O9-26-83 6O.18 6O.18 6O.18 6O.17 59.84 59.67 66.15 O9-27-83 6O.14 6O.14 6O.14 6O.14 6O.O4 59.74 65.91 O9-28-83 6O.O5 6O.O5 6O.O5 6O.12 6O.14 59.82 64.45 O9-29-83 59.68 59.68 59.68 59.95 6O.O3 59.83 52.45 O9-3O-83 59.54 59.54 59.54 59.76 59.92 59.8O 45.44 1O-O3-83 59.44 59.44 59.44 59.55 59.77 59.8O 49.89 1O-O4-83 59.84 59.84 59.84 59.61 59.71 59.87 57.59 1O-O5-83 59.47 59.47 59.47 59.58 59.59 59.87 48.18 1O-O6-83 58.89 58.89 58.89 59.4O 59.43 59.73 38.79 1O-O7-83 58.38 58.38 58.38 58.91 59.2O 59.56 37.49 1O-1O-83 57.97 57.97 57.97 58.41 58.91 59.34 36.46 1O-11-83 58.OO 58.OO 58.OO 58.11 58.54 59.12 3O.O6 1O-12-83 57.96 57.96 57.96 57.97 58.24 58.91 15.37 1O-13-83 57.84 57.84 57.84 57.93 58.O3 58.73 15.36 1O-14-83 58.35 58.35 58.35 58.O5 58.O2 58.61 25.29 ---------------------------------------------------------------- FIG. 15 Spread File Numeric Screen Notice that the high, low and closing prices are the same on each line. This causes the Display Price graph to plot the spread correctly. Type [Q][P] to select Display Price. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Date 57.7 58.O 58.3 58.6 58.8 59.1 59.4 59.7 59.9 O9-19-83 . . . . . . .+ . . O9-2O-83 . . . . . + . . . O9-21-83 . . . . . . . +. . O9-22-83 . . . . . . . . . + O9-23-83 . . . . . . . . .+ O9-26-83 . . . . . . . . . + O9-27-83 . . . . . . . . .+ O9-28-83 . . . . . . . . + O9-29-83 . . . . . . . + . O9-3O-83 . . . . . . . + . . 1O-O3-83 . . . . . . .+ . . 1O-O4-83 . . . . . . . . +. 1O-O5-83 . . . . . . . + . . 1O-O6-83 . . . . .+ . . . . 1O-O7-83 . . . + . . . . . . 1O-1O-83 . +. . . . . . . . 1O-11-83 . + . . . . . . . 1O-12-83 . +. . . . . . . . 1O-13-83 . + . . . . . . . . 1O-14-83 . . .+ . . . . . . ---------------------------------------------------------------- FIG. 16 Spread File Price Screen 14 After you have examined the spread file, we will end the current lesson. Type [Esc][Esc][Esc] The file is automatically saved and you are returned to the operating system. We have updated a file, summarized our work and used the Spread option to create a spread file. In lesson 3, we will print a hard copy of a file. Lesson 3 In this lesson, we will print hard copies of a commodity file. The first step is to retrieve a file. Start the program. From the Main Menu: Type [F][R] to select File Retrieve. Point to LCFEB84 and press [enter]. You are returned to the Main Menu. Type [P][N] to choose Print Numeric. The Print Options Menu, offers six options. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Go Range Device Install Help Quit ---------------------------------------------------------------- FIG. 17 Print Options Menu Help and Quit are self explanatory. Let's choose the Go option. Type [G] Press the [enter] key to choose the default response. The printer will print the entire LCFEB84 file as an array of numbers. It is not always necessary to print the entire file. The Range option allows you to print only a particular range of lines. The Device option allows you to direct the printer's output to another device. For example, you could create a text file. A text file is readable by other programs such as your spread sheet, graphics or word processing program. The install option is designed to match the program to your printer. It creates a permanent file of printer specification codes. 15 Let's concentrate on the most common uses of the print option. You have printed a Numeric summary of the file LCFEB84. To print a price bar graph, simply choose the Price option. Type [P] Press [enter] to select Go. The Price bar graph will now be printed. To print the Averages: Type [A][enter][enter] The averages will be printed out. The RSI is printed similarly. Type [R][enter] [enter] The four printouts use the same general format so that they can be easily compared. The printouts do not stop for page breaks. Page breaks would only serve to obscure the trends that the graphs are trying to delineate. If you are printing a long file, you should use continuous paper. After each printing, you return to the print menu. Type [Q] to return to the main menu. This concludes our tutorial. You should now be prepared to create your own commodity files. To start a new file, choose File Retrieve but when you enter the file name, enter the name of your new file. Now, from the Main Menu, press [enter][enter] to select the Display Numeric option. Use Insert to enter your com- modity price information. The averages and RSI require some previous data for their computation so they will not appear until sufficient data is available. Each time you retrieve a file, the program will save your current file on the data disk. When you have completed your last file, choose Quit to save your last file. If you turn off the machine instead of using Quit, your changes to the last file will not be saved. The reference manual contains additional details and sugges- tions. Reading the manual will help you use the program more effectively. 16 COMMANDS Display [D] or [d] Display presents the commodity data on the screen. There are four display options. They are Numeric, Price, Averages and Relative Strength Index. After choosing one of the options, the most recent 20 lines of data are displayed. The program then enters the edit mode. The edit commands permit viewing, inserting, and deleting data. The edit mode works the same in each display option. Therefore, the edit mode will be discussed now, under the general topic of display. Edit - Window keys The current file can be visualized as a column of data. The stored data is viewed by using the window keys. The window keys can move the display window up or down the column of data. They are located on the numeric key pad. If you prefer to use the numeric key pad for your data entry, press number lock and use the function keys to move the window. The arrangement of function keys is similar to the numeric key pad except that the single line keys are on the top of the function key pad. Line Up [up arrow] or [F1] The up arrow and F1 keys move the window up one line. The edit line is the line at the bottom of the window. It is pos- sible to move the window up until no lines remain at the bottom of the window. This allows you to edit all the lines in the file. Once you reach the beginning of the file, pressing the up arrow key will cause the alarm to sound; no movement will occur. Line Down [down arrow] or [F2] The down arrow and F2 keys move the window down one line. If the bottom line is the end of the file, pressing the down arrow key will cause the alarm to sound; no movement will occur. Page Up [PgUp] or [F4] The page up and F4 keys move the window up ten lines at a time. By pressing the page up key repeatedly, the data can be made to scroll through the file. The lines write at a slow enough pace so that you can watch the trends in the data. If the edit line is less than 21, pressing the [PgUp] will cause the alarm to sound; no movement will occur. Page Down [PgDn] or [F8] The page down and F8 keys move the window down ten lines at a time. If the edit line is the most recent entry, pressing the [PgDn] key will cause the alarm to sound; no movement will occur. 17 Home [Home] or [F3] The Home and F3 keys move the window to the first twenty lines in the current file. The beginning of the file is the "home" end of the file. If the edit line is less than 21, pres- sing the [Home] key will cause the alarm to sound; no movement will occur. End [End] or [F7] The End and F7 keys move the window to the most recent twenty lines. This is called the "end" of the file. If the window is already showing the most recent twenty lines, the alarm will sound; no movement will occur. Locate [L] or [l] The [L] and [l] keys move the window to a location of your choice. When you press the key, a prompt appears on the third line. It asks for the date you wish to locate. You may respond with the exact date or a partial date. The program tries to match your date to a date in the current file. If it finds a match the edit line is set to that date and the previous 20 lines are written. If you enter a partial date, you should use care. The search is conducted from the most recent information back to the oldest. If you enter an ambiguous partial date that might match several dates in the current file, the program will stop searching when it makes the first match. Date not found! If the program is unable to match your response to a date in the current file, the error message is displayed. No movement will occur. Edit - Edit Keys Stored data can be changed by using the two edit keys, [Ins] and [Del]. These keys operate on one line at a time. They are designed to facilitate data entry. Entries can be changed by deleting an erroneous line and reinserting the line. Insert [Ins] or [F9] The insert and F9 keys insert a line of data into the cur- rent file. The new line is inserted at the bottom, or edit, line. By moving the window, you can add a line at any point in the record. When you press the insert key, you are prompted to enter four data items. 1. Date: The first prompt is for the date. Enter the date in the MM-DD-YY format. For example, January 1, 1983 would be entered as 01-01-83. The program offers a default option. If you wish to enter today's date, simply press [enter]. The pro- gram will enter the current date for you. 18 2. High: The second is for the day's high price. You may enter the price as an integer or decimal fraction. The price will be stored with the same accuracy that you enter. All computations will use the full accuracy that you enter. However, the dis- played price will be rounded to two decimal places. For example, if corn is selling for 3.5125. The display will show 3.51 but the program remembers 3.5125 and uses it for all computations. 3. Low: The third is for the day's low price. 4. Close: The last is for the day's closing price. The closing price is used for the moving average and RSI computations. It should be entered accurately because it can affect many sub- sequent values. You must respond to the high, low and close prompts with a number. Any other response will cause the cursor to change to a flashing box. You can then correct your erroneous entry. A partial entry will not be accepted. Numbers can be corrected by pressing the back space key and retyping. Once you press [Enter], you cannot back up to a previous entry. You must com- plete the line, delete it and reenter it correctly. Data error, reenter the new line! If the high, low and close are not in the correct order, the alarm will sound and the error message will be displayed. You will then be prompted to enter the high, low and close as before. The date will not be affected. Delete [Del] or [F10] The delete and F10 keys delete the bottom line in the win- dow. By moving the window, you can delete a line at any point in the current file. When you press [Del], you are asked, "Do you wish to delete the bottom line (default to no)?". You must confirm your intention by entering "Y". If you press [y] [enter], the bottom line is deleted. If you press [enter] or [n] [enter], no action is taken. If you inadvertently press [enter], the default value saves your line of data and no action is taken. Edit - Help and Quit Help [H] or [h] Help is available in the edit mode, except when you are being prompted for a response. To obtain help, press [H] or [h]. To return to the edit mode, press any key. Quit [Q], [q] or [Esc] Quit allows you to step back to the Display menu. From there you can move to other menus or return to edit in another display option. You may terminate the edit session at anytime except when you are being prompted. To quit the edit mode, press 19 [Q], [q] or [Esc]. When you are reviewing trends, you can quit the edit mode to return to the display menu, choose another dis- play option and return to the edit mode. When you change modes in this manner, you can watch the screen change from one display to another, line by line. This is a useful tool for comparing the trends in price to the trends in the moving averages or RSI. The program facilitates the comparison because it returns to the same location in the current file. We have reviewed the edit features that are common to all of the display options. Next, we will discuss the display options in detail. Display Numeric [D][N] The Display Numeric option displays the numeric values for the high, low and closing prices, the three, five and ten day moving averages and the relative strength index. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Date High Low Close 3 Day 5 Day 1O Day RSI O8-18-83 61.22 6O.75 6O.82 O.OO O.OO O.OO O.OO O8-19-83 61.2O 6O.87 6O.92 O.OO O.OO O.OO O.OO O8-22-83 61.65 6O.5O 6O.7O 6O.81 O.OO O.OO O.OO O8-23-83 61.OO 6O.55 6O.85 6O.82 O.OO O.OO O.OO O8-24-83 61.OO 6O.12 6O.2O 6O.58 6O.7O O.OO O.OO O8-25-83 6O.75 59.95 6O.65 6O.57 6O.66 O.OO O.OO O8-26-83 6O.85 6O.4O 6O.52 6O.46 6O.58 O.OO O.OO O8-29-83 6O.35 59.25 59.3O 6O.16 6O.3O O.OO O.OO O8-3O-83 59.75 59.1O 59.65 59.82 6O.O6 O.OO O.OO O8-31-83 59.65 58.8O 58.9O 59.28 59.8O 6O.25 O.OO O9-O1-83 59.42 58.92 59.32 59.29 59.54 6O.1O O.OO O9-O2-83 59.25 58.3O 58.4O 58.87 59.11 59.85 O.OO O9-O6-83 59.9O 58.5O 59.87 59.2O 59.23 59.77 O.OO O9-O7-83 6O.5O 59.85 59.9O 59.39 59.28 59.67 O.OO O9-O8-83 6O.4O 59.9O 59.97 59.91 59.49 59.65 43.87 O9-O9-83 6O.75 6O.17 6O.7O 6O.19 59.77 59.65 48.54 O9-12-83 61.4O 6O.65 61.37 6O.68 6O.36 59.74 54.18 O9-13-83 61.15 6O.25 6O.62 6O.9O 6O.51 59.87 48.66 O9-14-83 6O.87 6O.27 6O.55 6O.85 6O.64 59.96 52.18 O9-15-83 61.2O 6O.5O 6O.9O 6O.69 6O.83 6O.16 51.58 ---------------------------------------------------------------- FIG. 18 Display Numeric screen. The numeric display consists of a heading line and an array of numeric data. The date is used to label the vertical axis. The high, low and closing prices are the rounded prices that you enter. The actual values that you enter are stored. The values are rounded only for display. The 3 day, 5 day and 10 day values are the three, five and ten day moving averages. The RSI is the relative strength index. The moving averages and the RSI each require data from previous days closing prices for their computation. When insuf- 20 ficient data is available, the values are given as zero. For example, the three day moving average is always zero for the first two days. The five day moving average appears on the fifth day and the ten day moving average appears on the tenth day. The RSI appears on the fifteenth day. The edit keys allow data insertion in all display modes. It is best to insert data in the Display Numeric mode, because it is easier to inspect your entries. The program always enters the Display Numeric mode when there is no data in the current file. Display Price [D][P] The Display Price option presents the daily high, low and closing prices as bar graphs. The presentation consists of a scale line followed by 20 lines of graphics. The location of the graphic symbols is determined by the current scale. The scale is displayed above the graphics. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Date 58.7 59.1 59.5 59.8 6O.2 6O.6 61.O 61.4 61.8 O8-18-83 . . . . . . +------ . . O8-19-83 . . . . . . +--- . . O8-22-83 . . . . . ---+-------------- . O8-23-83 . . . . . ----+--. . . O8-24-83 . . . . -+------------. . . O8-25-83 . . . . ------------+-- . . . O8-26-83 . . . . . --+------. . . O8-29-83 . . +--------------- . . . . O8-3O-83 . .---------+-. . . . . . O8-31-83 . --+---------- . . . . . . O9-O1-83 . ------+. . . . . . . O9-O2-83 -+------------ . . . . . . . O9-O6-83 ----------------------+ . . . . . O9-O7-83 . . . -+----------. . . . O9-O8-83 . . . .+-------- . . . . O9-O9-83 . . . . ---------+ . . . O9-12-83 . . . . . . ----------+ . O9-13-83 . . . . .------+--------- . . O9-14-83 . . . . .-----+--------- . . O9-15-83 . . . . . -------+---- . . ---------------------------------------------------------------- FIG. 19 Display Price screen. The scale is automatically adjusted to provide the maximum resolution. The lowest scale value is the lowest price in the current file. The highest scale value is the highest price. The range of price values, from lowest to highest, is divided into 10 segments. The scale line consists of the segment labels. The first and last scale values are not shown to avoid cluttering the scale line. Values inserted while in the Display Price option may not be accurately represented. If the values exceed the limits of the current scale, the ends of the lines will be truncated so they 21 fit on the screen. The scale will not be changed until you exit and reenter the Display Price mode. Inserting data is best ac- complished in the Display Numeric mode. To avoid problems with exceeding scale values, try setting the scale limits on the first entry. The expected range of prices is often known. When you create a new file, you can enter a high and low scale value by entering the expected maximum value for the first high price, and the expected minimum value for the first low price. All subsequent calculations are based on the closing price, so the closing price should be the correct closing price for that first date. Entering artificial values for the first low and high, allows you to make the scale divisions even numbers. If you choose a high and low that are 5, 10 or 20 dollars apart, the scale is easier to read and use. In the example, the first high is 65 and the first low is 55. This makes the scale divisions one half dollar increments. Compare this to the 70 cent incre- ments in the previous example. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Date 58.5 59.O 59.5 6O.O 6O.5 61.O 61.5 62.O 62.5 O8-18-83 -----------------------------+----------------------- O8-19-83 . . . . . -+--- . . . O8-22-83 . . . . ---+--------- . . O8-23-83 . . . . .---+-. . . . O8-24-83 . . . .+----------. . . . O8-25-83 . . . ------------+. . . . O8-26-83 . . . . -+--- . . . . O8-29-83 . . +---------- . . . . . O8-3O-83 . . -------+-. . . . . . O8-31-83 . +------------ . . . . . . O9-O1-83 . -------+. . . . . . . O9-O2-83 -+---------- . . . . . . . O9-O6-83 -----------------+. . . . . . O9-O7-83 . . . +------. . . . . O9-O8-83 . . . +---- . . . . . O9-O9-83 . . . . -------+ . . . . O9-12-83 . . . . . --------+. . . O9-13-83 . . . . ----+---- . . . O9-14-83 . . . . ---+--- . . . . O9-15-83 . . . . -----+--- . . . ---------------------------------------------------------------- FIG. 20 The scale controlled by the first line. The resolution of the display is limited by the number of character positions on the screen and the scale range. You cannot change the screen so the only way to improve resolution is to choose a scale range that is as narrow as possible. If you enter artificial values to create a convenient scale, a compro- mise must be reached between your need to establish a convenient scale and your need for resolution. 22 Display Averages [D][A] The Display Averages option presents the three, five and ten day moving averages on the screen. They are presented in a "typewriter" graphics format. The three day moving average is represented by a 3, the five day by a 5 and the ten day by a t. The scale is automatically adjusted to optimize resolution. Values inserted while in the Display Averages option may not be accurately represented. Inserting data is best accomplished with Display Numeric. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Date 58.5 59.O 59.5 6O.O 6O.5 61.O 61.5 62.O 62.5 O9-19-83 . . . . .t 5 3 . . . O9-2O-83 . . . . . t 53. . . . O9-21-83 . . . . . t 5. . . . O9-22-83 . . . . . t.53 . . . O9-23-83 . . . . . .t5 .3 . . O9-26-83 . . . . . .t 5. 3. . O9-27-83 . . . . . . t . 5 3 . . O9-28-83 . . . . . . t . 35 . . O9-29-83 . . . . . . t3 5 . . O9-3O-83 . . . . . . 3 t 5 . . 1O-O3-83 . . . . . 3. 5t . . . 1O-O4-83 . . . . . 3. 5 t. . . 1O-O5-83 . . . . . 35. t . . . 1O-O6-83 . . . . . 35 . t . . . 1O-O7-83 . . . . 3 5. t. . . . 1O-1O-83 . . . 3 . 5 . t . . . . 1O-11-83 . . 3 . 5 . t. . . . . 1O-12-83 . . 3 5. . t . . . . . 1O-13-83 . . 5 . t . . . . . 1O-14-83 . . 53. t. . . . . . ---------------------------------------------------------------- FIG. 21 Display Averages screen. The moving averages require data from previous day's closing prices. When insufficient data is available, the values are given as zero. The three, five and ten day averages may at times round to the same value. The display can only show one of the symbols. The longest average is the value displayed. There are four alternatives: 1. All three values round to different values. There is no ambiguity. 2. The 5 is not displayed. The five and ten day averages round to the same value. There is no ambiguity. 3. The 3 and 5 are not displayed. The three, five and ten day averages round to the same value. There is no ambiguity. 4. The 3 is not displayed. The three day average may have been 23 rounded to the five or ten day value. There is an ambiguity. You should refer to Display Numeric to determine the three day moving average. Display RSI [D][R] Display RSI presents the relative strength index on the screen. The RSI turning points are represented by an r. The relative strength index requires data from previous day's closing prices, so, when insufficient data is available, the values are given as zero. The relative strength index is designed to solve two prob- lems found in charting commodities prices. It is responsive to changes in price without being erratic and it facilitates compar- isons of different commodities, by using a standard 0 - 100 scale. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Date 1O 2O 3O 4O 5O 6O 7O 8O 9O O9-19-83 . . . . . r . . . O9-2O-83 . . . . . r . . . . O9-21-83 . . . . . . r . . . O9-22-83 . . . . . . r . . . O9-23-83 . . . . . . . r . . O9-26-83 . . . . . . r. . . O9-27-83 . . . . . . r. . . O9-28-83 . . . . . . r . . . O9-29-83 . . . . . r . . . . O9-3O-83 . . . . r . . . . . 1O-O3-83 . . . . .r . . . . 1O-O4-83 . . . . . r . . . . 1O-O5-83 . . . . r . . . . . 1O-O6-83 . . . .r . . . . . 1O-O7-83 . . . r . . . . . . 1O-1O-83 . . . r . . . . . . 1O-11-83 . . .r . . . . . . 1O-12-83 . r . . . . . . . . 1O-13-83 . r . . . . . . . . 1O-14-83 . . r . . . . . . . ---------------------------------------------------------------- FIG. 22 Display RSI screen. Print [P] Each of the four print options produces a hard copy of your commodity information. You may produce a numeric printout, a price bar graph, a graph of the 3, 5 and 10 day moving averages or a graph of the relative strength index. Each printed graph includes a heading, a scale and the data. The heading gives you the file name, date and time. The scale is similar to the scale presented during display. The printed data is also similar to the display. 24 Print includes several shared options. Go, Range, Device and Install can be chosen from each print option. Therefore, they will be discussed under the general topic of Print. Go [P][?][G] Go starts the printer. To stop the printer, press the printer's Select switch or turn the printer off. No paper error writing device PRN Abort, Retry, Ignore? If the printer is turned off, disconnected or runs out of paper, DOS 2.0 writes this message and then pauses. If you can correct the problem, do so and type [R] for Retry. If you cannot correct the problem, type [A] for abort. You will be returned to the operating system. Out of Paper If the printer is turned off, disconnected or runs out of paper, DOS 1.1 writes "Out of paper" to the screen over an over again until you turn on the printer. If you turn on the printer, printing will commence. It is likely that some data will be lost. If you do not, or cannot, turn on the printer, the program will eventually return to the print menu with no loss of data. It will take approximately one minute for this to occur. Printer Error! The printer is off, deselected or out of paper. Correct the problem and the press any key to continue. Range [P][?][R] The range option limits the range of lines to be printed. If you do not use this option, the entire file is printed. The range must be set before each printing or the entire file will be printed. The first prompt asks you to "Enter the first line to print." Respond with the line number of the first line you wish printed. The second prompt asks you to "Enter the last line to print." Respond with the line number of the last line desired. The line number can be determined in the Display edit mode. You may enter the line numbers in either order because the program will put the line numbers in the correct order. You may use whatever order seems logical to you. Line numbers that are less than 1 will be set equal to 1, the beginning of the file. Line numbers that are greater than the end of the current file, will be set equal to the end of the current file. If you enter non- numeric characters, the cursor becomes a flashing box and you are permitted to reenter the line number. Device [P][?][D] Device diverts the print output to other peripheral equip- ment. It writes an ASCII file when a file name is given to device. It will write to the asynchronous port, if the special DOS names COM1, LINE or AUX are given. The device name will appear on the status line when you enter the print mode. PRN is given by default when you enter the print mode. This name will send the output to the parallel printer. 25 Install [P][?][I] Install creates a file of printer codes and program instruc- tions. These codes and instructions match the program to the printer. Install was placed in the program so that you could change printer instructions easily. However, Install creates a permanent file that does not need to be changed unless you want to change the appearance of the printouts. ---------------------------------------------------------------- LCFEB84 1O-24-83 Device Name - PRN END: O Go Help Quit Install the printer Number of characters per line : 231 Bar character ASCII code : 149 Close character ASCII code : 145 Printer control character : 29 : 27 : 56 : O : O : O : O : O ---------------------------------------------------------------- FIG. 23 A typical Install screen. Number of characters per line: The number of characters per line is specified in your printer manual. You should not specify more characters per line than the maximum allowed by your printer. You may use less but you will lose resolution. The number of characters per line is variable on some printers. To change the number of characters per line, you change the pitch or number of characters per inch. Some printers allow you to set the pitch mechanically, some electronically and some, both ways. When you change the number of characters per inch, you change the number of characters per line. Your printer manual will specify the number of characters per line for each pitch. Bar character ASCII code: Dot matrix and some daisy wheel printers offer graphics character sets. The price bar graph can use these graphics characters to create a high quality printout. The codes for these characters are not standardized. You should review your printer manual to determine if there is a suitable graphics character. If there is, you may enter the ASCII decimal code for that character. If a suitable character does not exist, the dash character, ASCII decimal code 45, is recommended. Close character ASCII code: The close character can be a T shaped character. You should review your printer manual to determine if there is a suitable graphic character. If a suit- able character does not exist, the plus sign character, ASCII decimal code 43, is recommended. 26 Printer control character: A printer control character can be entered after each of the next twelve colons. The characters must be entered in ASCII decimal code. These codes may be used with some printers to control the pitch, the number of lines per inch, emphasis and various other printer features. When making changes to the install file, you may type a new number at the cursor location. If you press the enter key with- out typing a number, the existing value is retained, and the cursor is advanced to the next line. To store your changes and return to the print menu, press [enter] until the cursor steps past the bottom line of the list. The disk drive will operate momentarily while your new install file is written. If you discover an error after the cursor has advanced to a lower line, you must complete the install option and then reenter install. There is no way to move the cursor up the list. Interfacing the wide variety of printers with your computer can be a difficult task. A thorough understanding of your printer's capabilities is essential, if you are to use your printer effectively. Until you have acquired this knowledge, it is wise to use the simplest install option. Most printers de- fault to printing 10 characters per inch. Therefore, if your paper width is eight and one half inches, enter 80 on the first line. If your paper width is 14 inches, enter 132 on the first line. Next, enter 45, the dash character, for the bar character. On the third line, enter 43, the plus character, for the close character. The install option does not affect the numeric printout significantly. Changing the line spacing or pitch may make the numeric printout harder or easier to read. You will find that increasing the number of character per line to increase the resolution of the graphics printouts, makes the numeric printout smaller. You must arrive at a compromise between resolution and readability. Increasing the number of characters printed on a line can greatly enhance the Averages printout. The greater resolution prevents values from "hiding" behind one another. If two aver- ages round to the same value, you will still see only the longer average, but the smaller increments will cause fewer values to round to the same character location. The control codes must be expressed in ASCII decimal code. Some printer manuals are vague about software control. If you are unsure about the proper code, experiment. You are only risking a few sheets of paper. Some printer manuals give the control codes in BASIC programming code. This code must be converted to the ASCII decimal form before use in the install responses. For example, a printer manual might tell you to use CHR$(28) to set the printer to a pitch of 12 characters per inch. To enter this same infor- mation, just use the number 28. Or the manual might instruct you to use CHR$(27);"8" to set the printer to 8 lines per inch verti- cal spacing. To enter this code, enter 27 on one line and 56, the ASCII decimal code for the "8", on the next line. Both 27 instructions could be entered by typing 29 on one line, 27 on the next line and 56 on the third line. If the manual specifies entering a two digit number, such as "88", there is no way to do this. This is true because there is no single ASCII decimal code to represent "88". Entering 56 on two successive lines will be interpreted as "8" "8" rather than "88". When you wish to enter no character, enter a 0. The printer reads ASCII decimal code 0 as the null or empty charac- ter. This causes no action by the printer. Value must be between 0 and 255! The install option expects each entered value to be an integer between 0 and 255. If you enter an integer outside of this range, the error message will appear and you can enter the correct value. If you enter a non-numeric character or a decimal number, the entry will be ignored, the original value will be retained and the cursor will advance to the next line. Now that we have discussed the commands that are common to all print options, we will explain the major print options. Print Numeric [P][N] Print Numeric prints a copy of the numeric data. The numer- ic data is rounded to two decimal places. When insufficient information is available to compute a value, a zero is printed. The numeric printout is not a graph, rather it is designed to supplement the graphs. The numeric printout is spaced and labeled by date exactly like the graphic printouts, so that it can be compared to the graphs line by line. Print Price [P][P] Print Price creates a graphic printout of the price data. The bar chart can help you detect price trends. Print Price prints bar graphs of the high, low and closing prices. Each bar is labeled with the date. The scale is automatically set from the price data. The lowest and highest scale labels are omitted for clarity. Print Averages [P][A] Print Averages creates a graphic printout of the three, five and ten day moving averages. The averages are represented by a 3 for the three day, a 5 for the five day and a t for the ten day moving average. When two averages round to the same value, the longer average is printed. The scale is automatically set from the price data. The moving averages help to detect underlying price trends. They can also help detect directional changes in the market. Moving averages tend to smooth out price action. The ten day average is smoother than the five, which is smoother than the three day average. They all tend to lag behind the current market prices. The relative positions of the averages and the prices can indicate trends in the market. 28 Print RSI [P][R] Print RSI creates a graphic printout of the Relative Strength Index. Print RSI represents the RSI with the letter r. The scale for the RSI is always 0 to 100. The lowest and highest scale labels are omitted for clarity. The RSI may predict areas of price support or resistance before they are apparent on the price graph. The RSI is designed to be less erratic than the moving averages, while retaining the ability to respond to changes in the market. The RSI is also scaled to a standard 0 - 100 scale. This allows you to compare different commodities to detect general market trends. File [F] The file commands give you control of the file process. You can load a specific file from disk storage with retrieve, clear memory with Abandon. You can load a series of files with Update. Spread creates a new file from the difference between two files. Users of version 2 can change directories with Directory. File Retrieve [F][R] File Retrieve reads the contents of a disk file into memory. If the disk file does not exist, it is created. File Retrieve first displays the directory and asks you to enter the name of the file to edit. You may either point with the arrow keys and press [enter] or you may type the file name. If the file you name exists in the current directory, the file is loaded into memory. If not, a new file is created. All data files are given the extension ".CCC" by the pro- gram. Therefore, only one to eight character file names are valid. Drive designators, extensions, improper syntax or invalid characters will not be accepted. Invalid characters will be ignored. Trying to type more than eight characters will cause the alarm to sound. File Update [F][U] File Update automates the file management process. It allows you to survey your commodity files without typing each file name every day. Update reads a text file from the current directory called ST.ARF. This text file consists of a series of file names, each on a separate line. ST.ARF is an Automatic Response File that you create. It can be created with the DOS EDLIN program or with a word processor. If you use a word pro- cessor program, be sure that you use the non-document mode. To create the file, type the list of file names with one file name on each line. You may have as many file names as you wish. The file name must not include an extension because the program sup- plies the standard extension ".CCC" to each name as it is called. If one of the files that you name in ST.ARF is not retrieved, check the spelling or syntax. 29 As each name is read, the corresponding file is loaded. You are then given four options. File Update Update [F][U][U] Update is useful for daily updates to your files. It calls insert, so you can add a line to the file. It then enters the Edit mode so that you can make other changes. Quitting Edit causes the next file named in ST.ARF to be loaded. By arranging the names in ST.ARF carefully, you can rapidly update many files each day. To speed the updating process, only the last line of the file is written to the screen. Once in the Edit mode, you may use the window keys to examine the file. To write the mis- sing lines on the screen, press [L] and enter the date of the last line. Moving the window up and down twenty lines will also work. File Update Display [F][U][D] Display functions exactly the same way, in this context, as it does from the Main Menu. The only difference is that when you quit Update Display the next file is loaded and you are again given the four Update options. File Update Skip [F][U][S] Skip does nothing to the current file. It causes the next file in ST.ARF to be loaded. File Update Quit [F][U][Q] No further files are called and you are returned to the Main Menu. File Spread [F][S] File Spread computes the difference between two commodity files. This comparison is called the spread. The relationship between the files is: oscillator file - basis file = spread file. File Spread subtracts the closing price of the basis file from the closing price of the oscillator file. The first prompt seeks the name of the oscillator file. The file is loaded and the basis file name is requested. The basis file is loaded. The name of the spread file is then requested. Next, the two files are compared, starting with the most recent entries. A line from each file is examined. If the date from the basis file line is identical to the date from the oscillator file, the closing price from the basis file is subtracted from the closing price in the oscillator file. The difference, or spread, is then written to the spread file high, low and closing price fields. These steps are repeated, line by line, until the end of a file or until the dates on a line are not identical. Therefore, only the lines with identical dates will be written to the spread file. 30 If you plan to compute the spread between two commodities, it is essential that the dates be identical. The format MM-DD-YY is suggested. If the comparison stops early due to a date difference, you can use the edit feature to correct the erroneous date in the basis or oscillator file. The comparison of dates was included to prevent the omission of a date from one file from causing different dates to be compared. With this safeguard, you can be sure that the spread is as good as your basis and oscil- lator files. It also allows files of different lengths to be compared. When the basis and oscillator files are of different lengths, the spread file will only include the dates that are common to both. If you plan to save a spread file, the name assigned to the spread file should indicate the source of the data. It should include elements of the basis and oscillator file names. Oscillator file not found! The file name that you entered for the oscillator file does not exist. File Spread cannot continue, so you are returned to the main menu. Basis file not found! The file name that you entered for the basis file does not exist. File Spread cannot continue, so you are returned to the main menu. If the first lines of the compared files do not have the same date, you will get an empty spread file. No other error messages will be given. If you cannot create a spread file that contains data, check the last dates of the component files. File Abandon [F][A] File Abandon clears memory. It does not delete the file from the disk. To delete a disk file you must use the operating system internal command, Del. File Abandon will destroy your data, therefore, it asks you to confirm you intention. If you press enter, the default response saves your data by returning you to the main menu. File Directory [F][D] (Version 2) File Directory lists your current directory path and then prompts you for the path name of the new directory. All DOS path name symbols are supported. You can only change directories on the current drive. 31 The next option on the main menu is Summary. It allows you to review the most recent day's activity with a single key stroke. Summary [S] Summary displays the last line of each file listed in the Automatic Response File, ST.ARF. It first checks to see if you have a file in memory and if you do, saves the file. Then Summary reads the file names from ST.ARF. As it reads each file, it writes the file's name and last line to the screen. If there are more than ten files in ST.ARF, the first lines will scroll off of the screen. After the files are read, a command menu will appear at the bottom of the screen and you can move the window up or down to view the entire list of data. The window keys work like the Display window keys. Summary creates an ASCII text file called ST.SUM. This file can be printed or read by other programs. Each time that Summary is used, the file ST.SUM is updated and the old data is lost. If you need a hard copy of the screen display, use [PrtSc]. The last two options on the main menu are Help and Quit. These options are found on all menus. We will discuss them here. Help [H] or [h] Help writes a brief description of the current activity to the screen. It seeks to answer the most common questions about the current activity. If the help file, ST.HLP cannot be found on the current directory, no help screens can be written. When entering file names in Retrieve or Spread, you can receive help by typing [Alt H]. This special case is necessary because [H] or [h] would be interpreted as a character in a file name rather than a call for help. Quit [Q], [q] or [Esc] Quit may be chosen from any menu. It is not available if you are being prompted for a response. When you quit the main menu, your current file is saved on the disk and you are returned to the operating system. When you choose Quit from other parts of the program, you move back to the previous menu. You can view the menus as an upside down tree. If you choose Quit, you move back up the tree toward the main menu. When choosing Quit from Retrieve or Spread, use [Esc]. [Q] and [q] would be interpreted as characters in a file name. You may choose [Esc] while entering a file name. This will return you to the previous menu. If you choose [Esc] from Spread, you will get an error message, because the blank file name created by the Escape command cannot be found in the direc- tory. Just press a key to return to the previous menu. 32 ERROR MESSAGES Error Indications - No message Alarm - If you try to move the window beyond the ends of the file or enter prices in the wrong order, the audible alarm will sound. Flashing Box - The cursor changes to a flashing box. This indicates that you have entered an invalid character. If the prompt was a yes/no question, the first character of your response must be a Y, y, N or n. If the prompt expected a numeric response, the characters must be numbers. If the prompt expected an integer, the response must not contain a decimal point. Error Messages Some error messages are generated by the operating system. Error messages that begin with a "?" are DOS messages. Consult your DOS manual for an explanation of those errors. There are some messages that indicate internal program errors. If you encounter an unexplained error message, contact Sage Systems. Date not found! You have entered a date that cannot be matched to any date in the file. A successful match occurs if the set of characters you give match some part of a date in the current file. Data error, reenter the new line! The prices were entered in the wrong order. The high, close and low must be in descending order or be equal. Directory error! The directory cannot be successfully read. Check to see if the disk is installed and the drive door is closed. File access error! File cannot be opened. Disk may be full. File full! You have tried to enter more than 300 lines of data. If you need to continue the file, you must delete some lines. File not found! A file with that name cannot be found in the directory File not found - ST.HLP! The help file, ST.HLP, was not found. Copy ST.HLP to the current directory. File not found - ST.SPC! The printer specification file, ST.SPC, was not found. Copy ST.SPC to the current directory. File not found - ST.ARF! The Automatic Response File, ST.ARF, was not found. Create an automatic response file, ST.ARF, on the current directory. 33 New File! The file name that you entered was not found in the directory. A new file has been created. No paper error writing device PRN Abort, Retry, Ignore? The printer is out of paper or off. If you can correct the error, choose [R] for Retry. If not, choose [A] for abort and you will be returned to the operating system. Out of paper The printer is out of paper or off. The message will be written to the screen over and over again until you correct the problem. If you do not or cannot correct the prob- lem, the program will eventually return to the print menu. It will take approximately one minute for this to occur. Path not found! The path that you gave cannot be found. Check spelling and syntax. Printer error! Cannot write to the printer. Check the printer and connections. Value must be between 0 and 255! All values in Install must be integers between 0 and 255. If you try to enter an integer outside of this range, the error message is displayed and you are allowed to enter a valid integer. Other entries will be ignored and the cursor advances to the next line. 34 GLOSSARY [] The square brackets are used to indicate keys. For example, [Home] is the Home key on the numeric key pad. [enter] The enter key or carriage return key. alarm The alarm is a beep produced by the computer to alert you to an error. ASCII American National Standard Code for Information Inter- change. The standard code used for exchanging information between computer systems and peripheral devices. asynchronous Without a regular time relationship. The asynchronous port is the serial or RS232 port. Aux This is a special DOS name for the RS232 port. backup A file or disk that can be used in case of damage to the original file or disk. character A letter, digit or symbol that is used to control or represent data. Tables of ASCII characters can be found in your computer, printer or BASIC manual. COM1 This is a special DOS name for the RS232 port. current file The current file is the file that is in memory. The name of the current file is displayed first on the status line. A file name may be displayed on the status line when there is no data in memory. This occurs after File Abandon or after a File Retrieve on a new file. The size of the current file in memory can be determined by the last item on the status line, End:. The number of lines in memory is given after End:. For example, End:0, indicates that the current file is empty. End:65, indicates that the current file contains 65 lines of data. cursor A movable marker that is used to indicate your position on the display. decimal number This is a number which contains a decimal point. default A value or option that is used when none is specified. directory A table of file names. DOS Disk Operating System. edit To enter, modify or delete data. End The end position is the most recent entry. It is at the bottom of the column. 35 field A single piece of data. A number, date or name. file A file is data stored on the floppy disk. This is a permanent storage medium that is not erased when the power is turned off. The file is located by means of a file name that you assign during File Retrieve. file name A file name must be one to eight characters long. All data files are automatically assigned the extension ".CCC," although the extension will not appear on the status line or in the program directory. Only the DOS 2.0 characters are valid in file names. The use of any other character will be ignored. five day moving average The five day moving average is the sum of the current day's closing price, plus the closing prices for the previous four days, divided by five. format The arrangement or layout of data on the screen or printout. Home The home position is the oldest entry. It is at the top of the column. integer It is a natural number or its negative. The numbers 5, -2 and 103 are all integers. line A single day's data. A line is a record consisting of four input fields : date, high price, low price and closing price. Four computed values also appear on the display line. They are the following: 3 day, 5 day and 10 day moving averages and the relative strength index. LINE This is a special DOS name for the RS232 port. menu A list of available options. You select which option you want from the list. operating system Software used to control the execution of programs. This program uses DOS. path A list of directory names separated by back slashes. The path must not contain more than 63 characters. pitch The number of printed characters per inch. Common pitches are 10, 12 and 15 characters per inch. prompt A prompt is a question, statement or word followed by a punctuation mark. The cursor appears immediately after the question, statement or word. All prompts end with a colon, question mark or dash. Prompts ending in a : expect a number for a response. Prompts ending in a ? are yes/no questions. They expect a response beginning with a Y, y, N or n. Prompts ending with a - expect an alphanumeric, or character, response. 36 resolution Resolution is the capability for distinguishing detail in the display or printed output. The resolution is determined by the scale range and the number characters per line. Limiting the scale range will increase the resolution. Increasing the number of characters per line will also increase the resolution. relative strength index The relative strength index, RSI, is computed as follows: RSI = 100 - (100 / 1 + RS) average of the up closes for 14 days RS = --------------------------------------- average of the down closes for 14 days Up close = current day's close minus previous day's close, if the value is positive Down close = current day's close minus previous days close, if the value is negative The RSI is designed to provide a stable indication of the strength of the market. It is responsive without being erratic and it is scaled on a 0 - 100 scale so that different commodities may be compared. For additional details, refer to: New Concepts in Technical Trading Systems by J. Wells Wilder, Jr., P.O. Box 450, Greensboro, NC 27402 status line The status line is the top line on the screen. It consists of the file name, the date, and the End line number. It may also give the Output Device and the Edit line. The date is given in month - day - year format. The date is retrieved from the operating system by the program. The Output Device is the name given in Print Device. The Edit line is the bottom line of the display. End is the line number of the last entry. Your position in the file can be determined by comparing the edit line number and the home line number. ten day moving average The ten day moving average is the sum of the current day's closing price, plus the closing prices for the previous nine days, divided by ten. three day moving average The three day moving average is the sum of the current day's closing price plus the closing prices for the previous two days, divided by three. truncate To remove the ending or beginning elements. window The screen display is best explained as a window which you can move up or down a column of data or graphics. The most recent entries are at the bottom of the column. The window shows twenty lines at a time. update To modify the master file with current information. 37