MagBase.Exe

Version 1.0

(c) September, 1989

by

Rad Delaroderie
PO Box 1991
Columbus, Ga.
31902

written in

Turbo Basic


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*********************
Program Requirements:
*********************

128K RAM
DOS 2.0 or later
IBM or compatible


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*************
Idiosyncrasy:
*************

My programming philosophy is that a program shows its first sign of
failure the moment you have to pick up a user's manual to see what to
do next. With this in mind, let me make a few points, and then you
should never have to read this file again. If you do, leave me a
scathing message.

I can be contacted at the PO Box listed above, or at

Columbus Connection BBS
1-404-687-7309
Rad Delaroderie


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*************
Packing List:
*************

This package, whether ZIPped or ARCed, should contain at least the
following files:

MagBase.Exe (The executable program file)
MagBase.Doc (This documentation file that you're reading now)
RadCat.Txt (A catalog of other available RAD Software programs)


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********************
Program Description:
********************

MagBase.Exe is a database program that allows you to keep track of
articles and information found in various magazines and other
publications. The program will associatively index related information
from a wide range of sources. This program will also let you pull out
information in a wide variety of interesting ways that let you quickly
conveniently compile a reference list of user-defined related
information possible only by the processing ability of computers when
properly programmed.

Despite the complex abilities of MagBase, the program is fairly self-
explanatory. However, you do need to be aware of the following
limitation:

MagBase can hold up to 10,000 items on file. However, if you
use a 360k floppy disk system, you will run out of disk space
after about 750 item entries. If you use 720k disks, you're
limited to about 1,500 item entries. If you use 1.4m disks,
you're limited to about 3,000 entries.


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*****************
To Install & Run:
*****************


The following instructions assume that you know next to nothing about
DOS or installing and running programs. I always try to remember that
new computer users are many, and I wish to make things as easy and
clear as possible for these new users.

Floppy disk based users-

Insert a blank floppy disk into Drive A. At the DOS prompt, type
the following:

a: (Enter)
format a: /v/s (Enter)

When the system finishes formatting the disk, it will ask for a
Volume Label. Type

MagBase (Enter)

Now remove this newly formatted disk from Drive A and insert the
disk containing the MagBase program files into Drive A. Type the
following:

Copy a:\MagBase.* b: (Enter)

Follow the instructions as they appear on the screen. New users
should note that, on a single floppy disk system, your computer
considers your single drive to be both Drive A and Drive B. When
you are finished, you now have a usable MagBase program disk.
Label the disk and make a copy for safekeeping. To run the
program, insert the MagBase program disk into Drive A. If the
computer is off, turn it on. Type the following:

a: (Enter)
MagBase (Enter)

The program will now run.


Hard Disk System-

At the DOS prompt, type the following:

c: (Enter)
cd\ (Enter)
md \magbase (Enter)
cd \magbase (Enter)

If the original MagBase files are on a floppy disk, insert that
disk into Drive A and type the following:

copy a:\MagBase.* c:\MagBase (Enter)

If the original MagBase files are already somewhere on your hard
disk, I'll assume that, if you knew enough to get them on your
hard disk already, you know enough to copy them to the MagBase
sub-directory.

To start the program, type the following:

c: (Enter)
cd \MagBase (Enter)
MagBase



MagBase.Exe creates a data file, called MagBase.Dat, when you start
entering your items. Database-type programs are by their very nature
"file read/write" intensive. For that reason, performance is slowest
on a floppy disk, very fast on a hard disk, and lightning on a RAM
disk.

If a small sample MagBase.Dat file is included in this package, you
may immediately get some idea of MagBase's features without having to
enter your own items right away. When you are ready to establish your
own personal MagBase.Dat file, you simply erase the sample file by
typing the following:

del MagBase.Dat (Enter)

at the DOS prompt while in the MagBase sub-directory, then start from
scratch with your own data file.


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******************
Using the program:
******************

MagBase starts with a title page containing author and copyright
information, and a brief description of the program. Pressing any key
then displays the focal point of the program-- the Main Menu.

The Main Menu has three choices:


* See the inventory of items on file

* Add an item to the inventory

* Quit the program

I use the "point & shoot" method for user choices. That is, you
simply use the spacebar or arrow keys to highlight your choices and
press the ENTER key. The program will immediately branch to that
section of the program. You can back out of any part of the program
with the ESC key, eventually returning to the Main Menu.

Let's look at the features available in each of the above three
choices in more detail below--


**********************************
Add an item to the inventory list-
**********************************


If you highlight this option and press the ENTER key, you will be
presented with an entry screen. MagBase lets you enter an item
in an easy simple manner. When entering information in each
field, note that the entry lines are fully editable; that is, you
have basic word processing capabilities, including Insert,
Overtype, Delete, Home, End, etc.

Also note that none of the fields are "required" entries; that
is, you may press the ENTER key without typing anything in the
field. The program will insert "n/a" for you.


Let's look at each of entry fields:

Publication-

Here you should enter the name of the magazine, journal, or
other publication. Try to avoid appending "Magazine" in
your title entries, unless that is a part of the proper
title of the magazine. For instance, "PC Magazine" is the
proper title of that publication, but avoid typing, for
instance, "Omni Magazine"-- the proper title is simply
"Omni".

Volume-

Most publications, but not all, have both a volume and
number label (e.g.: Vol. 9, No. 6). That doesn't mean you
have to enter this information. But if it's important to
you, the field is available.

Number-

See above

Month-

Most publications also have a month and year designation.
Some publications, according to their issue frequency, may
have other designations, such as "Spring", or "Jan-Feb",
etc. I've made sure to leave enough room in this entry to
allow such special conditions.

Year-

You may enter the year of issue here. You can enter it as a
four-digit (e.g.: 1989) or a two-digit (e.g.: 89, or '89)
number. Whatever method you choose, it's important that you
be consistent in all your entries so that the program may
properly sort by year if asked.

Article-

Enter the name of the publication article here. There will
be occasions when information that you are entering doesn't
come from a titled article, but rather is found in an Editor
Column, Questions & Answers, What's New, or even an
advertisement! In this case, you can enter the name of the
column, or make up your own brief descriptive title. Handle
these special situations in any manner that is useful to
you, keeping in mind that the program can later find and
associatively relate this entry to other entries based on
what you decide to enter.

Author-

In order to properly utilize the sorting capabilities of
MagBase, you should always enter the author's name in a
LastName, FirstName format.

For instance: Clarke, Arthur C.
or Smith, Joe & Brown, John

Pages-

Enter the page location of the item you are entering. I've
allowed enough room for you to enter a range of pages if you
wish.

Key Phrases-

This entry field, deceptively, is one of the most useful and
powerful features of this program. Here you may enter key
words or phrases that characterize the entry in a way that
will let you associate it with other entries when you use
the define, search, and find capabilities of this program.

For example, if you have a personal interest in aircraft,
you can enter "aircraft" as a key word for any item that
refers to planes, regardless of publication, author, etc.,
and later produce an instant listing of all of your items
that make any reference to aircraft! You can enter as many
key words or phrases as will fit in a 74-character space.
You may separate the phrases and words by commas, spaces, or
any other delimiter you wish to use. The more you think
through and utilize this feature, the more powerful and
useful this program becomes!

Summary/Comments-

This entry field allows you to enter a brief summary of the
entry and any miscellaneous comments. This field also
reflects my awareness as a programmer that it's impossible
to write a program that satisfies everyone's preference for
entry fields. There will be serious collectors, for
example, for whom it's very important to be able to note in
the program on what shelf or in which cubbyhole a particular
publication is physically located. The comment field is 74
characters wide, and provides ample room for you to include
information that's important to you.


******************
See the inventory-
******************


This Main Menu option lets you find and/or collate your entries
in a way that could never be accomplished in a practical manner
by "thumbing through" or using a card index filing system. Upon
highlighting this option and pressing the ENTER key, you are
presented with a sub-menu that asks whether you would like to see

All items on file, or

Certain items.

*********
All items
*********

If you wish to look at All of your items on file, simply
highlight this choice and press the ENTER key. The program will
then present you will another sub-menu that gives you choices of
how you want the list sorted. The entire list can be sorted
alphabetically by Publication, Year of Issue (chronologically),
Title of Article, or Author. Highlight which criterion you want
the list sorted by and press the ENTER key.

*************
Certain items
*************

Here is where you can utilize the most powerful processing
feature of this program. If you wish to put together a limited
user-defined list of entries in your file, simply highlight
"Certain items" and press the ENTER key. The program will then
present you with another sub-menu that gives you choices of how
you want define the list of items you want to see. The entire
list can be searched according to a certain Publication, Year of
Issue, Article Title, Author, Key Word(s), or Summary/Comment.
Highlight which criterion wish to search the list by and press
the ENTER key.

The program will then ask you to enter the phrase, word, or
partial word that you want the program to find in the particular
field you chose. You don't have to enter a complete word or
phrase. For instance, if you want to find all items that have
"Aircraft" in the Key Phrase field, but you are not sure if you
always capitalized the word "Aircraft", then simply enter
"ircraft", or even "rcraf" as your search phrase, and press the
ENTER key. The program will locate every item that has that
particular sequence of characters in the Key Phrase field.


**********************
Displaying the Results
**********************

Whether you've chosen All items or Certain items, the program
will go through the entire list extremely quickly, using a very
efficient sorting (All items selected) or finding (Certain items
selected) algorithm, and then display information about the first
item in the sorted or found list. The spacebar, down arrow, and
up arrow go through the list of items one at a time. The PgUp
and PgDn keys will page through the list 10 items at a time. The
Home key brings you immediately to the first item in the list,
and the End key brings you immediately to the last item in the
list.

The bottom line of the screen displays the options that are
available to you at this point. You may Print, Modify, and
Delete as follows:

Print Option-

Pressing the Function key F2 allows you the choice of
printing either the entire sorted or found list, or just the
item entry currently shown on the screen. Simply highlight
your choice and press the ENTER key. Suggestion: Set your
printer in the compressed (17 cpi) mode when printing item
lists. The printout looks better and, at least for me, is
easier to read.

Modify Option-

You can modify any field in any item entry. Press the
Function key F4 and then highlight which field you wish to
modify and press the ENTER key. You can then enter whatever
modified information you wish and press the ENTER key.

Delete Option-

Pressing the Function key F8 will, after asking you to
confirm, cause the program to permanently delete that
particular item from your data file.


*****************
Quit the Program-
*****************

If you wish to Quit the program, simply highlight that option and
press the ENTER key.


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********
Request:
********

I love compliments. I welcome critiques. I'm open to suggestions.
I'll listen to advice. I'll consider criticisms. I'll ignore
sarcasm. I'll seethe over insults. No matter what, I encourage
feedback one way or the other. The bottom line is that someone else's
point of view always gives me a wider perspective on my work. So if
you have something to say, make the effort and get in touch with me.


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*************
Expectations:
*************

If you find that you use the limited version of this program
regularly, and you are any kind of gentleman or lady, I know you'd
send a miserly $5 for a full-featured version of a program that is
commercially worth a lot more than that. Make sure that you specify
the program name, version number, and the type floppy disk you need.
(Use the order form at the bottom of the accompanying RadCat.Txt file)

If you wish to use this program in a commercial or institutional
environment, contact me and we'll make arrangements.

Finally, if this is the limited version, you are encouraged to freely
distribute copies of this program for others to review. However,
please make sure to include this MagBase.Doc file, the RadCat.Txt
catalog file, and the sample MagBase.Dat file along with the
MagBase.Exe file.


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********
History:
********

MagBase.Exe
Version 1.0
September, 1989


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End of MagBase.Doc File