<< Previous Message Main Index Next Message >>
<< Previous Message in Thread This Month Next Message in Thread >>
Date   : Fri, 18 Apr 1986 05:06:00 MST
From   : Keith Petersen <W8SDZ@SIMTEL20.ARPA>
Subject: Text database program wanted

The following is a file relayed from my RCP/M.

--Keith

--cut here--NOTEFILE.TXT--cut here--

                               NOTEFILE TXT

Notes  toward  an imaginary--and much needed--text database program  in  the 
public domain.

                                    *

I  am  not a programmer. But I know of a program that would be welcomed by a 
great many writers using CP/M systems.  Perhaps  I could try  to learn   how 
to  program it,   but that would take too long:   I want to  USE  it  before 
then.  What  is needed is a public domain text database  file.  Notebook,  a 
commercial program from Pro/Tem,  accepts only 9 lines of text in the  CP/M 
version,  which         is far too limited.  What I propose is a program that makes 
use of the model of Dirfiles.com. Dirfiles, a public domain program, creates 
a  listed directory of all files on a disk,   to which a line of comment can 
be appended.  It is used on most  boards and by many individuals to identify 
the  purpose  of the  various programs on the disk.  This is how  I  suggest 
Dirfiles be modified to  create NOTEFILE.COM:

1)  Make it possible to        invoke Dirfiles from within a  single  file,  rather 
than drawing on        the directory of the whole disk.

2)  Make  it possible to enter a list of subfile names at an  opening  menu, 
with one line of descriptive text, as in Dirfiles.

3)  Make it possible to        access any of these subfiles,  and there enter text. 
It need        not have word-wrap,  but basic editing capacity would be useful. How 
about  finding a way to        incorporate Vdo.com as the editing-arm of  the  text 
database?  It is only 6-8k. Or perhaps NOTEFILE        can permit access to Vdo via 
a  Run (R) function,  as in Wordstar.  That way it could run other  relevant 
utilities  like Find or Free Filer.  That would give the program  elementary 
database capacities.

Once the individual NOTEFILE database had been entered,        it would provide the 
list   of all the subfiles at the menu.   Other database  programs  operate  
in  much this way,   but the key difference is that  NOTEFILE  would permit 
unstructured  text  entry  of any kind.   (Eventually there should  be  the 
capacity  to draw  up  some kind of structured fields,   if   desired,   as  
in  Notebook    or  Datastar.)  Dbase2 might offer the most natural way  to  
write this program,   but something like a Turbo Pascal compiled file would  
really  be   preferable,   a text  database that might get as much  use  as 
Wordstar  for  those  in  the no-man's  land  between word  processors  and 
databases.   In  any  case,    stick   to  Wordstar  commands and  make  it 
version        of Vdo.

4)  These  subfiles should be able to hold at least three  pages  of  text--
preferably something more like ten pages.

5)  Other  database capacities,         such as the ability to sort and  print  out 
fields,         could be improved on in later versions of the program,  as well  as 
expanding the editing tools.

                                    *

                         PURPOSE OF NOTEFILE.COM

Many  editing  projects        require working on a cluster of  related  files.  In 
fact,  this is the best        kind of outlining of all,  where you can create  10, 
20,  or         even more categories (i.e.,  subfiles),   all listed at the opening 
menu as        with dirfiles,  where they can be quickly accessed for data entry or 
scanning.   It seems to        me that 20 subfiles would be a minimum for a  single 
file,  but  a total of 30 or 35        subfiles that could be created would be much 
more useful,  if it is necessary to set        a limit on the number of subfiles at 
all.In any case,  each subfile could be expanded as needed and the more this 
becomes possible,  the more useful and used the program will be.

                                    *

When I am doing        research,  information comes to me in snatches.  Once I have 
entered        a NOTEFILE database,  I would like to be able to access any subfile, 
enter the information, and close it again, then        have quick access to another 
file  within  that text        database.   It should be possible to go back to  the 
opening         menu  by  saving the individual subfile or  abandoning  the  edited 
version         of it.  That way things won't be slowed down too much as  the  text 
file grows larger. Exiting one subfile should return to        the main menu, where 
another        subfile can be accessed, or the entire program exited--with a built-
in save,  if possible. It would        be great if the individual NOTEFILE database 
could  be as large as the diskspace,  but it would still be practical if  it 
were  at least  able to expand beyond the size of the program itself  by  at 
least 40K and hopefully even more. If the program were no more than 20 or so 
K,  then the program and 40K or so of text could fit into memory,  making it 
possible to make between files very quickly.  However, it might be better to 
have  the larger file capacity,   even at the expense of slowing the program  
down.   In  any   case   we  would have a cross between  a  word  processing  
program  and  a  database,  a category into which a lot  of  text  and  note 
material falls.
                                    *

If you decide to take a        crack at writing this program (for CP/M, of course!) 
please upload  to the St.  Louis Kaypro  board, 314-821-0638,  or the local 
Epson board, 314-961-4594, where I will be sure to find it.  Even if you are 
not  a  programer,   if you like the idea and want such  a  program,  please 
upload  this  note wherever you can,  and hopefully it  will fall  into  the 
right hands.  I am freely putting this idea into  the public domain, and all 
I ask is that it be kept there, where CP/M lives.

                                       Howard Schwartz
                                       Department of   English
                                       8001 Natural Bridge Rd.
                                       St. Louis, Mo.
                                       63121
<< Previous Message Main Index Next Message >>
<< Previous Message in Thread This Month Next Message in Thread >>