SPACE 1/SPACE - Library 1 - Volume 1.iso/apps/298/freebase/freebase.doc

Text File | 1988-02-06 | 13KB | 267 lines

     Hello, and welcome to FreeBase, a database management program that
is FREE!  I hope you enjoy using this program as much as I have enjoyed
writing it.

     Here are some of the features of FreeBase:

     **   mouse used for program control and data selection

     **   manipulations done in memory for greater speed

     **   ability to send reports to screen, disk, or printer

     **   text merge for printing form letters, labels, etc.

     **   import\export of data in a standard format

     **   fast sorting on selectable fields

     **   selection of records by use of criteria

     **   a variety of data types

     **   data encryption

User Interface:
     In this program,  I have abandoned GEM in favor of a rather simple
system  of menus.   When you are presented with a menu,  you  have  the
option of either selecting the menu option with the mouse,  or pressing
the  number key corresponding to the number printed to the left of  the
menu  option.   In  addition,  the <Undo> key is  used  throughout  the
program  to stop doing what you are doing and go back to  the  previous
menu.   Clicking with the mouse on the top line of a menu also has this
effect.  The only part of the user interface that is somewhat different
from  this is the Scan/mark records mode.   In this  mode,  moving  the
mouse  to the left or right determines which fields will be  displayed.
Moving the mouse up or down determines which records will be displayed.
Clicking  with  the left mouse button on a record causes it  to  become
MARKED,  and  clicking  with  the  right button  causes  it  to  become
unMARKED.  Pressing <Undo> exits the Scan/mark mode.

Getting Started:
     The  first thing you will need to do is to create a  new  database
file.   This is done from the initial menu of FreeBase.   First you are
asked for a file name for the database file.   Enter any combination of
up to 8 letters and numbers followed optionally by a period and up to 3
letters  or numbers.   Next you will be taken directly to the "Add  new
fields" utility.  Here you will be asked for the field name, data type,
and  possibly other field information.   For example,  if you wanted  a
file  which contained the last name and age of all  your  friends,  you
might enter for the first field:
     field name:  Last_Name
     data type:   text
     field width: 15
     field name:  Age
     data type:   integer
     range:       0 to 255
Don't  worry  about getting all the fields defined in one  fall  swoop.
You  may  add  or delete fields at any time without  losing  any  other
information in the file.      The next thing you will need to do is add
some  new records.   This is done by selecting the Add  records  option
from the main menu.   You will be placed in the edit mode with a  blank
record  as the current record.   The edit mode consists of a  line  for
each  field containing the field name and value of this field  for  the
current record,  as well as a blank line for data entry.  Use the up or
down  arrow  to place the cursor on the data entry line  of  the  field
whose  value you want to change.   Then enter the new data  and  either
press the up arrow,  down arrow,  <Return>, or <Undo>.  Moving past the
top  field causes the previous record to be edited.   Moving  past  the
last field causes a new blank record to be edited.  All new records are
placed  at  the end of the file.   Press <Undo>  when  you've  finished
adding the last record.

Selecting "MARKING" Certain Records:
     Once you've entered a large number of records for a given database
file, it is often useful to work with only a few specific records.  For
this purpose,  each database file you create with FreeBase will contain
the field named MARKED.   This is a Boolean field which may contain the
value "Y" or "N" depending upon whether you have selected that  record.
You  may  use this field just as you would any other  field  (i.e.  for
sorting,  selection  criteria,  reporting),  but  it is also  used  for
determine  which  records you want to edit.   It can also  be  used  to
specify which records you want to use in a report.   There are two ways
to  go about MARKING records:  the Scan/mark records mode and the  Mark
records via selection criteria utility.
     1)   Scan/mark  records mode.   This mode is entered by  selecting
the Scan/mark records option from the main menu.  You will be presented
with a screen which contains 4 fields and up to 24 records.  Moving the
mouse to the left or right changes which fields are displayed.   Moving
the mouse up or down scrolls up or down through the records.   Clicking
with  the  left mouse button on a record causes that record  to  become
MARKED.   The right mouse button is used to unMARK records.   <Undo> is
used to exit the mode.
     2)   Mark  records  via  selection  criteria.    This  utility  is
selected through the utilities menu.  A selection criteria is a list of
conditions connected by the logical operators "and" or "or".  The whole
is  evaluated to determine which records in the file should be  MARKED.
The  evaluation is done strictly in the order you enter  the  criterium
and  connectives,  so a little careful forethought  is  required.   For
example,  if  you wanted to MARK all the records which  have  Last_Name
equal  to  "Smith" and age greater than "20",  or  Last_Name  equal  to
"Jones", you would need to enter: Last_Name equal to Jones or Last_Name
equal to Smith and age greater than 20.   For another example, in terms
of logical variables,  the criteria P and Q and R or S and T or U would
be  evaluated as (P and (Q and (R or (S and (T or U))))).   Here are  a
few identities which you might find helpful:
     (P and Q) or R         <=> R or (P and Q)
     (P or Q) and R         <=> R and (P or Q)
     (P and Q) or (P and R) <=> P and (Q or R)
     (P or Q) and (P or R)  <=> P or (Q and R)
where P,Q, and R are propositions.

Sorting:
     The order information is listed in can make a world of  difference
in a database file.  For example, could you imagine trying to find your
friends  phone  number  in a phone book that was  not  in  alphabetical
order?   It  is a simple matter to sort by a single field in  FreeBase,
but sometimes it is useful to sort by several fields.  For example, you
might want to sort a file by last name, and then within last name, sort
by first name.   This also is possible in FreeBase.  To do this kind of
sort,  you  simply  sort  the  fields in the  reverse  order  of  their
priority.  In other words, in the previous example you would first sort
the file by first name, then you would sort it by last name.

Saving:
     The  entire file is stored in RAM while you are  manipulating  it.
It  is therefore necessary to save the file to disk when you  are  done
with it.   On the other hand, there may be times when you don't want to
save the changes you've made.   For instance,  you may wish to delete a
large  number of records in order to work more quickly with just a  few
records.   In  this case,  save the file would result in the  permanent
loss of the deleted records.

Renaming a File:
     The  Rename  file option is useful for creating a new  file  which
contains much of the same information as on an existing  file.   Simply
give the file in memory a new name,  and then any further changes  will
leave the original file unchanged.

Printing a Report:
     There  are 3 types of reports that FreeBase  can  generate.   They
are:   text  merge,   regular  columnar  format,   and  database   file
information.  Each of these can be sent to the screen, printer, or disk
file.   I recommend sending the report to the screen first so that  you
can  be sure you've selected the correct  fields.   In  addition,  text
merge  and  the  regular format have the option  of  reporting  on  all
records or just MARKED records.   Also,  you may abort the printing  of
these two types of reports by pressing any key during the printing.
     1)  Text merge.   This type of reporting is useful for  generating
form letters,  labels,  or any sort of report that requires more than 1
printed line per record.   To use this text merge, you must first use a
word processing program to produce a source (base) document.   Any word
processing  program that allows you to save your document in ASCII  may
be used (which includes every word processor I know of).   In  creating
the source file, simply type out what constant text you want to appear,
then insert /?  everywhere you want a value from a database file to  be
inserted.  For example, a form letter might look like this:




January 1, 1988



/?
/?
/?, /?  /?


Dear /? /?:

This  letter is to inform you about the text merge capabilities of  the
FreeBase database management program.   Eric Lindros has really outdone
himself with this one!   Now,  at absolutely no cost to us,  we have  a
program that will allow us to easily do are regular mailings in no time
flat.

Etc. etc. etc...

Sincerely yours



Fred Farkle
Emperor of the Universe



Then,  when  you  select the text merge option from the  reports  menu,
select  the source document that you created with the  word  processing
program.   The  entire  document will be loaded into  memory  and  each
occurrence of /? will be located.  For each of these, you will be asked
which field should be used to replace the /?.  This will be done in the
order  that they appear,  so be sure to print out the  source  document
ahead of time so you will know which field you should choose.

Import/Export Records:
     It is often useful to bring values into a database file that  have
been  created  using some other program or vice  versa.   This  may  be
accomplished using the Import records or Export records utilities.  The
data format that is used by FreeBase is as follows:

"itm1","itm2",...,"itmN"      <- these values are for  record #1
"itm1","itm2",...,"itmN"      <-   "     "     "   "      "   #2
          .
          .
          .
"itm1","itm2",...,"itmN"      <- these values are for the last record

where  itm1 through itmN are the import/export values.   Most  programs
that  allow  importing or exporting of data provide  formats  that  are
compatible with this format.
     The  Import/Export  utilities  may  be  used  within  FreeBase  to
redefine an existing field.  For example, say that you defined Zip_Code
to  be an integer field and then latter discovered that you  needed  to
enter the zip code of 09313.   As an integer, 09313 prints out as 9313.
To correct this situation,  the Zip_Code field needs to be converted to
a text field.  Here is the procedure.
     1)   Use  the  Export records utility and select Zip_Code  as  the
only export field.  Be sure to make a note of the file name under which
the data is stored.
     2)   Use the Delete field utility to delete Zip_Code.
     3)   Use  the  Add  fields  utility to add  a  text  field  called
Zip_Code.
     4)   Use  the Import field utility to import the zip  code  values
that  were exported in step 1.   Be sure to use the Overwrite  existing
records option rather than the Create new records option.

Encrypt/Decrypt Records:
     If you wish to use FreeBase to keep confidential information,  you
may  further these ends by using the Encrypt/Decrypt  records  utility.
Simply enter a string of characters as the key,  and your data will  be
put into an unintelligible form.   To Decrypt the records, simply enter
the same key.  Any keyboard characters may be used in the key.  Be very
careful to Decrypt with EXACTLY the same key that you used to  Encrypt.
If you make a mistake in the key while Decrypting, you may correct this
by entering the mistake again as the key and then entering the  correct
key.


     Again,  I hope you enjoy using this program.   I have tried to  be
very  thorough in debugging it,  but I am sure that a small bug or  two
may  appear  in the future.   If this should happen,  I  would  greatly
appreciate you notifying me.   Also,  I would like to add a note  about
the name of this program.   For those of you how find it  offensive,  I
suggest  that  perhaps  you attach a little too much  emotion  to  mere
words.   As  for  myself,  I can't seem to make much  of  a  connection
between  the word freebase and the use of ether and  cocaine.   To  me,
FreeBase  base  means  a database program that is  FREE!   Free  is  my
favorite word,  so I feel free to use "free" freely.  While I am on the
subject  of  free,  I would like to mention that  I  charge  absolutely
nothing for the use,  copying,  and distribution of FreeBase.  However,
If  you  use this program,  I would ask that you do me a  small  favor.
Please  send  me a note telling me what you think  about  the  program.
This will be the only form of remuneration I receive for the 150+ hours
I spent developing FreeBase.  All it take is a small card, 22 cents and
about five minutes.  Send correspondence to:

Eric B. Lindros
1717 Lillingston Canyon Rd.
Carpinteria, CA  93013
phone: [phone]

Thank you!