wallen@sdics.UUCP (Mark Wallen) (06/13/86)
I'm looking for pointers to packages, either public doamin or commerical, which provide a data entry (field size and type verification) front to troff (or PostScript or Tex). The output would be arbitrary strings based on the input, and there should be a way for the entry person to edit the data after it has been entered. The specific application is this: UCSD has a veritable gaggle of forms: inventory requests (add or delete), job descriptions, performance evalutions, grant applications, you name it. What I would like is a system where I provide the form, boxes, lines, descriptions via PIC or even brute force troff. The input areas are "named", typically with numbers, so there is a box 32, previous spouse's net worth box, that you can refer to (troffese) as \n(32 or \*(32 or .32 whichever is most sensible for the given case. The data entry end has a scheme for providing the description of the field (name, e.g., 32; and output description, e.g., (32) favorite sport? and you enter foo, gives .ds 32 foo in the output). I know this has been done before, 'cause it's too obvious. So before I reinvent the (square in my case, I'm sure) wheel, lemme know. Thanks, Mark R. Wallen Institute for Cognitive Science UC San Diego ucbvax!sdcsvax!sdics!wallen.uucp OR walle@nprdc.arpa