jfh@rpp386.cactus.org (John F Haugh II) (05/24/91)
This is to announce the initial availability of my latest ISAM library project for alpha testing. I have been working on an ISAM-like library of routines, and a collection of companion commands. This library implements ISAM-like file access with functions to manage the data in each record by name and data type. There are also high level commands to define databases, files, and file data. The commands which I currently have implemented are - * dbschema convert a schema to a collection of database files * dbshow display the data dictionary for the named database * dbck perform basic consistency checking on the named database * dbedit simple data entry program for using a single database file * dbscomp compile screen definitions * dbscreen display compiled screen definitions using data from one or more database files * dbload load binary or text data into a database file * dbunload unload binary or text data from a database file I am looking for a few people to take the code and compile it on their systems and play around with it. I have ported it to a few other operating systems with little difficulty. It currently is running on SCO Xenix 2.2.3 on a 386/PC and AIX v1.2 on an IBM 3090/180-J at the present level. I have used it for numerous data reduction problems, including ones involving 500,000 plus records. [ Binary process accounting records loaded from the /usr/adm/pacct file off of an IBM mainframe running AIX. ] The feedback that I am looking for is more along the lines of ease of use and overall functionality. I am also looking for some help getting the documentation completed. I will take any criticisms you have as well. The code as it stands right now is about 9,600 lines totalling 220KB. It grows every day. If you are willing to help me with this project, and get it ready for a beta test release in late June, please resond. My schedule is alpha test until mid June (two weeks), then beta release sometime after June 24th. The beta test period should last a month or so, followed by general release into comp.sources.misc in late summer or early fall. You will receive 4 shar files containing the command and library source code and another file containing what documentation I currently have. Also included is a sample database that will catalog your music collection, by artist, album, song, and publisher. It demostrates the relational join capabilities of the database by retrieving artist, album and publisher information from separate files using the information associated with a single song title. You select the title, and it tells you the publisher, artist, album, and track number. Of course you have to provide the input data to get it started ;-) In late 1991 I will post another 20,000 lines of source code which implement a relational database report compiler and interpreter which will be based on this library code, so it is important that I get this library squared away. That code was written in 1987 for another ISAM library and will be re-targeted for this library once it is stable and debugged. We return you now to your regularly schedule flame fest already in progress ... -- John F. Haugh II | Distribution to | UUCP: ...!cs.utexas.edu!rpp386!jfh Ma Bell: (512) 255-8251 | GEnie PROHIBITED :-) | Domain: jfh@rpp386.cactus.org "If liberals interpreted the 2nd Amendment the same way they interpret the rest of the Constitution, gun ownership would be mandatory."