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				DataCabinet

			a console database program
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		Thank you for taking interest in this program!




			     C O N T E N T S


			==============================
			I.......Archive contents

			II......Installation

			III.....Program manual

			IV......Extending the database

			V.......Known issues

			VI......Acknowledgements

			VII.....Legal notice			
			==============================





I Archive contents
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dBase			database 	folder
DataCabinet.cfg		configuration 	file
DataCabinet.exe		program 	file
dBase/DataCabinet.txt 	database 	file
ReadMe.txt (this file)	documentation	file




II Installation
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DataCabinet has been tested only on Windows XP console.

Make sure folder path/info is checked, then extract contents. Archive should extract itself in folder named
"DataCabinet", if it doesn't, choose the name yourself and make sure "dBase" folder is present within parent folder
containing file "DataCabinet.txt".

Files "DataCabinet.cfg" and "DataCabinet.exe" should be in the parent folder. The program should create "dBase" folder
itself, if nonexistent.




III Program manual
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Run the program by double-clicking on "DataCabinet.exe" file. The title and full menu should be displayed,
if not, adjust the window size accordingly.

Press "1" to enter new record into the database. Menu should disappear and the number of the current record should be
displayed on the top of the screen. Insert data according to the data descriptions on the left and press enter
after you are done. After the last datum is entered, the main menu should appear again. At the bottom of the
screen total number of records in the database should be displayed, if you just entered new record, this number
should be increased by one.

Press "2" to select a record for viewing. If the database is empty, this function is disabled. Computer should ask
you to enter any valid number within minimum (one) and total number of records in the database. If you decide
not to view any data and wish to go back, just hit "Enter" or "Return" on empty input. Otherwise enter the
number you desire and press "Enter" to view the record's data. Number of current record being viewed should be
displayed at the top with data descriptions on the left and actual data on the right side beneath it. Further
program options should be displayed below the data.

	Press "n" to browse further through the database and view next record.

	Press "b" to browse back through the database and view previous record. Numbers right beside these
	commands represent the following: next(previous) record/total number of records. If database contains only
	one record, these commands are disabled.

	Press "2" to select new record for viewing.

	Press "3" to edit current record's data. Number of the current record being edited should be displayed
	at the top and datum description on the left with actual old data on the right beneath it. Insert new
	data according to the data description on the left and press "Enter" each time you are done with the
	current datum. If you don't want to change the current datum, press "Enter". If you wish to delete the
	current datum, insert blank space by pressing "Space" once. After you are done editing, computer should
	ask you to enter the number of record for viewing.

	Press "4" to delete current record from the database. If the deleted record was not the last in the
	database, the next record acquires the deleted record's number.

	Press "x" or "X" to return to the main menu.

Press "3" to find a record by inputting a keyword. If the database is empty, this function is disabled. You should
be prompted to enter a keyword you want to use in your search. If you want to go back just hit "Enter" on empty
input. Otherwise input a keyword of your choice and press "Enter". Should any records be found, the number of records
matching the keyword will be displayed at the top with their sequential numbers. The first record's data matching
the keyword should be displayed just beneath. The "n" and "b" commands are similar to the above description,
just that this time you can browse only through the matching records found by searching. Numbers beside the commands
represent the following: next(previous) matched record/total number of matches. Sometimes computer might ask you
to enter lower-case version of some character and you should do so. This is to ensure search function will perform
properly.

Press "4" to delete the entire database file. If the database is already empty, this function is disabled. You
should be prompted about the deletion to choose the appropriate command.
	
	Press "d" or "D" to remove the database from computer.

	Press "n" or "N" to go back to the main menu.

Press "x" or "X" to exit the program.
	



IV Extending the database
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Using this program one could theoretically save any data about any record one should desire. Configuration
file "DataCabinet.cfg" is easy modifiable as it is of simple text format. Should you decide to add, change or remove
record's data descriptions, you can open the file in a text editor and change descriptions under the section
"[podatki]". Make sure you keep the "[podatki]" itself intact and free of any comments, as the program will not
be too happy about it. Include colon right after the description for better representation. Should you make a
mistake, delete the file and run the program. A new file should get generated to give you further editing clues.

The program displays only the data that correspond to their known descriptions. If a record contains more data
(i.e. columns) than the total number of available descriptions, only the first data that fit the total number of
descriptions will get displayed. You are encouraged to experiment in this field and see what happens.

One can construct a database from scratch and include as many columns (data descriptions) as one desires.
Database file itself is also easy modifiable with a plain text editor as it is of simple text format. This
enables users to quickly view and modify the data without running the program. Caution is advised, however.




V Known issues
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1)  If a record contains less data than the total number of columns described in "DataCabinet.cfg", before the first
    character of the first record's datum of the first record in the database three strange characters are displayed.

2)  Only one database ("DataCabinet.txt") at a time can be acted upon. This problem can be resolved by copying
    multiple program files ("DataCabinet.exe") into different folders.

3)  Long data get misaligned on certain screen settings.

Bug reports, feedback and comments are always welcome, feel free to make any suggestions by sending them to
mitja_ursic@yahoo.com!




VI Acknowledgements
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Thanks to all the people at the D language news group (www.digitalmars.com/d) which are making D great.
Thanks to all the people on IRC (irc.freenode.net) channel #D, especially to Dejan, who made interest in this
program.
And last but not least, thanks to Walter for inventing the language and making the compiler better day by day.




VII Legal notice
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Copyright
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The DataCabinet software and documentation is copyright 2005 by Mitja Ursic.  
 
DataCabinet is free software in the sense that you are free to copy and redistribute it for personal
and non-commerical purposes, provided  that  the copyright notice  is  retained  in 
the  copy.  You  are  not  allowed  to  charge  a  fee  for  the  software without  the  consent  of  the 
author other than that to cover the cost of the distribution. If a fee is charged it must be made 
clear to the purchaser that the software is freeware and that the fee is to cover the distributor's
costs of providing the software. Selling DataCabinet or parts of it or bundling it into a commercial
product  or  using  DataCabinet  to  promote  a  commercial  product  without  the  authors 
consent is an infringement of the authors copyrights. 
 
You are not allowed to modify the DataCabinet binary code or the documentation distributed with 
the DataCabinet software package. You are however allowed to distribute modifications to configuration
and database files, provided that you make it clear to the recipients that you have made such modifications.  
 
DataCabinet is not in the public domain: it is the intellectual property of Mitja Ursic.


Disclaimer
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The DataCabinet software is provided as is without any warranty of any kind. To the maximum 
extent permitted by applicable law, Mitja Ursic  further disclaims all warranties, including
without limitation any implied or stated warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular
purpose, and noninfringement. The entire risk arising out of the use or performance of this 
product and documentation remains with recipient. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable
law, in no event shall program DataCabinet or its suppliers be liable for any consequential,
incidental, direct, indirect, special, punitive, recursive, or other damages whatsoever (including,
without limitation, damages for loss of business profits, business interruption, loss of 
business information, personal injury, disruption of family life, or other pecuniary loss) arising 
out of this agreement or the use of or inability to use the product, even if program DataCabinet 
has been advised of  the possibility of such damages. Because some states/jurisdictions do 
not  allow  the  exclusion  or  limitation  of  liability  of  consequential  or  incidental  damages,  the 
above limitation may not apply to the recipient.
