Reference Library System

Larry E. Fosdick

Released to the Public Domain August 1985


This program is a reference library, featuring keyword retrieval
and automatic sorting. Extractions are rapid, usually requiring
less than a second. References are automatically sorted by Source
as they are added. This program requires a Model 4/4P with 64/128K
RAM.

Each reference entry consists of a title, author(s), source, and
up to 10 keywords. The title can be up to three lines of 55 characters
each, the author field is 50 characters, the source field is 50
characters, and each keyword can be up to 20 characters, including
spaces.

Up to 1000 keywords may be present in the system at any one time, while
only 500 references will fit into a data file due to storage restrictions.
The keyword file is stored with the program on drive 0 while the
references are stored on drive 1. This allows for several reference
files to share the same keyword file.

The system is designed to be used as follows: Each new reference
acquired is numbered sequentially, 1,2,3,... These references are
entered into the Reference Library system in this sequential order,
the numbers becoming the paper number. All extracts will report the
number of the papers extracted. By this method, there is no need to
continually sort references by some method which may need revision
at some future date. Instead, the references can be stored in the
order in which they were added to the database.


The Modules

REFN/BAS
This is the main program written in BASIC.

REFN/CMD
This is a series of machine language subroutines to support the
functions that would be too slow in BASIC. This module must reside
at the top of memory. If you wish to install other drivers and/or
filters, these should be installed after executing REFN/CMD. The 
program will load itself at the top of memory, adjust the memory
pointers appropriately, then return to DOS. It can be made a permanent
part of the DOS using the SYSGEN library command.

REFN/JCL
This is a Job Control Language file to control entry and exit of the
system. If the computer has 128K RAM, the MEMDISK will be invoked and
the KEYWORD data file will be copied to the MEMDISK for faster program
execution.

REFN/DOC
This documentation.


Installation Procedure

1. Download the files, saving them on a TRSDOS 6.x.x system disk.

2. Create a data file for keywords with the command

CREATE KEYWORD/REF:0 (LRL=22,REC=1000)

3. Execute REFN/CMD while there are no other prgrams in high memory
   (executing the MEMORY command from DOS reports HIGH at FFFFh)

4. Install any other drivers and filters desired.

5. Save the new system configuration with the command

SYSGEN (YES)

6. Compile the JCL file with the command

DO $ REFN

7. Make the program autostarting by

AUTO DO *

You now are ready to use the system.


Running the system

The system is very easy to use, being completely menu-driven. In
addition, all keyboard entries are completely trapped, allowing
any printable ASCII character, including punctuation, in any of the
data fields.

If the system was installed as described above, the program will
be automatically exectued under the control of the JCL file. JCL
menu options [1] and [2] are used to actually run the program.
Select the option that describes the amount of available memory. If
you select the 128K version, the KEYWORD file is automatically moved
into the MEMDISK, greatly enhancing the speed of the system. The other
JCL menu options are available for convenience.

Within the program you may perform the following functions:


Add new references

In this mode, you are requested for the information needed to
describe the reference. To leave a field balnk, simply press
the [ENTER] key. Note that you cannot leave the source line
blank, since the source is used to sort the references. After
the source is entered, the program searches the reference file
to help ensure that references are not entered multiple times. After
the reference is entered, it is immediately indexed by source, so
no separate sorting step is required.


Review/Update references

This option is useful to check a specific entry or to edit entries,
such as correcting typos or changing the keywords.


Extract references

This is the option to extract information from the library. A single
extract may consist of one or two keywords, but the system also
allows combinations of previous extracts for searches, so the number
is virtually unlimited. The logical operators OR and AND are
supported by the extraction system. Up to eight extracts can be
stored in memory at one time, after which the program will ask you
to delete one extract before it will perform another.

EXAMPLE
You are a computer user and store references to computer articles.
You wish to extract all references dealing with statistics or
artificial intelligence, specifically, those written in PROLOG.

Extract 1
Single keyword: statistics

Extract 2
Dual keyword: artificial intelligence  AND prolog

Extract 3
Dual keyword: 1 OR 2

You may not combine a previous extract with anything but a previous
extract. Parentheses are automatically added to the keywords to
indicate logical order in the extraction.


Keyword Summary

This option will list each keyword alphabetically with the number
of times it appears in the reference library. This is useful to
see how the distribution of references is without performing a 
long series of extractions.


"Helpful" Advice

Consistency is the key to effective use of this system. The search
and sort functions are not case independent, so use of upper/lower
case is important. If keywords are entered consistently, either all
lower case or all upper case, this program will perform much better.
Also consistency in entering the source of the reference is important,
since sorting is done on the source. A method which is consistent for
most modern technical journals in the sciences works well here:

journal name (YEAR), Volume, pages

For example, a common reference for chemists is the journal
Analytical Chemistry. A typical reference may be:

Anal Chem (1984), 57, 1233-1238

If abbreviations are used, consistency in punctuation is important.
Note that the above example does not use periods in the journal name.
Periods could well be used, but do it consistently!
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