CvtQuote 1.0a Documentation


                   R.G. Brickner, CIS:[76530,1456]


      TITLE:  Convert Fractional Securities Quotes to Decimal


      KEYWORDS:  CONVERT QUOTE FRACTION DECIMAL WINDOWS DOS FILTER


ABSTRACT:

CvtQuote is a simple but sophisticated program to convert securities quotes
from fractional form to decimal form.  The input is assumed to consist
of a standard DOS text file, most probably a capture or log file from an
information service session, which contains securities quotes in fractional
form.  The output is a DOS text file with the fractional amounts converted
to decimal amounts. CvtQuote is supplied as both a Windows 3.1 application
and as a DOS command-line application.  Version 1.0a allows "volume" data
containing embedded commas.


DESCRIPTION:

CvtQuote is a simple but sophisticated  program to convert securities quotes
from fractional form to decimal form.  The input is assumed to consist
of a standard DOS text file, most probably a capture or log file from an
information service session, which contains lines of the form

   mm/dd/yy    v    i  i/i    i  i/i   i  i/i

where the date may or may not include leading zeroes, 'v' is the volume
which may or may not contain embedded commas, and i is an integer.
(For example:  Date, Volume, High/Ask Low/Bid Close/Avg).  The fractional
part of the amounts need not exist;  CvtQuote handles equally well quotes
of the form

   mm/dd/yy    v    i  i/i    i        i  i/i

and so on.  The output is in the form

   mm/dd/yy    v      i.ii      i.ii     i.ii

where the decimal forms of the amounts are the correct conversions from
the fractional forms.  Lines which do not contain quotes of this form
are copied unchanged to the output.  Note the parser also recognizes
some quotes of the above form with extra embedded characters, so
occasional 'noise' may not prevent the parser from recognizing these
lines.

Only global replacement of lines of the above form is currently
supported.  Other functionality, such as conversion of selected text or
find-and-replace, could be implemented if there is a demand.

Do not convert a file twice - the results will not be what you want!

Both DOS and Windows 3.1 versions of the program are provided.


INSTALLATION AND USAGE - WINDOWS 3.1 VERSION:

CvtQuote has been developed for Windows 3.1.  To install, uncompress the
distribution file, and copy the Windows executable file 'CVTQ_W.EXE'
to a suitable directory.  Add the executable as a new program item in a
suitable group, or choose 'File/Run' from the Program Manager and fill in
the path of CVTQ_W.EXE.  CVTQ_W.EXE will take a file name as a
command-line argument.

Once you have started CvtQuote, it behaves much like a simple text
editor such as Notepad. The quote conversion capability is accessed by
means of the 'Edit/Convert All Quotes' menu item.  Choosing this menu item
will convert all lines from fractional to decimal form.

CVTQ_W.EXE, the Windows version of this program, has a rather limited
text-file capacity.  If that capacity is exceeded for a given file, it
cannot recover the memory.  You must restart CvtQuote.  Ample warning
dialogs are provided.  The DOS version of CvtQuote does not have these
memory limitations.  You may use it in a DOS window or full-screen DOS
session to convert large files.


INSTALLATION AND USAGE - DOS VERSION:

CvtQuote has been developed for DOS 5.0, but it should work with most
earlier versions of DOS.  To install, uncompress the distribution file,
and copy the DOS executable file 'CVTQ.EXE' to a suitable directory
which is included in your execution path.  The DOS version of CvtQuote
runs in two modes, as a filter and with file name arguments.

CvtQuote as a filter:

  CVTQ < INFILE.TXT > OUTFILE.TXT

CvtQuote with command-line arguments:

  CVTQ   INFILE.TXT   OUTFILE.TXT

Any other usage will give you a usage hint.


REVISION HISTORY:

 1/17/93    Original Version 1.0
 2/ 8/93    Version 1.0a, adds ability to parse "volume" data containing
            embedded commas.


"LICENSE":

This software is provided mainly to see if anyone has a use for such
things.  Your comments on the functionality and interface, and suggestions
for extensions or improvements are actively sought.  Send EMAIL to

   CIS:[76530,1456]

However, if you find CvtQuote useful, it would be kind of you to make a
small financial contribution:

   Send $5 to:

    R.G. Brickner
    PO Box 9840
    Santa Fe, NM 87504

                CvtQuote is Copyright 1993 by R.G. Brickner