CD Database: History

Version 1.0
The program was originally written in response to a request for a database
to categorise Compact Discs.  This was my one of my first full applications
for the 3a, so I also used it to try out various new techniques, eg. Fonts,
sound.

Version 1.1
The program was made into a fully working version for use as a demonstration
at the Systems Fair in Munich in October 1993.  At this point, the list
features, lending and borrowing, and printing were added.

Version 1.2
With Systems over, the program was tidied up into a more usable version. 
This was then released onto Cix and Compuserve, as well as the Psion Mailbox.
The track number, for example, is automatically incremented during data
entry, and the style and artist default to those of the disc instead of
having to be typed in each time.

Credits for versions 1.0 to 1.2
To:     Ingo Meyer-Kohlhoff for suggesting the program, and for testing the
	features in the early stages.
	Gernot Radl for suggesting the lending and borrowing features, and
	also for testing in the early stages.

Version 1.3
Following the reasonable success of CDBase, it was decided to further its
development, and to smooth out some of the existing features.  In the German
version, for example, the difference between 'Lending' and 'Borrowing' was
clarified.  Each disc is now issued with a code number, and discs can be
sorted by either Code or alphabetically by Title.  The first time the program
is run on a particular file, it will assign codes to all the discs entered in
Version 1.2.  These codes can, of course, be edited.

New Features:   Code for each disc.
		Sort by title.
		Sort by code.
		Database statistics
		The highest track number for a particular disc is now shown
		in the disc view.
		Selection of disc and track views is now possible over the
		menu (diamond).
		A French resource file has been added.
		Importing a plain-text file.
		The Control-Menu option now works.
		Pressing "Esc" in track view now returns to the current disc
		in disc now, not the first disc.  Pressing "Esc" in disc view
		returns to the first disc in the file.

Fixes:          The style now has a constant place on the screen.
		The position of the date in "lending" and "borrowing" has
		been fixed.
		The "open" dialog now only lists files with the correct
		extension.
		Selecting a track by number only allows numbers within the
		valid range to be entered.
		The language detection has been improved to allow for more
		language variants.
		The version number on the printed reports has been fixed.
		The "overlapping fields" problem on the printed reports with
		the title and artist fields has been fixed.
		The performance of "Track view" has been improved.
		In "Track view", and gaps in the track numbers are now
		skipped.

Finally, in version 1.2 the "Add Disc" and "Add Track" dialogs did not exit
properly if no records were entered.  This has been fixed.


Credits for version 1.3
To:     Gernot and Carolin for helping to sort out the German
	grammar in 'Lending' and 'Borrowing', hereafter to be known as
	'Verleihen' and 'Ausleihen'.
	Steve Jones on cix for his suggestions and for pointing out my
	failings, including the sort function, the style fix, the print fix
	(for overlapping fields) and the track number on the disc screen.
	Everyone (including Steve Jones again, and one of the callers to the
	Support Hotline), for requesting the CD Code option.
	Steve Jones and Jeffrey Goldberg requested the import option.

A note on the numbering of CDs
The numbering method used for the CDs was chosen because it is the simplest,
and can be applied to a number of other methods.  Other suggested methods,
such as volume.disc are somewhat more difficult to implement, since different
CD holders will hold different numbers of discs, and it is possible that the
database would have to handle many different sizes of volumes.

A note on importing
Once again, the most simplest format was chosen.  The format is a plain text
file, and is as follows:

[Disc Title]
Artist
hh:mm:ss
Ref
CatNum
CodeNum
TrackTitle      -
TrackArtist             |
Track hh:mm:ss          |
TrackNote               This portion is repeated
TrackCatNum             |
TrackNum        -

This represents ONE DISC RECORD, including the details of ALL the tracks.  
You should NOT leave any blank lines between records.  So the overall format
is

[Disc Title]
Disc Info
Track
Track
   ...
Track
[Disc Title]
   ...

and so on.

This is obviously not the best format for exporting from some database
packages, but a way had to be found that would be acceptable to the majority
of PC packages.  The output file from a PC database will probably require
editing before it can be imported.

Be warned that the import program makes no error checking, it merely imports
the data as it finds it, and links all the tracks with their associated
discs.