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                    John De Palma on CompuServe 76076,571            
    
      

                              ͸
                                READ.COM  
                              ;

     What's that you say? Who needs another "text file loader?" Who
     needs a small, simple minded executable program that will load an
     ASCII file and pop it up on the screen allowing you to scroll up
     and down from beginning to end and then exit with a touch of the
     {Esc} key? Who needs that in the era of Windows, multitasking,
     Pentium chips, and dialog boxes. Well partner, we ALL do!

     Many times all you want to do is use a low memory program to look
     at a file -OR- display a text file IN YOUR BATCH FILE.

     This second reason is my reason. I make batch files for myself and
     for the office. Six months later we both wonder what these batch
     files were supposed to do. The people at the office don't even
     bother to wonder, as the normal help file are usually terse "ECHO"
     line statements telling them to do something that they don't
     understand.

     READ.COM is a 8K QuickBASIC 4.5 program. It is NOT a true *.COM
     file but I left that extension as it appears too small in size to
     be a QuickBASIC 4.5 executable file. Indeed and in truth if you
     complied the code inside the QuickBASIC environment, this little
     honey would be 45K in size!

     The reduction in compiled size is from compiling with Crescent
     Software's PDQ Library and then squeezing that file down with
     EXE2COM.EXE (removes header space and changes the name to *.COM;
     from PDQ) and then LZEXE.EXE (from Fabrice Bellard, a Freeware
     program from France). So, unlike most of my stuff, I did NOT
     include the source code as it is PDQ modified QuickBASIC code.
     However if any of you junior propeller hat wearers want to see how
     this is done, just E-Mail me and I will upload to you the plain
     vanilla QuickBASIC 4.5 code.

     The source code outline is taken from one of my two favorite BASIC
     authors, John Clark Craig's book, "Microsoft Quickbasic
     Programmer's Toolbox, ISBN 1-55615-127-6, Microsoft Press, 1988."
     The rest of the hard stuff from my other BASIC guru, Ethan Winer of
     Crescent Software fame. Me? I just provided the "glue" to the code.

     If you ran GO.BAT when you unarchived this file set, you are
     reading this INSIDE that batch file. You will know that you are
     still inside a batch file as when you press {Esc}, this text file
     will unload, the BATCH FILE will beep and LOAD a second text file.
     When you read then exit that second batch file, you will note my
     "Brag box" pops up to tell you I am the proud papa of this little
     simple son of a code.

     READ.COM only accepts two parameters on the command line.

                 READ       {FileName.Ext}      /n

                                              
               READ.COM        File Name      No Brag box switch

    Ѹ
      IF YOU READ NOTHING ELSE, READ THE PARAGRAPHS IN THIS BOX    
    ;
                                                                     
     If the text file is NOT in the same directory that you execute  
     READ.COM from, you MUST enter the full path and FileName of the 
     text file or you will get a beep and as very terse help message 
     to do just that.                                                
                                                                     
     Entering a LONG file name as: "E:\QB45\TOOLBOX\README.TXT,"     
     the first line display will read "E:\README.TXT" as the code    
     parses and truncates the full path name so it can be displayed  
     in fifteen (15) characters on line one.                                                           
                                                                     
     READ.COM will display in text mode (Screen 0) any true ASCII    
     file up to two-thousand (2,000) lines! That translates using    
     five (5) characters as the average word plus space length as    
     thirty-two thousand (32,000) words. If the file is larger, all  
     you will see is 2,000 lines.                                    
                                                                     
     If you enter a name of a file that doesn't exist, a zero length 
     file will be created and you will be staring at an empty file.  
                                                                     
    ;

     Since I know many of you out there are like me and though you make
     like your new toy, you eventually try to test it to its limits,
     often times breaking it and then throwing it away..

     So, go ahead, load an executable (*.COM, *.EXE, *.DLL, etc) file
     with this little gem... Surprise surprise, no lock up, no beep, no
     nothing... Just the first line or two of that file up to the place
     where the program sees an "End Of File" marker. This is a friendly,
     simple fella of a program.

     I made it to insert Help files into my batch files as it allows
     scrolling, is small and fast and in plain ole vanilla QuickBASIC.
     Let me know if you feel the same.

       Ŀ
                 THE AUTHOR           Ĵ
       

     John De Palma likes computers because he sees them as big toys.
     Computers to him are complicated black boxes that have infinite
     possibilities for causing to the user --at the same time --
     enjoyment and pain. Unlike most computer users he really doesn't
     like to use the computer to do anything important (like write a
     letter to PC Magazine or to your IRS agent) but to tinker with.

     He was one of those kids that took his Dad's watch apart to see how
     it worked, but never figured out how to put it back together again
     (boy was THAT a lesson in "leaving things alone!"). You can usually
     find him on CompuServe --somewhere-- uploading some fairly useless
     program that other "kids" like and download.

     He would welcome any thoughts, comments, criticisms, spelling
     corrections, or QUICK BASIC  code  that is under-standable  by an
     ordinary  mortal. He looks forward to receiving any kind of
     reader's mail.  He can be reached by dialing CompuServe's E-Mail
     service and leaving a message there.

     His CompuServe number is:  76076,571.
