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DAILY SOLAR GEOPHYSICAL DATA BROADCAST PROCESSOR DATABASE MANAGER - USERS MANUAL Version 1.02 (c) Copyright 1992 by The Solar Terrestrial Dispatch Table Of Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Registering this Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 The BCAST Configuration File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 The BCAST Environment Variable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Processing Data Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Displaying Data Sets On-Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 The Archive and Analysis Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Saving Loaded Data Sets to the Database . . . . . . . . 7 Loading a Dataset from the Database . . . . . . . . . . 8 The Graphical Analysis Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Generating an Activity Summary Report . . . . . . . . . 11 Generating a Standard SGDB File & Modifying Records . . 11 Dumping Data Sets to an ASCII File . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Deleting Data Sets from the Database . . . . . . . . . . 13 Returning to the Main Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Exiting BCAST and Returning to DOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 The Batch Processing Feature of BCAST . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Alternate Methods of Executing BCAST . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Defragmenting the BCAST Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 1 Introduction The Solar Terrestrial Dispatch (STD) has been providing a comprehensive set of daily solar geophysical indices to the public in the form of a product known as the "Daily Solar Geophysical Data Broadcast" (SGDB). The data and indices contained in the SGDB are very valuable to persons interested in ionospheric radio communications, solar activity, auroral activity, and related geophysical and even atmospheric events. The data sets are being used by research institutions and astronomical organizations around the world. The service of providing these daily data sets began on September 4, 1991. The Solar Terrestrial Dispatch has since developed an extensive and contiguous base of data. Such a large base of data is more useful when it can be archived and studied over time. To satisfy this need, the STD developed this software package to automatically extract all of the relevant data from the daily SGDB reports and archive them to disk for analysis and study. This software is known as "BCAST", the Solar Geophysical Data BroadCAST Processor and Database Manager. Included with this software package are numerous utility programs, including a powerful utility which will exploit the graphics capabilities of systems that have VGA graphics (see KGRAPH.MAN for details). BCAST provides complete archive and database management facilities in a user-friendly and easily operated environment. It will automatically maintain a fully sorted archive of the datasets for instant recall or graphical analysis. It will also produce detailed summaries of the datasets in laymans terms which may be printed out and distributed, or filed away. BCAST also includes a powerful full-screen mass-processing feature to automatically archive large numbers of SGDB reports easily and painlessly. Extensive and complete monthly archives of all SGDB reports are available from the STD, through the STD BBS, or via anonymous FTP for those who are connected to the larger electronic networks such as the Internet. Each of the monthly archives may be batch processed or selectively processed using BCAST. The STD also supplies extensive documentation to help those who are less familiar, understand the significance of the data contained in the daily SGDB reports. The document "Understanding Solar Terrestrial Reports" comes in two-parts and is a superb introductory text for those who want to know more regarding the relations between solar activity and Earth-based terrestrial activity. These documents are also available from the STD BBS, or through anonymous FTP. 2 The STD BBS is accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and provides alerts, warnings, and forecasts regarding solar and geophysical phenomena. The phone number is: 403 756-3008. Operation is presently permitted at either 300, 1200, or 2400 baud. The database generated and maintained by BCAST will let you analyze and study the cyclical behaviour of such things as solar activity, geomagnetic activity, and ionospheric disturbances. You may also be able to anticipate the future behaviour of the indices. This is invaluable to those who, for example, are interested in predicting when radio communications will be optimum, or when auroral activity may again be observed, or when the next group of hot solar regions is due to rotate into view. Registering this Software This version (1.02) of BCAST was released in late July, 1992 and represents a substantial improvement over previous versions. The software was originally released in late 1991 and has since proven very reliable. We have expended a considerable amount of time to provide and maintain this software, not to mention the time and considerable resources which are devoted to providing the daily services on which this software is dependent. In order to help recover some of the costs involved, we are requesting all those who make use of this software to register it with us. By doing so, all of the features, functions, and utilities associated with this software package will be available without limitation. Moreover, those who are registered with us will be entitled to free software upgrades and substantial discounts on future software releases. To register this software, read the information contained in the file "REGISTER.DOC". Then, simply print out and fill out the registration form included in the file and send it to us at the following address with your registration payment enclosed: Solar Terrestrial Dispatch P.O. Box 357 Stirling, Alberta, Canada T0K 2E0 We will return your unique registration I.D. and simple instructions for making your copy of the BCAST software a registered and fully-functional copy. Consult the file "REGISTER.DOC" for more information. 3 The BCAST Configuration File Version 1.01 of BCAST supported a configuration file intended to permit the definition of defaults for BCAST. Version 1.02 of BCAST has expanded on this idea by permitting the selection of defaults for a number of features. Most of the acronyms supported in this version are designed to customize the operation of the utility program, KGRAPH (a powerful utility designed to display detailed geomagnetic data on systems having VGA displays). The configuration (or initialization) file is "BCAST.INI". This is an editable text file. All of the available acronyms are defined in this file. New users of this software package are encouraged to read through the BCAST.INI initialization file to become familiar with the defaults which may be set. The BCAST Environment Variable By setting the DOS environment variable "BCAST" to point to the path containing the BCAST initialization file (BCAST.INI) and the BCAST database file (DATASETS.DAT), you are able to execute BCAST or any of the accompanying utilities from any directory on your system. To accomplish this, change your AUTOEXEC.BAT file so that the BCAST environment variable is appropriately set each time you boot your computer. For example, if the BCAST.INI and DATASETS.DAT files are located at: "C:\BCAST", you would simply insert the line: "SET BCAST=C:\BCAST" in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file and reboot your computer. Thereafter, you will be able to execute BCAST.EXE or any of the other utility programs from anywhere on your system. Please remember that in order for DOS to find the programs such as BCAST.EXE, or KGRAPH.EXE, you must also make sure that your "PATH" environment variable is adjusted to point to the location of these executable programs. Setting the "BCAST" environment variable simply permits the BCAST software to locate and use the initialization and database files, which are critical to the operation of the BCAST software. Processing Data Sets This section of BCAST was completely rewritten for version 1.01 in order to enhance and simplify the processing of datasets by BCAST. It provides a powerful interface and will let you selectively process any number of SGDB reports for inclusion in 4 the database or for viewing on-screen. To process data sets from the main menu of BCAST, select the "Process Datasets" option. A screen will appear showing you the names of the files BCAST identified using the MASK parameter defined in the configuration file. (The "MASK" acronym is defined in the file "BCAST.INI" and simply tells BCAST where to look for all of the processable textual SGDB reports. You can force BCAST to look for these files in a specific location on your computers hard disk (or floppy drive) by defining the "MASK" acronym in the BCAST.INI file. Consult the "BCAST.INI" file for more information.) If no files match the given MASK, the statement "No Files Selected" will appear on the bottom of the screen. If files are found which do match the given MASK, their filenames will be displayed and sorted from left to right, and top to bottom. One screen can display up to 72 files at a time. If BCAST identifies more than 72 files, it will display the remaining files on additional screens after you have finished processing the desired files from the current screen. To select a file for processing, use the arrow keys to move the screen cursor over the file you wish to process. Then press the SPACE-BAR. The first file you select in this manner will be identified on-screen by the appearance of red "#01:" preceding the filename. The second file you select will be prepended with a red "#02:" and so on. You can select up to 72 files to process on-screen in this manner. Each will be numbered accordingly. The numbers identify the order the files will be processed. You can deselect a file for processing by moving the cursor over the file and pressing the SPACE-BAR. If that file was previously selected to be processed, it will be deselected and the entire ordering sequence will be updated to remain contiguous. After you have finished selecting the files to process, press ENTER. BCAST will process all of the files you have selected in the order you selected them. If any of the files being processed are corrupt, BCAST will replace its corresponding number with "BAD:" so you can identify those files which may need to be repaired or replaced. If all goes well, BCAST will continue processing the files until all selected files have been processed. After all of the files have been processed, BCAST will display the next screenful of files matching the MASK parameter. After all of the files have been selected (ex. when no more screens of file names are displayed), BCAST will return you to the main menu. 5 Please note that registered copies of BCAST will attempt to archive all selected files to the database. During this procedure, some files may process faster than others. The reason for this is due to the fact that BCAST maintains a fully sorted database. When it attempts to archive a new dataset to the database, it re-sorts the database. Therefore, if you process an SGDB report that has a date near the end of the database, BCAST will process it relatively quickly since very little sorting will need to be done. On the other hand, if you process a dataset that has an old date, BCAST may need to re-sort a significant fraction of the database. The speed with which BCAST is able to process files into the sorted database will also depend on the size of the database. It is therefore to your advantage to select files which are already in a roughly sorted sequence. BCAST will not overwrite or add datasets to the database if they already exist. If you happen to select and process a file which is already contained in your database, BCAST will simply skip over that file and assume that it has already been processed. It will not change the contents of the record in the database file. Unregistered copies of BCAST will not attempt to archive the selected files to the database. Instead, unregistered software will only load the selected files for on-screen review. It is important to remember that in both registered and unregistered versions of BCAST, the last file loaded will be the only one resident in memory for reviewing on-screen. An additional feature which can be accessed while selecting files to be processed, is the ability to change the MASK parameter. At the bottom left-hand corner of the screen is a "Mask=" statement. The current value of the MASK parameter is printed in this area. If the length of the MASK parameter is too large to be fully printed on-screen, it will be truncated at the appropriate location and a ~ symbol will be appended. The ~ symbol informs you that truncation was performed, and that the entire MASK parameter cannot be printed on-screen. To change the MASK parameter while selecting files, press the "M" key (for Mask). A cursor will immediately appear after the "Mask=" statement. Simply type in your new path using whatever drive, directory, and/or wildcard information that is necessary. When finished, press ENTER and the screen will be redrawn with the files that match the new MASK parameter. Changing the MASK string from within BCAST does not affect the value of the MASK given in the configuration file BCAST.INI. Modifying the MASK value from within BCAST is only temporary. As soon as you re-run BCAST, the MASK will once again be loaded with the value given in the configuration file. If no MASK command is 6 given within the configuration file, the default string used for the MASK is "*.dly". You may exit the file selection screen at any time by pressing the ESCape key. This will immediately return you to the main menu, even if files were selected to be processed. Displaying Data Sets On-Screen After a SGDB dataset has been loaded from disk into memory, you may choose to display the data on-screen in a friendlier format. The second main menu function, "Review Data Set" provides you with this capability. This feature automatically decodes the various acronyms used in the textual SGDB reports and displays their meanings on-screen in laymans terms. It provides screenful upon screenful of useful information regarding the dataset by interpreting the contents and explaining or displaying them. The first and possibly second screens displayed by BCAST are summaries of the warnings and alerts which were active at the time the SGDB data set was compiled at the Solar Terrestrial Dispatch. These warnings and alerts which are displayed do not go into any significant detail. In fact, this section of the SGDB report is the only section which is not copied verbosely into the computer during the processing phase. In other words, the details of each warning and/or alert are not processed. The reason for this is to keep the BCAST database file down to a minimal size. The smaller each BCAST database record is, the more information you will be able to store in a given amount of disk space. If all of the possible details of every various warning and alert were processed, each database record would be much larger than needed, more difficult to process and would be wasteful with disk space. All that is really required is knowledge of the basic warnings and alerts which are in effect during each day. The details of the warnings or alerts aren't as important. If the details are important, you are encouraged to obtain one of the extensive monthly summaries of activity produced by the Solar Terrestrial Dispatch, as made available on our computer BBS system and through anonymous FTP. The screens following the warnings and alerts summarize in great detail the data which was loaded from the textual SGDB report. All of the various indices are listed. Many of them are interpreted for you so you can better understand their meaning. This feature may be executed by those who have not registered the BCAST software package with us. 7 The Archive and Analysis Menu The third function of the BCAST main menu represents the heart of BCAST: the archive and analysis features. This is an extensive menu containing all of the functions necessary to maintain the database, archive new data to disk, generate reports, and graphically analyze the data in the database. In order to encourage payment for this program, this section of BCAST may be viewed but cannot be used by those who have not registered their copy of BCAST with us. In order to develop and maintain your own database of records, you will need to purchase your copy of the program by sending a cheque or money order for $35.00 in either Canadian or U.S. funds to the Solar Terrestrial Dispatch (consult the file "REGISTER.DOC" for more information). After your unique registration number has been returned to you with the simple instructions for making your copy of BCAST a registered copy, you will be able to access and use this section of BCAST at your leisure. Saving Loaded Data Sets to the Database BCAST expects to find its database file in the same directory as the BCAST initialization file (BCAST.INI) and with a filename of "DATASETS.DAT". This file is created automatically when you first start processing the daily SGDB reports with BCAST. If the environment variable "BCAST" is not used and you execute BCAST in a directory where this database file does not exist, BCAST will not use the database. This behavior allows you to maintain separate databases in different directories. To use a specific database, simply move to the directory containing the database and execute BCAST. If you are only maintaining one database, it is usually most convenient to set the environment variable "BCAST" to the path of your BCAST.INI and associated files (textual SGDB data files may be located elsewhere, as was described earlier). Before this option can be executed, a dataset must be loaded into memory. After you have loaded a dataset into memory, you may archive (save) that dataset to your database file using this option of the Archive Menu. To execute this option, simply select the "Save Data Set" option in the Archive Menu using the Up and Down arrow keys. Alternatively, you may select this menu item by pressing the corresponding letter associated with that menu choice. Before writing the new data set to the database file, BCAST checks to make sure that no other records in the database match the one you are attempting to archive. If it finds a record in the database with the same date as the dataset you are attempting 8 to archive, a warning is displayed on-screen giving you three options. You may overwrite the record, which is useful when you need to correct or modify a record in your database. You may skip the record, which will force BCAST to write the dataset to the database. In this case, nothing is overwritten. New space within the database is created for the dataset you are saving. If this option is chosen, there will be two records in your database with identical dates. The last option lets you abort the save procedure altogether. In this case, the database is left unchanged. Nothing is written to the database. When BCAST saves datasets to the database file, it automatically archives the dataset fully sorted with the existing records in the database. It sorts the database according to dates. For this reason, records which are archived near the "front" of the database (ex. a dataset which has a date earlier than anything presently existing in the database) will take longer to save to disk than a dataset which has a date close to the present date. The sorting process occurs sequentially from the lowest to the highest dates. That is, a dataset dated January 1, 1992 would appear BEFORE a dataset dated January 2, 1992. Conversely, a dataset dated December 31, 1991 (note the year) would appear BEFORE the datasets dated January 1 and 2, 1992 in the database file. This automatic sorting feature significantly simplifies and speeds up many of the functions available with BCAST. If the dataset is successfully archived to the database, an "operation successful" message is displayed on your screen. If an error occurs, you may be returned to DOS depending on the severity of the error. All disk errors result in a Fatal Error message which immediately returns you to the DOS prompt with an explanation. Loading a Dataset from the Database This option loads a dataset which you previously archived to the database. Using this option, you can examine (via the main menu option "Review Data Sets") the conditions and indices which were observed for any date contained in your database file. You are simply prompted for the date of the dataset you wish to load from the database. After specifying a date, BCAST searches through the database until it finds the requested dataset. If the date you specify is either invalid or cannot be found in the database, an error message is displayed which then returns you to the Archive Menu. This option has a secondary effect which may not be clearly apparent at first. When BCAST graphically analyzes the datasets 9 in the database file, it always attempts to graphically display the various datasets with respect to the date of the currently loaded dataset. In other words, all graphs or charts produced by BCAST will be displayed so that the LAST line of the graph or chart is the graph line of the dataset which you have currently loaded in memory. If you do not have a specific dataset loaded in memory, all graphs are produced with the last dataset of the database (ex. the most recently archived dataset) displayed as the last graph line on the screen. To better explain this feature, let's assume that you have 200 datasets archived to your database and you wish to graphically analyze them. Since BCAST can only fit 70 datasets on-screen at one time, it is necessary to select a portion of the 200 datasets to graphically analyze. One way to achieve this is by loading datasets for specific dates into memory. If a dataset is loaded into memory, the date of that dataset is used to determine which portion of the 200 datasets to graphically display on-screen. For example, if the 200 datasets in your database were sequentially dated from January 1, 1992 to July 19, 1992 (200 consecutive days), and you loaded a dataset into memory which was dated March 11, 1992, BCAST would only graphically analyze the datasets from January 1, 1992 to March 11, 1992 (70 days). The dataset for March 11, 1992 would be the last graph line displayed on-screen. Similarly, if you wanted to graphically display the last 70 datasets on-screen, you would load the dataset which was dated July 19, 1992 into memory. All graphical charts produced by BCAST follow this procedure. Alternatively, you can use the PageUp, PageDown, Home, and End keys on your keyboard to move around the database while viewing the graphs or charts. This is explained in greater detail below. The Graphical Analysis Options BCAST provides a set of valuable graphical analysis tools which will help you better analyze the cyclical behaviour or other parameters of the datasets in your database. Almost all of the data contained in the SGDB reports can be graphically analyzed using BCAST. The only items which are not analyzed by BCAST.EXE are the Boulder and Planetary K-indices. Additional software to graphically display the K-index data has been included as utility programs (ex. KGRAPH.EXE, AVG.EXE). To analyze a specific set of data, simply select the appropriate option from the Archive Menu and press ENTER, or press the corresponding letter associated with the desired function. 10 BCAST produces two types of graphical charts depending on what type of data you are analyzing. Linear data, such as the 10.7 cm solar radio flux or the geomagnetic data, use the linear graphical functions. Other datasets such as the proton fluence or x-ray statistics are analyzed and graphed using logarithmic graphical charts. This significantly improves the detail of the graphs. There are several important functions which can be executed while graphs of datasets are displayed on-screen. The first is the ability to move through the graph, line by line, using the left and right arrow keys. As you use the arrow keys, each new graph line you move to is highlighted. Using the left arrow keys moves the highlighted area to the left. The right arrow key moves the highlighted area to the right. In addition, the date of the highlighted graph line as well as the exact value producing that line is displayed at the bottom of the screen. This lets you examine each line of the graph in detail. Version 1.01 of BCAST also permits examination of other parts of the database while viewing graphical images. The PAGEUP and PAGEDOWN keys shift the graphs being viewed by the number of days defined in the BCAST.INI configuration file (under the GRAPHSTEP command). The default is 35 days, which results in the graphs shifting half of a screen left or right each time one of these keys is pressed. This value can be changed as you wish by editing the BCAST.INI initialization file. You can force BCAST to move to the beginning of the database by pressing the HOME key. You can also display the last 70 days contained in the database by pressing the END key. Another useful function which can be executed while a graphical chart is displayed, is the ability to save the currently displayed graph to a text ASCII file on disk. After a graph has been saved to disk, you can print it out on a printer or transfer them electronically to other locations. To invoke this disk saving function, simply press "S" (for "S"ave) while any graphical chart is displayed on-screen. The screen will immediately be converted to ASCII format and saved to disk under the file name "GRAPH.TXT". Each time you press "S", the graphical chart displayed on-screen is APPENDED to (or written to the end of) the GRAPH.TXT file. This lets you compile an extensive set of graphs simply by graphically analyzing those datasets you need and pressing the "S" key. After you have finished and exited the BCAST program to the DOS prompt, you may display the GRAPH.TXT file, edit it using your favourite word processor, print it out, transfer it elsewhere, or do whatever you see fit to do with it. To continue to view other datasets, press ENTER when you have finished viewing a specific graphical chart. To abort the 11 procedure and return to the archive menu, press the ESCape key. Generating an Activity Summary Report This option of the Archive Menu analyzes the currently loaded dataset and writes a summary report to the file "SUMMARY.TXT" on disk. All of the indices contained in that dataset are written to the file, along with the various warnings and alerts which were in effect, etc. This report-generation feature is most useful when data from the SGDB reports are to be distributed throughout an organization, or transferred to other locations through e-mail or modem. This is also an invaluable tool for producing hard-copy summaries of the dataset you have loaded in memory. It may then be filed away for future reference. If the file "SUMMARY.TXT" already exists when you execute this function, the contents of the file will NOT be overwritten. All information is appended to the SUMMARY.TXT file. You will therefore be able to store multiple summaries in a single file, if so desired. The summary file is created in the current working directory, not in the directory where the BCAST files are stored. Generating a Standard SGDB File & Modifying Records BCAST has the ability to recreate a standard Solar Geophysical Data Broadcast format file. This is an important function if you need to modify certain indices or values of a specific dataset in your archive. To use this feature, you must have a dataset loaded in memory (either using the first option of the Main Menu [Process Data Set], or the second option of the Archive Menu [Load a Data Set]). After a dataset has been loaded in memory, a precisely formatted SGDB file can be created using this function. Why would you need to create a standard SGDB file in the first place? There are a number of reasons. You may need to transfer a specific dataset you have in your archive to a friend who is missing that particular dataset. You could transfer the SUMMARY.TXT file, although this file is not in the correct format to be processed by others using BCAST. Using this function, you can recreate a copy of the SGDB for any dataset in your archive, which may then be shared with others who are using BCAST to archive and analyze data. One of the primary reasons for requiring this function is to permit the easy modification of specific datasets in your 12 database. For example, lets assume that one of your datasets in your database is corrupt. Lets say that one of your datasets in your database has a bad value for the 10.7 cm solar radio flux and you need to correct it. All you need to do is load that dataset into memory using the second option of the Archive Menu (Load a Data Set), and generate a standard SGDB file for that dataset. The incorrect 10.7 cm solar radio flux value will be written to the SGDB.TXT file. Simply exit BCAST, edit the SGDB.TXT file to correct the 10.7 cm solar radio flux value. Then reload BCAST, reprocess the SGDB.TXT file so that the corrected dataset is reloaded into memory (using the "Process Data Set" option of the Main Menu), and save the corrected dataset to your database using the "Save Data Set" option of the Archive Menu. BCAST will detect the corrupted dataset by realizing that the dataset you have loaded into memory has the same date as the bad dataset in your archive. It will then ask whether or not you want to overwrite the dataset. By responding so that BCAST overwrites the incorrect dataset, you can effectively correct the bad solar flux value in your database. This procedure can be carried out for any of the values in your database. It is a quick and easy method of modifying any dataset in your archive. To summarize, simply extract the dataset you need to correct to a standard SGDB file, edit it using a word processor, reprocess it using BCAST and resave it to your database file using the "O"verwrite option which will appear. When you produce an SGDB-formatted file using this menu option, BCAST will not overwrite any existing data in the SGDB.TXT file if it already exists when you attempt to produce the standard SGDB file. All data is appended to the SGDB.TXT file. You may therefore create multiple SGDB reports in a single file, if desired. However, note that only the first SGDB report in the file will be accepted and processed by BCAST. Dumping Data Sets to an ASCII File This powerful function lets you dump the entire contents of your database to a text ASCII file with the name "DATASETS.TXT". Use this function with caution, since very large text files can be created in the process. During this procedure, BCAST runs through your database file multiple times, extracting each of the datasets from the database and saving them to the DATASETS.TXT file. The resulting text file is a well-ordered, fully sorted, textual representation of every set of data in your database. This feature becomes particularly important when you need to analyze the data externally using something like a statistical 13 computer program, a data plotter, or a spreadsheet. Also, since the data is dumped in a pure ASCII format, you can edit the text file and extract only the information you require. Note that the utility program "FIELDS" will custom-extract almost any piece of data in your database file. This may be a more efficient method to use to extract only certain portions of the database file. Consult the FIELDS manual (FIELDS.MAN) for more information. Deleting Data Sets from the Database The only other function required to provide complete management control over your database is a method of deleting datasets from your database. That is the purpose of this Archive Menu function. To delete a specific dataset from your archive, simply select this function. BCAST will prompt you for the date of the dataset to delete. After typing in the date, BCAST will search through the database until it finds a dataset with a matching date. It will then request confirmation to delete the dataset. If you respond affirmatively, BCAST will delete the dataset from your database. If you do not confirm deletion, BCAST will abort the procedure and leave your database untouched. It is important to note that after you have confirmed deletion, BCAST will delete ALL datasets with dates matching the one you supplied, not only the one which BCAST first detects. Therefore, using this command you can delete accidental redundant datasets from your database (as can occur if you explicitly save a dataset to your archive which already exists). Returning to the Main Menu You can return from the Archive Menu to the main menu at any time by either pressing the ESCape key, or selecting the "Return to the Main Menu" option. When running BCAST, the ESCape key serves as the "abort" key. It will abort almost any process and return you to a menu. Exiting BCAST and Returning to DOS To exit BCAST and return to the DOS prompt, either select the "Exit Program" command of the Main Menu or press the ESCape key at the Main Menu prompt. Either method will terminate the program and return you to the DOS prompt. 14 The Batch Processing Feature of BCAST BCAST provides a batch processing function which can be invoked at the command line. This function will automatically process large numbers of SGDB report files and archive them to your database. All SGDB files processed in this manner are automatically and accurately saved to your database fully sorted. The addition of the full-screen processing feature to version 1.01 of BCAST (at the "Process Data Sets" main menu option) makes this feature less attractive as a mass-processing function. However, it is still a valuable feature for those who want to process datasets directly from the command-line as opposed to manually selecting the files from a full-screen display. To execute this command, simply run BCAST with the command line parameter "-b" (or "-B", it is not case sensitive) followed by the name(s) of the files you want to process and archive to your database. Wildcards in the filenames are permitted. For example, to create (or update) a database file containing every SGDB report in your current directory, simply type: "BCAST -B *.DLY" (excluding the parenthesis, of course) and press ENTER. BCAST will automatically begin processing and archiving every file containing the extension ".DLY". As each file is processed, its name is displayed on-screen so you can monitor the progress of the processing. It does not matter which order you specify files to be processed. BCAST automatically sorts the database so that all added datasets are placed in the proper position in the archive. Selecting the files to process in a roughly preformatted sequence will speed up the processing phase. During the batch processing phase, if BCAST attempts to process a dataset which already exists in your archive (ex. a dataset with the same date), BCAST discards the dataset and processes the next file. You may therefore process a group of files without needing to worry about accidentally processing a duplicate dataset. BCAST will not batch process a dataset which already exist in your database. After all of the files have been processed, BCAST loads and displays the title page, followed by the Main Menu, etc. Please note that the last file processed will reside in memory while BCAST executes. As a result, if you graphically analyze your database after executing the batch processing feature, the graphical charts will be displayed according to the date of the last dataset processed. Consult the section on "Loading a Data Set from the Database" for more information regarding this feature. 15 This feature is only available to those who have registered their copy of BCAST with us (consult the file "REGISTER.DOC" for more information regarding registration procedures). Alternate Methods of Executing BCAST You can run BCAST and load a textual SGDB dataset at the same time by executing BCAST with an extra parameter specifying the name of the file to load. For example, to execute BCAST and automatically read in the file "SGDB.TXT" so that the dataset contained in that file is loaded in memory, simply execute BCAST using the command: "BCAST SGDB.TXT". This will run BCAST as usual, but will force it to load in the data contained in the file SGDB.TXT before the main menu appears. This may speed up the procedure for processing and analyzing the data set since you will not need to manually select the file using the "Process Data Sets" option of the main menu. Please note that the dataset loaded in this manner is NOT archived to your database. It is simply loaded in memory. If you want to archive the dataset to your database, you will need to either include the "-B" (batch processing) parameter on the command line or use the "Process Data Sets" option of the main menu. This function may be used on unregistered copies of BCAST. Defragmenting the BCAST Database After the BCAST database file (DATASETS.DAT) has been used for some time, it may become fragmented. Fragmentation of files occurs when parts of the file are stored over wide areas of your hard or floppy drive. The speed with which BCAST is able to work with the database will slow down as the database becomes fragmented. The amount of work required by hard drives will also increase, since it will need to read sections of the database from widely spaced areas on your hard disk. A fragmented database file is not a critical or dangerous condition. It is simply an unnecessary and inefficient condition that can be easily remedied. To defragment the database file, execute the batch file "DEFRAG.BAT" that has been included with version 1.02 of BCAST. Execute this batch file from within the directory where the BCAST database file (DATASETS.DAT) resides. Type: "defrag" at your DOS command prompt. This is a quick and simple way to defragment your database file and should be done approximately once every couple of months to maintain an efficient and fast database.