ConVersions 4.00.00 No Money Required This program is FreeWare, which means no begging screens, no money required to be sent, and you may distribute it to whomever you wish. However, I do ask that when you distribute to others, you include the two files: CV4.EXE (The program) CV4.TXT (This document) This is only in the interest of making everyone's lives easier. Also, not giving them CV4.EXE is basically the equivalent of not giving them the program. So it is generally a good isea to give them CV4.EXE if you are giving them the program. Skin-Saving Clause The author of the program is in no way responsible for any damage incuured by the use of the program. Likewise, neither are the two distributors listed at program's startup screen, namely Shadow Enterprises and MacroWare. Other ditributors may in some way alter this program. I'm afraid there is little that can be done about this, but it's unlikely, anyway, everyone in the world being so well-meaning. Any damage would most likely be caused by misuse of the program, an incidental virus, or incompatibilty with your hardware. The solutions: 1) Misuse: You are solving it now by reading this document. 2) Virus/Worm: You should check ALL downloads for viruses, even those supposedly already checked. This is in your own hands. If you do find a virus, please report it to the BBS you DL'ed the program from, so no one else also recieves it. 3) Incompatibility: Shouldn't be a problem. If it is, just reboot the computer, and delete the program. Slow computers will be slow, however... Instructions What follows is a brief explaination of the different commands, how to use them, and in some cases, what they do. SET UP: The basic screen setup works like this COMMANDS COMMANDS 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � WORKSPACE � � � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� DIGIT COMMANDS are the commands that are applicable. WORKSPACE is where everything is displayed. DIGIT is the digit currently in memory. It is displayed under the workspace. The prompt to quit writes over it, but it is restored if the answer is N. ASTERISK: Means that there is nothing there. ENTERING A COMMAND: A command can be entered in two ways. Method One: Press the letter in brackets [] for that command. This will immediately run through the sequence for that command. Method Two: Highlight the command and press the spacebar. To highlight the command, use the arrow keys on your keypad (the ones with numbers, too). You have to have your NumLock on, too. COMMANDS: The commands really don't need too much of a description, but require a little, at least. QUIT: It says what it does, it does what it says. You will be prompted before you exit. Y is yes, N is no, and any other character is evil (your computer will beep at you). ALGEBRA: The result indicated are labeled. This function solves for: Absolute Value: Finds the absolute of the number it is working with. Rounded: Rounds up or down. The number must be within the realm of -32768 to 32767, or else the result will be out of range of the calculations. This results in it skipping over this function. Fractions dropped: Rounds down, no matter what. Natural Log. and Base of Natural Log.: These properly belong in the Trig. catagory, and will be moved there presently. Until that time, they're located here for convienience. BASES: This is actually more appropriately "programming". However, as of yet it just converts the working number from a decimal base to a hexidecimal and octal base. Note: There are ranges on the conversions. Both are limited to a range of -32768 to 65535. Negative numbers are converted by adding it to 65535 i.e. DEC=-x...HEX=65535-x. ROOTS: This program solves for exponential and the square root. It solves for x raised to the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th power. However, there ARE upper limits. They have not beeen explored, but I do know that (9*10^7)^5 is out of range, and have to skip that function if the number is greater than 9*10^7. It also finds the square root. The "Exact" square root is found second. The exact square root is the equivalent of using the command SQR(x) in BASIC. That means that if it's not a perfect square, it will find a decimal. The first square root it finds is sometimes more useful, especially for school purposes. If x is not a perfect square, the program will proceed through a loop. This loop divides x by 2^2 through 10^2, and checks to see if it comes out with or without a decimal. If it comes out without a decimal, the program then divides x by, for example, 100. Then it multiplies the coefficient by 10 (it starts out as one). This is still experimental, so it is a little more likely that this will have a bug; more likely than the rest of the program, that is. I had a real heck of a time fixing a bug that would give 10�0 as the result for �1000. Don't figure. Oh, it IS fixed, by the wy. Also, ConVersions still supports imaginary numbers, so �-x registers as x�xi and x.xxxxi. TRIG.: The trigonometry function finds the sine, cosine, tangent, and arctangent of an angle x�, where x is the working number. The first result for each displayed is given in radians. This result is the one you would be able to get by typing SIN(x) in BASIC. Below that, the same result is displayed in degrees, which requires the radians to be multiplied by PI/180. The program does this for you. INPUT: Allows you to input a new number to work with. Any letters entered are 'edited' out. If some combination such as 72d2z was entered, I don't know what your working digit would be, but go ahead and find out, if you care. KNOWN BUGS: I don't know of any still floating around, I think I have caught most of them. If there are any, the program will merely end, and return you to DOS. If there ARE any bugs left (there is always a possibility) they are probably in the square root function. I should be able to weed it out by v4.1, if any are there. PREDICTIONS: Of course, I don't know what bizarre things I'll think of for new improvements, but I can see a few on the horizon: Approximate Square Root: an extension into higher number capabilities, and closer approximations. Bases: Don't look for this in any of the new versions. Instead, there will probably be a function called [P]rogram, which will be the programming function. I think I'll add binary translation (maybe), and also have the ASCII character for that code displayed, and perhaps the ASCII character code combination for the digits in it (don't hold your breath. I'm also toying with having a sound sampling at the frequency of the digit entered. Algebra: I'm planning to improve this to a point involving some geometry, such as finding a supplimentary and complimentary. Not stuff for someone in a calculus class, but I like to have applications for any use. Trig.: If nothing else, I'll relocate the Nat. Logarithm and Base of the Natural Logarithm into this function. Formula: Look forward to a new function, around version 4.4, maybe (I release every third or 4th one), in which you can plug numbers into different equations. Mainly, this will start out as a chemistry function, but eventually some physics and electronics will creep in, no doubt. My main problem is that I don't know how to set up the whole speel...I may end up starting out by listing them in a document, and supplying an identification code for each one. Or, I may have it as a seperate program, and arrange for ConVersions to "shell" to it on command. Or maybe I'll manage to think up something even more demented...we'll just have to wait and see. Auf Wiedersehen! -- Shadow