Help Index
           LibDB1 Help Index

                 About

                Overview

                 Disclaimer & Agreement

                 Requirements

                 Backup & Restore

                 Using the LibDB1 system

                 Registration


About
LibDB1

Library Database 1 (V1.1)
SHAREWARE

(c) 1995,  P. K. Winter,  Toronto, Ont.

The library database system for the home,
 small office, or club.

Built with PARADOX for Windows V5.0


Overview

Peter Drucker in his book Innovation and Entrepreneurship describes a paradox, a startling mystery:

When TV appeared in the early fifties and more and more Americans [and Canadians] began to spend more  and more of their time watching TV - especially children and teenagers in their prime book-reading years - the common wisdom was that book sales would drop drastically.  But, to everyones surprise, in North America book sales soared over the last decades with no end in sight to that trend.  Yet, books are still as rare in the typical [North] American home as before.  Books are being bought in increasing numbers but without a clue as to where all these books go.

You might be one of the causes of this paradox:  you and your cerebral circle of family and friends are probably hiding hundreds, or even thousands, of books in your house, cabin, or apartment.

If you own dozens or even hundreds of books, you will find LibDB1 (Library Database  1) useful for tracking your books by title, author or subject.  The printed reports might be particularly useful at times when you are buying books for family, friends, or yourself.  How many times have you bought a book, only to find that you or your children already had a copy?

Compulsive book buyers will also benefit from being able to keep score --  how many of the books at home were actually read?

What makes LibDB1 unique is its data model and its relational database engine, Paradox for Windows from Borland.  The practical benefits of a relational database can be summed up in the simplest terms as follows:

  �    ad hoc query capabilities,

  �    minimal data redundancy,

  �    high degree of data integrity, and

  �    practically infinite possibilities for extending the underlying data model and functionality of the application

This release of LibDB1  is suitable for use in the home, small office, or club.

          Disclaimer & Agreement
          Requirements
          Backup & Restore
          Using the LibDB1 system
          Registration


Disclaimer & Agreement

The LibDB1 (Library Database 1) program and associated documentation, on hardcopy and on magnetic media, is copyrighted, and the author, P.K.Winter, reserves all rights.  The LibDB1 software and associated documentation are provided without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied.  The author specifically disclaims any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness of the software and documentation for any particular purpose.  In no event will the author be liable for any damages, including any lost profits, lost savings, or other incidental or consequential damages arising out of the use or the inability to use this software.  The author reserves the right to make any changes in the software and in this documentation at any time without obligation to notify anyone of such changes.

LibDB1 is a "shareware program" .  You, the user, have an opportunity to use and evaluate the lite or unregistered version of LibDB1 without obligation.  You may freely copy and distribute it provided that the distribution does not involve a financial transaction.

If you find LibDB1 lite  useful and you think that you will continue to use it as your library database growth, it will be to your advantage to register your copy for a registration fee of $19.  Registered users of LibDB1 receive a personal registration number that unlocks the full power of the system (see Registration).

Commercial or institutional users of LibDB1 automatically receive a Site-License for a one-time registration fee of $39.

Anyone distributing the unregistered or lite version of LibDB1 for any kind of remuneration must first contact the author at the address below for authorization.  This authorization will be automatically granted to vendors who recognize and promote  Shareware principles and the guidelines of Shareware distribution.  Distribution of the registered version of LibDB1 without explicit authorization from the author is not permitted.

P. K. Winter

69 Summerhill Ave

Toronto, Ont.,  M4T 1A9

CompuServe  71213,1337
Internet          71213.1337@compuserve.com

          Overview

          Requirements

          Backup & Restore

          Using the LibDB1 system

          Registration


Requirements

LibDB1 requires a system capable of running Windows V3.1 (or later) with Paradox for Windows V5.0.   In practical terms this means  that you will need a 386 or 486 microprocessor based machine with at least 6 MB of RAM.

The uncompressed LibDB1 files require less than 1.3 MB of hard disk space.  However, your ultimate disk space requirement will depend on the number of books, authors and subjects you wish to enter in your database.  For example, approximately 0.5 MB of disk space supports a library of 1,000 books, 500 authors, and 50 subject categories.

          Overview

          Disclaimer & Agreement

          Backup & Restore

          Using the LibDB1 system

          Registration


Backup & Restore

Since you have downloaded from a bulletin board the file LibDB1.ZIP and you are reading this text, it is assumed that you have a copy of the appropriate ZIP and UNZIP utility programs.  We strongly urge that you backup your LibDB1 database after every update.  You will appreciate the importance of this as your library database grows to hundreds of records.

The LibDB1.ZIP file contains sample batch files that backup (BULibDB1.BAT) and restore (RSLibDB1.BAT) the database.  You can modify these .BAT files with any ASCII editor so that the directories and subdirectories reflect your system; i.e. the location of your copy of the ZIP and UNZIP programs, and the source and destination drives and directories of your database.

If you dont have a copy of PKZIP and PKUNZIP yet  (PKZIP and PKUNZIP are registered trademarks of PKWARE, Inc., 9025 N. Deerwood Dr., Brown Deer, WI  53223),  we strongly urge that you get a copy from your favorite BBS and register with PKWARE.

Alternatively you could use XCOPY (a DOS command) to backup your database directory.  Another option is the appropriate BACKUP and RESTORE that comes with MS DOS and PC DOS.  If you have not used these facilities before, consult your reference manual or use the DOS HELP function.

          Overview

          Disclaimer & Agreement

          Requirements

          Using the LibDB1 system

          Registration


Using the LibDB1 system

For Installation Instructions  please refer to the README file.

LibDB1 comes in two flavors:

(1)	The lite or Unregistered version is a free copy of LibDB1 suitable for a small library in a home. It has 47 subject categories which are compatible with those used in most larger book stores.  The lite version supports a library of a 100 books and 100 authors.

(2)	The Registered version of LibDB1 has all the functionality of the lite version and in addition it supports any number of subject categories, authors, and books constrained only by the availability of disk space.  For further details, please refer to the section titled Registration.

LibDB1 has the following major functions:

On-line Lists, database Update and hard-copy Reports.  Lists and the Update facilities also provide Search capabilities.

The LibDB1  data model  consists of three tables or entities:  SUBJECT,  AUTHORS,  and  BOOKS.

  BOOK LIST
  by Author Name
  by Book No.
  by Book Title
  by Subject & Title

  SUBJECT LIST
  by Subject Code
  by Subject Description

  AUTHOR LIST
  by Author Code
  by Author Name

  UPDATE
  Author Database
  Book Database
  Subject Database

  REPORTS
  Authors by Code
  Authors by Name
  Books Grouped by Authors
  Books Grouped by Subject
  Books in Title Order
  Subjects in Code Order
  Subjects in Description Order

  GENERAL LIBRARY INFORMATION
  number of volumes
  number of authors
  number of subject categories
  update and usage information

  REGISTRATION
(see section on Registration)

Paradox for Windows has a comprehensive repertoire of powerful security facilities.  LibDB1 automatically provides insert, delete, and update access to your library data.  However, outside LibDB1 the default access level is READ ONLY.  LibDB1 activates the password  public  (lower case) which remains active for the duration of the Paradox for Windows session.  READ ONLY access is sufficient for the creation of additional custom queries and reports.  If you wish to access LibDB1 data directly from Paradox for Windows, then you have to enter the password  public  when prompted.

As well, if you wish to use the raw power of the Paradox Edit facility (F9) for updating BOOKS and AUTHORS then use the password  insdel  (lower case).

          Overview

          Disclaimer & Agreement

          Requirements

          Backup & Restore


Registration

Why Register?

Prepare & Print Registration Form

Enter Registration Number

          Overview

          Disclaimer & Agreement

          Requirements

          Backup & Restore

          Using the LibDB1 system


Why Register?

LibDB1 comes in two flavors:

(1)	The lite or Unregistered version is a free copy of LibDB1 suitable for a small library in a home. It has 47 subject categories, compatible with those used in most larger book stores.  This version supports a library of 100 books and 100 authors.

(2)	The Registered version of LibDB1 has all the functionality of the lite version and in addition it supports any number of subject categories, authors, and books, constrained only by the availability of disk space; approximately 0.5MB of additional space is required for a 1000 volume library with 500 authors.  For further details, please refer to Registration.

LibDB1 is a Shareware program.  The Shareware industry is a unique phenomenon in modern history.  What sustains Shareware is the enlightened self-interest of software users recognizing good value and the importance of voluntary registration, with nominal fees which encourage and sustain the creative energies of software designers and programmers.

LibDB1 will continue to be enhanced with neat features suggested by happy users.  These enhancements will be made available to registered users at a minimal cost.


Adding a New Book

  click on ADD  --  the Book No. will be generated for you

  enter the title

  if you know the Author No. then enter it, else scroll the Author Table until the author is found and then you can either enter the Author No. or click on the Author No. in the Author Table.

  if the author does not exist in the Author Table, you can either use the Add New Author facility before you add the book or you may use the Update Author Database function.

SUGGESTION:  if you are planning to add several books to the database by authors who are not in the Author Table yet, its more efficient to add the authors first using the Update Author facility.

  if you know the subject codes, you can enter those or you may scroll the Subject Table and click on the Subject Code that is appropriate for the primary or secondary subject classification

  the primary and secondary Subject Codes can be the same


SEARCH

When you click on the left button a dialog box will appear in which you can specify search criteria.  The right button provides locate next facilities.

Briefly, the left button is used to look for the first occurrence of a number or string of letters.  The most frequently used wildcard operators are  @  for any single character in a string, and  ..  is used to indicate any group of characters.  For example, a search for the author name Asimov could be carried out in a number of ways:

A..              would yield all author names that start with the letter A

As@mov    would likely yield Asimov and, perhaps, other names where the third character can be any single character

..imov         might produce a bunch of names that end with  imov  but, clearly, if Asimov is in your database, his name will be among the ones found.

After you have entered a search value, make sure that you select the correct field that is expected to contain the specified search value.

Pressing keys  CTR+Z  is equivalent to Locate Value and  CTR+A  is equivalent to Locate Next.

          Overview

          Disclaimer & Agreement

          Requirements

          Backup & Restore

          Registration


Prepare & Print Registration Form

The on-line Registration Form prompts you to enter the following information:

Registered By        your name;  This is a case sensitive field; i.e. whatever combination of spaces and upper/lower case characters you enter here will also be recorded in the system.

After you receive your registration number, you will be asked to enter your name exactly as you did on the Registration Form.

Address                 the two address lines, and City, State, Zip Code, etc. should be sufficiently accurate to allow the postal services to locate you with a return mailing containing your Registration No.

Phone Numbers     are optional.

E-Mail Addresses   are optional.  If you have access to CompuServe or Internet, you will be able to get support through E-Mail.  As well, if you so indicate on your Registration Form, the Registration No. could be returned to you via CompuServe or Internet.

Amount Enclosed  indicates whether you are registering a personal copy or a Site License.

After you have completed the registration form you have three options ...

    You may save the information entered and quit.  This choice will not print a form.  The next time you start the registration process you will see all the information that you have entered.

    With this choice all the information entered will be discarded and the system reverts to the previous version of the form.

    When you are ready to produce a hardcopy registration form you should click on this button.  Your printer is managed through Windows and the appropriate default settings will be in effect when you start to print.


Enter Registration Number

When you receive your Registration Number, you will need to present it to LibDB1 for verification.  The verification process consists of two simple steps:

    When prompted, enter your name (case sensitive) exactly as you have done previously on the registration form.

    If the name is OK, you are prompted to enter the registration number that was returned to you.  The registration number consists of 6 one- or two-digit numbers separated by hyphens.  When the number is recognized as valid, you will immediately have full access to the registered version of LibDB1.

You should keep the registration number, as future releases of LibDB1 will be made available to registered owners only.


LISTS

LISTs provide browse and search capabilities with the use of standard VCR buttons (forward, backward, fast forward, etc.), scroll bars and, when applicable, alphabetic search facilities with simulated index tabs.


UPDATE

The update facilities of LIBDB1 allows the user to Add, Change and Delete rows in the database tables.  Delete is allowed only when the removal of a record (row) willl not leave an orphaned reference; i.e. when it does not violate the referential integrity of the database.  Primary keys, such as book numbers, author I/Ds, or subject codes cannot be changed.


DATA MODEL

A data model is a graphical representation of the relationships among the tables (also known as entities) that make up a database.  The LibDB1 data model looks as follows:

The double arrows indicate a one-to-many relationship.  This means that an author, for example, may have one or many books in the database.  Or, there may be zero to many books in the database of a particular subject category.

Arrows between two entities mean that there is a non-key attribute (also known as field) in one of the entities and the same attribute is a primary key in the other entity.  For example, the Author No. in the entity called BOOKS uniquely identifies an author and the author s name in the entity called AUTHORS.


SUBJECT Entity or Table
SUBJECT

The SUBJECT entity (table) has the following attributes (fields):

  Subject Code  (Primary Key)
  Subject Description


AUTHORS Entity or Table
AUTHORS

The AUTHORS entity (table) has the following attributes (fields):

  Author Number  (Primary Key)

  Author Name


BOOKS Entity or Table
BOOKS

The BOOKS entity (table) has the following attributes (fields):

  Book Number  (Primary Key)

  Book Title

  Author Number

  Primary Subject Code

  Secondary Subject Code

  Year of original publication

  Year of the current edition

Both the Primary and Secondary Subject Codes in the BOOK entity point to the Subject code in the SUBJECT entity.