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DTCALC23.TXT
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			Date Calculator, version 2.3

		Distributed as Freeware from Spyder Software.
				October 1994.


INSTALLATION:

You will need the following four files to run Date Calculator:

DATECALC.EXE	(the executable program file)
MSMASKED.VBX	(custom control for masked date input)
MSAFINX.DLL	(Dynamic Link Library for DateDiff and DateAdd functions)
VBRUN300.DLL	(Visual Basic 3.0 run-time DLL; sorry, this file is not 		 included in the distribution ZIP file)

You may put the DATECALC.EXE file anywhere on your system; however, MSMASKED.VBX and MSAFINX.DLL need to be in your \WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory.

The VBRUN300.DLL file is required to run programs (such as this one) that have been created with Microsoft's Visual Basic, version 3.0.  The VBRUN300.DLL file is rather large (389k) and thus is not included in the distribution ZIP file.  VBRUN300.DLL may be downloaded from CompuServe, America Online, the Internet, and many local bbs's.  VBRUN300.DLL should also be in your \WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory.


USING DATE CALCULATOR:

To run Date Calculator, you must first enter a date in the format of mm/dd/yyyy where:

		mm is a two-digit value for a month,
		dd is a two-digit value for a day, and
		yyyy is a four-digit value for a year.

You may either manually enter a date of your choice or you may click on the "Today" button to automatically enter the current date.  IMPORTANT:  Make sure you press the ENTER key if you manually typed in a date.

Date Calculator will beep and display an Invalid Date Error message if you enter an illogical date or if you enter a date in an invalid format.  If you made a date entry error, you can either use the BACKSPACE key to overwrite the bad date and then re-type the date in the date input box, or you can click on the Clear button and start over with a fresh date input box.

Once you have entered a valid date, Date Calculator will then display the Day of Week for the date you entered.  Date Calculator will also display a message if the date you entered is within a Leap Year.


DATE CALCULATION OPTIONS:

Next, Date Calculator will allow you to select among the following options:

1.  Age in Years
2.  Difference in Days
3.  Future or Past Date
4.  Julian Number

Age in Years:
Click on this option to calculate the Age in Years (i.e., for a person born on the date you entered).  The Age in Years option calculates the number of whole years between the date you entered and the current date.

Difference in Days:
If you click on this option, Date Calcuator will then ask you to enter a second date.  Simply enter the date in the same manner and format as the first date you entered.  As with the first date you entered, you have the ability to either manually enter a date of your choice or automatically enter the current date with the 'Today' button. Again, make sure you press the ENTER key if you manually typed in a date.  Once a valid date has been entered, Date Calculator will then calculate the number of days between the first date you entered and the second date you entered.

Future or Past Date:
If you click on this option, Date Calculator will then ask you to enter a number.  If you enter a positive number, the resulting date will be x days later than the date you entered.  Correspondingly, if you enter a negative number, the resulting date will be x days before the date you entered.  Due to the limitations imposed by the Visual Basic development environment, future/past date outputs can only range from 12/31/0099 to 12/31/9999.  You will receive beep and a Date Out of Range error message if you enter a number that violates the allowable range.  After entering a number that results in a valid date, Date Calculator will display the resulting future or past date in the Calculated Date text box.  Date Calculator also shows the Day of Week of the calculated date and will display a message if the calculated date is in a leap year.  

Julian Number:
A Julian number is the sequential number for a particular day within a given year.  After clicking this option, Date Calculator will tally the number of cumulative days within the year of the date you entered, starting with January 1.  Thus, January 1 would be Julian number 1, and February 1 would be Julian number 32.  Likewise, December 31 would be Julian number 365 in a non-leap year, whereas December 31 would be Julian number 366 in a leap year.


REVISION HISTORY:

Version 1.0:
The first version of this program was released in July 1994 as JULIAN.EXE. This program featured only the Julian Number and Age in Years functions.

Version 2.0:
In early August 1994, I totally revised the user interface.  Specifically, I added a label box to display the day of the week and Added the "Difference in Days" and "Future or Past Date" functions.  

Version 2.1:
No functionality nor user interface changes.  I simply remembered to include the MSAFINX.DLL file in the distribution ZIP file.  (This DLL is required for the operation of the Difference in Days and Future or Past Date functions.)  Please accept my humble apology for those who attempted to use version 2.0 without the DLL and found that these functions did not work.

Version 2.2:
Released in late August 1994, this version featured no functionality nor user interface changes.  I simply revised the Help Contents documentation and the DATECALC.TXT documentation file and changed the program icon and icon picture to correspond with the release version number of the program.

Version 2.3:
Released in October 1994, this version featured some noteworthy functionality and user interface changes.  These enhancements were made to facilitate features requested by users.  Specifically, the program now features a 'Today' button that allows the user to automatically enter the current date in the "Enter Date" input box.  Also, the program was modified to show the day of the week for the calculated date (also shows whether the year of the calculated date is a leap year).  I also significantly revised the Help documentation and the DTCALC23.TXT documentation text file.  I also included my Internet address in the "About / Comments" message box.  I also changed the program icon and icon picture to correspond with the current release version number of the program.

THANKS TO THOSE WHO HAVE SENT IN IDEAS!:

Special thanks go out to Gaetan Fortin of France, Klaus Droske of Germany, and Dick Brudzynski of the USA for their ideas about how to improve Date Calculator.  I am still trying to get Date Calculator to work properly with European date formats (e.g., where the day of week is put before the month, such as dd/mm/yyyy or dd.mm.yyyy).  Please send me e-mail message at either of the addresses below if you have any ideas about how I can accomplish this.

COMMENTS?:

Date Calculator is distributed as freeware.  This means it was written purely to facilitate my own learning of the Visual Basic programming environment.  If you like Date Calculator or have a constructive idea for a future enhancement, please send your comments to me via e-mail to CompuServe id # 74511,2226 or brenth@tyrell.net.  (Remember to be nice; this is my first attempt at Visual Basic Programming).  (:])