Home » Archimedes archive » Archimedes World » AW-1991-10.adf » October91 » !AWOct91/Goodies/FiveAlive/TEXT
!AWOct91/Goodies/FiveAlive/TEXT
This website contains an archive of files for the Acorn Electron, BBC Micro, Acorn Archimedes, Commodore 16 and Commodore 64 computers, which Dominic Ford has rescued from his private collection of floppy disks and cassettes.
Some of these files were originally commercial releases in the 1980s and 1990s, but they are now widely available online. I assume that copyright over them is no longer being asserted. If you own the copyright and would like files to be removed, please contact me.
| Tape/disk: | Home » Archimedes archive » Archimedes World » AW-1991-10.adf » October91 |
| Filename: | !AWOct91/Goodies/FiveAlive/TEXT |
| Read OK: | ✔ |
| File size: | 1096 bytes |
| Load address: | 0000 |
| Exec address: | 0000 |
File contents
The Archimedes and A3000 machines have recently been selling very well into secondary schools and are - for many - now clearly seen as the natural successor to the BBC micro. Hence, the release of Minerva's Timetabler program (also available for IBM PC compatibles) is a welcome development to help schools cope with one of their major administrative headaches. //For those who have never attempted to construct a timetable, the complexities involved may not be immediately obvious. Consider the following aspects of the problem: (1) You have a limited number of teaching rooms, some of which are suitable only for certain subjects, all of which are subject to a class size limit and none of which may be scheduled to hold more than one class at the same time, (2) You have a given number of teachers who are limited to teaching certain subjects and who cannot teach two classes simultaneously, (3) You have lots of children divided into different sets for different subjects, all of whom need to be taught each of their subjects in a suitable room by a suitable teacher with no two classes scheduled at the same time. //Constructing a timetable for a large secondary school in order to meet all of the above constraints is a nightmarish proposition which traditionally ties up large amounts of time of senior staff. Even when such a timetable has been constructed, what if something goes wrong? A teacher is off sick and has to have classes covered by colleagues. Who is free at the required times? The roof collapses on the chemistry lab and all classes scheduled here have to be located elsewhere. A late decision is taken to run an extra modern language course after the main timetable has been written. And so on. Then there is the access and reporting problem. Who exactly is where and when? Wouldn't it be nice to have the time table printed for each member of staff, for each pupil, for each room and so on? //If ever there was a job for a computer to help with, this is the one. Minerva's package appears very expensive by Arc standards at �xxx but one must bear in mind that (a) the program very complex to write, (b) that savings in valuable staff time may more than offset the cost and (c) that existing PC packages are typically even more expensive. <XHD>Running Timetabler <TXT>The Timetabler package consists of a well produced, ring bound manual of some 80 pages, and a single, unprotected disc which you are invited to backup before use. No instructions are given for transfer to hard disc and I when I first copied it on to mine the program crashed on loading. I discovered, however, that it would run if placed fairly high in the ADFS directory tree. The problem appears to be that the PASCAL program stores the directory path in a string variable of rather limited length. //Timetabler is a correctly written RISC OS program that multi- tasks in the desktop. Indeed, I wrote this review in a First Word Plus window with Timetabler loaded at the same time, so that I could alternate program tests and writing! This would not have been possible, however, on a one megabyte machine due to memory restrictions. The RISC OS design is somewhat unorthodox in that Timetabler does not install itself on the menu bar, but rather presents a non-standard menu in a window which must be kept open at all times while the program is loaded. Also on loading one is asked to enter the name of the "key" file by typing in its full ADFS path name. However, Timetabler keeps track of its own paths after this and saving of reports is supported by the standard RISC OS method of dragging a text icon to its target directory. //This disc includes a quite large scale demonstration file with a corresponding substantial experimental section in the manual which helps you work through it. Timetabler is effectively a customised <I>relational<R> database, and the key file points to a number of separate but linked database files for staff, students, periods, rooms, courses and so on. The omnipresent Timetabler Manger Menu has four slots, each of which will produce a standard RISC OS menu via the mouse menu button. The slots are labelled Filing, Allocation, Reports and Miscellaneous.
00000000 54 68 65 20 41 72 63 68 69 6d 65 64 65 73 20 61 |The Archimedes a| 00000010 6e 64 20 41 33 30 30 30 20 6d 61 63 68 69 6e 65 |nd A3000 machine| 00000020 73 20 68 61 76 65 20 72 65 63 65 6e 74 6c 79 20 |s have recently | 00000030 62 65 65 6e 20 73 65 6c 6c 69 6e 67 20 0a 76 65 |been selling .ve| 00000040 72 79 20 77 65 6c 6c 20 69 6e 74 6f 20 73 65 63 |ry well into sec| 00000050 6f 6e 64 61 72 79 20 73 63 68 6f 6f 6c 73 20 61 |ondary schools a| 00000060 6e 64 20 61 72 65 20 2d 20 66 6f 72 20 6d 61 6e |nd are - for man| 00000070 79 20 2d 20 6e 6f 77 20 63 6c 65 61 72 6c 79 20 |y - now clearly | 00000080 0a 73 65 65 6e 20 61 73 20 74 68 65 20 6e 61 74 |.seen as the nat| 00000090 75 72 61 6c 20 73 75 63 63 65 73 73 6f 72 20 74 |ural successor t| 000000a0 6f 20 74 68 65 20 42 42 43 20 6d 69 63 72 6f 2e |o the BBC micro.| 000000b0 20 48 65 6e 63 65 2c 20 74 68 65 20 0a 72 65 6c | Hence, the .rel| 000000c0 65 61 73 65 20 6f 66 20 4d 69 6e 65 72 76 61 27 |ease of Minerva'| 000000d0 73 20 54 69 6d 65 74 61 62 6c 65 72 20 70 72 6f |s Timetabler pro| 000000e0 67 72 61 6d 20 28 61 6c 73 6f 20 61 76 61 69 6c |gram (also avail| 000000f0 61 62 6c 65 20 66 6f 72 20 49 42 4d 20 0a 50 43 |able for IBM .PC| 00000100 20 63 6f 6d 70 61 74 69 62 6c 65 73 29 20 69 73 | compatibles) is| 00000110 20 61 20 77 65 6c 63 6f 6d 65 20 64 65 76 65 6c | a welcome devel| 00000120 6f 70 6d 65 6e 74 20 74 6f 20 68 65 6c 70 20 73 |opment to help s| 00000130 63 68 6f 6f 6c 73 20 63 6f 70 65 20 0a 77 69 74 |chools cope .wit| 00000140 68 20 6f 6e 65 20 6f 66 20 74 68 65 69 72 20 6d |h one of their m| 00000150 61 6a 6f 72 20 61 64 6d 69 6e 69 73 74 72 61 74 |ajor administrat| 00000160 69 76 65 20 68 65 61 64 61 63 68 65 73 2e 0a 2f |ive headaches../| 00000170 2f 46 6f 72 20 74 68 6f 73 65 20 77 68 6f 20 68 |/For those who h| 00000180 61 76 65 20 6e 65 76 65 72 20 61 74 74 65 6d 70 |ave never attemp| 00000190 74 65 64 20 74 6f 20 63 6f 6e 73 74 72 75 63 74 |ted to construct| 000001a0 20 61 20 74 69 6d 65 74 61 62 6c 65 2c 20 0a 74 | a timetable, .t| 000001b0 68 65 20 63 6f 6d 70 6c 65 78 69 74 69 65 73 20 |he complexities | 000001c0 69 6e 76 6f 6c 76 65 64 20 6d 61 79 20 6e 6f 74 |involved may not| 000001d0 20 62 65 20 69 6d 6d 65 64 69 61 74 65 6c 79 20 | be immediately | 000001e0 6f 62 76 69 6f 75 73 2e 20 0a 43 6f 6e 73 69 64 |obvious. .Consid| 000001f0 65 72 20 74 68 65 20 66 6f 6c 6c 6f 77 69 6e 67 |er the following| 00000200 20 61 73 70 65 63 74 73 20 6f 66 20 74 68 65 20 | aspects of the | 00000210 70 72 6f 62 6c 65 6d 3a 20 28 31 29 20 59 6f 75 |problem: (1) You| 00000220 20 68 61 76 65 20 61 20 0a 6c 69 6d 69 74 65 64 | have a .limited| 00000230 20 6e 75 6d 62 65 72 20 6f 66 20 74 65 61 63 68 | number of teach| 00000240 69 6e 67 20 72 6f 6f 6d 73 2c 20 73 6f 6d 65 20 |ing rooms, some | 00000250 6f 66 20 77 68 69 63 68 20 61 72 65 20 73 75 69 |of which are sui| 00000260 74 61 62 6c 65 20 6f 6e 6c 79 20 0a 66 6f 72 20 |table only .for | 00000270 63 65 72 74 61 69 6e 20 73 75 62 6a 65 63 74 73 |certain subjects| 00000280 2c 20 61 6c 6c 20 6f 66 20 77 68 69 63 68 20 61 |, all of which a| 00000290 72 65 20 73 75 62 6a 65 63 74 20 74 6f 20 61 20 |re subject to a | 000002a0 63 6c 61 73 73 20 73 69 7a 65 20 0a 6c 69 6d 69 |class size .limi| 000002b0 74 20 61 6e 64 20 6e 6f 6e 65 20 6f 66 20 77 68 |t and none of wh| 000002c0 69 63 68 20 6d 61 79 20 62 65 20 73 63 68 65 64 |ich may be sched| 000002d0 75 6c 65 64 20 74 6f 20 68 6f 6c 64 20 6d 6f 72 |uled to hold mor| 000002e0 65 20 74 68 61 6e 20 6f 6e 65 20 0a 63 6c 61 73 |e than one .clas| 000002f0 73 20 61 74 20 74 68 65 20 73 61 6d 65 20 74 69 |s at the same ti| 00000300 6d 65 2c 20 28 32 29 20 59 6f 75 20 68 61 76 65 |me, (2) You have| 00000310 20 61 20 67 69 76 65 6e 20 6e 75 6d 62 65 72 20 | a given number | 00000320 6f 66 20 74 65 61 63 68 65 72 73 20 0a 77 68 6f |of teachers .who| 00000330 20 61 72 65 20 6c 69 6d 69 74 65 64 20 74 6f 20 | are limited to | 00000340 74 65 61 63 68 69 6e 67 20 63 65 72 74 61 69 6e |teaching certain| 00000350 20 73 75 62 6a 65 63 74 73 20 61 6e 64 20 77 68 | subjects and wh| 00000360 6f 20 63 61 6e 6e 6f 74 20 74 65 61 63 68 20 0a |o cannot teach .| 00000370 74 77 6f 20 63 6c 61 73 73 65 73 20 73 69 6d 75 |two classes simu| 00000380 6c 74 61 6e 65 6f 75 73 6c 79 2c 20 28 33 29 20 |ltaneously, (3) | 00000390 59 6f 75 20 68 61 76 65 20 6c 6f 74 73 20 6f 66 |You have lots of| 000003a0 20 63 68 69 6c 64 72 65 6e 20 64 69 76 69 64 65 | children divide| 000003b0 64 20 0a 69 6e 74 6f 20 64 69 66 66 65 72 65 6e |d .into differen| 000003c0 74 20 73 65 74 73 20 66 6f 72 20 64 69 66 66 65 |t sets for diffe| 000003d0 72 65 6e 74 20 73 75 62 6a 65 63 74 73 2c 20 61 |rent subjects, a| 000003e0 6c 6c 20 6f 66 20 77 68 6f 6d 20 6e 65 65 64 20 |ll of whom need | 000003f0 74 6f 20 0a 62 65 20 74 61 75 67 68 74 20 65 61 |to .be taught ea| 00000400 63 68 20 6f 66 20 74 68 65 69 72 20 73 75 62 6a |ch of their subj| 00000410 65 63 74 73 20 69 6e 20 61 20 73 75 69 74 61 62 |ects in a suitab| 00000420 6c 65 20 72 6f 6f 6d 20 62 79 20 61 20 73 75 69 |le room by a sui| 00000430 74 61 62 6c 65 20 0a 74 65 61 63 68 65 72 20 77 |table .teacher w| 00000440 69 74 68 20 6e 6f 20 74 77 6f 20 63 6c 61 73 73 |ith no two class| 00000450 65 73 20 73 63 68 65 64 75 6c 65 64 20 61 74 20 |es scheduled at | 00000460 74 68 65 20 73 61 6d 65 20 74 69 6d 65 2e 0a 2f |the same time../| 00000470 2f 43 6f 6e 73 74 72 75 63 74 69 6e 67 20 61 20 |/Constructing a | 00000480 74 69 6d 65 74 61 62 6c 65 20 66 6f 72 20 61 20 |timetable for a | 00000490 6c 61 72 67 65 20 73 65 63 6f 6e 64 61 72 79 20 |large secondary | 000004a0 73 63 68 6f 6f 6c 20 69 6e 20 6f 72 64 65 72 20 |school in order | 000004b0 0a 74 6f 20 6d 65 65 74 20 61 6c 6c 20 6f 66 20 |.to meet all of | 000004c0 74 68 65 20 61 62 6f 76 65 20 63 6f 6e 73 74 72 |the above constr| 000004d0 61 69 6e 74 73 20 69 73 20 61 20 6e 69 67 68 74 |aints is a night| 000004e0 6d 61 72 69 73 68 20 70 72 6f 70 6f 73 69 74 69 |marish propositi| 000004f0 6f 6e 20 0a 77 68 69 63 68 20 74 72 61 64 69 74 |on .which tradit| 00000500 69 6f 6e 61 6c 6c 79 20 74 69 65 73 20 75 70 20 |ionally ties up | 00000510 6c 61 72 67 65 20 61 6d 6f 75 6e 74 73 20 6f 66 |large amounts of| 00000520 20 74 69 6d 65 20 6f 66 20 73 65 6e 69 6f 72 20 | time of senior | 00000530 0a 73 74 61 66 66 2e 20 45 76 65 6e 20 77 68 65 |.staff. Even whe| 00000540 6e 20 73 75 63 68 20 61 20 74 69 6d 65 74 61 62 |n such a timetab| 00000550 6c 65 20 68 61 73 20 62 65 65 6e 20 63 6f 6e 73 |le has been cons| 00000560 74 72 75 63 74 65 64 2c 20 77 68 61 74 20 69 66 |tructed, what if| 00000570 20 0a 73 6f 6d 65 74 68 69 6e 67 20 67 6f 65 73 | .something goes| 00000580 20 77 72 6f 6e 67 3f 20 41 20 74 65 61 63 68 65 | wrong? A teache| 00000590 72 20 69 73 20 6f 66 66 20 73 69 63 6b 20 61 6e |r is off sick an| 000005a0 64 20 68 61 73 20 74 6f 20 68 61 76 65 20 0a 63 |d has to have .c| 000005b0 6c 61 73 73 65 73 20 63 6f 76 65 72 65 64 20 62 |lasses covered b| 000005c0 79 20 63 6f 6c 6c 65 61 67 75 65 73 2e 20 57 68 |y colleagues. Wh| 000005d0 6f 20 69 73 20 66 72 65 65 20 61 74 20 74 68 65 |o is free at the| 000005e0 20 72 65 71 75 69 72 65 64 20 74 69 6d 65 73 3f | required times?| 000005f0 20 0a 54 68 65 20 72 6f 6f 66 20 63 6f 6c 6c 61 | .The roof colla| 00000600 70 73 65 73 20 6f 6e 20 74 68 65 20 63 68 65 6d |pses on the chem| 00000610 69 73 74 72 79 20 6c 61 62 20 61 6e 64 20 61 6c |istry lab and al| 00000620 6c 20 63 6c 61 73 73 65 73 20 73 63 68 65 64 75 |l classes schedu| 00000630 6c 65 64 20 0a 68 65 72 65 20 68 61 76 65 20 74 |led .here have t| 00000640 6f 20 62 65 20 6c 6f 63 61 74 65 64 20 65 6c 73 |o be located els| 00000650 65 77 68 65 72 65 2e 20 41 20 6c 61 74 65 20 64 |ewhere. A late d| 00000660 65 63 69 73 69 6f 6e 20 69 73 20 74 61 6b 65 6e |ecision is taken| 00000670 20 74 6f 20 0a 72 75 6e 20 61 6e 20 65 78 74 72 | to .run an extr| 00000680 61 20 6d 6f 64 65 72 6e 20 6c 61 6e 67 75 61 67 |a modern languag| 00000690 65 20 63 6f 75 72 73 65 20 61 66 74 65 72 20 74 |e course after t| 000006a0 68 65 20 6d 61 69 6e 20 74 69 6d 65 74 61 62 6c |he main timetabl| 000006b0 65 20 68 61 73 20 0a 62 65 65 6e 20 77 72 69 74 |e has .been writ| 000006c0 74 65 6e 2e 20 41 6e 64 20 73 6f 20 6f 6e 2e 20 |ten. And so on. | 000006d0 54 68 65 6e 20 74 68 65 72 65 20 69 73 20 74 68 |Then there is th| 000006e0 65 20 61 63 63 65 73 73 20 61 6e 64 20 72 65 70 |e access and rep| 000006f0 6f 72 74 69 6e 67 20 0a 70 72 6f 62 6c 65 6d 2e |orting .problem.| 00000700 20 57 68 6f 20 65 78 61 63 74 6c 79 20 69 73 20 | Who exactly is | 00000710 77 68 65 72 65 20 61 6e 64 20 77 68 65 6e 3f 20 |where and when? | 00000720 57 6f 75 6c 64 6e 27 74 20 69 74 20 62 65 20 6e |Wouldn't it be n| 00000730 69 63 65 20 74 6f 20 0a 68 61 76 65 20 74 68 65 |ice to .have the| 00000740 20 74 69 6d 65 20 74 61 62 6c 65 20 70 72 69 6e | time table prin| 00000750 74 65 64 20 66 6f 72 20 65 61 63 68 20 6d 65 6d |ted for each mem| 00000760 62 65 72 20 6f 66 20 73 74 61 66 66 2c 20 66 6f |ber of staff, fo| 00000770 72 20 65 61 63 68 20 0a 70 75 70 69 6c 2c 20 66 |r each .pupil, f| 00000780 6f 72 20 65 61 63 68 20 72 6f 6f 6d 20 61 6e 64 |or each room and| 00000790 20 73 6f 20 6f 6e 3f 0a 2f 2f 49 66 20 65 76 65 | so on?.//If eve| 000007a0 72 20 74 68 65 72 65 20 77 61 73 20 61 20 6a 6f |r there was a jo| 000007b0 62 20 66 6f 72 20 61 20 63 6f 6d 70 75 74 65 72 |b for a computer| 000007c0 20 74 6f 20 68 65 6c 70 20 77 69 74 68 2c 20 74 | to help with, t| 000007d0 68 69 73 20 69 73 20 0a 74 68 65 20 6f 6e 65 2e |his is .the one.| 000007e0 20 4d 69 6e 65 72 76 61 27 73 20 70 61 63 6b 61 | Minerva's packa| 000007f0 67 65 20 61 70 70 65 61 72 73 20 76 65 72 79 20 |ge appears very | 00000800 65 78 70 65 6e 73 69 76 65 20 62 79 20 41 72 63 |expensive by Arc| 00000810 20 0a 73 74 61 6e 64 61 72 64 73 20 61 74 20 a3 | .standards at .| 00000820 78 78 78 20 62 75 74 20 6f 6e 65 20 6d 75 73 74 |xxx but one must| 00000830 20 62 65 61 72 20 69 6e 20 6d 69 6e 64 20 74 68 | bear in mind th| 00000840 61 74 20 28 61 29 20 74 68 65 20 70 72 6f 67 72 |at (a) the progr| 00000850 61 6d 20 0a 76 65 72 79 20 63 6f 6d 70 6c 65 78 |am .very complex| 00000860 20 74 6f 20 77 72 69 74 65 2c 20 28 62 29 20 74 | to write, (b) t| 00000870 68 61 74 20 73 61 76 69 6e 67 73 20 69 6e 20 76 |hat savings in v| 00000880 61 6c 75 61 62 6c 65 20 73 74 61 66 66 20 74 69 |aluable staff ti| 00000890 6d 65 20 0a 6d 61 79 20 6d 6f 72 65 20 74 68 61 |me .may more tha| 000008a0 6e 20 6f 66 66 73 65 74 20 74 68 65 20 63 6f 73 |n offset the cos| 000008b0 74 20 61 6e 64 20 28 63 29 20 74 68 61 74 20 65 |t and (c) that e| 000008c0 78 69 73 74 69 6e 67 20 50 43 20 70 61 63 6b 61 |xisting PC packa| 000008d0 67 65 73 20 0a 61 72 65 20 74 79 70 69 63 61 6c |ges .are typical| 000008e0 6c 79 20 65 76 65 6e 20 6d 6f 72 65 20 65 78 70 |ly even more exp| 000008f0 65 6e 73 69 76 65 2e 0a 3c 58 48 44 3e 52 75 6e |ensive..<XHD>Run| 00000900 6e 69 6e 67 20 54 69 6d 65 74 61 62 6c 65 72 0a |ning Timetabler.| 00000910 3c 54 58 54 3e 54 68 65 20 54 69 6d 65 74 61 62 |<TXT>The Timetab| 00000920 6c 65 72 20 70 61 63 6b 61 67 65 20 63 6f 6e 73 |ler package cons| 00000930 69 73 74 73 20 6f 66 20 61 20 77 65 6c 6c 20 70 |ists of a well p| 00000940 72 6f 64 75 63 65 64 2c 20 72 69 6e 67 20 0a 62 |roduced, ring .b| 00000950 6f 75 6e 64 20 6d 61 6e 75 61 6c 20 6f 66 20 73 |ound manual of s| 00000960 6f 6d 65 20 38 30 20 70 61 67 65 73 2c 20 61 6e |ome 80 pages, an| 00000970 64 20 61 20 73 69 6e 67 6c 65 2c 20 75 6e 70 72 |d a single, unpr| 00000980 6f 74 65 63 74 65 64 20 64 69 73 63 20 0a 77 68 |otected disc .wh| 00000990 69 63 68 20 79 6f 75 20 61 72 65 20 69 6e 76 69 |ich you are invi| 000009a0 74 65 64 20 74 6f 20 62 61 63 6b 75 70 20 62 65 |ted to backup be| 000009b0 66 6f 72 65 20 75 73 65 2e 20 4e 6f 20 69 6e 73 |fore use. No ins| 000009c0 74 72 75 63 74 69 6f 6e 73 20 61 72 65 20 0a 67 |tructions are .g| 000009d0 69 76 65 6e 20 66 6f 72 20 74 72 61 6e 73 66 65 |iven for transfe| 000009e0 72 20 74 6f 20 68 61 72 64 20 64 69 73 63 20 61 |r to hard disc a| 000009f0 6e 64 20 49 20 77 68 65 6e 20 49 20 66 69 72 73 |nd I when I firs| 00000a00 74 20 63 6f 70 69 65 64 20 69 74 20 6f 6e 20 0a |t copied it on .| 00000a10 74 6f 20 6d 69 6e 65 20 74 68 65 20 70 72 6f 67 |to mine the prog| 00000a20 72 61 6d 20 63 72 61 73 68 65 64 20 6f 6e 20 6c |ram crashed on l| 00000a30 6f 61 64 69 6e 67 2e 20 49 20 64 69 73 63 6f 76 |oading. I discov| 00000a40 65 72 65 64 2c 20 68 6f 77 65 76 65 72 2c 20 0a |ered, however, .| 00000a50 74 68 61 74 20 69 74 20 77 6f 75 6c 64 20 72 75 |that it would ru| 00000a60 6e 20 69 66 20 70 6c 61 63 65 64 20 66 61 69 72 |n if placed fair| 00000a70 6c 79 20 68 69 67 68 20 69 6e 20 74 68 65 20 41 |ly high in the A| 00000a80 44 46 53 20 64 69 72 65 63 74 6f 72 79 20 0a 74 |DFS directory .t| 00000a90 72 65 65 2e 20 54 68 65 20 70 72 6f 62 6c 65 6d |ree. The problem| 00000aa0 20 61 70 70 65 61 72 73 20 74 6f 20 62 65 20 74 | appears to be t| 00000ab0 68 61 74 20 74 68 65 20 50 41 53 43 41 4c 20 70 |hat the PASCAL p| 00000ac0 72 6f 67 72 61 6d 20 73 74 6f 72 65 73 20 0a 74 |rogram stores .t| 00000ad0 68 65 20 64 69 72 65 63 74 6f 72 79 20 70 61 74 |he directory pat| 00000ae0 68 20 69 6e 20 61 20 73 74 72 69 6e 67 20 76 61 |h in a string va| 00000af0 72 69 61 62 6c 65 20 6f 66 20 72 61 74 68 65 72 |riable of rather| 00000b00 20 6c 69 6d 69 74 65 64 20 6c 65 6e 67 74 68 2e | limited length.| 00000b10 0a 2f 2f 54 69 6d 65 74 61 62 6c 65 72 20 69 73 |.//Timetabler is| 00000b20 20 61 20 63 6f 72 72 65 63 74 6c 79 20 77 72 69 | a correctly wri| 00000b30 74 74 65 6e 20 52 49 53 43 20 4f 53 20 70 72 6f |tten RISC OS pro| 00000b40 67 72 61 6d 20 74 68 61 74 20 6d 75 6c 74 69 2d |gram that multi-| 00000b50 0a 74 61 73 6b 73 20 69 6e 20 74 68 65 20 64 65 |.tasks in the de| 00000b60 73 6b 74 6f 70 2e 20 49 6e 64 65 65 64 2c 20 49 |sktop. Indeed, I| 00000b70 20 77 72 6f 74 65 20 74 68 69 73 20 72 65 76 69 | wrote this revi| 00000b80 65 77 20 69 6e 20 61 20 46 69 72 73 74 20 57 6f |ew in a First Wo| 00000b90 72 64 20 0a 50 6c 75 73 20 77 69 6e 64 6f 77 20 |rd .Plus window | 00000ba0 77 69 74 68 20 54 69 6d 65 74 61 62 6c 65 72 20 |with Timetabler | 00000bb0 6c 6f 61 64 65 64 20 61 74 20 74 68 65 20 73 61 |loaded at the sa| 00000bc0 6d 65 20 74 69 6d 65 2c 20 73 6f 20 74 68 61 74 |me time, so that| 00000bd0 20 49 20 0a 63 6f 75 6c 64 20 61 6c 74 65 72 6e | I .could altern| 00000be0 61 74 65 20 70 72 6f 67 72 61 6d 20 74 65 73 74 |ate program test| 00000bf0 73 20 61 6e 64 20 77 72 69 74 69 6e 67 21 20 54 |s and writing! T| 00000c00 68 69 73 20 77 6f 75 6c 64 20 6e 6f 74 20 68 61 |his would not ha| 00000c10 76 65 20 0a 62 65 65 6e 20 70 6f 73 73 69 62 6c |ve .been possibl| 00000c20 65 2c 20 68 6f 77 65 76 65 72 2c 20 6f 6e 20 61 |e, however, on a| 00000c30 20 6f 6e 65 20 6d 65 67 61 62 79 74 65 20 6d 61 | one megabyte ma| 00000c40 63 68 69 6e 65 20 64 75 65 20 74 6f 20 6d 65 6d |chine due to mem| 00000c50 6f 72 79 20 0a 72 65 73 74 72 69 63 74 69 6f 6e |ory .restriction| 00000c60 73 2e 20 54 68 65 20 52 49 53 43 20 4f 53 20 64 |s. The RISC OS d| 00000c70 65 73 69 67 6e 20 69 73 20 73 6f 6d 65 77 68 61 |esign is somewha| 00000c80 74 20 75 6e 6f 72 74 68 6f 64 6f 78 20 69 6e 20 |t unorthodox in | 00000c90 74 68 61 74 20 0a 54 69 6d 65 74 61 62 6c 65 72 |that .Timetabler| 00000ca0 20 64 6f 65 73 20 6e 6f 74 20 69 6e 73 74 61 6c | does not instal| 00000cb0 6c 20 69 74 73 65 6c 66 20 6f 6e 20 74 68 65 20 |l itself on the | 00000cc0 6d 65 6e 75 20 62 61 72 2c 20 62 75 74 20 72 61 |menu bar, but ra| 00000cd0 74 68 65 72 20 0a 70 72 65 73 65 6e 74 73 20 61 |ther .presents a| 00000ce0 20 6e 6f 6e 2d 73 74 61 6e 64 61 72 64 20 6d 65 | non-standard me| 00000cf0 6e 75 20 69 6e 20 61 20 77 69 6e 64 6f 77 20 77 |nu in a window w| 00000d00 68 69 63 68 20 6d 75 73 74 20 62 65 20 6b 65 70 |hich must be kep| 00000d10 74 20 6f 70 65 6e 20 0a 61 74 20 61 6c 6c 20 74 |t open .at all t| 00000d20 69 6d 65 73 20 77 68 69 6c 65 20 74 68 65 20 70 |imes while the p| 00000d30 72 6f 67 72 61 6d 20 69 73 20 6c 6f 61 64 65 64 |rogram is loaded| 00000d40 2e 20 41 6c 73 6f 20 6f 6e 20 6c 6f 61 64 69 6e |. Also on loadin| 00000d50 67 20 6f 6e 65 20 69 73 20 0a 61 73 6b 65 64 20 |g one is .asked | 00000d60 74 6f 20 65 6e 74 65 72 20 74 68 65 20 6e 61 6d |to enter the nam| 00000d70 65 20 6f 66 20 74 68 65 20 22 6b 65 79 22 20 66 |e of the "key" f| 00000d80 69 6c 65 20 62 79 20 74 79 70 69 6e 67 20 69 6e |ile by typing in| 00000d90 20 69 74 73 20 66 75 6c 6c 20 0a 41 44 46 53 20 | its full .ADFS | 00000da0 70 61 74 68 20 6e 61 6d 65 2e 20 48 6f 77 65 76 |path name. Howev| 00000db0 65 72 2c 20 54 69 6d 65 74 61 62 6c 65 72 20 6b |er, Timetabler k| 00000dc0 65 65 70 73 20 74 72 61 63 6b 20 6f 66 20 69 74 |eeps track of it| 00000dd0 73 20 6f 77 6e 20 70 61 74 68 73 20 0a 61 66 74 |s own paths .aft| 00000de0 65 72 20 74 68 69 73 20 61 6e 64 20 73 61 76 69 |er this and savi| 00000df0 6e 67 20 6f 66 20 72 65 70 6f 72 74 73 20 69 73 |ng of reports is| 00000e00 20 73 75 70 70 6f 72 74 65 64 20 62 79 20 74 68 | supported by th| 00000e10 65 20 73 74 61 6e 64 61 72 64 20 0a 52 49 53 43 |e standard .RISC| 00000e20 20 4f 53 20 6d 65 74 68 6f 64 20 6f 66 20 64 72 | OS method of dr| 00000e30 61 67 67 69 6e 67 20 61 20 74 65 78 74 20 69 63 |agging a text ic| 00000e40 6f 6e 20 74 6f 20 69 74 73 20 74 61 72 67 65 74 |on to its target| 00000e50 20 64 69 72 65 63 74 6f 72 79 2e 0a 2f 2f 54 68 | directory..//Th| 00000e60 69 73 20 64 69 73 63 20 69 6e 63 6c 75 64 65 73 |is disc includes| 00000e70 20 61 20 71 75 69 74 65 20 6c 61 72 67 65 20 73 | a quite large s| 00000e80 63 61 6c 65 20 64 65 6d 6f 6e 73 74 72 61 74 69 |cale demonstrati| 00000e90 6f 6e 20 66 69 6c 65 20 77 69 74 68 20 0a 61 20 |on file with .a | 00000ea0 63 6f 72 72 65 73 70 6f 6e 64 69 6e 67 20 73 75 |corresponding su| 00000eb0 62 73 74 61 6e 74 69 61 6c 20 65 78 70 65 72 69 |bstantial experi| 00000ec0 6d 65 6e 74 61 6c 20 73 65 63 74 69 6f 6e 20 69 |mental section i| 00000ed0 6e 20 74 68 65 20 6d 61 6e 75 61 6c 20 0a 77 68 |n the manual .wh| 00000ee0 69 63 68 20 68 65 6c 70 73 20 79 6f 75 20 77 6f |ich helps you wo| 00000ef0 72 6b 20 74 68 72 6f 75 67 68 20 69 74 2e 20 54 |rk through it. T| 00000f00 69 6d 65 74 61 62 6c 65 72 20 69 73 20 65 66 66 |imetabler is eff| 00000f10 65 63 74 69 76 65 6c 79 20 61 20 0a 63 75 73 74 |ectively a .cust| 00000f20 6f 6d 69 73 65 64 20 3c 49 3e 72 65 6c 61 74 69 |omised <I>relati| 00000f30 6f 6e 61 6c 3c 52 3e 20 64 61 74 61 62 61 73 65 |onal<R> database| 00000f40 2c 20 61 6e 64 20 74 68 65 20 6b 65 79 20 66 69 |, and the key fi| 00000f50 6c 65 20 70 6f 69 6e 74 73 20 74 6f 20 0a 61 20 |le points to .a | 00000f60 6e 75 6d 62 65 72 20 6f 66 20 73 65 70 61 72 61 |number of separa| 00000f70 74 65 20 62 75 74 20 6c 69 6e 6b 65 64 20 64 61 |te but linked da| 00000f80 74 61 62 61 73 65 20 66 69 6c 65 73 20 66 6f 72 |tabase files for| 00000f90 20 73 74 61 66 66 2c 20 0a 73 74 75 64 65 6e 74 | staff, .student| 00000fa0 73 2c 20 70 65 72 69 6f 64 73 2c 20 72 6f 6f 6d |s, periods, room| 00000fb0 73 2c 20 63 6f 75 72 73 65 73 20 61 6e 64 20 73 |s, courses and s| 00000fc0 6f 20 6f 6e 2e 20 54 68 65 20 6f 6d 6e 69 70 72 |o on. The omnipr| 00000fd0 65 73 65 6e 74 20 0a 54 69 6d 65 74 61 62 6c 65 |esent .Timetable| 00000fe0 72 20 4d 61 6e 67 65 72 20 4d 65 6e 75 20 68 61 |r Manger Menu ha| 00000ff0 73 20 66 6f 75 72 20 73 6c 6f 74 73 2c 20 65 61 |s four slots, ea| 00001000 63 68 20 6f 66 20 77 68 69 63 68 20 77 69 6c 6c |ch of which will| 00001010 20 70 72 6f 64 75 63 65 20 0a 61 20 73 74 61 6e | produce .a stan| 00001020 64 61 72 64 20 52 49 53 43 20 4f 53 20 6d 65 6e |dard RISC OS men| 00001030 75 20 76 69 61 20 74 68 65 20 6d 6f 75 73 65 20 |u via the mouse | 00001040 6d 65 6e 75 20 62 75 74 74 6f 6e 2e 20 54 68 65 |menu button. The| 00001050 20 73 6c 6f 74 73 20 61 72 65 20 0a 6c 61 62 65 | slots are .labe| 00001060 6c 6c 65 64 20 46 69 6c 69 6e 67 2c 20 41 6c 6c |lled Filing, All| 00001070 6f 63 61 74 69 6f 6e 2c 20 52 65 70 6f 72 74 73 |ocation, Reports| 00001080 20 61 6e 64 20 4d 69 73 63 65 6c 6c 61 6e 65 6f | and Miscellaneo| 00001090 75 73 2e 0a 0a 0a |us....| 00001096
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