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MEW index interfaces application

This topic has 31 replies, 9 voices, and was last updated 13 January 2013 at 01:33 by dcosta.

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13 December 2011 at 22:30 #79807
dcosta
Participant
@dcosta
Hello all!

Mainly for my own convenience I built interfaces to access the index data of MEW produced by Mr. Colin Usher.
I re-structured the data to ensure its quality and avoid repetition, and finally created appropriate interfaces.
Included in each of the resulting tables I added a text field in order to allow each user to enter their comments to each ARTICLE, each AUTHOR and each SUBJECT.

The work produced a menu and four forms, three of which are intended for maintenance (insert, update and delete) allowing some level of querying. The fourth form is specifically oriented to query the articles allowing multiple criteria combined and inexact criteria.

I want this application tobe available to the community (if there is someone interested …) but I would like first to obtain feedback from one or two users who feel empowered and willingness to act as guinea pig. Objective being to ameliorate the application before it is spread (if it will be..).

The application is and will be completely free to use and was produced using free and open software: Free Pascal compiler and Lazarus accessing a very small but powerfull relational database management system called SQLite.

The application maintenance should, ideally, be centralized and the data file with new records be available to interested parties. Alternatively, each user must extract the data from the magazine and insert them.
I e-mailed Mr Colin Usher asking his permission to use the data it provides so gently making it public and to ask him about his availability or interest in using this application to manage the information centrally, but so far no answer.

Installation of the application is very simple involving just copying files to the directory (s) to be designated.

Note: You may find in one of my albums some picture of the interfaces,

Here: http://www.model-engineer.co.uk/albums/member_photo.asp?a=18699&p=308084

Best regards

Dias Costa
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13 December 2011 at 22:30 #38091
dcosta
Participant
@dcosta
13 December 2011 at 22:58 #79809
Gray62
Participant
@gray62
Hi Dias,

I would be quite willing to test drive this application, I had been considering the same as the original app produced by Alan Munday does not function correctly under windows 7.

Are you going to make the source code available as well as the app?

regards

Graeme
13 December 2011 at 23:12 #79811
dcosta
Participant
@dcosta
Hello Graeme!

Yes I will make the code available.
However, I think it is reasonable to make the code available only after the maintenance method is decided. Not acting so, implies the risk of, too soon, have concurrence in maintaining the data which invariably leads to bad data.
In the other hand, if the idea of centrally maintaining the data doesn’t go ahead

(we will see soon…), meaning each people maitains its data, there is no any interest in keeping the code closed.

And, as I told before, I’m stiil expecting Mr. Colin Usher answer.

Best regards

Dias Costa
14 December 2011 at 07:39 #79813
Redpiperbob
Participant
@redpiperbob16487
Hi Dias

I too would be a willing Guinea pig for this programme I have XP, windows 7 64bit and 32 bit machines.

Bob
14 December 2011 at 16:13 #79832
dcosta
Participant
@dcosta
Thank You Bob for volunteering.

The application is compiled in a 32 bits environment (Windows XP). Hopefully it also runs in 64 bits without problems. Is good to have 64 bits machines available for the testing.

Please waite a few more days.

————————————————————————

To Bob and Graeme:

In due time I will need Your personal address to send the “things” to You.

Best regards

Dias Costa

Edited By dcosta on 14/12/2011 16:14:03
14 December 2011 at 21:34 #79849
John Coates
Participant
@johncoates48577
What about us non-Windows users? Macs and Linux? I’ve not seen Colin’s index but will give it a look. I don’t do Pascal but have done some C and Bash scripting so could follow the program logic if provided with the flowcharts
15 December 2011 at 00:00 #79862
dcosta
Participant
@dcosta
Hello John!

Thank You for volunteering.

I always like very much to know there are people out there using alternative operating systems.

Mainly Linux, which I start using professionally in mid nineties.

I think I have the possibility to compile the application in Linux. But if so, that will only happen later.

Technically is possible to compile the application for Macs. However I don’t have the means. Later, somebody having the means may do that.

Here: http://www.freepascal.org/download.var and

here: http://www.sqlite.org/download.html You can find the necessary software for Mac.

As You may have seen in my album the application is almost ready so, the kind of help I need is not, at the moment, in programming. It is more on the side of a enlightened user pointing errors and making suggestions or whatever he thinks is pertinent.

Also some utility like this one needs to mature a little before the code is spread freely, the risk being of various versions coexisting and then nobody caring of maintenance because there are various versions.

After one version of the application will be tuned and settled (I hope it will happen in a few weeks) I’ll make the application available to all interested asking only from people eventually modifying or adding to the code to share the modifications with me, so the modifications, if interesting, may be shared with other users.

At the moment I’ve yet to decide on a non entirely manual method of loading new data for each issue of MEW.

I also need to wait a little more for the answer of Mr. Colin Usher to my e-mail.

Best regards

Dias Costa
15 December 2011 at 07:11 #79867
Redpiperbob
Participant
@redpiperbob16487
Hi Dias

If you send me a PM with your email address I will forward my address details.

Thanks Bob
25 June 2012 at 01:20 #93044
dcosta
Participant
@dcosta
Hello all.

As of today i put new versions of the MEW and ME indexes in my poor site and anyone interested may download them.

The file for the MEW index is named MEW_Index_20120624190817.zip and it is up to the Volume 190 issue 01 (4758 articles).

The file for the ME index is named ME_Index_20120624190817.zip ant it is up to the Volume 201 issue 4419 (1787040 articles)

I couldn't yet work on the module to query all through both consolidated indexes. I hope to have it ready at the end of the summer.

Important Note:
Mr. Colin Usher, the creator and responsible for the Excel index for the MEW wrote in the last file that, and i quote "This index is now discontinued”.
This means that somebody should continue this light but important task of maintaining the MEW index. Me, not being an english speaking person, am not the best candidate to continue the light, but important, task of maintaining the index.

In the other hand i may try to help anyone interested in the task. Namely bettering the already available interfaces created to that purpose and, if there is enough interest to create an module to export data to, say, Excel.

Anyone interested, please, send me a message with an adequate e-mail address.

Best regards
Dias Costa

Edited By David Clark 1 on 25/06/2012 09:25:01
25 June 2012 at 02:03 #93045
Gone Away
Participant
@goneaway
For what it's worth, Dias, I couldn't open the MEW zip file with WinZip. However, it opened OK with WinRAR.

(Make what you can of that).
25 June 2012 at 09:32 #93052
Gray62
Participant
@gray62
Had the same problem as Sid, none of the archives will open with winzip however, they will extract using 7zip.

Graeme
25 June 2012 at 10:19 #93057
Steambuff
Participant
@steambuff
Thanks David.

I get an error when I try and run the ME_indexes,exe program (MEW one is OK)

Can any one else run it OK?

The error is " Sqlite3Ds-cross_issue_date: SQLITE_MISUSE – unable to open database file"

Dave
25 June 2012 at 13:55 #93071
dcosta
Participant
@dcosta
Hello Sid,
Hello Graeme,
Hello Dave (Steambuff),
Hello David,

Thank You all for Your kind help.
I hope the problems found in the applications ME and EiM are now gone. Simple problems resulting from a "one man band" work.

The file Indexes_Please_ReadMe.txt has some usefull information.
The file for the MEW index is named MEW_Indexes_25-06-2012.zip and it is up to the Volume 190 issue 01 (4758 articles).

The file for the ME index is named ME_Indexes_25-06-2012.zip ant it is up to the Volume 201 issue 4419 (1787040 articles)

The file for the EiM index is named EiM_Indexes_25-06-2012.zip and it is up to to the Volume 34 issue 01 (6170 articles).

Please consider that the ME_Indexes application may make You wait more than half a minute to open because it has to read all the 178000 articles to, then, be able to answer quickly after loading the data.

To David Clark.
A special thank for publishing the applications in Your site.
Is there a rule stoping the people in the forum to make references to other magazines? If so I've not noticed it and so can't but appreciate You had edited and modified my message in order to exclude that mention and let it be published.
If the rule is new, please, make the statmente, or let me know where i can find the rules, so the things become clear and i don't feel as a target of special treatment.

Best regards
Dias Costa
25 June 2012 at 15:05 #93075
dcosta
Participant
@dcosta
Hello Sid,
Hello Graeme,
Hello Dave (Steambuff),
Hello David,
Hello All,

Forgot to say the previous versions of the files were compressed using 7Zip which is more command line oriented and more flexible. I'm sorry for the inconvenience.
In future i'll use Alzip which, apparently, generate a more common format of zip file.

Also forgot to say in my previous post that the applications are opened for all people interested.

Best regards
Dias Costa

Edited By dcosta on 25/06/2012 15:14:30
25 June 2012 at 15:08 #93076
David Clark 13
Participant
@davidclark13
Hi Dias

I will leave it at the moment but if we get complaints from the 'other' magazine, I will have to remove it.

regards David
25 June 2012 at 15:16 #93078
dcosta
Participant
@dcosta
Hello David,

I realy appreciate Your answer explaining to me the reason for editing and changing my previous message.
I understand Your reasons and will understand if You have to take some future action in the same sense, for the same reason, if any complaint will be made.

Now the “things” are clear to me.

Best regards
Dias Costa
25 June 2012 at 17:42 #93083
dcosta
Participant
@dcosta
Hello David,

If You want Your site to be up to date, after i replaced the fault files in my site, the link to the files in Your site needs to be updated with the new version of the said files.

The same applies to the links in my first message today. They became obsolete after i changed the name of the files to be compatible with Alzip and MSDOS idiosyncrasies.

Thanks in advance
Dias Costa
25 June 2012 at 18:54 #93089
David Clark 13
Participant
@davidclark13
Hi Dias

Not bothered about the links.

I only put the files up using Winzip so people could open them.

Now deleted.

regards David
28 June 2012 at 20:06 #93256
dcosta
Participant
@dcosta
Hello All,

There are new, downloadable, releases of the ME, MEW and EiM Indexes in this Link

The new release of the ME_Indexes now takes only less than five seconds to return data (previously it did take more than 30 seconds). Obviously those values are dependent on each machine's capabilities.
The other applications suffered only minor corrections.

If no candidate(s) appear to maintain the MEW_index data (only for new issues), i will do support it for awhile and i will be glad to receive correction to my poor English from the most interested people on the forum.

I certainly would apppreciate to be notified if some problem arises in the use of the Index applications.

Best regards
Dias Costa

Edited By dcosta on 28/06/2012 20:09:35
28 June 2012 at 23:25 #93272
Versaboss
Participant
@versaboss
Hi Dias,

firstly: thanks for all the work you put into this.

Now where the ME index runs ok on my system, both the MEW and the E..(psst!!) index start with a Windows error: No Data Media (my translation; I see the German text). There is an exception code given, which I cannot paste here and don't want to re-write it unless really necessary.

When clicking 'continue' or 'abort' (several times) the program then starts correctly it seems.

Have others also this problem? Can you do something about that?

Many thanks, Hansrudolf
28 June 2012 at 23:44 #93274
Steambuff
Participant
@steambuff
I am running Windows 7 Pro (64 bit) and all 3 start OK for me and do the searches OK, returning data.

The only problem I have seen is in the EIM one, if you enter Lilla into the Keyword, you get a error message. (Other Keywords seem to work OK … a corrupt record perhaps)

Dave
29 June 2012 at 10:20 #93297
dcosta
Participant
@dcosta
Hello Hansrudolf,
Hello Dave.

To Hansrudolf:
I tested both applications ME_Indexes and MEW_Indexes in two machines at home and have no notice of the same or similar problems by other users.
I re-tested them a few minutes ago.
If the data file (MEW_idx.db374, E.._idx.db374) is not present in the same directory/folder than a message saying “SQLite….SQLITE_ERROR – No such table…” is displayed.
Please, see note bellow.

To Dave:
Thank You for Your help.
The E… Indexes is now OK, i hope…
You (and all people interested) can download the new release from the known link.
If You can, please, let me know if it's Ok now.

Note: You can find my e-mail address in the about option and use it to let me know more intrincated questions.

Best regards
Dias Costa

Edited By dcosta on 29/06/2012 10:39:21
29 June 2012 at 11:51 #93303
Steambuff
Participant
@steambuff
Hiya,

Downloaded the E** Index … All works fine now Thanks

Dave
7 July 2012 at 22:36 #93899
Sub Mandrel
Participant
@submandrel
Hi Dias!

I'd like to publicly thank you for your hard work. You sent me the links a while ago, but it's only today I tried out the index search.

I found it easy to use and it came up with the sort of results that I expected – it was almost as fascinating as reading a copy of ME, going through LBSC and ETW's article history.

I found it best to put all four sets of files in one folder (don't copy over duplicated readme and .dll files), then I sent the master program (with the wolf paw icon) to the desktop as a shortcut. Simples!

The downside- in order to look up what I found I had to sort over 20 years' worth of MEs back into order.

Neil
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