FREEBMD-DISCUSS-L Archives

Archiver > FREEBMD-DISCUSS > 2001-11 > 1005207054


From: Dave Mayall <>
Subject: Re: +PAGE Instruction - Temporary Web page
Date: Thu, 08 Nov 2001 08:10:54 +0000
References: <000401c167e0$d52cc1e0$4b4b01d5@BTClick> <LAW2-OE55xuksMSJ2fz00008764@hotmail.com>
In-Reply-To: <LAW2-OE55xuksMSJ2fz00008764@hotmail.com>


On Wed, 7 Nov 2001 17:08:48 -0700, you wrote:

>Hi Allan,
>Two comments on your instructions...
>
>1. You say "This will particularly apply to files which contain multiple
>pages but no intervening +PAGE lines". If the file does not contain
>intervening +PAGE lines how will one know it contains multiple pages?

One can deduce that a file of 400 lines with no intervening +PAGE
lines contains multiple pages.

>2. Could someone explain to me the purpose of the format for +PAGE
>described on the FreeBMD website as +PAGE (with no following page number).
>Are there occasions where this can be used? Are there disadvantages to this
>format?

+PAGE with no page number is acceptable, but having a page number is
better. This option to omit the page number exists because there were
many files loaded without a page number before the field was enhanced
to accept a page number.

Either will work, but inserting a page number is better.

>And a general observation on the whole thing. These are hugely complicated
>and potentially off-putting instructions for something which should be
>incredibly simple. I really fail to understand why we need all or even any
>of this. As a guess I would have thought that 99% of uploaded pages contain
>a single, complete page; they start with the automatically included +PAGE,n
>line from which it is simple to deduce the next page and I really do think
>that if the FreeBMD software were amended to assume a closing line of
>+PAGE,n+1 where there is no closing +PAGE line then all of this unwanted
>complication could be done away with.

If we were to assume that end of file = end of page, we would need
some extra method to indicate where this is NOT the case.

The alignment of double entries, and the assembly of complete quarters
requires page boundaries to be known. I really don't think it is an
unduly onerous request to make.

--
Dave Mayall

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