Data entry w/xbasic

[RobPolley]

Rather than having someone write the code, I'm hoping for a bit of direction with this problem:

I have a file with 2 fields: "Date", a date field, and "Who" a character field. The dates are already filled in, from Jan 1 to Dec 31. (Thanks to Stan M.)

I want to fill in the names of 3 people on a rotating basis as follows:

Pseudo code:

For Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, January 7, 8, and 9, set the "who" field to "Sally."

For the next Friday, Saturday & Sunday, January 14, 15, and 16, set the "who" field to "Sarah".

For the next Friday, Saturday, & Sunday, January 21, 22, and 23, set the "who" field to "Sammy".

Repeat the pattern: (Sally, Sarah, Sammy) for the rest of the weekends of the year.

Is this the time to use "case"?

Please don't write the code for me; I'm working to learn xbasic, and just want a bit of direction.

Many thanks!

--Rob

[Stan Mathews]

Re: Data entry w/xbasic

More complete pseudo code:

open the table
ensure that the table is in date order
goto the first record
start a while loop that doesn't stop until the last record is processed
skip records until the date field is a Friday (dow(date) = 6) and we don't reach the end of the table
start a for-next loop to process 3 records
begin a change
set the who field to "Sally"
end the change
goto the next record
end the for-next loop after 3
skip records until the date field is a Friday (dow(date) = 6) and we don't reach the end of the table
start a for-next loop to process 3 records
begin a change
set the who field to "Sarah"
end the change
goto the next record
end the for-next loop after 3
skip records until the date field is a Friday (dow(date) = 6) and we don't reach the end of the table
start a for-next loop to process 3 records
begin a change
set the who field to "Sammy"
end the change
goto the next record
end the for-next loop after 3
end the while loop when the end of the table is reached
close the table

[RobPolley]

Re: Data entry w/xbasic

Stan,

Awesome!

Thank you!

--Rob

[Mike Wilson]

Re: Data entry w/xbasic

Rob,
I believ you are asking for strategy/approach. OK

What you will be doing is going to be a single pass through the table. Assuming that the table has 365 record representing one record for each day of the year, I would begin by packing the table to assure the record number corresponds with the day number. You will have to know which record number is the first Friday.

The pattern is a pass through the table with a repeating loop through the names and a repeating loop through three increments (writing the name to three consecutive records) and a jumping forward 4 records to start the 3 increments again. If you have the names as a list in a variable, then you can refer to name position with the word() function, using an incrementing numeric variable for the name position number. This numeric variable will get incremented after the three records for that name are written to the table and when that incremented numeric variable reaches 4, it gets reset to 1. The passing through the table can use the tbl.fetch_goto() function using a numeric variable for the record number. After you get it to the first Friday record, that recno variable will be incremented to get to the next record within the loop of writing to the table, then 4 added to it to get to the next Friday. When that variable reaches 366, the script ends.

It looks like a fun exercise, I think I'll give it a whirl. Good luck.

[Stan Mathews]

Re: Data entry w/xbasic

Rob,

Do not open except in case of emergency.

[Mike Wilson]

Re: Data entry w/xbasic

That was fun. I'll give you my emergency code too, so you can compare approaches. I think it might be a bit shorter than Stan's, but hard to say.

[RobPolley]

Re: Data entry w/xbasic

Wow, thank you both, Mike & Stan!!!

Much different approaches.

I have to admit, I'm having some difficulty learning to program. I did buy and read "Programming For Dummies" which has been helpful.

I suppose it's standard to feel this way at the beginning.

Thanks, again!

--Rob

[Mike Wilson]

Re: Data entry w/xbasic

If your interested in xbasic, you might try Dr. Peter Wayne's book "xbasic for everyone". That's what I started with. And Stan and others filled in the gaps. This exercise was really a bit more complicated in startegy than actual coding. This is one that maybe is best, at the start, to have mapped on paper and then set to code by flow diagramming.

[RobPolley]

Re: Data entry w/xbasic

Mike,

I have read it, thank you. Were you a programmer before learning basic?

Thanks!

Rob

[DaveM]

Re: Data entry w/xbasic

Dr. Peter Wayne's book "xbasic for everyone".

One of the best I ever read. Still have it and still reference it.


.

[Mike Wilson]

Re: Data entry w/xbasic

Mike,
Were you a programmer before learning basic?

No, I am a physician. I would say just like Peter Wayne, but I have not nearly the insight and skill that he does.

[RobPolley]

Re: Data entry w/xbasic

Wow. Is xbasic the first programming language you learned?

[DaveM]

Re: Data entry w/xbasic

for me, languages(most forgotten)

dbase, basic, c, c++, vb, foxpro, clipper, god I am getting old and can't remember more???\\


LOL

Have a nice day

[Mike Wilson]

Re: Data entry w/xbasic

I'm just a hacker, really. Unlike many folks like Dave, DOS, then I learned WordPerfect 5.1 macro scripting. Quite robust. I built several report centered applications with Wordperfect. Tried to learn Visual Basic and MSAccess. I gave up. Then I found Alpha, and XBasic/Xdialog, and it made sense, mostly. My biggest struggles were and still are, filters and filter syntax, and understanding the full power and use of dot variables.

[DaveM]

Re: Data entry w/xbasic

What helped me with filters was the thinking. Once I got that straight, it was a lot easier.

Oil filter on a car filters out what we don't want(dirt) and leaves clean oil

xbasic/program filter filters in what we do want which is information and leaves out the dirt.


And Thanks Mike