Jim Veale is seeking
beta testers for Complite
|
Photo shows Compdeux running in @Macarlo's Warp 4.0
James D. Veale
(jdveale@world.std.com) is looking for
a few beta testers to try out OS/2 presentation manager ports of Complite and
its cousins. Complite is a DOS based utility which performs a word-by-word comparison
of programming language source. Split screen displays with correlated scrolling
make results easy to interpret.
The OS/2 port, CompDeux, is a true presentation manager application,
but retains most of the look and feel of its DOS heritage. CompDeux supports displays
up to 200 columns by 60 rows. CompDeux also supports mouse-based scrolling like
Complite, which is toggled on and off by chording the mouse buttons.
Demonstration versions of the betas are available on James D. Veale web page at:
http://world.std.com/~jdveale/index.html
The demonstration versions are functional, with some features disabled. Contact
information and more detailed descriptions are available on the web page.
IMPORTANT NOTES: Running COMPSHOE in OS/2 Warp 4
***** ALERT ***** By default, the results screen captures the mouse for scrolling.
To RELEASE the mouse for normal desktop use, chord the two mouse buttons. In other
words, press both mouse
buttons simultaneously.
To CAPTURE the mouse for scrolling, place the mouse pointer over the comparison
results window and chord the mouse buttons again.
You can change the font size from the results display by pressing F6 for smaller
fonts or shift-F6 for larger fonts. Compdeux uses the "System VIO" font,
you cannot change this.
What is COMPSHOE?
COMPSHOE is a demonstration version of COMPDEUX, a native 32 bit presentation manager
port of COMPLITE. The time-limited demo is functional but has some features disabled.
These disabled
functions include: printouts, saving bounced lines, and wider than 80 column vertical
scrolling.
COMPDEUX is an intelligent file comparison utility for programming language source.
Compdeux compares different versions on a word-by-word basis and highlights the
changes. Words may be separated not only by blanks, but by common programming language
delimiters. Split screen, up to 200 column displays with automatic correlated scrolling
make quick look results readable and useful.
Compdeux is a native OS/2 presentation manager program.
o Compdeux supports dot-matrix, laser, and PostScript printouts.
o Compdeux handles files up to 100,000 lines and single changes up to 65,000 items,
with no limit on the total number of changes.
o Simple Interactive Merge Facility.
o A user specified list of keywords or phrases may be ignored, or equivalenced in
the comparison. This handy for dates, changed variable names and acronyms.
o Compdeux has been tested under Warp 4.0 and should run under Warp 3.0 as well.
Most options are saved in a parameter file, which can be customized for different
applications. Station specific parameter files are available for networks.
o Single User Licenses are available for $40. Site licenses are available.
Getting started
The first time Compdeux is run, a panel is displayed which requests the old and
new file names, along with other parameters. A brief description of the options
for a parameter appears in the lower half of the screen. The comparison begins when
the last parameter is entered.
Several keys have special functions for input panels. The SPACE bar will cycle between
various options for a parameter. The ESC key exits the program or backs up to the
preceding panel. Pressing ENTER will accept the current parameter option and move
the cursor to the next parameter. Pressing CTRL-ENTER will accept the current option,
and the default options for all the remaining parameters.
A variety of setup options are available by entering $SETUP for the old file name.
Be sure to "enter" your way out of setup options, "escaping"
out of setup options will cancel any changes you make.
The results of the comparison are displayed with changes in yellow and matching
portions in white. Additional help is available with the F1 function key. Short
reminders are shown on the bottom line
and toggled with the space bar.
Installation notes:
The easiest thing to do is simply unzip "COMPSHOE.ZIP" in a directory
of your choice. If you copy the executable "COMPSHOE.EXE" and use a PostScript
printer, be sure to copy COMPSHOE.PSH" to the same directory.
COMPSHOE ONLY: Wider than 80 column Vertical scrolling is disabled in the demo,
but you can still maximize or resize the results window and see how it looks. The
comparison portion of printouts is disabled in the demo, but you can still $SETUP
for your printer. The header and footer for a comparison is still printed. You can
bounce lines in the demo to see how the feature works, but you can't save the results
with F12.
Compdeux uses up to 16 mb to display the results of a comparison.If this isn't enough,
a temporary swap file is created on the disk.
Compdeux creates a parameter file named "XUEDPMOC.PRM". Normally this
file is created in the same directory as the executable. Options are also available
to install Compdeux on a network or to maintain different parameter configurations.
Compdeux creates a number of work files in the temporary directory specified by
the "TMP" environment variable. These are deleted upon normal termination.
COMPTIG is a special version of Complite based on a theoretically rigorous comparison
engine, with a contiguous match preference. The user can specify that a contiguous
sequence of matching words be weighted more heavily in the comparison than a similar
number of isolated matches.
Consider the example below with two sequences of 10 characters each ('A B C x
A x A x A x' and 'A o A o A o A A B C'). At most 4 characters can be matched, the
four capital A's. This is what Comptig will do with the contiguous match preference
suppressed.
However you may find the contiguous matching sequence of 'ABC' more useful in
many applications. This is what Comptig picks with a contiguous match preference
of 2. The contiguous sequence of 3 matches is chosen over the 4 isolated matches.
-----------------+----------------------------+------------------------
Original | Contiguous Match | Contiguous Match
Sequences | Preference = 1 | Preference = 2
| (i.e. no preference) |
-----------------+----------------------------+------------------------
| |
1. A A | 1. 1.A | 1.A
2. B o | | 2.o
3. C A | 2.B 2.o | 3.A
4. x o | 3.C | 4.o
5. A A | 4.x | 5.A
6. x o | | 6.o
7. A A | 5. 3.A | 7.A
8. x A | |
9. A B | 6.x 4.o | 1. 8.A
10. x C | | 2. 9.B
| 7. 5.A | 3. 10.C
| |
| 8.x 6.o | 4.x
| | 5.A
| 9. 7.A | 6.x
| | 7.A
| 10.x 8.A | 8.x
| 9.B | 9.A
| 10.C | 10.x
| |
-----------------+----------------------------+------------------------
Comptig vs. Complite Issues
-
Complite works very well for routine program source and many data files. Where
there is extensive 'boiler plate', the rigorous comparison engine of Comptig
may perform better.
-
Comptig is computationally intensive and requires hardware floating point,
with Pentium II class processors recommended.
-
With larger contiguous match preferences, Comptig takes longer and uses more
memory. This reduces the maximum lookahead during the comparison. With the
default contiguous match preference of 2, Comptig can lookahead about 11,500
items.
-
The Complite and Comptig parameter files have been made compatible. By placing
the executables in the same directory, they will use the same parameter file,
and you can switch between them freely.
Comptig is available in a bundle with Complite. A single user license covering
both Complite and Comptig is available for $45. Additional limited release products
are available at ten dollar increments.
The time-limited demo below is functional with some features disabled. Disabled
functions include: printouts, saving bounced lines, and vertical scrolling in 132
column modes. Comptig requires a 386 or better processor with hardware floating
point, Pentium II class processors are recommended.
COMPSIB provides unique capabilities for dealing with branched sets of source code.
Compsib works with 3 source files at a time, but it is NOT a 3-way merge. Compsib
can be used to maintain separate branches as well merge them. Some scenarios where
Compsib is useful are:
-
Fred and Ethel, copy a master source code and begin working on it independently.
Sometime later you want to review the changes made by Fred while suppressing
the changes made by Ethel, except where there are conflicts.
-
You are supporting several different revisions of software. In rev4 you make
a series of emergency fixes to rev3. Now you have to apply these fixes all
the way back to rev 0. Compsib lets you view, and merge, the changes from
rev3 to rev4 as they apply to rev0, while suppressing the changes made in
rev1, 2, and 3.
-
You've purchased software and source code from a large vendor, and have made
changes to the source code. Now the vendor comes out with a new version of
their software. Compsib lets you apply the changes in the new version of the
vendor software while maintaining your local modifications.
The user interface for Compsib is nearly identical to Complite, but three input
files are specified instead of two. The three input files are known as:
Compsib displays the results of a comparison between the Sibling and Revision, while
suppressing the changes between the Sibling and Master.
In other words, Compsib shows you the changes made in the Revision as they apply
to the Sibling. The interactive merge or "selective bounce" feature can
then be used to apply those changes to the sibling. Now with regard to the original
scenarios:
-
Fred's source code is the Revision, because those are the changes you wanted
to see. Ethel's source code is the Sibling, because those are the changes
you want to suppress. The original source is the Master.
-
Rev3 is the Master, rev4 is the Revision, and rev0 is the Sibling. You want
to review the changes made from rev3 to rev4 and apply those changes to rev0.
The changes made from rev0 to rev3 are suppressed in the display.
-
The original vendor source code is the Master, the new vendor source code
is the Revision, and the locally modified code is the Sibling. You want to
review and apply the changes made in the vendor version to your locally modified
source.
Compsib is available in a limited release, bundled with Complite. A single
user license covering both Compsib and Complite is available for $50. Additional
limited release products are available at ten dollar increments.
The time-limited demo below is functional with saving features disabled.
Disabled features include: printouts, saving bounced lines, and vertical scrolling
in 132 column modes.
COMPTFUZ is a fuzzy number file comparison utility. Numbers which are close
to each other are treated as equal, based on user specified ranges. Both absolute
and relative ranges are available. Ranges within a file can be changed based
on keyword and phrase triggers. Ranges can also be dependent on the ordinal
position of a number within a line. For tabular data, the "Segregate
Columns" option avoids matching numbers in one column with those in another
column.
By default, Comptfuz handles numbers formatted in a general scientific
format. It may also be configured to handle business formats with a leading
sign and embedded comma's. Business formats with a trailing sign are currently
supported only as unsigned numbers.
Comptfuz builds upon the technology developed for Complite and Comptig.
Comptfuz seamlessly integrates word-by-word text and fuzzy number comparison
capabilities. The Comptfuz comparison engine is based on a rigorous algorithm
with an optional contiguous match preference. Comptfuz handles files up to
100,000 lines and single changes less than 5,400 items with no limit on the
total number of changes.
Following beta testing, single user licenses covering both Comptfuz and
Complite will be available for $50.
The time-limited demo below is functional with some features disabled.
Disabled functions include: printouts, saving bounced lines, and vertical
scrolling in 132 column modes. Comptfuz requires a 386 or better processor
with hardware floating point, Pentium II class processors are recommended.
For More Information Contact:
Jim Veale
150 Buckminster Drive, #108
Norwood, Massachusetts 02062
phone: (781) 762-1714
fax: (781) 762-6644
email: jdveale@world.std.com
@Macarlo, Inc.
@Macarlo's Shareware & Web
OS/2
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