To find out what this product is all about, please read the introduction.

If you're anxious to get started immediately, you can download ADB_Main.Zip (about 2MB), and browse to adb.htm once you've unzippped it in a new directory (folder).

There are also two optional zip files which you can (if you wish) download right now.  You may not wish to unzip them until you've read the install section.

ADB_C.Zip contains freeware C source for all programs that I've written.  ADB_Etc.Zip contains miscellaneous shareware and freeware products which may be of value to ADB users.

ADB is a WinTel product at this point: it's not compatible with Unix, MacOS, or any other platform.

Feel free to mail your comments to me at: rog@NOSPAM_rs-freeware.org.

This documentation and install zips reside at:
http://rs-freeware.org/adb

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1:  Introduction to ADB, the ASC (text file) Data Batcher

2:  Liability Disclaimer

3:  Table of Contents

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1:  Introduction to ADB, the ASC (text file) Data Batcher

This is a unique freeware product that can help you automate a surprisingly large number of your batch data manipulation processes.  By "batch" I mean anything which isn't necessarily (or fundamentally) interactive in nature.

That doesn't mean that you can't build interactive systems with ADB as a componenent: it's specifically designed for applications of that sort.  And that includes cases in which data is collected from the web and periodically processed.

The fact that "DataBase" is often abbreviated as "DB" is no coincidence . . . properly used, ADB is a kind of miniature DBMS system that can handle ASC text data (it won't deal with binary fields).

Please read the FAQ for a much more detailed description of ADB's uses, purposes, and limitations.

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2:  Liability Disclaimer

ADB and all utilities that I've written are freeware.  You use them at your own risk.  No warrany of fitness for use or any other form of guarantee inheres.

You may use ADB and all its utilities and/or their source code in whole or in part for any otherwise legal purpose that you deem fit; however you may not claim legal ownership of same for legal purposes against anyone who's obtained it from an "independent source" (such as this web page).

For other warranties and/or legal information, please see the documentation for: (1) GNU Awk; (2) RPSort; and (3) the shareware/freeware zip files included in ADB_Etc.Zip.

By downloading any of the products mentioned in the previous paragraph, you agree that I've provided them merely as a service for your convenience, and to refrain from holding me responsible for any loss or damage caused by their use.

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3:  Table of Contents

1.	Frequently Asked Questions
2.	Install Instructions
3.	Preview/Critical Facts
4.	Syntax in general/Files & Fieldsets
5.	Input Files
6.	Output Files
7.	Awk
8.	Parms, Return codes, etc.
9.	DOS (batch) Primer
10.	Utilities
11.	Extended Examples
12.	Digging into Duplicates
13.	Awk printf/sprintf primer
14.	On-Line "Cheat Sheet"
15.	Miscellaneous (Legal, Licensing, Bug Reports, Version Info., Acknowledgements, etc.)

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