Backups are normally written to CD. By organizing systems under the MMCC-WIN folder, that entire folder can be written to a CD and get all of our systems.

The CD backups are essentially COPIES of the files. There is no compression or anything. And we use CD's rather than DVD's so that the backups are available on just about any computer.

NOTE: When you just drag a CD folder onto your desktop, the files are considered to be READ-ONLY on the CD. That attribute usually comes across during the drag and drop. You should explore to the folder, select ALL, look at properties, and turn off the "read-only" check box. If you don't you won't be able to run the programs.

There are several backup sets CD's. The WIN (source code) backup contains the most volitile stuff and is done very frequently. The other sets are various data files, test data, client data. They are done less frequently.

The contents of each backup sets is listed in SGK's continuing TIME log files. Since those files go back a long way, there are many copies of these lists. A printed copy is in the white book on SGK's desk at home. Basically the organization is:

• WIN:
  • MMCC-DA5: Time and PT system
  • MMCC-WIN: Source code for all systems
  • MMCCMENU: Bat files and shortcuts that typically appear on WIN desktop
  • MyDocuments: Main folder for all EXCEL, Publisher and Word Processing files.
• DA2:
  • MMCC-DA2: Less frequently used customer data folders and time archive folders.
• DAT:
  • MMCC-DAT: Actively used data folders including
    • ADDRLIST
    • YMCA
    • SHOP-SYS (including Homespun Peddler)
    • TIMEDATA (various old time files) PTSYSTEM (just an old copy of Emily's data)
• DA3:
  • MMCC-DA3: Bargain times folder including all photos and data.
    This is backed up twice each time a book is run. One copy is sent back to Doug at Bargain Times, the other copy goes in the CD file cabinet in the home office. Sometimes a copy is taken to the office.
• DA4:
  • MMCC-DA4: Other less frequently used client systems including Car Wash Village and Toughman.
    Toughman is not current. I've asked the gals down in Arkansas to regularly run a backup to our file manager. I then pull that ZIP and keep it on my system.
• DA6:
  • MMCC-DA6: Other less frequently used client systems:
    • PMSYS: some of the dental clients (there are only 3 left)
    • PJ: Diesel Fuel Injection's data
• FULL DOS: This was the entire DOS machine before it died. There is one main backup remaining in SGK's bag plus a batch of old ones. Most of those systems are dead, or they have been moved to Windows. We keep this CD around just in case!
• FULL WWW:
  • MMCC-WWW: All of the web sites that SGK maintains. This is the master copy. Because they're also on the web servers, that could be considered a backup as well.
• NETSCAPE:
  • From the Old Gateway. That's the last thing running on that server.
    THe only thing I'd want is the e-mail folders.
    I have NOT backed it up in a long time because Norton Antivirus balked the last time I tried to bring it over the network. I think that there was a virus in the TRASH folder.
    I should REALLY try it again some time!
• RABC: This is the entire real estate book system. It's backed up each time a book is printed. The copies go in the CD cabinet in the home office. Some are taken to the office.
  • MLS-BOOK: the last real estate book.
  • RABCyyyy: yearly picture folders
  • RABCMAPS: map pictures
  • RABC-PEOPLE: realtor pictures

Backups are done almost daily. Sometimes multiple backups are made in the same day. (Burning a CD is fast).

The MASTER SYSTEM resides on the support office Compaq. Two duplicate development machines are at the main office. One is the File Manager, the other is in the northeast corner of the MMCC room. Another dupliccate is kept on the support department's laptop. These dupliccate machines are updated on a sporadic basis (primarily when some work must be done at the office). When updated, the entire folder for a system is copied from CD to the target machine overwriting everything in that folder.

Backup CD's are kept in multiple locations. The most current backup is kept with the supervisor in his kit. The second level backup is at the support office. The third level backup is at the main office in two of the desks in the MMCC room. Backups are rotated to the main office at least weekly, if not more frequently.

Note that the backups at the office are semi-organized. Each time a backup set is taken up there, all of the CD's are just put into the plastic CD container that has the most recent backups. Backups for everything go in these containers. If you need them, pay attention to the dates written on the CD's.

Because everything is burned to a write once CD, the copies at the office provide a snapshot in time. You can go back many generations if necessary to get an older version of a program!

Most development work is done at the support office. The working environment is based on two Windows 98 computers networked together:

• Computer 1 is the master containing all source code, test data, and support programs.
• Computer 2 is simply used for editing. For many years it was an old DOS machine.

Using two computers means that the program source code can be open at all times on the second computer while compiles and testing are being done on computer 1. It's a real luxury to be able to look at the source at the same time as running the test without needing to click from window to window.

Of course multiple windows on one machine will work. That's the way the duplicate development systems work.

During development, computer 1 typically has several windows open:

• A command prompt (DOS) window is open for running the compiles using the ACB.BAT procedure. We'll usually enter the command ACB SHOP2010 to run the compile. After the compile completes, you can tap F3 to repeat the command.
• The PL/B Designer is often running in another window. This allows us to modify the PLForms easily while testing.
• The application is usually running in another window. We'll be testing and looking at the running program on one monitor and working through the code on the second machine's monitor.

Computer 2 almost never has more than one window open. And that window is a command prompt (DOS) window in which we run the ancient TED text editor for program editing.

YES WE KNOW... we're way out of date. The Visual PL/B IDE development environment is fantastic and we should probably be using it. But we've been doing it this way for 30 years and it works well for us!

Each system folder contains an ACB.BAT batch file. (The meaning of "ACB" has been lost over time. It's not significant other than being the standard name).

Each system may have an ACB-ALL.BAT as well. If it exists it will be a list of CALLs to the standard ACB procedure, one call for each program. You can run this procedure to compile everything.

Note that the ACB-ALL.bat procedure SETs an environment variable called ACSTOP=P. See the note below in the ACB.BAT procedure about the PRT-AC program.

An example of the Standard ACB.BAT file is shown below and described after the example:

@ECHO OFF echo ------------------------------------------------------------------ echo PL/B WIN Compile Procedure echo ------------------------------------------------------------------ REVDATE map z: /d subst z: c:\mmcc-win\sundb @ECHO on \SUNBELT\PLBWIN.87\CODE\PLBCON \SUNBELT\PLBWIN.87\CODE\plbcmp %1 %2 %3 %4 -ZG @ECHO off @IF ERRORLEVEL=4 goto BADRUN REVDATE IF "%ACSTOP%"=="P" PRT-AC %1.PLC was OK GOTO EXITIT :BADRUN IF "%ACSTOP%"=="S" PAUSE IF "%ACSTOP%"=="P" PRT-AC %1.PLC compile error :EXITIT REM get rid of subst to avoid potential conflict with MAP subst z: /d

The procedure starts with an ECHO signon.

REVDATE: This is a DOS style PL/B program. The bat file is run from a command prompt (DOS) window. It assumes that SUNDBSYS has been loaded and is running in that DOS session window. We start SUNDBSYS when the window is opened and then forget it.

Revdate is a tiny program that does a couple of things. First it writes three small code files which can be used as includes in all of our PL/B programs. Secondly, it looks at the previous value of the files and computes the elapsed time. We run a REVDATE before the compile and another one after.

The three files written by REVDATE are:

REVISION.DBS

REVISION.PLS

REVDATE.COP (left over from our COBOL days)

The PL/B REVISION files contain two variables:

REV      INIT     "0.0"
REVDATE  INIT     "10/12/2005 12:24:08"
         TITLE    "10/12/2005 12:24:08"

This whole thing goes back to the days before we could get the compile date and time from as part of the language. We needed some way to know when the program was compiled. Every program displays this value in the title bar so we can always know exactly when the program was last changed.

map z: /d
subst z: c:\mmcc-win\sundb

The map z: /d is a hold over from when the SUNDB folder ran on the DOS machine and we used a 3rd party network to connect the machines. (In fact, we STILL use that network on some systems.) The MAP is just to get rid of the z: in case it's still mapped.

The SUBST Z: C:\mmcc-win\sundb is the new technique in use since putting everything on the same computer. This allows our source to remain unchanged using the Z: to get include units.

@ECHO on
\SUNBELT\PLBWIN.87\CODE\PLBCON \SUNBELT\PLBWIN.87\CODE\plbcmp %1 %2 %3 %4 -ZG
@ECHO off

We turn on the echo just to be able to see the command for the compiler. The compile is run under PLBCON which allows us to run from the command prompt (DOS) window. We give the full path to both PLBCON and to PLBCMP.

The %1 %2 %3 %4 are for parameters on the command line. On the command ACB SHOP1020 the SHOP1020 takes the %1 position and names the program. We can add additional compiler commands after that if we wish.

The -ZG parameter tells the compiler to "Allow GUI statements". That may well be a default by now. We've used it since the beginning.

@IF ERRORLEVEL=4 goto BADRUN

The compiler sets ERRORLEVEL 4 if the compile fails. The IF statement jumps to the BADRUN label if the compile fails.

If it's been a while since you read a .BAT file, the @ at the beginning of the line turns off the ECHO for the line regardless of the default value for ECHO.

REVDATE
IF "%ACSTOP%"=="P" PRT-AC %1.PLC was OK
GOTO EXITIT

When the compile is successful we fall into the statements above. We do a final REVDATE which also computes and displays the elapsed time for the compile. (The compiler tells us that now, but in the early days it did not and we wanted to know how long the compile takes.

The IF statement checks to see if the environment variable ACSTOP is set to the value P. If it is then we want to print a line to LPT1 saying that the compile was successful. The PRT-AC program is one of the old DOS PL/B programs running under SUNDBSYS.

After checking the print request, we jump to the EXITIT tag to wrap up.

:BADRUN
IF "%ACSTOP%"=="S" PAUSE
IF "%ACSTOP%"=="P" PRT-AC %1.PLC compile error

If the compile failed, control would have jumpped to the :BADRUN tag. We check the ACSTOP environment variable again. If it's set then we pause the batch job. The user can do a CTRL-C to kill the batch run or tap enter to continue. If he continues then we check the ACSTOP again and print the compile error line to LPT1 if it's set.

:EXITIT
REM get rid of subst to avoid potential conflict with MAP
subst z: /d

The :EXITIT tag is the common wrap up. We clear the SUBST to drive Z: using the /d parameter. This prevents it from conflicting with other batch files we might run. It also insures that the SUBST is not left over for other DOS windows.

We keep a number of short cuts on the desktop for the development machines. Typically we'll browse to the program in question and right drag a program name to the desktop. When we drop it we choose the "create shortcut" menu option. Then we can modify the properties as approiriate.

Typical shortcuts include:

• PLB Designer for working on forms
• PLB Help shortcuts for both the compiler and the run time.
• DOS window. (We find the one in START or START/ACCESSORIES and right drag it to the desktop and make a copy. We then change the START IN property to start at the C:\ root.)
• System run short cuts for various user level systems. These are described next:

For testing and for running on client machines we create PLBWIN runtime shortcuts as follows.

• First we browse to the SUNBELT\PLBWIN.nn and find the PLBWIN application. We right drag that to the desktop and choose create shortcut. That gives us a base shortcut to the PLBWIN runtime.
  
  
• With the shortcut on the desktop we modify the properties as follows by "TARGET" to specify the INI file to be used and by changing the "START IN" to the user's data folder. The properties would end up something like:

      Target:   C:\Sunbelt\plbwin.87\code\PLBWIN.EXE -i plb-sgk.ini answer
      Start In: C:\mmcc-win\shop-sys\peddler
  

  On a user's system everything is stored in a single folder at the root. Each port would have it's own INI file with a unique port number (see the next section). The shortcut in this case would be:

      Target:   PLBWIN.EXE -i plb-sgk-nn.ini answer
      Start In: C:\mmcc-win\shop-sys\peddler
  

The "-i plb-sgk.ini", or "-i plb-sgk-nn.ini", on the target line points to the PLB INI file to be used for this shortcut. A typical INI file would be something like the following example. Note that the "SHOP_xxx" lines in this INI are unique to a given system. Each of our software systems uses these parameters to set some basic contidions.

The most important system specific INI parameter is the xxxx_PORT line. This identifies the port number being used. In a multi-user system, each port would have it's own desktop shortcut which would point to a unique INI file. Each of those files would identify a different port number. We use this port numbering scheme within our programs. (And, sorry, the highest port number is 99.)

[environment]
PLB_TERM=ansi
PLB_SYSTEM=c:\SUNBELT\PLBWIN.87\CODE
PLB_PATH=c:\MMCC-win\SHOP-SYS;C:\MMCC-WIN\UTIL-PLB
PLBWIN_ICON=HOMESPNw.ICO
[SHOP-SYS]
SHOP_SYS=HSP
SHOP_PORT=01
SHOP_PORTNAME=Stephen's W/98 machine
SHOP_SUPERVISOR=Y
SHOP_HISTPATH=[
SHOP_HISTDRIVE=[
SHOP_PICPATH=[
SHOP_PICDRIVE=[
SHOP_FILEPATH=[
SHOP_DIAG=N