From: dblack@...
Date: 2002-09-28T01:20:27+09:00
Subject: [ANN] dbdbd -- David Black's DataBase Definer, version 0.2.0

Hello --

    dbdbd -- David Black's DataBase Definer, version 0.2.0
             http://knossos.shu.edu/dblack/dbdbd

I'm pleased to announce the rebirth of a project whose first Ruby
incarnation (after porting from Perl) ran aground on the lack of
scanf.  Thanks to <http://www.rubyhacker.com/code/scanf>, it's
back :-)

dbdbd is a tool for creating and maintaining simple flat text data
files.  You use a scanf format string to specify what your "rows"
contain.  dbdbd then gives you a kind of semi-automated interface to
files whose rows conform to that string.

Your rows can have associated comments, and your columns can have
field names.  Most importantly (at least for me), you can easily edit
your conformant files by hand, as long as you leave them in a
conformant state.

This is not, and makes no claim to be, a full- or even many-featured
database tool.  It's just to give an assist to those of us who have
occasion to maintain data in plain text form, and don't want to have
to write a whole parsing routine for each such file or set of files.

You can find dbdbd at: <http://knossos.shu.edu/dblack/dbdbd>.

Please let me know if you have any questions or encounter any
problems.


David

-- 
David Alan Black                      | Register for RubyConf 2002!
home: dblack@candle.superlink.net     | November 1-3
work: blackdav@shu.edu                | Seattle, WA, USA
Web:  http://pirate.shu.edu/~blackdav | http://www.rubyconf.com