rt of MOAUG's contribution to ANN. 
 
This particular article is an earlier one that may have appeared in MOAUG but had not appeared in ANN as there was no ANN at theJOHN HARRIS writes regularly for the MOAUG newsletter and we carry his articles as part of MOAUG's contribution to ANN. 
 
This particular article is an earlier one that may have appeared in MOAUG but had not appeared in ANN as there was no ANN at the time.  Anyway, I liked it and John was kind enough to send to me on disk. 
[Barry Wilson] 
 
PD Program Review-- 
 
The Low-Teker's Guide To A Useful Alphabetizer... 
 
By John Harris of Metro Orlando AUG.

     Once in awhile, you run into a gem of a program that has everything--it's highly useful, easy to operate, and costs little.
     One such program is SORTER, a simple list sorter, developed and placed into public domain by Solomon Swift, to whom we owe our thanks.
     It's for that list of names, programs, numbers, or what-have-you that you would like in alphabetical or numerical order. SmartFILER will do it, of course, but with its searchable fields, etc., it would be gross overkill for such a simple task.
     I did not determine the number of entries it can handle. But it was still asking for more when I was well past l00.
     SORTER is included in ADAM's House (Terry Fowler) PD Utilities volume #llF, where I found it, and possibly in other offerings.
     The SORTER program is listed in NIBBLES & BITS newsletter of December l988, pages 2l-24, along with helpful documentation which does not come with the program.
     To run:
     l. Boot BASIC.
     2. Insert tape or disk containing SORTER.
     3. Type: brun SORTER <return>. (SORTER must be in all caps).
     4. You'll then get the "? Undefined Statement Error" which you ignore.
     5. Type: run <return>.
     The main menu will appear as follows:
     l. Clear the workspace
     2. Add to existing list
     3. Delete last item
     4. Replace item
     5. Load list
     6. Store list
     7. Print list
     8. Display list
     9. Exit program 
     To create a list, type: 2 (you don't need to press <return>.
     This is confusing because the 2 option is "add to an existing list," but that's how you start a new list also.
     SORTER will then prompt you for each item on the list, sorting them as you go along.
     Each entry to the list is limited to 33 spaces. SORTER will cut it off at that and ignore the remainder.
     And don't put commas with your entries. SORTER will ignore anything after the first comma. So if you're listing names, and it's "Jones, John J." then type it in: "Jones John J." Later, after you've stored your list to disk or tape, you can pull it back up in SmartWRITER and quickly insert the commas in the alloted spaces. Or if you did not leave space for them originally, insert them in the normal manner. It just takes longer.
     For SORTER to put numbers in order, they must all be of an equal number of digits. For example, if your list contains the numbers: 8, 92, 758, and l748; they must be entered 0008, 0092, 0758, and l748.
     The entries are sorted by ASCII values. Numbers have the lower ASCII values, therefore they come first; then upper case, and finally lower case. Thus, "Cat" will come before "cat", and "123" will come before "ABC." I found the best idea is to use a consistent style--all lower case, all caps, or cap first letter and remainder of the word lower case--in the entries and you then get a true alphabetical list.
     To correct a typo after an entry is made, use the "replace item" option.
     SORTER permits you to delete only the last item on your list. Since the list is sorted after each entry, the item deleted is always the highest ASCII value string in the list. So, if you wish to delete an item elsewhere in the list you can do it by replacing it with "zzzzzzz" which will take it to the bottom of the list. Then the "delete last item" will remove it from the list entirely.
     When you've finished, type in "quit" or "QUIT" (without the quote marks).
     You can then display, store, or print your list. If you chose print, you get a two-column format.
     When storing list (option 6), tape or disk will spin and display a complete directory of your target disk. Press any key and SORTER asks you for a filename. Type in one word, no more than l0 characters, all caps. Do this carefully! Otherwise ADAM may swallow your entire list as he did mine on several of my first tries.
     Once stored, it's far easier to edit your list using SmartWRITER. To do this, remove the disk, reset to SmartWRITER, insert disk on which list is stored, get directory, and get file. Now you can easily edit your list into any format you like, and also print it. Restore it with a new file name, and that makes it a SmartWRITER (H) file.
     Your original stored SORTER list (a Basic A file) can be retrieved using the SORTER program and entries added later, using the options: load list and add to existing list.
     When you select the "load list" option, SORTER asks from which drive. It then gives you a directory of all files on the tape or disk in that drive. Then it asks for the filename of the list you want loaded.
     After informing you that the list has been loaded, it will return to main menu. You then select option 2: "Add to an existing list."
     You will then be prompted to add the next entry to the list. For example, if there are l8 entries on the loaded list it will prompt: "Enter item #l9."
     The final option on the main menu, "exit program," returns you to BASIC. If you select it inadvertently, just enter: GOTO 500 <return>. This will resume the program without affecting your list.

          --Your comments are welcome and may be addressed to: John S. Harris, l05 Burning Tree Lane, Boca Raton, FL 3343l.

