Update Procedures

SNOMAN is a large, complex software project and a little bureaucracy is essential if it is not to end in chaos. In this section you will find a few brief notes to help those who are maintaining or developing the code. It is not a substitute for reading the Programmers Manual!

Procedure to follow when:-

Editing any file.
Editing any .html file.
Creating/updating an event data structure bank.
Creating/updating a titles bank.
Creating a .CMD file.
Doumenting a bug fix.
Documenting any code change (excluding bug fixes).

Editing any file.

If the document has a date (*file lines have them), update it. It will tell the reader at a glance if they have seen this version before.
If there is a Revision History section, update it.
Read the start of the document carefully, it may contain instructions that have to be followed when making changes. In the case of FORTRAN source, these instructions will be placed in the Program Notes section.
When introducing new ids (regions, interaction codes etc.) update symbol_table.dat as well as the id_*.inc and char_id_*.for files.

Editing any file .html file.

Please edit .html files with a simple editor such emacs or vi, and not some HTML authorising tool such a Netscape Composer. Although such tools make updating a bit easier the resulting document can be much harder to subsequently edit with a simple editor and CVS diffs can look anomalously large making it harder to manage.

Creating/updating an event data structure bank.

When creating/modifying event bank XXXX:-

If creating, add bank name to BNKDEF.INC
In INZEBR.FOR, update:-
- DATA MMXXXX.
- CALL MZFORM(...MMXXXX(5))
Create/modify BANK_XXXX.INC
If adding a bank, record it in the NTPC bank.
In the Companion:-
- Create/modify BANK_XXXX.HTML
- If adding a new bank, update the event data structure diagram and alphabetical list of banks.
In SYMBOL_TABLE.DAT, update the bank mnemonics.

Creating/updating a titles bank.

When creating/modifying titles bank XXXX:-

Create/update its title file. Don't forget the bank format! It is essential that this is correct; if not the bank may be corrupted when written to the database! Also make sure it contain no TAB characters; ZEBRA does not handle them correctly.
Submit a database update to Bruce Cleveland. To permit use of the database until the update has been returned, the following is recommended. Update run_snodb.cmd and include a TITLES commands for each new titles file. Add a new command each time an update is submitted, and remove it again once the returned update has been applied to the database.
If necessary update titles files to reflect the status of the added/modified titles file.
In the Companion:-
- Create/modify TITLES_XXXX.HTML
- If adding a new bank, update the alphabetical list of banks.
In SYMBOL_TABLE.DAT, review/update symbolic commands that refer to it. Add additional commands as appropriate.
Check all .CMD files for SET BANK commands that explicitly access the bank. Consider replacing them with symbolic commands.
Review the information that is written to the log file about the titles bank. Control elements such as switches and thresholds, should always be written.

Creating a .CMD file.

Update command_files.html

Doumenting a bug fix.

Significant bugs must always be reported to the software list. A bug is significant if:-

It materially changes the results produced by a released (either official or development) version of the code.
It is already the subject of a bug report sent to the software list.

In this case update DEV_BUGS.DOC.

Documenting any code change (excluding bug fixes).

In this case update since_5_02.doc.

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