UPDATE.BA by Don Zeikel [CIS 75775,1430]
(Requires Powr-DOS by Acroatix)


When you are working on any type of long file (program, text, spreadsheet, 
ANYTHING) it is a good idea to frequently update your backup of the file on 
disk, so, should you have a problem with your computer, you will still have a 
very recent version of your work.

Powr-DOS makes this easy; you can either use a cursor-driven menu program, or 
type the commands directly into BASIC, either with the SAVEM": or SAVE":  
technique.  You can also save directly from TEXT, or use function keys in 
BASIC.

However, there is a danger in any of these techniques; you have to KILL in some
way or other.  If the cursor slips over to the wrong file name, or you 
accidently leave in or omit the ":" from a file name, or believe a BASIC 
program to be in the RAM buffer when it isn't. or hit "LOAD:" instead of 
"SAVE:" in TEXT, you can lose a valuable file, either on disk, in RAM, or both.


UPDATE.BA offers an easy solution for dealing with frequent backups.  By simply
entering the name of the file ONCE, the first time you want to back it up (and,
you will have the opportunity to check the name), you can accomplish the rest 
of your updates by re-running the program, without having to enter any more 
names or make any more decisions


INSTRUCTIONS

First of all, a ** WARNING ** :
BEFORE YOU RUN THE PROGRAM FOR THE FIRST TIME, MAKE A COPY OF IT ON DISK!

The program alters itself when run, so each time you begin work on a new file, 
access your ORIGINAL copy from disk.

When you run the program, you will be asked if you have made this back-up.  If 
so, you will be prompted for the name of the file you are working with.  ENTER 
THE FULL NAME, WITH EXTENSION (you can use upper or lower case, and you should 
NOT use a ":" at the beginning).

The program will show you the name of the file you have typed.  If you verify 
it with a "Y," it will begin the updating process.

There are several safeties built in.  It will abort if the file is missing from
disk or RAM.  I have put in every precaution I could think of, and I believe it
is safe, but I cannot make an absolute guarantee.  For example, if the program 
gets corrupted, it could kill the disk file and then stop without saving the 
RAM file.  So, DON'T FOOL WITH THE CODING, and use your original master each 
time you start a project.  At the end, it will tell you if it has updated or 
not, and will return to menu at the touch of a key.

Thereafter, running the program from menu will accomplish the backup with no 
need to answer questions.

Again, when you want to change the name of the file you are dealing with, start
with the fresh original copy you made before you first ran it.