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NAME

       gdbload - load ASCII formatted data into an HP 100LX database

SYNOPSIS

       gdbload [-an] database [ input ]

DESCRIPTION

       gdbload loads ASCII formatted data into an HP 100LX database.  database
       is the name of the 100LX database to modify.  input is the  name  of  a
       file  of  ASCII  data  to  load into the database.  If no input file is
       specified, the standard input is used.  The ASCII file  format  is  one
       exported by many database packages as well as by gdbdump(1).

   Options
       gdbload recognizes the following options:

              -a     Add  the  records  from  the  ASCII file to the database,
                     keeping the records already present in the database.   By
                     default,  the  records  in  the  ASCII file replace those
                     already in the database.

              -n     Do not back  up  the  database  file.   By  default,  the
                     original, unmodified database file is left in a file with
                     the same name and a .bak extension.

   Input Format Description
       The input to this program is an ASCII text file  which  starts  with  a
       line  containing  field  names.  This line indicates the order in which
       fields appear on subsequent lines.  Not all fields of the database need
       be  specified;  unspecified  fields  will  be  left  blank in all added
       records.  Field names are not case  distinct  and  ampersands  (&)  are
       ignored in comparing field names.

       This  first  line  is  followed  by  one  line  for  each record of the
       database.  Note that any of these lines  may  be  split  into  multiple
       lines  if needed, by placing a backslash (\) at the ends of lines which
       are continued.  Also note that string fields may  span  multiple  lines
       provided they are quoted.  Apart from line splitting according to these
       rules, each "logical" line contains all of the fields whose names  were
       listed  on the first line, in the same order as on the first line.  The
       fields (and the field names,  on  the  first  line)  are  separated  by
       commas.

       Exactly how each field should appear depends on its type.  Text fields,
       category fields, number fields, and note fields should have their  text
       quoted  if  it  contains  commas  or  newlines.   The  following escape
       sequences are understood:

              \r     Carriage return (ASCII 13).

              \n     Line feed (ASCII 10).

              \nnn   nnn are octal digits representing a character.

              \xnn   nn are hexadecimal digits representing a character.

       Any other character following a backslash  is  treated  as  a  standard
       character  with no special meaning, i.e., backslash and quote marks can
       be escaped by preceding them with a backslash.

       Date fields should appear in the format YYYYMMDD; for  example,  August
       15,  1993  should appear as 19930815.  Time fields appear in the format
       HHMM, where HH is in the range 00-23.  Date and time fields may also be
       left blank, i.e., nothing between the commas.

       Radio  buttons  and check boxes are turned off if the field is empty or
       contains a 0; they are turned on otherwise.

       No other field types, including application-defined types, are accepted
       by gdbload.

       The  output  from  gdbdump(1)  matches this input format, unless the -n
       flag is given to gdbdump(1).

WARNINGS

       When the newly constructed database is first opened by  the  100LX,  it
       will  (erroneously) be reported as being empty. This is because gdbload
       does not construct database indexes, and the 100LX  expects  the  index
       for  the  current  "subset"  to be valid.  The situation is remedied by
       pressing F6 and selecting any "subset" (even the  current  one!)   This
       will  rebuild  the  index for that "subset", causing records to display
       normally.  The delay caused by the rebuild depends on the size  of  the
       database  (among other things), and ranges from imperceptible for small
       databases up to several minutes.  This delay will occur whenever a  new
       "subset" is selected for the first time.

       gdbload  will not attempt to modify HP 100LX Appointment Book and World
       Time databases.

       gdbload will not allow you  to  specify  data  for  application-defined
       fields of a database.

       This  program  cannot handle password-protected databases.  Attempts to
       load data into password-protected  databases  will  have  unpredictable
       results.

AUTHOR

       gdbload  was  written  by  Steven Roth, stever@cup.hp.com, and is being
       maintained by Arne Christensen, arc@pine.dk.  Contact  the  latter  for
       bug reports, enhancement requests, or to get a copy of the source code.

DISCLAIMER

       This program is released into the public domain and neither the  author
       nor  the  maintainer  place  any  restrictions  on its use.  We make no
       warranties or guarantees for this program and you use it  at  your  own
       risk.   This  program  is supplied by us personally and not by Hewlett-
       Packard Co. or Pine Tree Systems, which incur no obligations pertaining
       to it.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

       Many  thanks  to  Andy  Gryc for publishing the details of the database
       file formats!

SEE ALSO

       gdbdump(1).