Phone book

This archive contains a number of small programs which manage a small database of phone numbers and addresses like a rolodex style program. These programs are intended to be used from the command line.

phone Look up a phone number or address.
birthday Generate a birthday list suitable for certain calendar programs.
chkphone Check the phonebook for common discrepencies.
srtphone Sort the phone output for printing.
txt2ps Convert a text output file to PostScript for printing.
phone2html Convert the database to an HTML format.
Database format A description of the database format.

phone -- Look up a phone number or address

The phone program is a program which takes a list of names. The names need not be complete, just a substring of the full name.

The phone entry for all names matching any of the arguments are displayed.

birthday -- Generate birthday list

The birthday program generates a list of birthdays suitable for certain calendar programs.

chkphone -- Check the phone book for certain errors

The chkphone program checks the database for certain irregularities. This includes such things as repeated names, repeated field names, etc.

srtphone -- Print a sorted phonebook

The srtphone program sorts the phone book for printing. If you list any arguments, these are taken to be names which show up in the Lists field.

This takes a set of optional parameters.

--columns Number Specify the number of columns of text. This defaults to 2 column printing.
--datafile FileName Specify the name of the data file to process. This defaults to ~/Notes/phone.dat.
--lists "NORMAL XMAS" Specify the lists to print. These can also be specified after the command switches.
--width Number Specify the width of the page in characters.
--lines Number Specify the number of lines on a page to use for data.
--title "Text" Specify the title of the phone book.

txt2ps -- Convert a text file to PostScript

The txt2ps program converts a simple text file to a very simple PostScript file. Don't expect miracles.

phone2html -- Convert the phone book to HTML

The phone2html program converts the phone book into a series of web pages.

format -- A description of the database format

The phone.dat file is a simple text database stored in the user's ~/Notes/ directory. The phone program converts this file into a DBM file for slightly better performance.

The phone.dat file consists of comment lines (starting with "#"), blank lines (which are also ignored), names and values (e.g. Name=Dave Regan), and record separators (%%).

The field names are well defined although it is fairly straightforward to add additional names.

Field name Description

Name The name of the individual Sometimes a husband/wife/children are combined here, especially when there is no distinguishing information such as Birthdate.

SortAs Use this string instead of the name when sorting this entry.

ResidenceName The name of the residence, such as: Mr. and Mrs. soandso and Family
This is used for mailings. This title will be used in preference to the name for mailing labels. Note that the labels are only generated based upon other information. It is somewhat arbitrary which entry this goes on.

InResidence Indicates the residence that this person resides in. A good place to look for an address if needed.

Lists A list of which mailing lists this entry is for. Lists defined so far:

XMAS Christmas list
NORMAL Home phone book
NoList Don't print this entry
WORK Work phonebook
If a Lists entry isn't defined, assume that it is in the NORMAL category. You can make your own lists at will.

Phone Phone number

WorkPhone Work phone number

CellPhone Cellular phone number

Fax Fax phone number

Modem Modem phone number

Pager Pager phone number

E-mail E-mail address

WorksAt Name(s) of places the person works

Address1 First line of an address

Address2 Second line of an address

Anniversary Date of wedding anniversary

Birthday Date of birthday

Comment1 Arbitrary comments

Comment2 Arbitrary comments

Reference A reference as to why I know this person

Field name	Description
Name	The name of the individual Sometimes a husband/wife/children are combined here, especially when there is no distinguishing information such as Birthdate.
SortAs	Use this string instead of the name when sorting this entry.
ResidenceName	The name of the residence, such as: Mr. and Mrs. soandso and Family This is used for mailings. This title will be used in preference to the name for mailing labels. Note that the labels are only generated based upon other information. It is somewhat arbitrary which entry this goes on.
InResidence	Indicates the residence that this person resides in. A good place to look for an address if needed.
Lists	A list of which mailing lists this entry is for. Lists defined so far: XMAS Christmas list NORMAL Home phone book NoList Don't print this entry WORK Work phonebook If a Lists entry isn't defined, assume that it is in the NORMAL category. You can make your own lists at will.
Phone	Phone number
WorkPhone	Work phone number
CellPhone	Cellular phone number
Fax	Fax phone number
Modem	Modem phone number
Pager	Pager phone number
E-mail	E-mail address
WorksAt	Name(s) of places the person works
Address1	First line of an address
Address2	Second line of an address
Anniversary	Date of wedding anniversary
Birthday	Date of birthday
Comment1	Arbitrary comments
Comment2	Arbitrary comments
Reference	A reference as to why I know this person