Support Files

00000.xxx: Index definition file

This file is used to define which files are included in a specified index (identified by the xxx) and the order in which they should be displayed in that index. The basic format is simply an ordered list of file names, but it should be noted that:

• Comment lines may be included. These are identified by a leading "!" character.
• Comments may be added after the file name. These are also identified by a leading "!" character but must be separated from the file name by at least one space or tab character.
• In some cases, a single file is shared between multiple indexes. To avoid the need for duplicating files, the second and subsequent indexes using a file should cross-reference the original index by appending the index abbreviation to the file name, separated from it by a "~" character.

Thus, for example, the Index definition file for the Western Fiction Index (00000.wfi) contains the line:

bgdbf.mag~CFI          ! Big Double Feature Magazine

indicating that bgdbf.mag (representing Big Double Feature Magazine) should be included in the index but is currently held with the files for the Crime Fiction Index (CFI).

00xxx.mag: Additional Entries

This file is used to add additional entries to the author index. The format is simply a standard header record:

A0~[Miscellaneous Entries]~~~~6~~~~~~mg~*~

followed by one or more item records defining the entry to be added.

This was initially created to support named serial parts in the CFI, where the entry is followed by an item note record containing the cross-reference. Thus, for example, the Sax Rohmer novel Brood of the Witch Queen was serialised in seven parts in Mystery in 1933 with a separate title for each section. Conceptually this should have been coded as:

E    A0~Rohmer, Sax~Witch's Son [Part 1 of 7, The Invisible Stranger; "Brood of the Witch Queen"]~n.1914PMRMay +8~The ~

or similar (the precise format was never finally agreed) but it proved impractical to provide support for this in theold index programs so, instead, the entry was coded as:

E    A1~Rohmer, Sax~Witch's Son [Part 1 of 7; "Brood of the Witch Queen"]~n.1914PMRMay +8~The ~
E    B1~subtitled "The Invisible Stranger".~

with an entry added to the miscellaneous entries file containing:

E0000A1~Rohmer, Sax~Invisible Stranger~ss1933MRTMar~The ~
E0000D1~see under "The Witch's Son".

This practice was never followed in the other indexes and will hopefully become redundant when full support is provided for named serial parts. Meanwhile the same approach was adopted for information to be displayed in the indexes where it was felt undesirable to create formal issue entries - typically either when adding entries from an author bibliography submitted to the index, or when a contributor supplies details of minor items from relatively unknown publications.

pseud.xxx: Name over-ride file

This file is used to over-ride validation checks for specific names defined in PSEUD.CVT. The format of each record is:

x:name

where x is a single upper-case alphabetic character defining the type of over-ride and name is the associated name in PSEUD.CVT. Currently the only value used for x is:

A - used for "fake" names (such as Professor Moriarty) to indicate that date checks should be ignored for this name.

valnames.xxx: VALNAMES exceptions file

This file is used to indicate known anomalies thrown up by the VALNAMES program that should be ignored. It simply contains copies of the associated messages generated by VALNAMES.PRT, e.g.:

Author less than 15 years old when they died: "Gladstone, Jessy~00~ Gladstone, (Catherine) Jessy~~(1845-1850)~"
Dubious Abbreviation Date in file - AusJSS1
Partial series name match "Alien"
Invalid target for "12" record: "Bradford, Gordon~12~pseudonym of~Arrow, Jay #2~"¬"Arrow, Jay #2~11~pseudonym~~(fl. 1970s)~RR2~"

Note that in the last of these the ¬ character is used to indicate a line break for a message that spans multiple lines.

validate.xxx: VALIDATE exceptions file

This file is used to indicate known anomalies thrown up by the VALIDATE program that should be ignored. There is a single copy of this file that covers all files in the database and, as such, it is subdivided into sections prefaced by a line starting with ">>" followed by the file name (in lower case). Note that lines containing only ">>" or lines starting ">>!" may also be used to add comments/spacing to the file. Each section then contains the error messages that should be ignored for that file, e.g.:

>>
>>! AFI
>>
>>1kfce.mag
Invalid Publisher Name - Super!! Stories!! Press
>>7seam.mag
Invalid Binding - stapled digest

Note that, in general, only the first line of the message is checked. However, in cases where the first line is fairly generic, the second (contextual) line should also be added following a ¬ character as in:

>>blmuk.mag
Short story larger than 20 pages¬-- at - E 47A0~Hyne, Cutcliffe~Guns for Cuba~ss1897PRSFeb~The ~~Kettle| Captain Owen~

Note that a special suffix of |*** may be used to indicate that only the portion of the message prior to the suffix should be checked. This may be used in cases where the precise contents of the record may vary between the UK and the US, particularly with regard to "new format" dates. This a line of the form:

Short story larger than 20 pages¬-- at - E 145A0~Kellerman, Jonathan~His Victory Garden~ss|ACD|1992|Spr|(v25:2)|~

Short story larger than 20 pages¬-- at - E 145A0~Kellerman, Jonathan~His Victory Garden~ss|***