A NYBBLE OF WINDOS
by (Ms.) Gail S. Thomas

This article will provide a nybble of WinDOS. According to the
article, "Units of Storage," contained in the innovative Window Book,
WinDOS, a nybble is half as big as a byte, a group of four bits forming
half a byte. WinDOS serves not only as an example of the possible
applications of a technology, but also as a reference source in its own
right. WinDOS, an MS-DOS reference guide presented on a floppy disk,
utilizes the technology of the Window Book Authoring System, developed by
Box Company, Inc., 63 Howard Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139.

Drawing on the concept of hypertext, Window Book Technology facilitates
information storage and retrieval. Both French and English language
versions of the technology are currently available. Divided in two parts,
the technology consists of an authoring system for creating Window Books
and a presentation system for displaying Window Books. WinDOS serves both
as a practical demonstration of the presentation modules and as a
commercially available and immediately useful software product.

Recently I tried WinDOS Version 3.0, Text Version 3.21. The product falls
somewhere between the help file of a software program and a conventionally
printed and bound, weighty technical encyclopedia. Within that scope
WinDOS provides documentation for all DOS versions up to DOS 3.20.
According to Jeff Peoples of Window Book, Inc., a version encompassing DOS
3.30 is due in September 1988, and a version dealing with DOS 4.0 in
October 1988. The company also plans a Window Book on Lotus 1-2- 3
macros, release date not yet set. Suitable for use on PCs and
compatibles, the product requires DOS version 2.0 or later, 128K memory, a
double-sided disk drive and monochrome or color display. The product is
available on either 5.25 inch or 3.5 inch diskettes. Access to a printer
is recommended. For maximum quick reference convenience the product can
be installed on the hard drive. However, I also made use of the product
for reference and browsing on an IBM PC Convertible with two 3.5 inch disk
drives.

WinDOS is read on its own, not through a word processing program. Much as
in a conventional reference book, a detailed Table of Contents directs the
reader to a series of chapters treating topics ranging from DOS commands
to hard disk management techniques. A particularly intriguing feature
includes the "Jargon Index," a quick reference index listing
"Computerese," jargon, symbols, terms and abbreviations commonly
encountered in computing language, literature and textbooks. Effectively
the section on "Jargon" provides many of the computer terms the practicing
computerist always wanted to know about but probably never found the
opportunity to ask. Other topics in the "Jargon Index" include diskettes,
DOS names, DOS special symbols, file systems, input/output, and keyboard
terms.

So far WinDOS probably sounds like a reference book merely transferred to
a floppy disk and possibly installed on a hard disk drive. However, the
concept of associative reading sets WinDOS apart from a conventional
reference book or help file. A cross-reference function, referred to as
"CROSS-REF" in the software, allows the reader to choose articles closely
related to the material that he or she is already reading. While the
reader peruses any article contained in WinDOS, words within the article
leading to related articles are highlighted in blinking reverse video. At
any time while reading the article, the reader can find further
information on an "CROSS-REF" article by pressing the F1 key. The reader
structures the reference book to suit his or her needs.

In theory the associative reading procedure sounds rather like the
branching commonly found in computer-assisted instruction software
programs. In practice the associative reading procedure serves to provide
quick and thorough answers to computer related questions. For a simple
example, consider the concept of parking the hard disk. Suppose I want to
transport my PC X/T without risking damage to the data on the hard disk,
despite the existence of backup diskettes. From the Table of Contents of
WinDOS I choose the entry "Park." That choice gives me a short, specific
article summarizing and describing the use and function of the "Park"
command, as follows:

"SUMMARY. "PARK" removes the hard disk's read/write head to a safe
area so the disk can be moved without risking scratching an area
containing valuable information.

"DESCRIPTION. Physically moving your system may cause the hard
disk's read/write head to touch and possibly scratch the disk surface.
PARK moves the disk head to a safe location where there's no information
that could be lost; in other words, to a safely 'scratchable' location.
You then should turn the power off, to keep the head in that place,
because any further command you execute will simply move the head back to
some other--and damageable--location."

That relatively small entry contains vital information for anyone who owns
a PC with a hard disk. Even normally deskbound, larger-than-laptop PCs
get transported from one desk to another, or from one room to another.
Even access to that single reference could help prevent data loss. The
foregoing excerpt from WinDOS demonstrates the clarity and simplicity of
the explanations contained in the disk-book. For ease of reference the
program allows printing of individual articles. The printed articles
achieve a neat predetermined format, using the command and a short
explanation as a header, and a copyright notice as a footer.

Realistically the offline printing capacity constitutes both a strength
and a weakness of the product. For permanent reference, or for actually
utilizing a command or concept directly in DOS, the computerist needs to
either print out the desired selection or else make a note of the command
name, path or structure. The program can be made background resident,
always available by pressing a "hot key." However, it is difficult to
make the program truly background resident in the presence of another
shell or background program, such as the IBM Fixed Disk Organizer.
Otherwise, WinDOS provides crisply written, quickly accessed explanations
of commands and procedures associated with the theory and practice of
MS-DOS personal computing. A built-in tutorial gives computerists a
comprehensive orientation to the program.

**** Dr. Michael Spier, President of Box Company,
developed the Window Book technology. For information on Window Book
technology contact Mr. Jeff Peoples, President, Window Book, Inc., 63
Howard Street, Cambridge, MA 02139, 1-617-661-9515.