Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!asuvax!mcdphx!hrc!jordache!patfieldk
From: patfieldk@jordache.UUCP (Kevin M. Patfield)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc
Subject: Re: combining stacks
Summary: HyperCard will do this fine
Message-ID: <4f3a8282.14cd9@jordache.UUCP>
Date: 15 Jan 91 23:55:30 GMT
References: <5590@rex.cs.tulane.edu>
Organization: gte
Lines: 43

In article <5590@rex.cs.tulane.edu>, david@bourbon.ee.tulane.edu (David Kaufmann) writes:
> Here's a problem: I have four different mailing lists in hypercard
> stacks. Each mailing list is for a different grouping, with some
> significant overlap......
> 
> 1) What's the easiest way to combine the lists, putting on some tag so
> that I can extract names as needed from group 1, 2, 3 or whatever, for
> labels?
> 
> 2) Is hypercard the best program to use (I don't have any others and
> this is a non-profit group I work for)?
>
> David Kaufmann
> INTERNET:	david@bourbon.ee.tulane.edu

I've done something very similar, well a bit similar anyway.  Five accounts stacks
(checks, visa, amex etc) and a desire to produce a accumulated report showing
expenditures by date within category across the five stacks.  The solution depends
upon whether you're using 1.x or 2.0.  

In 1.x my report generator opened each stack in turn, sorted it appropriately
and then walked through the cards accumulating the pertinent information in a
container.  Each stack's information must be stored in a separate container
(using fields of my report generator card made it easier to code but slower
than using variables -- designer's choice.)  When you've got each stack's
information sorted like this you now have to do a classic merge.  Compare the
first line of each container, output the lowest one and delete it.  Repeat
until all the containers are empty.

In 2.0 things got much easier because of the ability to sort a container.  I
now just put all the extracted information in a single container (no need to
sort the individual stacks) and sort the container.  The report is generated
from the sorted container.

I hope your situation is similar enough for this to be helpful.  I can email
you more details if you like.  Email me at the address below, replying by
the path won't work to this site.

-- 
Kevin Patfield, AG Communication Systems, Phoenix, AZ
UUCP: {ncar!noao!asuvax | uunet!zardoz!hrc | att}!gtephx!patfieldk
Internet: gtephx!patfieldk@asuvax.eas.asu.edu
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