Ringing Software
I have produced many programs connected with ringing over the years, initially
for a BBC Computer, later transferring to an Acorn Archimedes, and now
for a PC compatible. All of this software has been for my own use, and
consequently is not particularly user-friendly. Some may however be of
interest to other ringers: I am happy to let others have copies of programs
but cannot guarantee that they will be able to use them. Here is a summary
of the kind of tools I have used. Send an
for further discussion of any of these topics.
I developed a number of programs on the Archimedes to help with compiling
the CC Stedman Triples Collection.
I had several aims :
-
To save all peals I had collected for possible inclusion in a compact format
(I have a single 840K floppy drive)
-
To ensure that only true compositions could make their way into this database
-
To ensure that what was published was what I had checked
Stedman is particularly awkward to handle in a general-purpose proving
program, because of the two calling positions within a division. I have
two separate programs for entering and checking peals.
Multi-Bob Peals
To enter multi-bob peals each course is entered as a string of characters
from " -s", and each is immediately checked against previous courses. Any
false sixes and the corresponding sixes in previous courses are highlighted,
and courses following the first containing a completed row are ignored.
Operations also include inserting, deleting and copying blocks of courses.
The calling can be saved only when it is true and comes round after 840
sixes, when two bits are used for each calling position. The peal thus
requires 210 bytes of storage, plus additional text fields for a name and
the composer.
Twin-Bob Peals
Twin-bob peals are stored as a single bit per Q-set (120 each for bobs
and singles), hence can be compressed into just 30 bytes. The program displays
the blocks into which the 60 courses fall with the current choice of Q-sets.
By clicking on a calling position with the mouse, the corresponding calls
in other courses are highlighted, and double clicking will toggle the Q-set
(between S/L, H/Q or p/s). A composition can be saved only when all the
courses have been joined into a single block. Using this program peals
can be composed from scratch in a matter of seconds.
Multi-Part Peals
Once the raw figures for the peal have been entered, repeated blocks have
to be identified and labelled as such, so that the peal can be presented
in a more compact form. Again there are separate programs for twin-bob
and multi-bob peals, which perform the same task. The user selects a block
of courses and gives it a label, when the program will find all similar
blocks. This information is then appended to the composition, and used
when it is printed out. I did toy with automating this process completely,
but the blocks chosen by the program were not always the most appropriate.
Windows Database
When I switched to using Windows to put the finishing touches to the
collection
my main aim was to be able to import my previous files, and get the output
sorted out, so the program I generated cannot be used in the same way as
the Archimedes versions to produce compositions on the fly. However it
is available for download, along with an extended database, and new compositions
can be entered if you know the secret (and undocumented) formats. One day
I hope to sort this out and turn it into a composition aid.
Spliced Surprise Minor
I wrote some software for the Archimedes specifically to help with constructing
the 1440 in the 23 Cambridge and Chester above
methods. I knew the basic structure I wanted - it was just a question of
which courses to ring with which back work, which bell to fix for the grid
splice, and where to include the 3-lead splice. These were the inputs to
the program, which then found which places had to made at each lead-end,
ensuring that there would be a plain lead of each method. I then chose
the best from amongst the blocks produced.
Proving programs do not generally allow for multi-extent blocks. Rather
than write a program that does, it is simpler to generate the rows and
analyse
them separately.
Universal Surprise Major
The programs to generate my Universal Surprise
Major database were originally written for the Archimedes, but were
rewritten for Windows when I started investigating individual lead head
orders. The search programs can be put into the startup group and will
run in the background, selecting a lead head order at random and taking
up the search where it was left off. In addition there are two programs
to interrogate the database: one finds the best composition (if any) in
the database given a set of falseness groups, and the best rotation according
to a set of rules as to which coursing-orders are better than others, the
other will set off a search to see whether a better one can be found. I
also have a program to generate methods to fit
specific falseness requirements.
I wrote a simple program for the BBC as a back-of-the-envelope substitute
for playing around with touches of Stedman.The cursor could be moved up
and down to enter calls, and the resulting six-ends were shown. It is straightforward
to do something similar using a spreadsheet.
It is useful to know whether it is possible to reach a given course-end
within a set number of sixes. As a result of a query posed on the
Change-Ringers'
mailing list, I generated Windows programs to find the shortest touch
to get between two given six-ends, and all touches of a given length leading
to a chosen course-end. These are available for
download.
PealBook
- Peal Records Database
SCAMP - Spliced Composing Aid
WinDove - Dove's Guide Database
Philip's Home Page
This page created by Philip Saddleton
Last updated 7 April 2008