QUERY / A.M.I.R
A command-driven database interpreter for DOS.
Borland C, MS-DOS
Author’s notes
Amir Husain · software I wrote
A database worked from a prompt. A.M.I.R stood for Advanced Media Interpreted Record system, and the interpreter takes one command at a time: crt defines a table and its fields, add enters records, lst lists them a page at a time, src finds the record where a named field holds a value, del drops a table, and anything after a # is handed to DOS.
A table is a text file with one field on each line and a definition file beside it naming the fields, so the data could be read and mended with any editor. The table in the recording holds machines from this collection. Its fields are single words because the search reads the file a word at a time, a decision that made sense when every record you had was a name and a phone number.
Reading the demonstration
The demonstration opens help, lists records, searches fields, adds a record, and invokes a DOS command from the interpreter.
About this recording and recovery
The recording and description are retained with the software. Where the recorded environment is identified, it is named beneath the recording. No additional repair history is asserted here.
Archive record
- Author
- Amir Husain
- Date
- c. 1994
- Environment
- Borland C, MS-DOS
- Reference
- ATX-SW-QUERY
The software archive preserves dates, implementation notes, and surviving source material. Contact the museum to explore the program’s documentation.