NicBase prn files

[Brian Souza]

I have noticed with NicBase files that have been exported using the
print (.PRN) feature in NicBase that it is much more difficult to import
these files. is there any kinda utility or quick fix to import a .prn
file into Nicbase?
I have found that the amount of time required to import a Nicbase
file that has been exported using Print(.prn) instead of creating a standard
gamfile (.g30/i30) requires 10 times the time to import. anyone else face
this problem? are there any solutions to this?

I would appreciate any help please post here for the benfit of
others who maybe facing the same wall.

thx in advance. Brian E. Souza Pacifica, Ca
<be...@netcom.com> (in the fog bank)

[Nicolo de Groot]

On a trip to Holland last week I paid a visit to the New in Chess offices
in Alkmaar. I got a chance to play with the alpha release of the new
NicBase program and managed to get a copy for testing (I did some programming
for NIC abt 6 years ago, when they were still selling ChessBase). Here are
the first impressions:

1. Hans and Nico Kuijf left NIC to write another database, Tascbase.
The program is being written by Peter van Diepen and Anton Schermer. Both
of them have a name in the Dutch chess world as programmers. Peter has won
the Dutch computer chess championship a couple of times. Anton is the author
of a tournament pairing program. They redesigned the user interface completely.
The new one looks much better than the ugly old monochome screen and it is
also friendlier and more intuitive.

2. System req: minimal 386, VGA, 1Mb ram, harddisk, mouse.

3. File formats: Nicbase3, ascii, PGN (this was not in the test version yet,
because they claimed that the ascii routines can do this, I showed them
it could not) and probably ChessBase (read-only, also this was not in the
demo). The new version of NicPublish will be able to read NicBase files
directly and produce straight postscript diagrams, i.s.o. going through
the expensive Ventura program.

4. Release dates: Nothing firm here, it depends on the testing. The idea is
to first release the ChessQuiz program. This is a NicConsult, based on the
new Nicbase with extended quiz features. This should be in 3-4 months. The
new full NicBase will take some more time.

5. Rebel 6.0 and NicBase: Rebel 6.0 is able to read NicBase and ChessBase files.
Some problems have been reported with games that were converted from other
formats. The reason for this is that the NicBase file format is not fully
known, some conversion programs do not produce 100% NicBase format and Rebel
is very picky. I tried to convince them to publish the full description of
the data files. They will need some time to get to the idea, I guess.

6. Internet: NIC should get an internet connection in a couple of days.

that's all,

Nicolo

disclaimer: this is not an official NIC statement, just my impressions of
a visit. I have no commercial interest in any of their products,
but I do like the people working there.

[M.A. Powe]

Brian Souza (be...@netcom.com) wrote:
: I have noticed with NicBase files that have been exported using the

: print (.PRN) feature in NicBase that it is much more difficult to import
: these files. is there any kinda utility or quick fix to import a .prn
: file into Nicbase?
: I have found that the amount of time required to import a Nicbase
: file that has been exported using Print(.prn) instead of creating a standard
: gamfile (.g30/i30) requires 10 times the time to import. anyone else face
: this problem? are there any solutions to this?

No, I don't think there is a "quick fix," because NB doesn't have a
multiple game import function. If you have some need to exchange data in
this fashion, the best solution would be to export the games to a
gamefile, and then use NIC2PGN to convert the gamefile to PGN text. This
text file can then be converted back to NB with PGN2NIC.

Converting an existing .prn file to PGN can be time-consuming. You need
to use a good text editor, like Boxer, which has full macro capability.
With a little effort, you can create a macro that will convert an entire
NB header to PGN format with one keypress. You are still going to have
to go through the entire file one game at a time, though. And, of
course, the macro will be quite precise: if every header is not exactly
identical, the macro will freak and so will you, when you see the mess!
(Voice of experience!) However, I have to say that this method is less
time-consuming and requires less effort than a direct import into NB.

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Michael Powe do...@teleport.com
"Let me smile with the wise, and feed with the rich." S. Johnson
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