Bris Data file help...? Anybody?

[JustRalph]

I am wondering if anybody can tell me the best way to modify the bris data file ? What to use? Excel Maybe?

I specifically want to modify the bris Par times in a card file. I want to be able to apply a formula that will automatically locate the bris par times in the file and apply a formula that will adjust the numbers, such as.

subtract 5 points from each number.

so if the Bris par times for a specific race are: 94 92 88 88

I would like to alter them to 89 87 83 83

and then be able to save the file for opening in my own software.

I have the info on where the data is in the comma deliminated file. See the link here http://www.brisnet.com/cgi-bin/static.cgi?page=drfmff

I would like to be able to do this to every race in a card.
I am a novice with excel and can't find the info. Any help would be greatly appreciated.............Thanks!

ralph

[rrbauer]

Why don't you just front-end with your software and change them there?

Also, which BRIS file(s) are you referring to?

[JustRalph]

These

http://www.brisnet.com/cgi-bin/trk_report.cgi?drs

[michiken]

Ralph,

I suggest you download htmlkit (http://chami.com/) Although this is a html editor, it is like notepad on steroids. Notepad will work in a pinch, but it does not offer things like Line Numbering.

Do not attempt to edit the drf files with anything but a true text editor - MS programs like WORD may add their proprietary codes to the source and will totally screw the drf structure up.

I just released kenverter in the software section (http://www.paceadvantage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=31497). Download it and open the kenverter-parser.php and print it out. This will show you how it breaks up the single file into the multi format.

kenverter can be customized any way you want it to be. After you read and learn the code, you can modify it to do what you want:

For example, lines 325 thru 329 are as follows:

Line 325 > $_str .= $_data[$_i][214] . ','; // 2f Pace Par
Line 326 > $_str .= $_data[$_i][215] . ','; // 4f Pace Par
Line 327 > $_str .= $_data[$_i][216] . ','; // 6f Pace Par
Line 328 > $_str .= $_data[$_i][217] . ','; // Speed Par
Line 329 > $_str .= $_data[$_i][218] . ','; // Late Par

Just edit all of these lines to subtract five from the data array i.e:

$_str.= $_data[$_i][214] - 5 . ',' ; // 2f Pace Par

If there are fields that you do not want to import, just comment them out with double forward slashes at the beginning of the line i.e you don't want the horses Weight:

// $_str .= $_data[$_i][51] . ','; // Horses Weight

~ Although kenverter is still in beta and creates multi file formats it should work ~

[CBedo]

I created a very simple spreadsheet which will pull the pars out of the drf single file. Let me know if I can help you create it yourself (pretty easy to explain so you can modify however you need it).

CBedo

[JustRalph]

thanks very much guys. CB I got your PM too. I was not aware of the flaw in Excel that you pointed out. I will let you know about your suggestion.

Mich, I will give it a whirl. Thanks very much!

Ralph

[K9Pup]

thanks very much guys. CB I got your PM too. I was not aware of the flaw in Excel that you pointed out. I will let you know about your suggestion.

Mich, I will give it a whirl. Thanks very much!

Ralph

By flaw I assume you mean the restriction that excel has of 255 columns?

[CBedo]

Yes, that is what he is referring too. But, if you just want to pull out the pars, it shouldn't be a problem as they are in column numbers (I might be off a few) like 210 or something (not what the data structure specifies by the way).

Good luck, and let us know if we can be of any assistance.

[DollarBill]

Have you ever tried to use the bris utility thats available in the software section called INFOTRAN.exe. It is under the category Other utilities. It takes a while to understand how to use the program but it will break apart the programmers datafile into a smaller comma delimited file and might help with your problem.

[JustRalph]

thanks Dollar!

[headhawg]

This has been mentioned here before but you might want to try CSVEd instead of Infotran. It might be easier to use.

CSVEd Site (http://home.hccnet.nl/s.j.francke/t2t/text2table.htm)