Introduction to ?LongText

?LongText is a class that is still evolving, both in terms of its features and the way in which it is presented. What follows pertains to ?LongText as it exists in ACEDB version 3 in mid-June, 1994.

Although ?LongText is intended to be used for textual data, it differs substantially from ?Text. In ?Text the ANY structure allows ?Text items to connect to objects from different classes. This in turn allows ?Text to function as an index. ?LongText does not support links back to any object; all links to ?LongText are one way.

Another difference is that the name of a ?Text object is where one is obliged to store the textual information itself; there is no other place to put it. ?LongText differs in that the text data is distinct from the name of the ?LongText object.

Like ?Text, ?LongText can be searched from the main window, but the user is required to click the "Long Search" to the right of the text box first.

Finally, ?Text gives the curator little if any control over the appearance of the information. This is not a disadvantage for single words or short phrases but is a drawback for anything more complex than a paragraph. However, within a ?LongText object it is possible to preserve simple formatting; for example, blank lines and indentation.

Format Example

As an example of a formatted document, consider the following model in which ?TShirt is associated with a ?LongText "Poem":

?TShirt Poem ?LongText
The corresponding data contains two objects, the TShirt (sam67) and the LongText poem (about_red_shirts). The TShirt contains a one-way link to the poem:

TShirt : sam67
Poem about_red_shirts
 
LongText : about_red_shirts
Red      T-shirts
   are
     My

       Favorite!!
***LongTextEnd***
Notice the unusual syntax of a ?LongText entry. The actual data appears free-style underneath the obligatory Class : ObjectName line; it continues up to (but not including) the special symbol "***LongTextEnd***" which is required to terminate the entry.

The poem appears in the lower half of sam67's text window below a solid line. The link to the LongText -- in boldface -- is in the upper half :

As noted earlier, the text in ?LongText objects can be searched from the Text box on the main window. Other methods for searching LongText exist and will be covered in the next section.

Show me the whole t-shirt model again.

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