QUOTE's operation is straightforward. QUOTE is a small program that will display a single random quote on the screen if you invoke it without arguments. Options are provided to permit the user to clear the screen first, to display multiple quotes, to use an alternate quote datafile, or even to alter QUOTE's default configuration.
After you've placed the program where DOS can find it, type QUOTE -? at the DOS prompt. You should see a brief help message similar to the following:
Usage: quote [options] [qdat]
Options:
-c = update program configuration
-rn = set repetition count to n
-s[+,-] = clear/don't clear screen first
-v = verbose reporting
-? = provide this help message
Qdat refers to the quote datafile; it defaults to quote.dat.
What's New in This Release: [ read full changelog ]
· The creation of the USENET newsgroup alt.quotations has rekindled my interest in this little gem. It has not only served as a source for new material but also encouraged me to have another look at the source code. The result is a significant performance gain in version 2.5 since quotes are displayed as a whole rather than one character at a time.