                                                                     

                          Retail Prices Index

                                  by

                              Eddie Lord


This file contains a programme to calculate comparitive prices using the
RPIindex from 1925 to 1990. This was rebased in 1987.

The program is self explanatory. Dates can be entered as 1990 or as 90
(for example).

This is just one programme in a collection of programmes that I
originally wrote for the Master. Other include Interest calculations,
Long Wave business cycles along with some photographic software.

Any correction, rhubarbs or other ideas to me please, via Norwich 
Computers.

23 September 1990.

                ===============================
                  Modification by David Holden
                ===============================

The original program took the RPI from DATA statements inside the
program. This made it rather inflexible as although it was possible to
add extra years you would have to 'hack' the program to do so. Not only
would you have to add extra DATA statements but change the end year,
which was fixed at 1990.

I therefore put the RPI data into an external text file called 'Index'
in the application directory. This is a bit inflexible so you will need
to be careful if you alter it, but it is a lot easier than changing the
program itself. I have not changed the main program structure. This is a
bit 'delicate' as it uses INPUT statements so beware of what you type,
there is no trappimg for sill input data. (GIGO)

The first year is now the year on the first line of the file. After this
come the indexes for all the following years. There must not be any
blank lines, and there must not be any spaces between the start of a
line and the index. If you want to add comments you can put them on any
line after the actual index (I've included the decades to demonstrate
this). I have used Eddie Lord's original data from the years 1925 to
1990, but it should now be possible to extend this backwards and
forwards fairly easily.

As a 'double check' that the data has been entered correctly, if you
hold down either ALT key when you start up the program it will print out
a list of the years and the RPI's before it runs. Paging is enabled to
stop it all scrolling by to fast so you will need to press SHIFT to see
the next whole list. (Tip - hold down CTRL otherwise it will zoom past
too quickly).

If you extend the years before 1900 or after 1999 everything should
still work OK, but beware of using just the decades instead of the full
year. If you enter '35' as a year it will always be interpretted as
1935, no matter what start and end years you have used for your data.

    David Holden - Archimedes Public Domain Library - March 1995

