• Field names can be no longer than 20 characters.

• You can only have 20 fields per database.

• You are limited 500 characters per field of data.

To make our DEMO.TXT file a CSV, I had to enlist the help of my favorite spreadsheet. I opened DEMO.TXT in Microsoft Excel 97, which recognizes the data as text and automatically launches the Text Import Wizard. The data in each column is of a fixed width using spaces in between, so Excel can easily determine that the data in each column represents a cell of data. Once I was able to import the data into a Excel worksheet, I put in a field name for each column of data in the first row, making sure that I didn't exceed 20 characters of data per field name. I saved the file as DEMO.CSV, ran JCONVERT, installed the compiled .pdb file on my PalmPilot, and Sha-zam! My database of 1998 Major League Baseball pitcher statistics was ready for use.

Of course, you might not be so lucky to find text on the Web in perfect columns, so you might need to massage the data in a text editor or move it around in your favorite spreadsheet program first. But now at least you understand how simple the process is, right?

Ah, the light at the end of the tunnel is always so refreshing.

Jason Perlow is a computer consultant and freelance writer living in the NYC metro area. He can be reached via email at the incredibly cool address of jason@argonautsystems.com.