ftp.whtech.com/ftp.whtech.com.tar/ftp.whtech.com/articles/reviews/08MIC95.TXT

Text File | 2006-10-19 | 16KB | 278 lines

MICROREVIEWS for August 1995 MICROpendium
by Charles Good
---------------------------
TI 99/4A SOFTWARE DATA BASE
by Mickey Cendrowski and Notung Software.

    This is a TI Base template used to keep track of all your TI
software and reference books.  First you load TI Base (available from
most generic TI dealers such as L.L. Conner or Ramcharged) and then
you load Software Data Base.  The following are entered for each item
in your inventory:
    PROGRAM; the title of the software or book.
    SOURCE; where you obtained the product, maybe with a date and
cost.
    MEDIA; a unique number assigned to the item, such as M0023.  Use D
for disk, M for module, C for cassette, and B for book.
    CODES; a group of letters and numbers.  Sugested codes are
C-copyrighted, F-fairware, P-public domain, T-official TI program,
S-single file program, M-multiple file program, and a number showing
the total sectors the program occupies.
    MODULE; the module needed to run the program, or "BAS" for TI
BASIC.
    TYPE; the kind of software.  Fifty category abbreviations are
suggested.  Some examples of these categories are TOD (Tunnels of Doom
games), MIDI, MAC (MacPaint pictures), TIA (Artist pictures), GRAP
(graphics programs), HARD (hardware projects), etc.  Help screens
listing all the suggested category abbreviations and their definitions
are available on line.  The user can create additional software
categories as desired.
    COMMENTS; up to 39 characters of custom information about the
program.

    Appending new database items or delting old items is easy.
Searching for a program name is also easy, although you have to spell
the program name exactly.

    Perhaps the most useful way of displaying SDB data is in printed
reports.  I find that it is quicker and easier to find a program
listing on a group of printed SDB pages than it is to load TI BASE,
then load SDB, then have the computer scan the data base for a
particular program.  Printouts can be alphabetical for the whole data
base at once, or each category separately alphabetical within the
category.  Printing is in condensed print (136 columns) with all the
data for a particular program on a single line.  The printouts are
designed with a wide left margin so you can hole punch the sheets and
put them in a ring binder without losing the ability to see all the
data.  I particularly like this wide left margin feature.

    Other public domain or sharware TI disk software data bases let
you put each of your disks in the drive and automatically organize the
data for you in ways you might not find useful.  With these
"automatic" data bases the disk directory of each disk is sucked into
the data base.  This lets you find all your disks that have the
program LOAD or UTIL1 on them, which is often meaningless.  The
automatic databases also let you bring up a directory of your "disk
238", which is something you can often also do by pulling 238 out of
its disk box and reading its label.  A disadvantage of SDB is that it
is not automatic.  You have to manually type in all the data.  An
advantage of SDS is that you can customize the database to your
specific needs even creating your own software cateories.  Also SDB is
the only product of its kind that lets you keep track of ALL your TI
stuff, including books, cassettes, command modules, and disks.

    SDB costs $20 and is sold by Notung Software.  It comes on a SSSD
disk with nicely written 30 page user guide.  You  need TI BASE
v2.0 or later.
---------------------------------
   XB PACKER v1.2 by Brad Snyder

   This utility allows users to make practical use of an AMS 128K or
   256K memory expansion card.  With XB Packer you can load up to 10 XB
   programs into a 256K AMS card (5 into a 128K card).  These XB
   programs all reside in bank switched CPU memory and can be run in any
   of several ways.  You can manually switch memory banks from XB
   command mode and enter RUN, or you can run the programs from XB
   Packer's menu by entering the number next to the program's menu
   listing, or let the programs automatically call and run each other.

   I find XB Packer really user friendly.  When you turn on your system
   you run the EA5 program ABOOT to set up the AMS card.  Then you go
   back to the title screen, insert the XB module, and run XB Packer
   from XB.  Once XB Packer is loaded you can use SHIFT/FCTN to change
   memory banks and a little display at the top of the screen tells you
   which of the 10 (or 5) banks you are in.  From XB command mode go to
   bank 1 and enter OLD DSK1.XBPROG#1.  Then SHIFT/FCTN to bank 2 and
   OLD DSK1.XBPROG#2, etc, loading XB programs into as many of the 10
   banks as you want.  At any time you can press SHIFT/CTRL to bring up
   a menu from which you can RUN a program in any bank.  You can put
   custom titles in this menu to specify the name of the program in each
   bank.  When you have loaded all the banks you want you can, with one
   command mode CALL LINK, save all the banks at once back to disk along
   with their menu titles in a special format.  Next time you use XB
   Packer you can, with another CALL LINK, automatically load all the XB
   programs and their menu entries from disk (or ramdisk or hard drive)
   back into their repective memory banks, all in one continuous
   operation.  Thus, once you get a group of XB programs set up the way
   you want them it is never again necessary to load them manually one
   at a time into each memory bank.  The autoload of a group of programs
   can be set up so that a program in a specified bank immediately
   starts running after all banks are loaded. You also have the option
   of displaying the menu of program titles after an autoload so the
   user can select which program to run first. At any time from a
   running program pressing SHIFT/CTRL will get you back to the menu.

   Any program in any bank acts as if it were a self contained XB
   program.  You can stop a running program with FCTN/4, edit the
   program and save it to disk, OLD in another program, etc. You can
   then switch banks from command mode by pressing SHIFT/FCTN and RUN or
   edit programs in other banks.  XB Packer seems compatible with the
   various gram based extended extended basics.  I have tried XB Packer
   with TI XB enhanced with Art Green's GUMS, with RXB v1002, and with
   Tony Kneer's XB v2.3 all with no obvious incompatibilities.

   Probably the most practical use for XB Packer is with a series of XB
   programs that load and run each other, programs that contain
   statements like RUN "DSK1.NEXTPROG" as part of their code.  To make
   this work just replace each RUN "DSK1.NEXTPROG" with CALL
   LINK("BANK",x) where x is a memory bank number.  When a running under
   XB Packer reaches this code, XB Packer will switch to the specified
   bank and immediately RUN the program in that bank. Having XB programs
   call other XB programs this way is very fast, faster than RUN
   from ramdisk and much faster than from floppy disk.

   There are a couple of limitations to XP Packer.  One- you can ONLY
   load runable XB programs into the AMS mamory banks when using XB
   Packer.                                              If your XB
   program reads data files or assembly language files, these files
   still have to be on a disk or ramdisk.  Two- XB programs run under XB
   Packer can't have any imbeded assembly code.  If you RUN an XB
   program with imbeded assembly code under XB Packer the program will
   appear to run properly, but the assembly code will overwrite XB
   Packer so that bank switching is no longer possible.  If a CALL LINK
   to another bank is attempted you will get an XB error message.  This
   is a significant limitation.  Most of the better XB packages that
   load parts of themselves into memory as needed have assembly calls.
   This is true of Bill Gaskill's Mail List Manager, which would be a
   great candidate for running under XB Packer except for a little bit
   of assembly code found in only one of its separate XB program pieces.
   If an XB program listing says SYSTEX near the beginning this means
   the program contains assembly code and probably won't properly bank
   switch to other programs in other banks. I hope Brad Snyder will
   write a version of XB Packer that puts its assembly code in low
   memory.  This would result in less memory available for XB code but
   would not interfere with the imbeded assembly code code contained in
   many of the better XB programs available today.

   To use XB Packer you must have an AMS 128K or 256K card in the Pbox.
   The AMS card and XB Packer have been successfully tested by me on a
   40 and 80 column (AVPC 80 column card) 99/4A system.  AMS doesn't
   work with a Geneve.  XB Packer is part of the software package given
   to purchasers of the AMS card.  Included is on disk documentation and
   a demo set of music XB programs all set up to batch load into the AMS
   and play from the XB Packer menu.  XB Packer is fairware and the
   author requests only a $5 donation.

   ACCESS:
   Brad Snyder (XB Packer author); 4260 Cedar Drive, Walnutport PA 18088
--------------------------
EXTENDED BASIC VERSION 2.3 by Tony Kneer

    This is another "extended extended basic" for gram devices.  You
need a Gramkracker, Pgram, Gramulator, or Geneve to run this   XB v2.3
is adds additional features to regular TI XB and is fully compatible
with the original.  Any software written for TI XB will run under XB
v2.3 with no problems.  XB v2.3 is public domain.

    I recently reviewed another similar gram based public domain
extended extended basic called RXB.  RXB is so extensive and offers so
many enhanced features that one might wonder why anyone would bother
considering another similar product.  Well, with extended extended
basics (there are several of them in gram, module, and disk additives
to regular TI XB format) it is the little things that count.  Which
extended XB has the particular combination of additional features
desired by the user?  They are all a little different.  If you have a
hard drive or a big ramdisk you can have several of these XB's
available and switch between them as desired.  XB v2.3 has some unique
and useful features.

    For me the most useful feature of XB v2.3 is its compatibility
with enhanced PC keyboards.  When running extended basic software the
BREAK key (Fctn/4) now works!  One of the most annoying aspects of
using either a Geneve or the WHT XT keyboard interface is that you
can't press the F4 or Fctn/4 keys to stop a running extended basic
program, which is something we are all used to doing on our 99/4A
keyboards.  Until now, when running XB software on a Geneve or when
using the AT keyboard interface, the only way to abort a running XB
program was to reset the computer.  This is often very inconvenient
and causes you to lose potentially important information.  XB v2.3
comes in a 99/4A version and a Geneve version.  Using the Geneve
version on a Geneve you just press the F4 key when running XB software
and the computer screen says BREAKPOINT IN LINE xxx just like pressing
Fctn/4 on a 99/4A.  I havn't tried this on the WHT AT keyboard
interface, but I suspect F4 should BREAK there too when using XB v2.3.
I love this!  XB v2.3 is now the version of XB I use most often on my
Geneve.

    When you start XB v2.3 you can bypass the autoserch for DSK1.LOAD
with the spacebar.  XB v2.3 has a nice resident true lowercase
character set.  By using one word CALL commands all redefined characters
can be reset at once to include these lowercase characters, or to TI's
original character definitions with or without affecting screen
foreground and background colors.  You can, with one CALL, set all
foreground, background, and screen colors to any of 13 predefined and
quite readable combinations.  You can catalog any drive, including
ramdisks and hard drives, with a path name up to 11 characters, a very
handy feature.  Some of the other enhance CALL's, all of which work
from within a program as well as from command mode include: BEEP,
CHIME, CRASH (makes a sound, doesn't destroy the computer), GPEEK
(reads GROM addresses), HELP (lists the new commands), HONK, LRGCPS
(loads the title screen's large capital characters), MLOAD (loads and
runs EA5 software), MSAVE (saves part of memory as EA5), NEW (works
from within a program), NYANYA (makes the sound kids make to taunt
each other), SCREENOF & SCREENON (blanks screen & turns it back on),
SPOF & SPON (stops and restarts all sprite motion), VPEEK, VPOKE, WAIT
(causes a delay of defined length), XB (restarts XB), and the very
significant XXB.

    All of the above enhanced features and extra calls are available
all the time when using XB v2.3 and are fully compatible with all
software designed for use with regular TI XB, even software that has
assembly CALL LOADs and LINKs.  If you enter CALL XXB this will load
Barry Traver's XXB v1.5 into lower memory giving you access to all the
XB v2.3 and all the XXB v1.5 commands.  XXB v1.5 has previously been
available on disk CALL LOADable from the TI XB module.  You don't need
the Traver XXB disk when using XB v2.3 because all the XXB code is
already contained in the XB v2.3 gram files you have already loaded
into your grem device or Geneve.  When you enter CALL XXB to put the
XXB routines into low memory this may result in incompatabilities with
extended basic software that has assembly calls which also use low
memory.

    The additional features of Barry Traver's XXB include some of the
following.  You can read from and write to single sectors on a disk.
Disk files can be protected or unprotected.  A complete suite of 40
column text mode commands is available.  You can move back and forth
between graphics (32 column) and 40 column text mode and you can
define the left and right margins for text in each mode.  You and PEEK
and POKE CPU and VDP memory using strings, which is more efficient and
probably easier than numbers.  This is a partial list of XXB's
features.

    There are no special editing capabilitie in XB v2.3 similar to the
editing features of RXB.  You can't, for example move the cursor
up/down within a line of code and you can't move or delete whole
blocks of line numbers.  When I want to do these things I use RXB in
my Pgram or my Geneve.  XB v2.3, like RXB, is under some circumstances
not recognized by Funnelweb's Disk Review when trying to run XB
software from the Disk Review disk directory.

    Like I said, its the little things that count, and no extended
extended basic does it all.  I usually use regular TI XB (modified by
Art Green's GUMS) in conjunction with Funnelweb's Disk Review on my
99/4A system.  I usually use XB v2.3 on my Geneve because the BREAK
key works.  I use RXB for programming and editing XB code and for
running DV80 USER batch files.

    XB v2.3 comes on a a DSSD disk with on disk documentation.  Since
XB v2.3 is public domain, all owners of gram devices and in particular
all Geneve owners should have it in their library.  I'll send it to
you for $1.   Even though it is public domain, you might want to send
the author a nice letter of appreciation, and maybe also some money.
-----------------
ACCESS:
Notung Software (Send $20 + $2 shipping for Software Data Base); 7647
McGroarty St., Tujunga CA 91042

Southwest 99ers (They sell the AMS card which includes XB Packer. A 256K card
costs $100); P.O. Box 17835, Tucson AZ 85730

Brad Snyder (XB Packer author); 4260 Cedar Dr., Walnutport PA 18088

Tony Kneer (author of XB v2.3); 17 Marshall Circle.  Downington PA 19335
Phone [phone].  Compuserve #72070,513

Charles Good (send me $1 for XB v2.3); P.O. Box 647, Venedocia OH 45894. Phone
419-667-3131.  Email [e-mail] (preferred), or
[e-mail]