Archive Magazine 1995/ARCHIVE95.iso/text/magazine/volume_04/issue_05

Text File | 1995-06-25 | 187KB | 4,004 lines

Late again!
4.5
Sorry that this issue is even later than the January one. One reason is
that Ali fell on the ice and broke her wrist (Ouch! Get well soon, Ali!)
but the other reason is...
4.5
First Impression
4.5
At last, Iæve made the move and gone over to preparing the magazine on
Impression II on the Archimedes. All I can say is that I wish I had made
the move earlier. It is a bit slower at the moment because Iæm having to
learn as I go but I can see that itæs going to be much quicker and
easier in the long run.
4.5
My first impressions (sic) of Impression II are: (a) speed Ö this is
mainly due to the screen update which is much, much faster but also, the
spelling checker is noticeably faster than on the Mac and (b) what I can
only call öimmediacyò. Part of this is that people send in their
material on disc, it goes straight into the machine and straight into
the magazine (no more spooling across from a BBC Master to the Mac!!).
The other aspect of this immediacy is the direct in-memory transfer of
RISC-OS Ö you edit something in !Edit or !Draw or !Paint and, even
without saving it, drop it into an Impression frame and see the effect.
If itæs not quite right, you edit it again and drop it in again Ö very
powerful and very impressive compared with the Mac.
4.5
Over to you!
4.5
This changeover to Impression means that you can help to speed up the
preparation of the magazine by the way you send in your contributions.
If you use Impression, we can give you a template to use so that, as you
write your articles, comments, hints or whatever, you can add the
familiar Archive styles as you go along.
4.5
I have explained this in a bit more detail on page 52ff but, basically,
if you send in anything for publication, please send it in on disc. When
we send the disc back (assuming it has a name and address on it!), we
will send you a copy of the monthly program disc.
4.5
Thanks again for all your help,
4.5

4.5
Products Available
4.5
Å    Archway2 is here at last. Simtronæs Wimp programming software has now
appeared in its mark II format. It has so many features that youæll have
to ask Simtron to send you a descriptive leaflet. The price is ú99.95 +
ú5 postage from Simtron or ú90 through Archive.
4.5
Å    ArcMonitor Ö ArcMonitor, Cambridge Internationalæs machine code
monitor program has gone up in price from ú24.95 to ú29.95 (ú28 through
Archive).
4.5
Å    ArcPinball Ö Shibumi Software have produced a pinball machine on your
screen for just ú24.95 or ú23 through Archive. It claims to be the
closest computer simulation to the real thing. It has various backdrops
and music tracks. One nice feature is the video snatches which appear at
appropriate points during the action.
4.5
Å    ArcTerm7 from The Serial Port is a full-featured comms package for
just ú79.95 (ú75 through Archive) from öthe comms guruò Hugo Fiennes. It
offers TTY, ANSI, VT52, VT102 and Viewdata terminals with X, X-1k, Y, Y-
g, Z and J modem protocols as well as Kermit, SEAlink, MNP2 and Vasscom.
Other features include 100-number phone directory, call logging, script
language and macro keys.
4.5
Å    Bengali and Punjabi outline fonts Ö Hampshire Microtechnology Centre
have produced outline fonts for Punjabi and Bengali characters. These
can be used with Impression, Poster, PenDown, Draw etc. Each language
font is on a separate disc for ú20 per disc plus ú1 post & packing. Also
on each disc is a file containing a printout of the font plus a keyboard
overlay in Draw and Poster format.
4.5
Å    Blowpipe from The Serial Port is a ötotally awesome horizontal shoot
æem up gameò with 5 levels of ömeteoric mega-actionò and 2.5M of 256-
colour graphics with 15 pieces of 4-channel stereo music all compressed
onto two 3.5ö discs for just ú19.95 (ú19 through Archive).
4.5
Å    Capsoft Disc N║1 Ö This disc contains various drawn fonts, borders,
frames etc for use in DTP and !Draw. Useful for creating dropped
capitals, posters etc. Send ú6 cheque to B.J. Thompson, 8 Oldgate
Avenue, Weston-on-Trent, Derbyshire, DE7 2BZ.
4.5
Å    Careware N║ 12 Ö The latest in our series of charity discs is Careware
N║ 12 which contains HU-Prolog. A review of this appears on page 40. (We
have raised over ú35,000 for charity through Archive magazine during the
last couple of years. Well done all who have contributed!)
4.5
Å    CJE ARM3 Ö There has been a bit of a problem with the software that
was shipped with the early CJE ARM3æs. Basically, it bore a remarkable
similarity to the software written by Nick van Someren for the Aleph One
ARM3. About the only thing that had been changed was the copyright
string! However, CJE and Aleph One have settled out of court and Nick is
donating a proportion of the compensation money to charity. CJE are re-
writing their control software and so, if you have a CJE ARM3 and the
modules on the disc are dated September/October 1990, contact CJE for
details of how to get your free, legal version of the software.
4.5
Å    Decibel Attenuator Circuit Ö By any other name, this is a fan slower-
downer. If you are fed up with the noise of the fan on a 310, 410, 420
or 440 Ray Maidstone has come to your rescue. He has produced an
electronic speed control board (user-fittable) for just ú18 +VAT (ú20
through Archive). He has done careful temperature measurements to check
whether effective cooling takes place at lower fan speeds and the
evidence shows that you donæt have to suffer Concord-type noises any
longer!
4.5
Å    Desktop Folio from E.S.M. should be ready by the time you get this
magazine. For ú90 +VAT (ú95 through Archive) you get the long-awaited,
much-trialled, school-oriented öword-processor, desktop and interactive
publisherò.
4.5
Å    Dongle Dangle Ö We are now stocking dongle dangles for Computer
Conceptsæ Impression dongles at ú5. If your computer goes back against a
wall, you probably find that the extra distance the dongle plus printer
lead sticks out is a nuisance. The dongle dangle is a short flexible
extension cable which will allow the dongle and printer lead to... yes,
dangle... down behind the computer. It should also work for the WorraCAD
dongle.
4.5
Å    DTP Seeds is a book of ideas for DTP Ö ú8.45 from 4mation or ú8
through Archive. This book has 100 pages of sample DTP output to show
what can be done using the DTP facilities available on the Archimedes.
It is not specific to one DTP package but gives general ideas about the
sort of impressive output you can produce with good DTP techniques.
4.5
Å    Educational materials Ö G.A.Herdmann Educational offer a free
catalogue of materials for DTP, electronics, educational games, advanced
chemistry, data-logging, assessment and CAL. Just send them an S.A.E.
4.5
Å    Equasor Ö For those who need to put scientific equations in their
Impression text, Computer Conceptsæ Equasor is what you need Ö ú56.35 or
ú52 through Archive.
4.5
Å    Expression-PS Ö For those preparing Impression output for printing on
PostScript devices including professional typesetters, Computer Concepts
have produced a utility program (ú23 from CC or ú21 through Archive).
This provides such facilities as control over screen density and screen
angle, provides a selection of different screen designs, allows output
on a variety of new page sizes, provides negative output and automatic
font name conversion from Acorn to PostScript names.
4.5
Å    File Handling for All is the title of a new book from David Spencer
and Mike Williams of Beebug Ltd. It aims to offer an extensive and
comprehensive introduction to the writing of file handling programs with
particular reference to BASIC. It applies to the BBC Micro as well as
the Archimedes. The cost is ú9.95 plus postage from Beebug. There is
also a supporting disc for ú4.75.
4.5
Å    Giant Killer from Topologika is a maths adventure game. It includes
calculator games, number patterns, tessellations, map work, topology,
time/space and logical puzzles. It is a well-established product that
has only just come to our notice and sells for ú19.95 or ú18 through
Archive. Also available is the Giant Killer Support disc at ú17.50 (ú16
through Archive) which is a disc of Giant Killer puzzles in graphical
form.
4.5
Å    Investigator II Ö The Serial Port have an improved disc utility
program providing sector level disc utilities allowing the accessing of
discs where other methods fail. ú27.95 from The Serial Port or ú26
through Archive.
4.5
Å    Iron Lord Ö Another game ported across from the Amiga by Cygnus
Software. It is a medieval adventure which also has arcade action and
wargaming. The price is ú19.95 from Cygnus or ú18 through Archive.
4.5
Å    Landmarks Ö Longman Logotron have released the first two titles in
this series which is aimed to complement the Landmarks Schoolsæ TV
series. Landmarks Egypt and Landmarks Second World War provide text and
graphics data which pupils can interrogate. The packs are ú19 +VAT each.
(ú20 each through Archive.)
4.5
Å    Mad Professor Mariarti Ö This is a maze-type game from Krisalis
Software where you have to travel around through five laboratories
avoiding being killed by nasties, and solving puzzles in order to
complete all 100 screens. Sounds familiar? Maybe, but our two boys (aged
10 and 12) have been hooked on it for days. ú19.95 or ú18 through
Archive.
4.5
Å    Magpie is a multi-purpose program aimed at primary and middle schools
for doing project work. It can be used to combine pictures, text and
sound samples and can even be used as a simple DTP medium using Acorn
outline fonts. Magpie is ú54 +VAT from Longman-Logotron or ú57 through
Archive.
4.5
Å    Mental Maths is Cambridge Internationalæs new mental arithmetic pack
for ú19.95 (or ú18 through Archive) It is designed to work in with the
National Curriculum attainment targets but ömakes learning and practis
ing mental arithmetic funò.
4.5
Å    MicroNet removable hard drives Ö The speed increases and the price
falls! The average access time of the MR45 drives is not 25 milliseconds
as previously stated but 20 milliseconds. Not astounding news, true, but
the really good news is that we are now buying in big enough quantities
to go direct to the importer and can therefore get an even better price.
We have now brought down the price of the basic drive from ú650 to ú595
including VAT & carriage and, with an Oak podule, to ú795. With the
Lingenuity podule, it is ú775.
4.5
Å    OCR from Irlam is still önot quite readyò Ö about three weeks. The
cost will be ú159 +VAT or ú165 through Archive.
4.5
Å    P.I.P.P. Ö Cambridge International Softwareæs Professional Integrated
Project Planner is now available in four versions for primary, middle
and secondary schools and for teachersæ and resources centres. The cost
of each package is ú49.95 or ú46 through Archive.
4.5
Å    PowerBand version II Ö 4mation are offering a free upgrade to Mark II
Ö just return your two discs to them (not us). This new version clears
up one or two minor bugs (as they say!), has lots of improvements to all
aspects of the original game, allows the skill level of opponentsæ cars
to be individually set, allows the number of opponents in Fun and Game
modes to be set between 2 and 11 and allows you to adjust your own skill
level.
4.5
Å    Revelation is an education-based art package from Longman Logotron
(ú76 +VAT or ú80 through Archive.). It has been created with particular
emphasis on facilities for taking images from other sources such as
digitisers, scanners or video frame-grabbers and processing them to
create totally new pictures.
4.5
Å    Show Page Ö For anyone interested in learning about PostScript and for
those wanting to handle PostScript files from other computers, Computer
Concepts have produced a PostScript compatible interpreter which runs in
the RISC-OS environment (minimum memory 2M). The price is ú149 +VAT or
ú155 through Archive.
4.5
Å    Square Route Ö At last a slightly different game Ö well, Iæve never
seen it before. It has 250 levels and all you have to do in each level
is öturn the right number of white squares into redò. Simple? Not
exactly, you have to use your brains. When you have completed all 250
levels(!) you get a special number which will allow you to send off for
a further 250 levels for just ú6.99. The game is not copy protected
(making hard disc operation easy) but has an embedded serial number to
enable its producers, Computereyes, to prosecute those who breach
copyright. The price is ú19.95 from Computereyes or ú18 through Archive.
4.5
Å    Tracker is a music sequencing package for producing your own sound-
tracker module for use in your own programs. ú49.95 from The Serial Port
or ú46 through Archive.
4.5
Å    VIDC enhancer & Taxan 795 Ö People using Taxan 795 monitors may like
to know that Atomwide have produced a new module for use with their VIDC
enhancer. This is a free upgrade if you send them a disc plus some
stamps.
4.5
Å    Worldscape from The Serial Port is an emulation game in which you try
to control the ecological balance of the world. You build cities, power
stations, search for coal and oil, plant forests etc and see what the
effect is on the ozone layer, temperature, pollution, sea levels etc.
The price is ú19.95 or ú19 through Archive.
4.5
Å    X_Image is an image format conversion utility for PC compatibles (!!)
which will convert from Acorn sprite format to TIFF and other PC image
formats. Needs files on a PC format disc (using, say, !PCDir from
Careware N║7) and only costs ú10 from Foster Findlay Associates.
4.5
Review software received...
4.5
We have received review copies of the following software & hardware:
Capsoft disc N║1, Decibel Attenuator, File Handling For All, DTP Seeds,
Maddingly Hall, PipeLine October 1990 and January 1991 discs, Carewares
4, 5, 6, 10, PRESæs A3000 disc interface and DFS reading software and
Minervaæs (new) Business Accounts packages.  A
4.5
Help!!!!
4.5
Å    Disc format for Sun Sparcstation IPC Ö I want to convert from this to
A3000, so does anyone know anything about the disc format I need? I
could go via MS-DOS, I suppose. Darren Sillett, Aldershot (0252Ö345641).
4.5
Å    File recovery Ö In DOS there are products such as PC Tools which allow
the recovery of deleted files from hard and floppy discs. To my
knowledge there is no such thing for the Archimedes. Obviously this will
be difficult for E format, but any offers?
4.5
Å    Hardware projects Ö If anyone is interested in hardware projects on
the Archimedes, I have some expertise in hardware and some contacts who
can do some software. All we need is ideas! Does anyone have any
suggestions of the sorts of things they would like to see hung on the
end of an Archimedes? Or are you interested in getting involved in such
a project yourself? If you have any such interest, contact me via the
Archive office. Alan Bryant, Kent.
4.5
Å    HP Deskjet Plus RISC-OS printer driver Ö If you ask anyone for a
printer driver for the HP Deskjet Plus, they say you should use the
Laserjet driver. However, this does not support all the facilities of
the Deskjet. Has anyone improved on this driver? Chris Bollard,
Plymouth.
4.5
Å    Maths Shareware Ö The Maths disc, Shareware 25, seems to have been
well received. However, more programs are being sent in. Is there demand
for a second such disc? What sort of software would people like to see
included? Brian Cowan.
4.5
Å    Microsoft Word or Write Ö Has anyone got any details of the format
used by Microsoft Word or Write on a PC so I can convert from Archimedes
format? BJ Edwards, Beaconsfield.
4.5
Å    MS-DOS queries Ö Is there anyone who considers themselves an Éexpertæ
on using MS-DOS on the Archimedes who would have the time to answer
queries sent in by letter to the Archive office? It would probably only
be about one a week on average.
4.5
Å    PC program to read DFS Ö Does anyone know of a program on a PC which
will read DFS discs? BJ Edwards, Beaconsfield.
4.5
Å    Quattro data files with Schema ù Does anyone know how to translate
Quattro data files into Lotus 123 format so that they can be copied into
Schema? I have AsEasyAs, Twin and Symphony (which does produce Lotus
format files) but have so far failed to load any Quattro files. Contact
Michael Green, Fire Beacon Cottage, East Hill, Sidmouth, Devon, EX10
0ND.
4.5
Help offered
4.5
Å    Digitisation Ö If anyone wants artwork or VHS tape images digitised,
let Ned Abell know on 02922Ö249. Prices would be by arrangement
depending on what you wanted.  A
4.5

4.5
Hints and Tips
4.5
Å    ANSI C v3 on a SCSI Hard  Disc ù After some trial an error, I finally
managed to install ANSI C v3 correctly on my new Oak SCSI card with 45Mb
hard disc drive.  Hereæs what I had to do:
4.5
First change line 3390 in the ÉInstallNetæ program which is on all three
of the ANSI C discs so that it reads:
4.5
3390 DATA öADFS::0.$ò,öNET:$ò,öSCSI::SCSIDisc4.$ò
4.5
Then run the öInstallHDò program from each disc and always answer ÉYæ on
the overwrite options (otherwise, the back up program would stop).
4.5
If you use the included !Cstart obey file, you should not É*Set
Run$Pathæ in your !boot file and you should remember to modify the
!Cstart file to work with SCSI and not ADFS i.e. c$loc SCSI::4.$
4.5
Atle Baardholt, Norway
4.5
Å    Deskjet Plus ink cartridges, recharging Ö Further to Bill Grahamæs
note in Archive 4.2 p8, Iæve found that Quinx Permanent Black works well
and is probably cheaper than Art Pen Ink. You do need to be careful that
you donæt inject more ink than the sponge will absorb, otherwise the
mess is dreadful!  Stuart Bell, Brighton.
4.5
Å    DropShip passwords Ö Passwords for DropShip are Dahlia, Gaggle, Kaunda
and Nautch.
4.5
Å    ExAllPlus Ö This is a non-Wimp program which was written in an attempt
to catalogue my discs. It was designed for use with a single ADFS Floppy
drive and a SCSI Hard disc together with a Star LC10 printer using
continuous paper. Other printers may require some alteration to the
coding.
4.5
Most existing öExAllò and öCatAllò programs invoke the *EX and *CAT
calls (!) which produce a lot of unnecessary and confusing duplication
of libraries, directories etc. (I have memories of the reams of paper
produced by an  öExAllò print-out of the original Archimedes Welcome
disc.) To avoid this, these calls have been re-written so that, in
addition to other changes, the directory headings have been reduced to
path descriptions.
4.5
The program will produce both screen and printed listings of either the
full disc or the root directory. The various options are selected by a
series of key-strokes and a default screen öExAllò routine has been set-
up which can be easily customised.
4.5
Use can be made of the condensed print option to produce catalogue
listings eight entries wide as against the usual five. This rather
spoils the screen display in this mode but it was thought useful to
maintain a check on the output to the printer. When using this option to
produce öEXò listings the screen display is OK and the reverse feed
facility of the Star LC10 enables double column print-outs to be
obtained.
4.5
The öGetTypeò program is loaded in by the main öExAllPlusò code and
contains all the FileType codes I have been able to find but it can
easily be updated.
4.5
(The listing is far too long to put in the magazine. I have put it on
the monthly program disc. Ed.)
4.5
Doug Tuddenham
4.5
Å    First Word Plus embedded commands Ö If you switch off the Word
Processor mode of FWP you can enter printer commands directly into the
text.  Double bracket command codes e.g. ((n))n1 can be entered to
change the printer font and style. For example, with a Star LC24-200 in
the following effects can be achieved:
4.5
Font    ((F))0    Times Roman
4.5
        ((F))1    Sans Serif
4.5
        ((F))2    Courier
4.5
        ((F))3    Prestige
4.5
        ((F))4    Script
4.5
        ((F))5    Draft
4.5
Size    ((S))0    Standard
4.5
        ((S))1    Double Width
4.5
        ((S))2    Double Height
4.5
        ((S))3    Double Width and Height
4.5
Colour    ((C))0    Black
4.5
        ((C))1    Red
4.5
        ((C))2    Blue
4.5
        ((C))3    Violet
4.5
        ((C))4    Yellow
4.5
        ((C))5    Orange
4.5
        ((C))6    Green
4.5
Peter Thomas, Leics
4.5
Å    FWP Cut and Paste Ö It is possible to cut a marked block of text in a
First Word Plus document and then paste it into another document.  Both
documents must be loaded first.  This may be obvious but I have only
just found out ù the hard way.  Dave Livsey, Devon
4.5
Å    Impression hints & tips Ö Now that I am using Impression for the
magazine, there are likely to be a number of hints & tips forthcoming.
Some of these may be obvious to the more experienced Impression users,
but bear with me because some of us are only just beginning and, in
fact, the experiences of someone just starting to use an application can
often be very helpful to others going through the same hoop. Also, when
you have been using an application for a while, you build up the feeling
that you know how it works and there may be facilities which you never
realised were available which new users pick up. Anyway, here are the
first few...
4.5
Adding styles to titles Ö If you want to add a style to a title, be sure
to select the whole line including the carriage return. In other words
either put the cursor by the left hand margin and drag down to the next
line or triple-click somewhere on the line. (Iæm sure you all know that
double-click selects a word, triple-click selects a line and quadruple-
click (or <ctrl-@>) selects a whole paragraph.) The reason for selecting
in this way is that if you only select by dragging across the line, you
omit the carriage return which remains in the base style. The problem
with this is that if, as in the title lines in Archive, the added style
says öreduce the space after the paragraph to zeroò, the carriage return
still has the full space-after-paragraph so the paragraph spacing
remains unchanged.
4.5
Entering point sizes Ö If you want to change the size of some text, you
mark it and press <shift-ctrl-S>. If the dialogue box is empty, you can
type in a number, say 18, and it will assume you mean 18 point. If you
decide that you want it a bit bigger and press <shift-ctrl-S> again, it
comes up with ö18ptò in the box. If you then type in, say, 2 <return> it
will interpret the ö18pt2ò as (18+2)pt and will give you 20pt! (Well, it
works in version 2.05.) Unfortunately, if you press <-> to try to put,
say, -2, it seems to interpret it as an escape and closes the box.
4.5
Marking, deleting and re-typing Ö (This is something that is obvious to
people coming to Impression via the Mac but may have been missed by
people brought up through RISC-OS.) If some text is marked, by any
means, and you want to replace it by some text you are about to type in,
there is no need to delete the marked text first. As soon as you start
to type, the marked text is deleted and transferred to the scrap-pad and
your typing appears in place of it. The deleted text can be used
elsewhere by pasting it in with <ctrl-V>.
4.5
Quick searching Ö If you want to find something quickly, find/replace is
a good way to do it. Call it up with <ctrl-f4> and then, to delete the
text already in the dialogue box, press <ctrl-U>, then type in the word
you are looking for and press <return>. (This use of <ctrl-U> applies to
all dialogue boxes Ö useful when saving a document under a new name.)
Remember though that it searches from the cursor downwards, so add a
<ctrl-uparrow> before calling up the find/replace box. (In the version I
have, 2.05, the cursor is sometimes not re-displayed in its new position
after a find/replace has been executed. In other words, it appears to be
still where you left it but it may actually be further down the document
so itæs worth getting into the habit of using <ctrl-uparrow> anyway.)
Also, donæt get tripped up, as I just did. If you set the öcase
sensitiveò option, it stays set until you switch it off again. So, if
you canæt find a word that you know is in there somewhere, check that
you have not left it in the case-sensitive mode from the last time you
used it.
4.5
Replacing double spaces Ö I was trying to do a selective search and
replace to remove double spaces and replace them with single spaces.
When I told it to find the next one, it sometimes didnæt appear to mark
anything. Most peculiar!  Eventually, I realised what was happening. The
text was fully justified and the double spaces (the same would apply to
finding single spaces) were between the last word on one line and the
first on the next line. Thus Impression was marking the infinitesimally
small space at the end of the line, i.e. was marking nothing at all.
Thereæs nothing you can do about it (apart from removing the full
justification) but at least if you are aware of the problem, you wonæt
be so baffled when it happens.
4.5
Searching for hyphens Ö In some versions of Impression, it is not
possible to search and replace hyphens. I discovered this because, for
ease of typing, I was using a double hyphen where I wanted a dash in the
text, the idea being to replace them later. Impression refused to find
any occurrences of hyphen-hyphen. Consultation with CC revealed that
improvements in automatic hyphenation have resulted in this problem. The
way round it is to search for ÿ and replace it with Ö. Note the spaces
after the backslash and before the 45.
4.5
Smart quotes Ö If you want smart quotes in a text, i.e. the curly ones
instead of the straight ones on the key next to the return key, you can
type them in using <ctrl-]> and <ctrl-\> for single quotes and <shift-
ctrl-]> and <shift-ctrl-\> for double quotes. However, if you think
thatæs a bit of a fag to remember, use the normal quotes and then,
before printing, save the file (just in case of operator error!), save
the text with styles (perhaps to a ram disc as itæs only temporary),
select the whole text (<ctrl-T>), delete it and finally drop the saved
text back into the document. As the text is re-loaded, quotes are
automatically Ésmartenedæ.
4.5
Switching styles on and off Ö Those of you brought up in the Mac world
may not have realised, as I didnæt until today(!) that if you want
something in, say, bold, all you have to do is press <f4> to switch it
on, type in the bit that is to be in bold and then press <f4> again.
Obvious? Yes, it may be to those who come new to Impression but for
those of us steeped in Mac techniques, it comes as a welcome surprise.
4.5
If there are things about using Impression that Écame as a surpriseæ to
you, send them in to us (preferably on disc) and weæll share them with
other Impression users. We may even need an Impression Column.
4.5
Å    Rotor and other gamesæ passwords Ö One way to obtain the Rotor
passwords (and possibly other games) is to load each of the gameæs files
into !Edit and use the ÉFindæ option to look for the first password.
When the password is found, the remaining passwords should be in the
next couple of lines.  Andrew Campbell, Devon
4.5
Å    Sony TV / Monitor Ö I was told by Beebug that I couldnæt use my Sony
TV as a monitor with the A3000, but in fact this is quite easy to do.
The sony TV requires a signal on pin 16 (blanking input) of the Scart
plug, which can simply be connected to pin 20 (video input).  Keith
Raven, Slough
4.5
Å    Z88 file transfer Ö Here is a little utility for people who wish to
transfer files from the Archimedes straight into suspended memory on the
Z88.  It saves having to break a file into smaller sections first and,
of course, there is always a memory overhead in having at least part of
the file held in the Z88 Filer.  With this BASIC program, the filer is
by-passed altogether.
4.5
 10 REM >Suspender
4.5
 20 REM Transfer file from Arc to Z88 suspended memory
4.5
 30 REM ** IMPORTANT: Set z88 receive baud rate at 2400 (in panel) **
4.5
 40 *CAT
4.5
 50 *FX 8,5
4.5
 60 INPUT öSend file? òfile$
4.5
 70 *FX 3,119
4.5
 80 OSCLI(öType ò+file$)
4.5
 90 FOR i%=1 TO 350
4.5
100 PRINT ö#ò
4.5
110 NEXT i% : REM these pad chars are need for certain types of file
4.5
120 *FX 3,0
4.5
To load a file into PipeDream, enter ö:COMò as the öName of file to
loadò in the files menu.  Then run öSuspenderò and immediately press
<return> on the Z88.  Finally, when the BASIC prompt reappears on the
Archimedes screen, press <esc> on the Z88.
4.5
It is kinder to your disc drive to copy the target file into the
Archimedesæ RAM filing system first.
4.5
Jonathan Barnes, Watford
4.5
The following Hints and Tips come from Hugh Eagle of the West Sussex
Archimedes User Group.
4.5
Å    Disappearing paragraph spaces in FWP ù If, at the end of a paragraph,
you type a space immediately before the carriage return, the carriage
return will be deleted when you subsequently reformat the paragraph.
Believe it or not, this is a öfeatureò of First Word Plus (documented in
the version 1 manual on page 110)!
4.5
Å    Loading sprite files ù When you double click on a sprite file icon,
sometimes it is displayed at the bottom left-hand corner of a blank
screen and sometimes in a !Paint window.  This is because the action the
computer takes when you try to örunò a sprite file depends on the
contents of the system variable Alias$@RunType_FF9.  This variable is
defined by default, when the Archimedes is switched on, as öScreenLoad
%0ò.  The effect of this is that when you double click on a sprite file
(type &FF9) icon, the operating system executes the instruction
*ScreenLoad [filename]; this clears the screen and then displays the
first sprite in the file at the graphics origin. However, when the
Desktop Filer öseesò the !Paint application (i.e. when a directory
window is opened in which !Paint is included) it runs the !Paint.!Boot
file which, amongst other things, redefines Alias$@RunType_FF9  in such
a way that when a sprite file is örunò the !Paint application is started
up (that is if it is not already running) and the file is loaded in.
4.5
Å    Listing the contents of your (hard) disk ù The operating system
command ö*Count :4.$.* RVò will catalogue the contents of the root
directory and every sub-directory.  As explained on pages 279/280 of the
User Guide, the output from this command can be redirected to the
printer by adapting the command to ö*Count :4.$.* RV {printer: } ò
4.5
Note: the spaces around the curly brackets and the > sign are important.
4.5
This method will redirect the output to the printer without displaying
it on the screen. An alternative method will send all text that is
displayed on the screen to the printer as well: first press <ctrl-B>
(i.e. hold down the ctrl key and simultaneously type B), then issue the
command ö*Count :4.$.* RVò then, when the listing has finished, press
<ctrl-C>.
4.5
Å    Removing PC Access ù  The menu which appears when you click the menu
button over any of the PC Access icons on the icon bar has no Quit
option and the application doesnæt seem to appear in the Task Manager
window.  In fact, the application does appear in the Task Manager window
... in the öModule Tasksò section. Clicking the menu button over the
applicationæs name there and moving to the Task ÉPC Accessæ sub-menu
gives a öQuitò option.
4.5
Å    Printing via a PC ù For some time I have been perplexed to find that
when I try to print a file created by the Archimedes !PrinterLJ printer
driver to a LaserJet printer attached to a PC, the printout stops part
way down the page. At first I thought it must be because of  limited
memory in the printer so I tried creating the file at a lower print
density but this made no difference to how much of the page was printed.
4.5
I think I have now hit on the answer, namely that, when using the MS-DOS
Copy command to print a file which includes control codes, it is a good
idea to use the /b öswitchò, using the syntax:
4.5
copy [filename]/b LPT1
4.5
The insertion of /b after the filename causes MS-DOS to copy in öbinaryò
mode: i.e. it copies as many bytes as there are in the file. Otherwise,
in text mode, copying will continue only until the first end-of-file
marker (Ctrl-Z or ASCII character 26) is reached whereupon it will stop.
It is of course highly likely that a graphic printfile of many thousands
of bytes will contain this character several times, so it is not
surprising that only part of the page is printed!
4.5
Å    Viewing !Draw files ù The standard way to view a draw file is to load
it into !Draw. However, this has an irritating tendency to place the
part of the picture you want to see outside the visible window. There
are (at least) two convenient ways of avoiding this problem:
4.5
One is to load the file into the !Display application from Shareware 26.
The other is to load it into an Impression frame (or, presumably, a
frame in one of the other DTP applications). In either case, the drawing
is scaled to fit the frame (the aspect ratio is preserved, so the
picture fills either the height of the frame or the width). One
advantage of Impression is that the frame can very easily be resized and
the drawing thereby magnified; another is that it makes it very simple
to display a number of drawings on a page and create an illustrated
catalogue.
4.5
Å    Floppy disc E format ù So far as I know, the detailed format of ADFS
discs has not been published either in any of the manuals or in Archive.
Having recently deleted some files by mistake and been forced into some
detective work in order to recover them, I thought it might be helpful
to write down what I have found out about öEò format floppy discs:ù
4.5
With two sides, 80 tracks on each side, 5 sectors on each track, the
disc has 800 sectors of 1024 (&400) bytes each. The sectors can be
thought of as being numbered from 0 to 799 in the following order:
4.5
    Track    Head    Sector
4.5
        0        0        0
4.5
        0        0        1
4.5
        0        0        2
4.5
        0        0        3
4.5
        0        0        4
4.5
        0        1        0
4.5
        .        .        .
4.5
        0        1        4
4.5
        1        0        0
4.5
        .        .        .
4.5
        .        .        .
4.5
       79        1        4
4.5
Each byte on the disc has a ödisc addressò equal to the sector number,
as defined above, times &400 plus the number of bytes into the sector.
Put it another way:
4.5
the disc address    =   (((( track * 2 ) + head ) * 5 ) + sector ) *
&400 + bytes into sector
4.5
Map format Ö The first two sectors on the disc contain duplicate copies
of the disc map. The first 64 bytes of the map contain the following
information:
4.5
byte  0    a checksum byte
4.5
bytes 1/2    the number of bits to the place in the map which marks the
first free space on the disc, counting from the beginning of byte 1 (if
there is no free space this number will be zero); the top bit of the 16
is always set, so, for instance, the value &8310 in these two bytes
would indicate that the first free space in the map could be found &310
bits or &310 DIV 8 bytes from byte 1, i.e. at byte &63
4.5
byte  3    &FF
4.5
bytes 4-35    the ödisc recordò as described on pages 1012/3 of the PRM
containing various details about the disc size, etc. which are the same
on all öEò format discs, ending with the Disc ID at bytes 24/5 and the
disc name from byte 26 to byte 35.
4.5
bytes 36-63    reserved (all zero)
4.5
bytes 64-863 (800 bytes) ù the actual disc map.
4.5
Each byte in the map represents one disc sector and the contents of the
map indicate how the disc is divided up between the various objects
(directories and files) on it. Each portion of the map is at least 2
bytes long, it begins with an identifying number (max. 15 bits), ends
with a 1 in the top bit of the last byte and all the bits in between are
zero. Thus, for instance, if the file with the identifying number 7
occupies 3 sectors the relevant portion of the map reads as follows:
4.5
first byte    &07
4.5
next byte    &00
4.5
last byte    &80  (1 in the top bit)
4.5
The lowest identifying number is 2 and is reserved for the four sectors
which are initialised when the disc is formatted and which comprise the
two map sectors followed by the two sectors containing the root
directory. Identifying numbers are then allocated, in order, as new
objects are created.
4.5
A file may be fragmented into several pieces, in which case several
portions of the map will contain the same identifying number.
4.5
The portions of the map indicating free space on the disc are linked
together by a chain of pointers. As mentioned above, bytes 1 and 2, at
the start of the map sector, point to the first free space in the map.
At that point there is a similar pointer to the next free space (if any)
and so on until the last free space is reached, where the pointer is
zero.
4.5
A defective sector on the disc is identified in the map by number 1.
4.5
Directory structure Ö Each directory takes up two sectors. As mentioned
above, the root directory occupies the third and fourth sectors on the
disc (from disc address &800 to &FFF). Any sub-directory can be located
by looking up the relevant entry in its parent directory, finding the
identifying number (in the manner described below) and looking up the
number in the disc map.
4.5
The first five bytes in a directory contain a checksum byte followed by
the string öNickò. Then there are up to 77 entries of 26 bytes each
representing the various objects (files and sub-directories) in the
directory.
4.5
The format of each of these entries is:
4.5
bytes  0-9    name of file or sub-directory
4.5
bytes 10-13    load address
4.5
bytes 14-17    execution address
4.5
bytes 18-21    file length
4.5
byte  22    sector offset (see below)
4.5
bytes 23-24    identifying number as used in the map
4.5
byte  25    file attributes.
4.5
If the top 12 bits of the load address are all set (i.e. are &FFF) this
means that the file is östampedò and the remainder of the load and
execution address fields are used to record the file type and date stamp
as follows:
4.5
load address        FFFtttdd
4.5
execution addressdddddddd
4.5
(the bottom byte of the load address field being used for the top byte
of the 5-byte format date and time record).
4.5
Note: in a disc sector editor which shows the bytes in order with the
lowest byte of each word first, these 8 bytes will appear as   ödd tt Ft
FF dd dd dd ddò.
4.5
If not all the top 12 bits are set, the load and execution addresses
will (as their names suggest) determine what the computer does when the
file is *LOADed or *RUN (or double-clicked from the Desktop).
4.5
The sector offset in byte 22 is used where two files are mapped into the
same portion of the disc. In such a case the files share the same
identifying number (in bytes 23/4) but byte 22 indicates how many
sectors into the portion each file starts.
4.5
A typical example of this would involve two small files each fitting
into one disc sector (they might for instance be !Boot, !Run or !Sprites
files within an application directory). Because the minimum size of a
map entry is 2 bytes representing 2 sectors on the disc, it would be
inefficient to give each file a separate map entry, so the two files
would be made to share. In this case, assuming the shared identifying
number is say 8, bytes 23 and 24 of the directory entries for both files
would be &08 and &00 but byte 22 would be &01 for the file that occupies
the first sector and &02 for the second.
4.5
In the usual situation where a file has a map entry to itself, byte 22
is zero.
4.5
The bits of byte 25 (the file attributes byte) are used as follows:
4.5
bit  0    object has read access for you
4.5
bit  1    object has write access for you
4.5
bit  2    undefined
4.5
bit  3    object is locked against deletion
4.5
bit  4    object has read access for others
4.5
bit  5    object has write access for others
4.5
bit  6    undefined
4.5
bit  7    undefined
4.5
Bits 4 and 5 only have meaning to the network filing system. Bits 2, 6
and 7 should be set to zero.
4.5
General note: If you want to explore disc maps and directories it is
very handy to have a disc sector editor such as the !DiscEdit appli
cation on Careware 2. Failing that it is reasonably easy to construct a
program to read from a disc sector by sector (rather than file by file)
and to display the contents. The key to such a program is the SWI call
öADFS_DiscOpò. For instance, the BASIC instruction:
4.5
SYS öADFS_DiscOpò,0,1,address%,buffer%,length%
4.5
will read starting at the ödisc addressò (as defined above) given in the
variable address%, the number of bytes given in length% (1024 for one
sector) into the address in RAM stored in buffer%. Obviously, a certain
amount of caution is advisable since a very similar command (replacing 1
with 2 for instance) could result in writing to and corrupting the
contents of a disc.
4.5

4.5

4.5
{4 .5

4.5
Comment Column
4.5
Å    RISC OS 2.01 and the A540 ù Having had the opportunity to play with a
working (!) A540, I have been able to compare the RISC-OS 2.01 machine
with an A310 RISC-OS 2.00 machine. The first obvious difference between
the ROMs is the addition of three new modules ù IRQ Utils, Window Utils
and ARM3 Support.
4.5
Of the 37 ROM modules now listed, 17 have been updated and 6 of these
have had multiple updates. Interestingly, the new ROMs appears to be 15
bytes shorter than the old version. Obviously someone has spent a bit of
time optimising code. I have not directly compared the *Help text to see
if memory has been saved there, but it appears much as it always did.
4.5
Skimming through appendices to the various manuals, I note that
provision is made to cater for a maximum of 8Mb of JEDEC type ROM and
the board has numerous connectors for all kinds of goodies, such as
genlocks, third party video attachments, etc. It must also be admitted
that the new manuals seem to be a great advance on some of their
predecessors and give a lot of good information. The section dealing
with monitor support is a real eye-opener: absolutely full connector
diagrams and hints. It would be fascinating to get a glimpse of the new
A540 technical Reference Manual when it sees the light of day ù what
clues to future developments must be contained with its cover!
4.5
It is very hard to be objective but the whole feel of the A540 is very
good ù as it ought to be at the price Ö and the speed is obviously a
whole new dimension. The only quibble I have is the noise of the two
fans ù perhaps someone could produce a Lancaster Flight Simulator to
capitalise on the racket!
4.5
John Fidler, Isle of Wight
4.5
Å    Clares/EMR clash? Ö In response to D Hill (Archive 4.3 p 16) who had
problems with EMRæs Midi podule and Claresæ Armadeus...  I had similar
problems Ö a lot of software will not Érecogniseæ the EMR Midi board. On
ringing EMR, I was told quite the opposite regarding EMR policy as
regards Acorn Guidelines. They admit that their boards are not guaran
teed to conform with Acorn protocol and that to assist with
compatibility, they sell a piece of software for ú6.95 to make it work!
What a nerve to charge money for this software, especially when, before
buying this EMR Midi 4 board, I was told over the telephone that the
boards would work with all Midi software.
4.5
Leslie Hay, Kincardineshire.
4.5
Å    Converting Archimedes programs to DOS machines ù öI think that it is
not generally known that BBC BASIC is available as a program to run
under MS-DOS. At first this may not seem too brilliant an idea for
Archimedesæ users, but it can be for those wishing to write assembly
language as the built-in assembler is an 8086 one and works just the
same as the other Acorn assemblers we have all grown to love (?). In
addition of course it means that (some of) oneæs BBC/Archimedes BASIC
software can be made to run on a normal DOS machine.
4.5
Writing 8086 assembly language will no doubt be seen by many as a
backward step, but there is no denying the popularity of machines using
this family of processors.
4.5
John Waterman, Kent
4.5
Å    A Joystick Adaptor ù The Serial Portæs gadget is packed into a neat
box with Archimedes and printer sockets at the ends, two joystick D9És
and a printer / games switch on the top. The package is supplied with
two programs which allow you to define the effect of the joystick
actions. Their ÉTutoræ program prompts for stick actions and a matching
key stroke, with which it makes a command file for the joystick Rmodule
ù my early version lacked <Shift>, <Ctrl> and <Shift><Ctrl> functions.
Alternatively, their ÉCompileræ program can be used to convert text
files with simple keywords for stick actions, flags and logic to produce
a similar command file. Example files were included with the package and
included most games. Price ú23.95.
4.5
Nick Kelly, Liverpool
4.5
Å    ARM3æs Ö In November, Watford Electronics said that they had such big
stocks of ARM3 chips and that they were not worried that the latest
batches would not run at 30MHz. In the February editions of some BBC/
Archimedes magazines, Watford are listing 20MHz ARM3 upgrades at ú50
less than the 30MHz upgrade. Hmm....  Stuart Bell, Brighton.
4.5
Å    More on ARM3æs Ö Aleph One, makers of the original ARM3 upgrade
write...
4.5
The performance enhancement of an Archimedes using an ARM3 upgrade,
compared to the native ARM2, is strongly dependent on the screen mode
and somewhat dependent on the actual task.
4.5
It is also dependent on the clock speed, but only weakly so in the range
of interest. For example, the 4.3% drop in clock speed from 30 MHz to
28.75 MHz produces only a 2.4% drop in the speed of the öWhetstonesò
test and only 1.5% in the öDhrystonesò test and only 0.7% in the
öMegaflopsò test. Changing mode from the lower modes to some of the
higher ones can, by contrast, produce a change of 9% to 14% in speed.
Since the effect of having an ARM3 at all is to multiply the speed of
the machine by factors of from 3 to 6, the impairment due to a clock
speed of less than 30 MHz is tiny in comparison and not detectable by
the user.
4.5
In future, we shall make no specific claim as to the clock speed of our
ARM3 upgrades except that it will not be less than 24 MHz. In practice,
we are at present shipping upgrades running at 28.75 MHz.
4.5
Å    IBM versus Archimedes Ö The best reason for buying an Acorn Archimedes
is because you want to own an Acorn Archimedes! If someone wants to own
an IBM PC or a computer that will run IBM PC software then I would
always recommend them to buy an IBM PC.
4.5
I have always told my friends and colleagues that there are two types of
people who buy a computer to use at home. There are those people who are
primarily going to buy (or acquire!!) ready made software and use it,
and there are those who are mainly interested in writing programs. The
former can do no better than buy an IBM PC because there is so much
software available for them (of course much of it is in the ú400 to ú500
price bracket).
4.5
The other type of purchaser would need his head examined if he choses a
PC!! I say this with some feeling because I spend my working life
programming PCæs to support the hardware that I design and I am
constantly amazed at the inconsistencies and peculiarities that exist
within the IBM DOS and BIOS. It just shows the power of IBM that they
can foist such a dogæs breakfast on the world and force it to become a
standard. Later versions and 386/486 machines arenæt really helped that
much because they have to maintain compatibility with the earlier
versions.
4.5
From a programmeræs point of view, I find the Acorn machines (BBC B
onwards) the best thought out and most consistent programmer interface,
with the desktop providing a consistent user interface. I think the
bulletin boards show how it is relatively easy to produce a Desktop
Utility, judging by the number they have for downloading, this certainly
canæt be said for Gem or Windows based utilities.
4.5
All I am really trying to say to Michael Green is that all his com
plaints seem to be on the IBM PC side of things so why doesnæt he buy a
PC to run his PC software on, but if he wants to program it, I can
guarantee him plenty of head scratching and sleepless nights. Try using
a bulletin board to get in touch with someone who designed your PC and
try to get him to answer technical questions about the operating system!
4.5
Philip Jones, Clapton.
4.5
Å    IDE drives Ö I purchased an IDE 80M drive, controller etc, for an A310
from the Computer Shopper Show. Upon returning home, I was very
impressed at the amount of packaging used to protect the mechanism.
4.5
I found the installation very straight-forward and the instructions more
than adequate, although the point about a link having to be removed if
the interface is to be used without a backplane (as I am) should have
been emphasised a lot more, as I believe that not doing so will destroy
the interface. Installation took me around a quarter of an hour from
removing the cover of the computer, to replacing it. My only disappoint
ment is that the fan is quite loud!
4.5
I would also like to congratulate Mr. Copestake on his service, as a few
days after I started using my drive, a fault developed which rendered my
drive useless. I made one phone call (to an answer machine) which was
very promptly returned and, after an explanation of the fault, a new
drive was dispatched to me, which I received the next day, along with a
very apologetic letter and instructions to call him again once I was
satisfied that the new drive was OK, in order for him to arrange
collection of the faulty one.
4.5
This is what I call service Ö congratulations Ian Copestake Software.
4.5
The drives come formatted with a few utilities on them: A formatting
program, a program to create a PC partition, one to identify the
mechanism and return the number of cylinders, sectors etc., and a test
program which performs speed tests and allows comparison with other
mechanisms. My only complaint here is that the test program will not
work in 1 Mbyte, even though the Help file says otherwise. I managed to
get it to work by completely re-configuring my machine and running it
from the supervisor. My drive is rated by ICS at 19ms Ö this program
returned an average value of 21.3ms, a track to track time of 6.1ms and
a transfer rate of 460 Kbytes/sec in mode 12 peaking at 740 Kbytes/sec.
How do these figures compare?* Overall, I am very impressed with this
product, and would recommend them to anybody who either doesnæt need the
extra speed and expandability that SCSI devices offer or for those who,
like me, are working to a smaller budget.
4.5
I F Rhodes, Wolverhampton.
4.5
*The speed of an Oak 80M SCSI drive is 660 Kbytes/second in mode 12 and
a 42M removable runs at 590 Kbytes/sec. Ed.
4.5
Å    Jiglet in Use Ö Having reviewed Jiglet prior to using it in a
classroom situation, I feel that some comments regarding its use are now
in order. Most groups of pupils with whom the program has been used were
experiencing the WIMP environment on the Archimedes/A3000 for the first
time. In an attempt to provide pupils with the I.T. skills they will
need in the compulsory subject areas (to satisfy National Curriculum and
provide them with a good range of skills) all 11/12 year old pupils
follow an introductory course involving the main software applications.
The use of Jiglet in this course was a deliberate ploy following
discussion with an I.T. colleague. The operation of the program entails
using several standard RISC-OS techniques, i.e. installing on the icon
bar and dragging in files (Jiglets) which we considered worthwhile.
4.5
The program was introduced in the second lesson Ö following an introduc
tion to the A3000 and some of the sample applications on Applications
Disc 2. The double click of <select> to install (load) the program and
the dragging down of a Jiglet file were accomplished with a minimum of
fuss by all. The well designed main window (front end Ö if you prefer
jargon) was easy for the pupils to understand. They soon picked up how
to set the options they required, change shape, number of pieces and
rotation. Once into New Jiglet, swapping between selecting a piece of
screen and placing a piece of screen caused a little confusion for some.
This mix up between pressing <select> or <menu> and the associated
problems of no piece to place or returning to choose another piece
before placing the previous one were overcome by even the least able
after a few minutes use. Calling the mouse buttons by the RISC-OS names
of Éselectæ, Émenuæ and Éadjustæ is probably preferable to left, middle
and right not only because of the RISC-OS conventions but for those
pupils who do not know left from right!
4.5
Completing the pictures was not a substantial problem for most of the
11/12 year olds. At the most difficult level, with the pieces rotated,
several of the pictures are a challenge requiring careful thought. As a
test of Éspatialæ ability, the program is much more suitable for primary
school children. This has been confirmed by a friend who, after being
shown the program, immediately persuaded his Headteacher to purchase it.
The primary school children are reported to be enthralled by this
program. They have the expected increased difficulty in completing some
of the Jiglets. The highest level of difficulty did indeed provide a
challenge for some less able 16 year olds I found myself supervising
during the absence of a colleague Ö they enjoyed it once they had
mastered the operation of the mouse.
4.5
Jiglet is not used as an introduction to the A3000 in the primary school
but as a resource in topic work. The children create a picture relevant
to their topic using an art package, save this as a sprite and then
transfer it to Jiglet. From here it may be completed by other members of
the class; the alternative being to print it out and, using the facility
to print a blank Jiglet, turn it into a paper based jigsaw. Indeed this
ability to transfer sprites has been used with the 11/12 year olds.
Following their experience of an art package (the excellent Flare) they
are given the task of producing a picture suitable for turning into a
Jiglet. The variety and standard of pictures produced by all ability
levels with the motivation of others completing their Jiglet is
outstanding.
4.5
Using this program as part of the introduction to using the A3000 has
given the pupils enjoyment as well as providing varied learning
situations/experiences. It has, owing to the nature of RISC-OS, also
enabled the integrating of applications. This program has been a useful
acquisition and 4mationæs policy of including a site licence in the
price makes the program so much more useful. Roger Nelson, Durham.  A
4.5

4.5
Matters Arising
4.5
Å    !ChartDraw and !KeyStrip (on Careware 5) have been considerably
improved by the author Dr Chris Johnson. You can upgrade your original
by sending Chris a blank formatted disc and the return postage. His
address can be found in the ÉReadMeæ file of both applications.
4.5
Å    Using !Draw1╜ on Shareware 34 Ö Some people have found that the
!Draw1╜ application on the Shareware 34 disc sometimes fails with a
ÉFatal error internal type 3æ. This is because the floating point
emulator module must be loaded before running !Draw1╜ (this module can
be found in the ÉModulesæ directory of Applications Disc Two). The run
file didnæt include a reference to the FPEmulator module as the exact
location of the module may not be relied on. However, if you wish you
can put the module in the É!System.Modulesæ directory and add the
following lines (after the line that reads RMEnusre Shared CLib, etc) to
the !Run file using !Edit:
4.5
RMEnsure 2.80 Load System
4.5
.Modules.FPEmulator
4.5
RMEnsure 2.80 Error 0
4.5
F
4.5

4.5
Hardware Column
4.5
Brian Cowan
4.5
I have been delving into the inside of my new Archimedes A540, primarily
in order to install an external floppy disc drive but I thought I would
fill you in on my observations.
4.5
Beefy power supply
4.5
A complaint I have heard against the 540 is its noise. The machine has a
hefty great power supply which fits down most of the left hand side of
the machine, and it incorporates two fans. These are the source of the
noise. The fan filter extends down the entire left side of the PSU. At
last Acorn have provided a power supply capable of supporting some
greedy expansion cards. Personally, I am not disturbed too much by the
noise. In the past I have had aged hard disc drives making more noise.
That was distressing but, by comparison, this is soothing.
4.5
Lithium cell
4.5
Out goes the battery of two alkali cells, and in its place is a lithium
cell, as in the A3000. I must find out about the lifetime of these, as
replacement does not seem trivial. I have just changed the alkali cells
on a batch of older Archimedes, having learned the hard way of the
perils of forgetful CMOS RAM. I am sure it makes sense to go for lithium
cells, but I am reminded of that early batch of BBC Masters whose
lithium cells started exploding Ö but Acorn have presumably solved that
little problem!
4.5
RISC-OS ROMs
4.5
The four ROMs in the 540 are located under the back of the hard disc
drive. This makes it slightly inconvenient to replace them, but
presumably they will not be changed too often. In my 540, they are
actually EPROMs in anticipation, I assume, of RISC-OS version three. A
brief note tells me that my 540 contains RISC-OS version 2.01. This is
essentially the old version (2.00) of the operating system, with some
additions to support the new hardware in the machine.
4.5
Extended RAM
4.5
RAM configurations of 4, 8, 12 and 16 Mbytes are catered for automati
cally. However this does not extend to the PC emulator. To use this in a
machine with greater than 4 Mbytes of RAM, you need a öpatchò available
from Acorn. The problem is that the emulator does not support MEMC chips
working in the master/slave configuration.
4.5
Cache control
4.5
There are two star commands relating to the ARM3 processor. These are
*cacheon and *cacheoff, just as with the Aleph One ARM3 upgrade. Their
functions should be self explanatory. Unfortunately, I have not
ascertained whether the 540 also permits flushing of the cache although
I have had no cause to use this.
4.5
Modes
4.5
Finally, there are some new screen modes available to support VGA and
Super VGA. This sounds good in theory, but with such monitors you canæt
use most of the old Archimedes modes. Fortunately help is at hand with
the Atomwide video support utility; with these monitors you canæt really
do with out it. (The A540 Utilities Disc is available for ú5 from
Atomwide.)
4.5
Circuit board
4.5
It is noticeable that the circuit board is very densely populated Ö much
more so than the previous machines. There is an abundance of surface
mounted resistors and capacitors, although no semiconductors, so far as
I can see. The ARM family chip set are mounted in sockets (except for
the ARM3 itself which is mounted on its own board) and there are some
PALs, also in sockets. Sockets are reassuring to those thinking of the
future, although of course the most direct expansion route will be the
three RAM board sockets. There is space for the Econet board, just as on
the previous models and it uses exactly the same Econet module as the
Master and the ordinary Archimedes.
4.5
Floppy disc drives
4.5
The reason I dismantled the machine was to install an external floppy
disc drive. I still have some software, particularly DOS programs, on 5╝
inch discs. Unfortunately, I was in for a surprise. Although the
internal floppy disc drive is mounted in a similar place, in a similar
way, the connectors on the circuit board are positioned differently. The
signal and the power sockets are mounted right at the front of the
circuit board, under the drive support öbridgeö. So to get to the
sockets, in order to install an extended connector, would involve the
removal of the circuit board from the case. Also, the sort of extension
connector used for external drives on the 300 and 400 series would not
fit anyway.
4.5
The simplest way of connecting an external drive is to tee in at the
connector to the internal drive. You need a ribbon cable about half a
metre long with a plug and a socket at one end spaced about two
centimetres apart. If the plug into the drive is pulled out, it can be
inserted into the socket on the extension lead, and the leadæs plug
fitted into the drive socket. A connector at the other end will attach
to the external drive. Note that on these machines there is no reversing
of connections as on the older models. If there are any loading problems
then all you need to do is to remove the termination resistors on the
external drive. Also remember that you might need to change the
configured step time for the external drive if it is one of the older,
slower drives.
4.5
Archimedes portable?
4.5
There has been some speculation in the press about the possible
appearance of a portable Archimedes computer. There are rumours of three
ARM based portables under development. Archimedes guru Mike Harrison, of
White Wing Logic, has been exploring the feasibility of producing a
portable based on an A3000 board. This has the advantage that most of
the circuitry is already present, including the RISC-OS ROMs. A smaller
keyboard would have to be found, and a suitable LCD screen. Also, there
would have to be power saving circuitry to enable battery operation for
any reasonable length of time. Acorn are also said to be working on a
portable Archimedes, although in the utmost secrecy. I am not sure what
market Acorn are aiming for, but presumably they have their eye on
education. If this is so, I am sure that a monochrome screen would not
be terribly popular but a colour LCD display of any appreciable size
would be prohibitively expensive. We will have to wait and see.
4.5
Apparently, it seems there might be a third ARM based portable under
development by ex-Acorn Herman Hauser, now of the Electric Book Company.
However, it is not clear if such a machine would contain RISC-OS. It is
known that Acorn are not happy about licensing the Archimedes operating
system to third parties, and this computer would probably be aimed at
some quite specific application. In fact, it might even be that Hauseræs
machine and the Acorn portable are based on the same hardware, simply
using different operating systems.
4.5
My worry about these portable projects is that since we are becoming
spoilt by larger capacity hard discs, ARM3 CPUs and bigger and better
high resolution colour monitors, a basic model portable might be
something of a disappointment.
4.5
Oak apples
4.5
Acorn have joined with Apple and VLSI Technology (the manufacturers of
the ARM chip set) to establish a new company called Advanced Risc
Machines Ltd. The tie-up with Apple is intriguing. There is already an
ARM based graphics accelerator for the Mac and there are whispers that
the Mac operating system has been translated into ARM code. If this sees
the light of day then it might well be in the guise of a portable Mac.
However, my own view is that since the advent of Impression II, there is
no need for Archimedes owners to think enviously about Macs! (See Edæs
comments in the Comment Column.)
4.5
There is news of an ARM600 CPU chip being developed by this company.
Information is scant at the moment, but it sounds exciting.
4.5
Mike Hobart adds... Unofficial sources say that ARM4 may be renamed to
make it sound more upmarket! They also say it will come as a package
with 4Mb RAM. I guess it will not mostly be on-chip, but I also guess
that the FPU and MEMC will be. I believe that a new version of VIDC is
under development, which will offer a much larger range of greys.  It is
also said that the provisions for parallel processing which are already
available in ARM3 (see RISC-User July/August 1989) will be used in the
new ARM4 systems. There are said to be testbed machines with several
ARM4s all under the command of a supervisor ARM4, which presumably
handles I/O. The result is not slow!  I also hear that a MAC emulator
exists and impressed Apple.  No news on availability.  A
4.5

4.5
Small Ads
4.5
Å    A3000 1Mb RAM board (upgradable to 4Mb) ú60. Phone (Derby)
0332Ö701969.
4.5
Å    A3000 with 2Mb, 2 mice, BASIC Guide, Assy Lang book, much software +
25 blank discs ú700 ono. Simon on 0954Ö719578 after 6.
4.5
Å    A310 base ú400. David Howe on 0255Ö 431604 (evenings).
4.5
Å    A310 with twin drives, colour monitor & software ú600. Phone
0743Ö248107.
4.5
Å    Acorn DTP ú40, FWPlus1 ú20, Software Developeræs Toolbox ú40, System
Delta Plus ú20. (A donation of ú5 will be made to Committee to Stop War
in Gulf for each item sold.) Miles Sabin 081Ö980Ö2455.
4.5
Å    Apocalypse ú10, Interdictor (1) ú10, Conqueror ú8, CIS Minipack 5
(Fish, Fireball 2, Pon) ú16, Render Bender ú35, Nevryon ú10, Pacmania
ú4. Ring Mark on 0285Ö654346 evenings.
4.5
Å    Capsoft Disc N░1 Ö drawn fonts, borders, frames etc. Send ú6 to
B.J.Thompson, 8 Oldgate Avenue, Weston-on-Trent, Derbyshire, DE7 2BZ.
4.5
Å    Colour Digitising Ö up to A4 size. Phone Ken Warwick on 081Ö500Ö5701.
4.5
Å    Digitisation Ö Artwork or VHS tape images digitised, call Ned Abell on
02922Ö249. Prices by arrangement.
4.5
Å    Epson GQ3500 2Mb memory, 3 toner cartridges, HP Laserjet emulation, 8
downloadable fonts ú600. T.Medhurst 0380Ö818441 ext 228.
4.5
Å    Epson LQ2500 hardly used, 2 new ribbons ú425 ono. Phone Rudi on
081Ö967Ö4401.
4.5
Å    FWPlus1 ú30, First fonts (Maths Phys) for Star LC10 ú15. Ring
0925Ö811420.
4.5
Å    Home for much loved Archimedes required Ö Perfect A440 colour ú1500.
Phone Roger 081Ö767Ö8684 (7.30 p.m. to 8.30 p.m.).
4.5
Å    MEMC 1a ú54, 514256 80ns memory chips ú5 each, PC Emulator v1.33 ú50,
Apocalypse ú12, Hoverbod ú5, Pacmania ú5, Quazer ú5, Startrader ú5,
Terramex ú7, Watfordæs 5.25ö disc buffer for A300/400 series ú12. New
KXP-1124 printer ribbon ú8. Richard Cheung on 081ù206Ö2324.
4.5
Å    Micro Peripherals MP165 NLQ printer, hardly used ú100. Phone Vincent
on 05086Ö3517 (near Norwich).
4.5
Å    Ram 62256 LP10. Two for ú16. Phone Les on 0202Ö529787 (p.m.) for
availability.
4.5
Å    Tracker ú25, SoundSynth ú20, Render Bender ú30, Arthur PRMæs ú10,
Terramex ú4, Word Up/Word Down ú4, Nevryon ú8, Hostages ú8 (new).
Contact Jeremy Mears on 0242Ö521050.
4.5
Å    Viewstore ú15, Logistix ú35, Sony 3.5ö drive + dual slot fascia ú75,
WWPlus ú15, ANSI ÉCæ ú15, 27128 EPROMs (12.5V) ú3 each. All prices
o.n.o. Phone 0234Ö856070.
4.5
Å    Wimp based address book and 700k of PD software. Send ú1, blank
formatted disk and S.A.E. to M Pargeter, 1 The Ridgeway, Hitchin, Herts,
SG5 2BT.
4.5
Å    Wanted Ö Impression and Poster. Phone 0332Ö701969.
4.5
Å    Z88 with 256Kb extra RAM, power supply, Archimedes link, utility disc,
all manuals. ú200. Call Jonathan Barnes on Watford [phone].
4.5
Charity Sales Ö The following items are available for sale in aid of
charity. PLEASE do not just send money Ö ring us on 0603Ö766592 to check
if the items are still available. Thank you.
4.5
(If you have unwanted software or hardware for Archimedes computers,
please send it in to the Archive office. If you have larger items where
post would be expensive, just send us details of the item(s) and how the
purchaser can get hold of them.)
4.5
Trivial Pursuit ú9, Acorn ROM/RAM podule ú18, StarTrader ú5, Quazer ú3,
Minervaæs Sales, Nominal, Purchase Ledgers and Order Processing and
Invoicing, full manuals, ú35 the lot, Interdictor 1 ú6, Holed Out ú8,
Corruption ú3, CIS Utilities ú5, Brother HR15 + 6 daisy wheels ú60
(buyer collects from Fleet, Hants), Logistix 2 (brand new) ú40, Artisan
Support Disc ú2, Front Fascia for single drive A310 ú5.  A
4.5

4.5
Competition Corner
4.5
Colin Singleton
4.5
This monthæs puzzle is for Mastermind enthusiasts. I donæt mean Magnus
Magnusson. I mean that game which was all the rage a few years ago,
played on small plastic peg-boards. We used to play it in our coffee
breaks using pencil and paper, long before the commercial version
appeared. I will describe our version.
4.5
One player thinks of a secret four digit number (leading zeros are
permitted) and the other has to deduce it by intelligent guesswork. Each
guess must be a four digit number, and the first player awards a score
to each guess.
4.5
The score is in two parts. The first indicates the number of digits in
the guess which are also in the secret number. The second indicates how
many of these are in the correct position in the number. Note that if a
digit occurs more than once in either the guess or the target, there
must also be duplicates in the other number for both (or all) to count
in the first part of the score. Thus if the target is 0112, a guess of
1234 earns a score of 2 & 0. A guess of 1122 scores 3 & 2.
4.5
The second player must find the secret number (which scores 4 & 4) in
the fewest guesses.
4.5
What should the first guess be? Whatever your guess, there are, in
general, fourteen possible scores. When you are told the score for your
guess, you can then reduce the initial 10000 possible numbers to a much
shorter list. I believe the best strategy is to offer the number which,
if it earns the score which still leaves the longest list of possibili
ties, ensures that that list is as short as possible.
4.5
What is that number? There are several answers, please find the
numerically smallest.
4.5
Assume then that you continue to follow this strategy, always offering
the guess which will minimise the list of possibilities for the worst-
case score (always offering the smallest number where there is a
choice). If you are unlucky enough to be given the worst score every
time (the one which leaves the largest number of possibilities), what is
the sequence of guesses, and what is the secret number?
4.5
Entries and comments please either to Paul at N.C.S. or direct to me at
41 St Quentin Drive, Sheffield S17 4PN.
4.5
Any volunteers for the word version? The target, and every guess, must
be an English five-letter word. Not so easy!
4.5
The October (Bingo) competition, regrettably, is cancelled for lack of
interest. The winner for November (Seven Dwarfs) will be announced next
month.  A
4.5

4.5
EFF
4.5
New artwork
4.5

4.5
Atomwide
4.5
From 4.4 page 6
4.5

4.5
IFEL A310 4M Upgrade
4.5
Stuart A Bell
4.5
At 11.07 a.m. on Tuesday morning, the courier collected my Archimedes
A310. Less than 48 hours later, it returned, having completed a round
trip of about 500 miles. More importantly, it now had 3M more memory, my
credit card having been debited by ú399.
4.5
In the beginning
4.5
When I bought my A310 three years ago, 1M had seemed an awful lot Ö Iæd
tried to buy a 305, but the dealer had persuaded me to go for the full
1M. Since then Iæd bought Impression, which works perfectly well in 1M,
but even more nicely with a great big font cache and multi-tasked with
FontFX and Draw. I wanted more memory, but held back when I saw the
prices!
4.5
CJE were perhaps first in the field, with an approach that involved
significant work on the main Archimedes board. Later, Atomwide,
Computerware, Protokote and Watford joined in, all using a less invasive
installation method that requires the temporary removal of the MEMC
device and either the VIDC or the RISC-OS ROM chips. (See the compara
tive review ÉA310 Memory Upgradesæ in Archive 3.10). For a while, I
toyed with the DIY upgrade by Willi Langhans mentioned in Archive, but
knew that my electronics skills werenæt really up to it.
4.5
The IFEL board
4.5
In Archive 4.1, I first saw the advert for the IFEL board. It quoted
ú499 inc VAT fully fitted, and mentioned the option of DIY fitting. (A
2M version is also available Ö for simplicity that will be ignored in
this review.) A phone call confirmed a DIY price of ú399 and arranged
for the sending of literature.
4.5
IFEL have followed the CJE approach, in that chips have to be removed
from the main board, and a new board plugged into sockets where the
chips were. However, IFEL have reduced the Échips-to-be-removedæ count
from nine to three, at the expense of an extra line to the MEMC and the
moving of the ends of thirty-two resistors from the original RAM to the
new RAM board. This board sits under the disc-drive support bar, above
the original memory, well clear of the ARM device. Benefitting from
being a recent design, it uses only eight memory chips, namely 1M x 4
dynamic RAMs.
4.5
In December, further literature from IFEL showed that the DIY price had
dropped to ú349, whilst the fitted price (still ú499) included either a
free MEMC1a or a free podule backplane. The detailed installation
instructions showed that the chips to be removed need only be cut out,
and so I arranged with a friend who is rather more adept with a
soldering iron to help me with the upgrade.
4.5
Telephoning IFEL in mid-January produced the news that the fitted price
had come down to ú399 inc VAT, including courier collection and
delivery. Since IFEL can offer a guarantee with a fitted board that they
couldnæt possibly offer for DIY installations, I ordered one
immediately. The machine was picked up the following morning...  which
is where we came in.
4.5
From a hardware point of view, one almost has to accept IFELæs word that
theyæve done the upgrade, so neatly does the board hide away. ARM3
upgrades should be no problem. In my order to IFEL, Iæd said, ÉI canæt
really expect that the free MEMC1a offer is still on, but if it is, Iæll
have one, please.æ Yes, sure enough, when the Archimedes came back,
there was a MEMC1a in place. Also, IFEL had put in a more recent version
of the ROM on my Oak SCSI board, entirely free of charge!
4.5
I do have one small complaint Ö after all, this is supposed to be a
review and not an advert. When my machine was reassembled, the self-
tapping screws that hold down my SCSI drive were left very loose, so
that the drive rocked on the support bar. The consequences of travel in
that state just might have caused damage but, thankfully, it didnæt.
4.5
The competition
4.5
Looking at the headings under which Paul discussed the Watford,
Protokote and Computerware boards in his original review, we can draw
the following observations:
4.5
ARM3 compatibility. As noted above, this should be no problem Ö but itæs
always best to check first. Certainly, the board is clear of the ARM and
MEMC Ö and also the VIDC, should you want to install Atomwideæs VIDC
enhancer.
4.5
Quality of Construction. From what one can see of the board Ö and of the
photos in the literature Ö the board is well made. The soldering is very
neat, with no massive headers and connectors, there should be no
problems with reliability or loose contacts.
4.5
Fitting. The DIY option is there for the very competent electronics
expert, but is it worth saving ú50? At 47╜ hours for the Brighton-
Cornwall round trip, there can be no complaints about turn-around time.
4.5
Upgrading. IFEL do offer a 2M version of the board. Upgrading requires
removal of the sixteen devices used on the 2M board and replacement with
the eight larger chips. Obviously, IFEL will give a price for an
upgrade. However, standard RAMs are used and no other components are
needed, so a DIY upgrade is possible, However, if funds permit, starting
with 4M will be cheaper in the long-term.
4.5
Price. Scanning the pages of magazines show that current prices are
typically as follows: (all prices inc VAT and P&P)
4.5
IFEL        ú399
4.5
CJE (Beebug)    ú519
4.5
Computerware (Archive)     ú540*
4.5
Atomwide (Copestake)    ú574
4.5
??? (Technomatic)    ú598
4.5
Protokote (Archive)    ú600*
4.5
(*Note that Archive no longer supply A310 memory upgrades Ö I have
simply used the old prices for comparison.)
4.5
Availability. As Iæm writing this three days after placing the order, it
would seem to be no problem. IFEL apparently bought a large stock of the
1M x 4 devices, which should ensure availability and, hopefully, some
immunity from the RAM price increases to which Paul referred in the
editorial of Archive 4.4. As always, though, check before ordering.
4.5
Conclusions. On the day my machine came back, Iæm very impressed and I
canæt see why I wonæt continue to be. In comparison with the plug-in
designs, down-grading to 1M would be rather more difficult, but not
impossible. On the other hand, IFEL claim that reliability with
soldered-in designs should be better than those using headers and ribbon
cables. At the price, and with the service that I experienced, it seems
a highly competitive product. Most importantly, it opens up a whole new
world of Impression II with a 500 Kbyte font cache, memory intensive
screen modes and the multi-tasking of several large applications, thus
enjoying the full power of RISC-OS for the first time.
4.5
Steve Picton of IFEL comments... The question of the loose disc drive
screws is something of a mystery. The main A310 circuit board can be
both removed from and put back into the casing with all the disc drives
in place. This is true even with the RAM board in position and so there
would have been no need to adjust the securing screws. However, we
generally like to check things other than the RAM itself Ö a new fan
filter for instance Ö so I must concede that this is something which
should have been spotted.
4.5
As regards the new version of the Oak software, I should point out that
the update was not the latest version referred to in Archive 4.3.15. A
charge of about ú10 is made for this. It was simply a change from
version 1.03 to 1.04, which was known to fix the bug causing problems
with certain icons. Obviously we have Oakæs permission to do this. (The
really new version of Oak software mentioned two months ago now as being
ready, is still, unfortunately not ready. Ed.)  A
4.5

4.5
I.F.E.L.
4.5
New artwork
4.5

4.5
Computer Concepts
4.5
New artwork
4.5

4.5
Computer Concepts
4.5
New artwork
4.5

4.5

4.5

4.5
PipeLine
4.5
Gerald Fitton
4.5
First of all we have a few bits and pieces from various readers and then
a tutorial on databases.
4.5
ÉIncorrect number of output bitsæ
4.5
George Thompson says that he got this printer error message after
changing the background anti-aliasing pixel colour on any text. Is the
module causing the problem the Colours, FontManager, !Printer, FPEmula
tor even the CLib module? Does anybody know whatæs going on?
4.5
Key strips
4.5
Professor John Greening has sent me examples of two kinds of key strip.
These two files together with a ReadMe file are on the Archive monthly
disc and will be included on the April 1991 PipeLine disc.
4.5
String handling functions
4.5
Steve Steadmanæs suggestion for an improvement to PipeDream is that it
should include string handling functions such as the MID$(...) function
in BASIC. He also suggests a new date type which shows just the month
and the year as in February 1991 or 2.91 instead of the full date.
4.5
Unwanted line feeds
4.5
Steve Harratt and I corresponded over this problem which he had with an
HP Deskjet 500. Steve finally decided to look inside and found that the
dip switch settings were for American sized paper! This is longer than
our A4. There are two banks of 8 switches called A and B. Steve
recommends that all switches are OFF except A3, A4, A6, A7, A8, B1 and
B2. He can then print to within 2mm of the top margin and has no problem
with unwanted form feeds. He has written to his UK supplier!
4.5
He finishes this topic saying öHowever, for some reason I can get more
on a page when using the PipeDream Printer Driver instead of RISC-OS . .
. ö. Can anyone shed any light on this?
4.5
Sideways scrolling
4.5
A letter to me from Anne Davies provides a solution to the question of
Joe Buhagiar (from Australia). Joe wanted to know how to move sideways
by more than one column per key press. Anne suggests defining a function
key combination such as <ctrl-shift-f11> with a string which moves the
cursor three (or more if you want) columns to the right. The function
key definition is \CNC|M\CNC|M\CNC|M. If you include more \CNC|M then
you will jump more columns. Similarly, you can define a movement to the
left using \CNC|M in the key definition.
4.5
PipeDream on the Z88
4.5
I now have a Z88. Arenæt they wonderful little machines? Now on Saturday
mornings (when I donæt have to get up early) I can tap away writing the
PipeLine column in bed and transfer it to the Archimedes later with the
!Z88 application. Iæm thrilled to bits!
4.5
A Simple Database
4.5
Last month, I described what is perhaps the simplest of databases. Each
record uses one row in a PipeDream document and has values for every one
of five ÉFieldsæ. This month I shall describe what I think is an
instructive (but not the best) way of adding a new record and how to use
the database to generate Éform lettersæ. I shall also show one way of
producing labels using dependent documents leaving a second method
(using a parameter file) for next month.
4.5
If you already have last monthæs file ([Girls]) then you can modify it
by inserting a few rows in the places shown in the figure. All the
formulae will change appropriately.
4.5
Look at figure 1. The five fields are: ÉNameæ, ÉHair Colouræ, ÉEye
Colouræ, ÉCharacteræ and ÉFavourite Presentæ for each of the eight
(fictitious) young ladies. I have reduced the width of column A to 8
characters and increased the width of the last column to 16 characters.
4.5
The records
4.5
The rectangular block of data, B9F16, is the database. It is all text
and can be typed in exactly as shown. The rows 9 to 16 are the database
records, one record per row and one field per column. To move right from
column to column (field to field) you press <tab> and to move left you
press <shift-tab>. To move from row to row you can use the return key to
move down and the up arrow key to move up. You can use the mouse pointer
to move around more quickly; click <select> with the pointer in the cell
where you want the cursor or click the mouse on the scroll bars.
4.5
The lookup formulae
4.5
Type Sandy (in text) into cell B7. The only formulae on the sheet are in
the cells C7, D7, E7 & F7. Place the cursor in C7, press <f2>. (Edit
Expression) to enter a formula into C7. Type in the lookup formula:
4.5
lookup($B7,$B8$B17,C8C17)
4.5
as shown on the screen dump below and then press <return>. When you
press <return>, the word ÉAuburnæ will appear in the cell C7. Last month
I explained why I included the two blank rows 8 and 17 in the formula.
Having entered the formula into C7 replicate it across the row to F7.
4.5
Adding rows
4.5
Perhaps the simplest way of adding a row is to place the cursor
somewhere in the middle of the data and press <f7> to insert a row. All
the formulae in row 7 will change to match the enlarged database. Type
in the data and, if you want to, you can sort the database again on any
column or columns. You can also delete a record using F8 to delete a
whole row. What you must not do is delete either of the two blank rows
which bracket the data (i.e. the ones referenced in the formulae). In
figure 1 these are rows 8 and 17.
4.5
An alternative way of entering data is by copying a master row. The
master row is shown in figure 1 as row 4. Type in data such as that
shown. Now, using the mouse, place the cursor on the 4 of row 4 (i.e. in
the margin or Éborderæ) and double click. Row 4 will become highlighted
(Émarkedæ as in Émarked blockæ). Now use the mouse to position the
cursor anywhere in column A within the data base (A9 to A16), click once
and then copy the marked block using <ctrl-BC>. Finally, delete the word
öMaster:ò (using F4) and you can go back to the master row (row 4) and
modify the data for the next record.
4.5
Generally, this is a reasonably good method if you have a lot of fields,
many of which donæt alter from record to record. It is possible to write
a macro (driven from a single function key such as <ctrl-shift-f1> or
from say <ctrl-M>) which will mark the master row, copy the record to
the database and bring the cursor back to the master row ready for the
next data entry.
4.5
A form letter
4.5
Rows 19 to 21 contain a öForm Letterò. A form letter is usually a letter
sent to some or all of the people whose names are in the database.
Often, the fields are names and addresses, money owed, prizes you might
have won, etc, but we have other more attractive characteristics of our
eligible young ladies. The letter is typed in with lots of @ characters
bracketing cell references from row 7 as:
4.5
@C7@, I thought of you; I remembered your beautiful @E7@ eyes, your @D7@
hair and your @F7@ character. I decided I had to get you @G7@.
4.5
Note that the cell references do not have to appear in the form letter
in column (or any other) order; any reference can appear anywhere in the
form letter. If you want extra space for a long field then add extra @
signs behind the cell reference such as
4.5
@C7@@@@@@@@@@@@.
4.5
In the screen dump shown in figure 1 I have placed the cursor in row 20
so that you will see the @ cell references. When the cursor is in any
other row, the cell references in this form letter change into the
values contained in the cells of row 7. So, if Sandy is typed into B7
then all values in row 7 will change to pick up the values from the
database (the block B9 to F16), this is followed by the form letter
picking up the cell references so that lines 19 to 21 will read:
4.5
Sandy, I thought of you; I remembered your beautiful blue eyes, your
auburn hair and your fiery character. I decided I had to get you a
sports car.
4.5
Mark rows 19 to 21 and (from the Print menu) Print marked block. The
references will be evaluated before printing. You have printed a öForm
Letterò! By changing the value in cell B7 to say, Liz, you can send a
similar customised letter to Liz! Try it now.
4.5
Labels
4.5
The most usual use of linking a database to a label generating appli
cation is to produce address labels. My example isnæt for address
labels. It uses the database of E-Y-Ls; perhaps you want to label boxes
of mementoes of the times you have spent together Ö photos, CDs,
restaurant bills, etc. Although there are many ways of producing labels
from a database, essentially these fall into two classes: (a) using
dependent documents or (b) using parameter files. I shall deal with (a)
this month and (b) next month.
4.5
Labels using dependent documents
4.5
Before you produce a set of labels, you may want to sort the file so
that you can print a selection of the labels rather than all of them. I
prefer to have the labels I want to print at the bottom of the database
but you might prefer them at the top. You can complicate the formulae in
the label generating document and not sort the database but I donæt want
to explain how to do that at the moment.
4.5
If you have it on disc, load the file [Label01]. If not then have a look
at figure 2 which is a screendump of [Label01] (slightly modified as
weæll see later). For the purpose of this tutorial, I have assumed that
you have a single column of labels with each label having two columns. I
have also assumed that the vertical distance from the top of one label
to the next is ten PipeDream lines. If these values are unsuitable for
your labels, you can modify the file accordingly.
4.5
The advantage of using 10 rows per label for this tutorial is that each
label starts on a row such as 1, 11, 21, 31, etc and the printing
occupies lines 4 to 8, 14 to 18, etc. This makes it a little easier for
us Édenaryæ thinkers to see what is going on (eg the first 10 labels use
lines 1 to 99 inclusive).
4.5
The cell [Label01]B4 contains the value of the key field for the first
label. You can type in ÉJaneæ (the value) or the cell reference
[Girls02]B9. The [Girls02] part of this cell reference indicates that
the value you want is in the dependent document called [Girls02]. Make
sure that [Girls02] is loaded or Pipedream might not find the file.
4.5
The screendump shows the formula for cell [Label01]B5. Press <f2> (Edit
Expression) and type the formula in carefully remembering to enter the $
signs where they are shown. When you press <return> the word Éblondæ
will appear in cell B5.
4.5
Mark cells B5 to B8 and replicate with <ctrl-BRD> (Block Replicate
Down). The result will be Éblondæ in all four cells. There are many good
ways of modifying the Éfaultyæ formulae but hereæs an instructive one.
Mark the block B6 to B8 and use <ctrl-ENT> (Edit Number to Text) to
convert the formula to (editable) text. Clear the markers with <shift-
f3>. Place the cursor in cell [Label01]B6 and use <ctrl-BSE> (Block
SEarch) to replace C with D. Repeat this for cells B7 and B8 changing
the Cs to Es and Fs respectively. Look a little further down figure 2
and you will see that cells B15 to B18 are in this form. Note that B14
appears in the formulae for the second label where B4 appears in the
first Ö otherwise the formulae are identical. Finally mark the block B5
to B8 and <ctrl-ENT> again to convert the text back to formulae. Leave
this block marked.
4.5
Move the cursor to cell [Label01]B14 and type in the formula shown in
figure 2. If you have not done so already press F2 to convert the text
to a formula. This lookup formula finds Jane in the range B8B17 and then
returns the value found in the corresponding place in the range B9B18
(i.e. one record down the database); the value returned is Janet.
4.5
Place the cursor in [Label01]B15 and then <ctrl-BRE> to replicate the
block B5B8 to B15B18. During this replication, the B4s will change to
B14s but (because of the $s) all the rest of the lookup formulae will be
fixed. If you have done all this correctly then you will get, not the
formulae shown on the screendump (figure 2), but the second label.
4.5
You can replicate the block A11B20 down the column of labels as far as
you wish. Generally the quickest way of doing this is by doubling the
block size at every replication Ö this way it takes 10 replications to
produce 1024 labels. Generally it doesnæt matter if the label generator
is too long Ö you can always delete some of it. Save this master label
generator.
4.5
Before printing your labels, you can mark the whole [Label01] document
and use <ctrl-BSS> (Block SnapShot) to convert all the formulae to
values. This snapshotted file is editable as a plain text file so you
can delete individual labels, add columns, move blocks around, etc, and
see exactly what you have got before finally printing. Particularly with
RISC-OS drivers, you can do useful things such as change the font,
change the line spacing or change the print scale factor.
4.5
Once you have the [Label01] file, you can use it with databases other
than [Girls02]. For example, suppose you want to use it with [Girls03]
then you could rename [Girls02] to something else and then rename
[Girls03] as [Girls02]. I use a variant of this method. My label file is
used with files called [Addresses1], [Addresses2], [Addresses3], etc; I
make a copy (using Copy) of the wanted file calling the copy
[Addresses]. [Addresses] is the name of my dependent document in my
[Label] generator.
4.5
You can use <ctrl-ENT> (Edit Number to Text) on the whole [Label01] file
to convert the formulae to text, follow this by <ctrl-BSE> (Block
SEarch) to replace [Girls02] with, say, [Girls], finally convert the
text back to formulae with <ctrl-ENT>.
4.5
PipeDream User Group
4.5
Quite a few of you have asked me if there is a Pipedream User Group. The
answer is öNot at the moment but... ò. Well, do you want one? Weæll see!
PipeDream is available for MS-DOS machines, the Z88 (Yippee!) as well as
the Archimedes. I do get a little correspondence from MS-DOS and Z88
PipeDream users but most is from Archive readers who (I assume) are
primarily Archimedes users. The Pipedream User Group will have a
Newsletter and provide some technical support. Write to me (at Abacus
Training Ö address on the back inside cover) if youære interested in
joining.
4.5
In conclusion
4.5
My usual plea. If you write to me with a problem or a hint or something
even more substantial then please send an example on disc. That way it
is easier for me to understand exactly what it is thatæs going wrong (or
right) and it makes it easier for me to make the solution available to
others. Also a stamp and a label will be appreciated greatly.
4.5
PipeLine discs
4.5
Thanks once again to all who have written to me. The January 1991
PipeLine disc came out on time (posted on 31st January!) but I have had
to leave out some sprites and reduce a couple of the large databases to
examples in order to fit it all in. I do thank all those who have
contributed to that disc as well as all of you who write to me for
publication in Archive. I already have some material for the April 1991
PipeLine disc but please do keep it coming in. Even the simplest hints
and tips are useful. After all, what seems too simple to be worth a
mention to one person may seem an insuperable problem to another.
4.5
I think that, by now, most PipeDream users who are readers of Archive
must be subscribers to the quarterly PipeLine discs. Nearly everyone who
bought one disc has Éupgradedæ to an annual subscription. I find this
(and the praise) most flattering. If you arenæt a subscriber, why not
have a look at the January 1991 PipeLine disc? You too might get
Éhookedæ and take out an annual subscription. Individual discs are ú5.00
and an annual subscription is ú18.00 from Abacus Training.
4.5
I am particularly pleased when I get letters from correspondents
overseas. Iæve received an interesting disc from Ron Pearcy in New
Zealand containing eleven applications of PipeDream. It will take me a
little while to work through them and decide what can be published in
Archive and what on the quarterly PipeLine discs. I wish there were room
to mention all of your names but space is limited!  A
4.5

4.5

4.5
Figure 1
4.5

4.5
Figure 2
4.5

4.5
6502BBC Emulations
4.5
Brian Cowan
4.5
Before I start, I just want to get clear on some of the terminology. If
you talk about the BBC micro, you could be referring to the old BBC
computers: the model A, the model B, the Master and the Master Compact Ö
all those which used variants of the 6502 microprocessor. The new BBC
Microcomputer, the A3000, is an ARM based machine and in this article I
want to talk about ARM emulations of the old 6502 based BBC micros. I
will refer to those machines as the öoldò BBC microcomputers, but
through the odd slip of the tongue (or typing finger) I might call them
simply BBC micros.
4.5
Emulation problems
4.5
In general, when one microcomputer imitates the behaviour of another,
this emulation must operate at two different levels. Firstly, the CPU of
the emulated computer must be simulated. In this case, that means
implementing the 6502 instruction set in terms of ARM operations.
Secondly there must be a simulation of the hardware and operating system
of the emulated computer.
4.5
The first level problem is relatively simple for the present case of
6502 emulation; after all, the ARM instruction set was influenced
considerably by that of the 6502. With good CPU implementation, the
second level problem should not be too difficult. CPU oriented aspects
of the operating system will be relatively unchanged, since the same
instructions are simply passed to the CPU emulator. Hooks to hardware
are more difficult. Keyboard and screen support are pretty well
standard. Additionally, the emulation must connect with such things as
the printer port and filing systems. Finally, for BBC emulation, there
is the question of the Analogue port, User port and the 1MHz bus.
Hardware for this, similar to that on the old BBC computers, is provided
on the Acorn I/O podule. Since the hardware is similar, the emulation
software support for this will not be too complex.
4.5
Why emulate?
4.5
At present there are Archimedes emulations available for a range of
computers including the old BBCs, IBM PC/clones and Apple II. I believe
there is an emulator for the Sinclair Spectrum, (I have heard rumours
but no concrete facts. Ed.) and I think there is some sort of implemen
tation of CP/M. Of course, we are eagerly awaiting a Mac emulator. The
Archimedes, with its reduced instruction set CPU is ideally suited for
the emulation of other CISC based computers since the complex instruc
tions are easily implemented as sequences of simple instructions. To my
mind, writing an emulator of another computer is essentially a fun
project (although not the sort of thing I would like to do). In other
words I would not be inclined to regard it as a terribly serious
pastime.
4.5
Software base
4.5
Clearly, when a new computer comes onto the market, there will not be a
large range of software products available for it and software avail
ability has a large influence on the sales and the popularity of a
machine so emulation is an important feature at the launch of a new
computer. Acorn regarded the initial consumer base for the Archimedes to
be the old BBC fraternity Ö hence the BBC-like operating system of the
Archimedes. Education and hobbyists were the target and many of these
would already have made considerable investment in BBC software. It was
therefore vital to provide BBC emulation as a means of transferring
operation to the new machines.
4.5
Tube emulation
4.5
The old BBC could operate in two different ways. It could perform simply
as a microcomputer, using its CPU as any other computer does. However,
from the start, the BBC designers were thinking to the future. Using
Acornæs öTubeò, the BBC could be used as a terminal, providing all I/O
facilities for another, possibly different, CPU. Second Processor CPUs
included the Z80, 80186, 32016 from Acorn and various other models from
other suppliers. Acorn also provided 6502-based second processors. Their
advantage was to provide more RAM (since now almost the entire 64K
address space could drive RAM) and they also ran at a faster clock rate.
Much ölegallyò written software for the BBC could run in the 6502-type
second processor including ölanguagesò and other code sitting in the 16K
chunk from &8000 upwards. Also, there were special versions of some
software written to maximise the available memory space in the second
processor.
4.5
The original BBC emulator provided when the Archimedes was released was
called 65Arthur. This was an emulation of a BBC running a 65C102 second
processor and BBC BASIC IV could be run under this emulation, including
programs incorporating 6502 assembler. This means that many BBC programs
could run directly and word processors such as View could be used. So,
from the start, there was a considerable software base available to
Archimedes users and schools could use much of their old BBC software.
Later versions of this tube emulation were released under the name
65Tube.
4.5
Host emulation
4.5
Emulation of the BBC microcomputer operating in native mode was provided
with the program 65Host. Later versions provided higher degrees of
compatibility in such areas as sound production, sideways RAM/ROM
implementation etc, etc. However, surprisingly, the one thing which was
not provided was an implementation of the old disc filing system, DFS,
though now there is a new version of 65Host with even greater compat
ibility. This version even comes with extensive documentation and
utilities for conversion of old BBC software. (Available until March
31st for the öspecial priceò of ú19.95 from Acorn Direct in
Wellingborough.)
4.5
Other ideas
4.5
These improvements are all most welcome, although the actual need for
6502BBC emulations is probably decreasing. There are, however, other
developments for the BBC emulations which I would like to see. It would
be wonderful to have BBC emulations operating as multitasking RISC-OS
applications. In other words, one would have one or more windows open,
each one emulating a BBC computer. This is probably a long way off.
4.5
More information
4.5
The lack of adequate documentation on the various BBC emulations has
always been a problem. David Bower has been investigating the inner
workings of these emulations and he has provided us with the following,
rather useful information...
4.5

4.5
Notes on BBC Emulators
4.5
David Bower
4.5
The first note is valid for all versions of the !65Host emulator but the
remaining sections only apply to the upgraded versions (1.40 and above)
which can be found on the RISC-OS Extras Disc or Archive Shareware 17.
4.5
Reclaiming unused memory from ADFS
4.5
The default value of PAGE on !65Host running ADFS is set at &1B00, while
a standard BBC Model B running DFS normally puts it at &1900. As the
emulator does not simulate shadow RAM, all screen memory is taken out of
the 32K available. If you have an application using Éhigh-resolutionæ
graphics modes 0, 1 or 2 which occupy 20K, then memory-space for your
program and variables can become very tight. The memory area between
&1100 and PAGE is used by the filing system to provide a read/write
buffer for each open disc file. If your application doesnæt require disc
access, then PAGE can usually be lowered to &1100 without any ill
effects. (Simply type PAGE=&1100 at the > prompt after entering the
emulator.) Other programs may need a higher value to function correctly.
Some experimentation is called for here but you can try &1300 as a
starting point. Gaining up to 2.5K of memory from one statement must be
a good trade-off!
4.5
Some older DFS software breaches Acornæs guidelines and assumes that
PAGE resides at &1900. In this case simply reset PAGE to this value.
4.5
Loading and activating ROM images
4.5
The User Guide instructions for Écachingæ BBC ROM images are rather
unclear. A simpler way to use these images is to load them into
(emulated) sideways RAM after the emulator has initialised. There is a
documented option in the !Run file for setting up the emulator with four
banks of sideways RAM (as in the Master 128) and you can then *SRLOAD
the desired images from disc. There is no öIò option for activating the
ROM image automatically, but simply hitting the break key to re-
initialise the emulator does the job.
4.5
Emulator Compatible BBC ROMs
4.5
The following language ROM images all appear to function correctly,
though I must emphasize that I have only made cursory checks rather than
performing exhaustive tests on all features.
4.5
Language Versæn   Source   Tube compatible
4.5
BCPL    7.00    Acorn    Y
4.5
C    1.50    Beebug    N (2 ROMS)
4.5
COMAL    1.00    Acorn    Y
4.5
FORTH-83    1.00    Skywave    Y
4.5
LISP    1.00    Acorn    Y
4.5
Logo    1.00    Logotron    Y
4.5
Prolog    3.10    Acorn    Y
4.5
ISO-Pascal    1.00    Acorn    Y (Hi
version)
4.5
Pascal    2.10    Oxford    N
4.5
XBASIC    B.9    D. Bower    N
4.5
BASIC    40    Acorn    Y
4.5
(I used 65Tube version 0.64 for compatibility tests.)
4.5
65C12 Instruction Set Compatibility
4.5
The compatibility of BASIC40 Ö the Master Compact version which is the
fastest 8-bit BBC BASIC and the most accurate for floating-point and
transcendental computations Ö came as a complete surprise.
4.5
It demonstrates that the newer versions of the !65Host emulator support
not only the 6502 instruction set but also the extra instructions and
addressing modes found on theá65C12 CPU which is used on Master series
machines. If you run BASIC40 Ö selected by *FX142,x where x is the image
ROM slot as *BASIC simply re-selects the cached BASIC2 Ö then the
additional instructions will be assembled correctly. I have not seen
this feature documented previously.   A
4.5

4.5
HU-Prolog
4.5
Chris Williamson
4.5
In July 1989, I wrote a review of Acornæs Prolog System X. I concluded
that article by saying that the Acorn product was very expensive for
what it provided. In particular, System X did not provide the debugging
facilities documented in the standard text on Prolog by Clocksin and
Mellish. My other comment related to the inability of the system to
produce stand-alone code.
4.5
Given the price of the Acorn system, (and the fact that it has been
discontinued Ö see below Ed.) it is very pleasing to be able to report
on an addition to the NCS Careware compilation, Careware N║12. Andrew
Stevens, a professional AI/computer science worker, has ported HU-Prolog
for RISC-OS. HU-Prolog, or Humboldt University Prolog, was written by
C.Horn, M. Dziadzka and M.Horn at the Department of Mathematics,
Humboldt University in East Berlin. HU-Prolog is an interpreted Prolog
and does not provide any compiling facilities. Historically, Prolog
systems have tended to be interpreted rather than compiled. This is in
keeping with their interactive nature.
4.5
I have not had a great deal of time in which to investigate the RISC-OS
version of HU-Prolog. However, what work I have done with it does
confirm the claim that it is an almost 100% implementation of the
Edinburgh syntax as documented by Clocksin and Mellish. As yet I have
not had any major problems, though there is one area of the syntax not
covered. HU-Prolog does not implement the Prolog grammar rules (definite
clause grammars). These are of most interest to people involved in
natural language processing. The omission of this facility is not a
great loss, as the grammar rules just provide a shorthand notation for
something that can still be coded using the normal Prolog rules.
4.5
My review of the Acorn system included the results of a performance
comparison between System X and DECsystem-10 Prolog. The DEC-10 is a
medium size mainframe dating from the 1970És. The performance test was
based on a plan generating program. The program could operate a depth or
breadth first search to produce the plan. In the case of this example,
the program was asked to produce a plan to solve the Towers of Hanoi
problem. The results obtained are shown below, and are now extended to
include HU-Prolog.
4.5
    HU-Prolog    Acorn Sys-X    DECsys-10
4.5
Breadth first    101.95    53.81
13.32
4.5
Depth first    61.83    27.78
6.73
4.5
All the results are shown in seconds.
4.5
After the comments I made regarding the lack of debugging facilities on
the Acorn system, I am happy to say that these facilities are present on
the HU-Prolog system. This does have to be qualified though. The bugs
section of the few pages of machine readable documentation refers to the
debuggers handling of backtracking. A simple test, on the lines of the
example in the debugging chapter of C & M, showed that the debugger did
not perform exactly as would be expected. The output during the test did
not conform to the tracing model, but did appear to represent an
understandable sequence of events with respect to the control flow. I
have not had time to pursue this area of investigation any further.
4.5
A few other comments may be in order prior to concluding. The documenta
tion provided is a little scanty, though Andrew states that he is happy
to answer queries by paper or electronic mail. The system will run on a
1 Mbyte machine. I ran it on an A310 from the command line prompt. The
documentation does suggest that HU-Prolog could be run from an !Edit
task window. After attempting to do this with various configurations, I
can only conclude that more than 1 Mbyte is required if the task window
is to be used on the DeskTop. Like the Acorn System X, a number of
extensions have been provided to the language. The documentation for
these is in some cases a little terse. The timer function used in the
example program provided with the system is not documented at all.
4.5
To sum up then, the main points appear to be positive. First, compare
the price of a Careware disc against the price Acorn are asking for its
system. I shall leave you to draw your own conclusions on that one.
Price of course is not everything. While HU-Prolog does not appear to
match the speed of the Acorn system, it is still more than adequate for
most tasks. It does implement a usable set of debugging functions;
something that Acorn could not provide. In common with System X, HU-
Prolog does not implement a stand alone program facility. Unlike the
Acorn system, which has both a compiler and an interpreter, HU-Prolog
only has an interpreter and so could not readily provide this feature.
Finally, while the system is not in any way guaranteed, it is being used
by Andrew and his colleagues in a professional environment and, as such,
must meet a certain level of serviceability.  A
4.5
(The validity of this review has been confused a little by the fact that
Acorn have decided that their Prolog System-X is no longer available.
(Neither are Lisp, Logistix or Zarch.) If anyone has a copy of any of
these pieces of software and would be willing to give it to our charity
sale, do send it in to the Archive office so that others who want it can
get hold of it. If you would prefer to sell this or any software, feel
free to use our Small Ads section Ö thereæs no charge. Just send in the
text on paper or on disc but please note the use of the word ösmallò!
Ed.)  A
4.5

4.5
Language Column
4.5
David Wild
4.5
I have recently received a letter from a reader asking me to tell him
whether he should buy Release 3 of Acornæs ÉCæ or the Beebug version. As
I am not a ÉCæ programmer, I am not competent to make any recommendation
but I think that it would be dangerous for me to do so in any case.
(Does anyone have experience of both that they could share with us? Ed.)
4.5
I can, for instance, tell you why I think that Acornæs version of Pascal
is still worth buying, even though it is dearer than Cambridge Pascal Ö
but it would still be up to you to make the final decision. All such
decisions are to do with the balance of advantage, with all programs
having strong and weak points. Only you can decide which of the various
points are relevant to your way of working.
4.5
Just occasionally during my micro-computing career I have come across a
program which would be too expensive even if they gave it to you but so
far, fortunately, none of these have been for the Archimedes. (Some of
the games which re-configure your machine and then donæt allow you to
quit come fairly close!)
4.5
What you must do is to determine exactly what you need from a compiler
and then create a check list for the available compilers. You can then
tick off against your various points and see how they measure up. I
would suggest that price should be relatively unimportant in this
checking. If you are going to do a lot of serious programming you need
to get the right compiler for your needs and if it means paying a little
bit extra then you will have to do it. This applies even in the PC world
where prices range from about ú50 to more than ú500. If the ú500
compiler actually lets you write more programs in the next two years the
extra money may be very well spent, whereas it would be gross extrava
gance if you only wanted to write one program anyway.
4.5
Pascal compilation
4.5
Since my previous article, I have received a new version of the Pascal
compiler module from David Pilling. This allows for the use of öviaò
files, rather than libraries, to specify the files containing modules to
be linked. This means that you donæt need any software to turn your
öaofò files into libraries, although libraries can still be used if you
wish.
4.5
Using this compiler module means that compilation with the Acorn
compiler and linker is just as easy as using the Cambridge Pascal method
while still retaining the advantages of separate compilation. It does
also multi-task, although other processes slow down while the compiler
is active.
4.5
David Pillingæs programs are extremely good value, and I donæt really
understand how he manages to produce them at the price. If you are a
serious Pascal programmer the spending of ú5.99 on this program will
repay itself many times over.
4.5
Scheme
4.5
In my review of Scheme, I mentioned it as an alternative to Acornæs Lisp
Ö although, once again, that program does still have some advantages.
When I was talking to a reader recently I mentioned Scheme and he said
öOh! but Iæm not into artificial intelligenceò. Because Lisp has strong
associations with AI, people are tempted to forget that it does have
other uses. (Sadly, Acorn have removed Lisp (and Prolog X, Logistix &
Zarch) from their price list. If you have superfluous copies, why not
send them in to our charity sale? Thanks, Ed.)
4.5
One which could well be of value in education, especially at the price
of ú37.50, is the ability to write programs to do algebraic manipula
tion. Many ömathsò programs actually deal with the evaluation of
formulae and produce numeric answers, but in Lisp you can actually write
functions to add 3x2 + 5x + 4 to 9x2 Ö 6x Ö 3 and get another quadratic
equation as a result. This sort of thing goes a long way in reinforcing
studentsæ understanding of the underlying processes.  A
4.5

4.5
Low Cost Multi-Media
4.5
Ian Lynch
4.5
In last monthæs column, I gave an outline of some of the possibilities
in the developing field of multimedia. I now have a copy of Genesis 2,
but rather than a straight review, I will be discussing several aspects
of the software over a period of time. Hopefully, several of you will
produce Genesis 2 applications and if there is enough interest, I will
establish a Genesis 2 applications library, but more of this later.
Genesis 2 is one of the most versatile pieces of software to emerge on
the Archimedes and is a product of Software Solutions (now Oak Solutions
after their merger with Oak Computers). This merger seems to me
significant in that Oak are experts in storage technology and Software
Solutions in the software technology which will enable multimedia to
develop on the Archimedes perhaps in a more innovative way than it is on
other platforms and almost certainly at lower cost. Time will no doubt
tell.
4.5

4.5
Genesis 1
4.5
Genesis 1 has been available for a year now and is a part of the A3000
and A420 Learning Curves. It enables arbitrary links to be made between
pages which can have frames containing !Maestro files, text, graphics or
!Euclid animations. The beauty of Genesis 1 is that it also allows any
application to be dropped into a frame and forms an effective extension
to the RISC-OS desktop for presenting information in a variety of ways.
I used it for my presentation of PC-Emulation and other operating
systems during the New Horizons seminars at the Computer Shopper Show.
Other examples, are the construction of a musical data base with
examples of the composeræs work or a simple card index. Since pages can
be printed, Genesis 1 also provides the facilities for simple DTP and
its frame nature is very similar to that used by Ovation and Impression.
4.5
Genesis 1 allows the user to create applications which run from the
RISC-OS desktop, but there are some restrictions which limit the scope
of the applications. One major problem is that Genesis 1 applications
take up a lot of disc space and consist of hundreds of files each
containing information about the content of the frames on each page.
This makes copying and distributing large applications very tedious.
Using !Spark and !Sparkplug can help, but compression and decompression
of the files is also relatively slow. Another restriction is that it is
not easily possible to make conditional events in Genesis 1. This means,
for example, that the user has to double click on a music file in order
to play it rather than the application playing the music automatically
if, say, a page is opened.
4.5
Genesis 2
4.5
Many of these restrictions are overcome or reduced in Genesis 2 and the
software also allows some additional data types, most notably sound
samples from !Armadeus. These samples are buffered from disc so that
they do not take up more than 16K of memory. File compression has also
been used to help save disc space and Genesis 2 applications can take up
a lot less than half the space of Genesis 1 applications depending on
the data types involved.
4.5
Perhaps the most exciting addition to Genesis 2 is its ability to create
the dialogue boxes and conditional events which characterise RISC-OS
desktop applications. What this means is that Genesis 2 can be used to
generate complete desktop applications without the need to know C, BASIC
or any other programming languages. However, some knowledge of program
ming is an obvious advantage.
4.5
Genesis generates its own script language which can be edited to provide
further flexibility. It should be possible to write and debug an
application in perhaps a tenth of the time that it would take to program
it in BASIC and probably a lot less than this in many cases. The only
catch is that applications will tend to be longer than those written
(efficiently) in BASIC and will execute relatively slowly in some parts.
Obviously, Computer Concepts would not write a DTP application using
Genesis 2, (they still use assembler for speed and compactness Ö what
patience!) but there is a very acceptable calculator and a simple
spreadsheet with graph drawing application on the examples disc which
comes with the package to demonstrate the application generation
potential of Genesis 2.
4.5
I can see enormous potential for those who would like to write appli
cations for computer aided learning which require audio and good quality
graphics, but where speed is not a critical factor. In fact, graphics
animations through !Euclid will be possible so the speed restrictions
are not necessarily associated with this aspect of an application,
though space invader type games would be a problem.
4.5
Genesis 2 also provides an ideal tool for a team approach since the
!Euclid expert can produce the film animation, the music expert the
Maestro file, the graphics expert the pictures and the literary genius
the text. The machine code programmer can do that tricky bit that needed
more speed and the software product manager can make sure the whole
thing comes together properly. It does seem likely that home users and
those in the education world will be able to write their own software
vastly increasing the number of RISC-OS applications available. Perhaps
we could have a joint Archive effort with several people with different
interests contributing to a collective masterpiece which could be sold
for charity! (Anyone interested should write to Ian c/o the Archive
office. Ed.)
4.5
Other products
4.5
There are some other developments in multi-media on the Archimedes in
addition to Genesis 2 and I will endeavour to keep a track of these. As
a matter of interest, I have looked at Linkway on PCs and Genesis 2 has
several major advantages, most notably ease of use. Children, in
particular, seem to find it a lot easier to be creative using Genesis
than they do using Linkway. Part of this is as much due to features of
RISC-OS such as direct in-memory transfer as it is to do with Genesis
but, as with most RISC-OS applications, it is the combination of ARM
speed and RISC-OS which enable the innovative programmer to produce
applications which are both powerful and easy to use.
4.5
A more powerful tool than Linkway, called Authorware on the Macintosh is
very impressive, being used to author computer based training appli
cations in industry. This is being ported to PCs though it will perform
very poorly on anything less than a 286. Another factor is a price tag
of ú5,000 Ö who said that Archimedes software is too expensive? Ö but
the company using it reckoned that it saved them more than this much in
the first application they produced because it was so much quicker than
writing in Pascal. I recently had a Éphone call from Peter Deutekom in
Holland where the government flying school are using Archimedes and
their own software coupled with Wildvision equipment to make instruc
tional videos. A logical progression could be into interactive learning
systems. If you know of something interesting on any of the platforms,
drop me a line.
4.5
It will take me some time to become familiar with all the subtleties of
writing Genesis 2 applications, but over the next few months, I hope to
generate some examples so we can all learn together. I will be concen
trating on Genesis 2, but some things will be common to Genesis 1. If
you can afford it and would like to get into writing your own appli
cations, the upgrade is well worthwhile. In fact, if you can only afford
one major software application, Genesis 2, like !Pipedream is worthy of
consideration since it can provide DTP, database, spreadsheet and
applications generation. Genesis 2 can also access CD-ROM and Laser
Vision discs, so if you have the funds available for these rather
expensive hardware devices, Genesis 2 is almost essential if you want to
make best use of them. ARM3 also makes a significant difference to
screen drawing particularly when using outline fonts so it is fair to
say that Genesis 2 will make good use of any resources you have
available at the same time as working on a single Mb ARM 2 without a
hard disc.
4.5
Next month, I will go through the creation of a simple application. In
the meantime, do write and let me know what you would like to see in
later columns.  A
4.5

4.5
Tracker
4.5
Mark Drayton
4.5
This is a review of the !Tracker application, programmed by F. Mercier
for the Serial Port, which costs ú49.95 (or ú46 through Archive). For
those of you who are not familiar with the Soundtracker idea, I refer
you to Toby Simpsonæs excellent articles in Archive 3.8 and 3.11. They
explain with clarity the basic mechanics behind a ÉSoundtrackeræ tune.
4.5
The !Tracker application allows you to create the Soundtracker tunes for
yourself, using samples from other tunes or by using samples from
software packages such as Armadeus. The application installs itself on
the icon bar, and is semi RISC-OS compatible, as it occupies the whole
of the machine while running, but will return to the desktop with
everything intact. !Tracker grabs a hefty 640K when installed in order
to cope with a tune with many samples, but this may be a bit too
cautious, and can be changed by altering the !Run file within the
!Tracker directory.
4.5
The package comes with four discs, one containing the main programs
(including !Jukebox, a program which will simply play the tunes using
the existing public domain play module), another containing some
demonstration tunes, and two others containing samples which can be used
to create tunes for yourself. The manual I got was a rather hurried
affair, due to their rush to get the program ready for release for the
Acorn User Show. However, it was fairly clear and informative but I
expect a newer version has now been written. An upgraded version of the
original program is now available which incorporates midi compatibility,
but which offers only a slight improvement and still contains a few of
the original bugs.
4.5
Within the program, the display shows the construction of each tune
clearly, with all the information on each sample available. There are
eight possible voices, each with a slider for controllable stereo
positions, but there is rarely the need for more than four. A very
impressive imitation spectrum analyser gives something for your eyes to
feast on while your ears enjoy the music. There are also twelve panel
type buttons, (selectable with the mouse), such as play, stop etc., and
also a record facility which allows you to Éplayæ the music using the
keyboard. The program records the values of the play rate in a pattern
which you can then alter to perfection. An options button brings up a
display which gives the following selections: internal speakers on/off;
number of voices; sample format (for compatibility with samplers);
pattern display (scrolling / half scroll / no scroll); and Midi status /
channel.
4.5
The package is well presented, with attractive features such as a play
clock and a scrolling message box. In my experience, The Serial Port are
very courteous and helpful, and provide an excellent back up service.
The library of Soundtrackers built up by some public domain libraries is
huge, and I myself have eight discs full of tunes selected from a much
larger number. They are all public domain, so if anyone is interested in
finding out what the Archimedes sound system is capable of, or simply
wants more tunes to play can write to me at 38 Baunton, Cirencester,
Glos. Gl7 7BB. Please send me a disc to put them on, and I would
appreciate a small fee of ú1 per disc to ensure a snappy reply!!
4.5
It is my opinion that although this system originated on the Amiga,
(shudder), this is by far the best music software available for the
Archimedes/A3000, making Maestro look positively agricultural in
comparison. The price is perhaps a little high, but for anyone who is at
all interested in music on the Archimedes, this is a Émustæ.  A
4.5

4.5

4.5

4.5
Using the PC Emulator Ö Part 7
4.5
Richard Forster
4.5
If batch files were limited to just what we discussed last time, this
would indeed be very limiting. Fortunately there are two other things
they can do, which gives them a reasonable amount of power Ö you can
pass parameters to them and they have a host of special commands.
4.5
Many commands have syntaxes which require extra data. For example, when
using the COPY command, we have to add the name of the file being
copied, and where it is being copied to. batch files can take these
extra details by means of the % sign and a digit from 1 to 9. These
represent the detail on the command line in the position referred to by
the digit. So if our command line happened to be:
4.5
BFILE  ONE TWO FOUR
4.5
Then occurrences of %1, %2 and %3 in the batch file, would be taken as
öONEò, öTWOò and öFOURò respectively. If the program asks for a
parameter which is not in the command line (for example asking for %4 in
the above situation) then the batch file will presume this parameter to
be a blank. This may or may not create an error and, because of this,
you should be careful to watch what you type, or executing the file may
have an unexpected result.
4.5
%0 is a special parameter. When it occurs in a program, it stands for
the programæs actual name. In the above example %0 would be BFILE.
Another special parameter command allowed in batch files is SHIFT.
Normally you can only have 9 parameters (%1-%9), and this is generally
enough, but you may need more. Every time the command SHIFT is executed,
the command after %9 on the command line becomes %9, and %9 becomes %8
etc. You must remember if using this command that after the first SHIFT
%0 will be lost.
4.5
A new command Ö MOVE
4.5
A useful command which is not included with MSDOS is the move command,
and so with the use of batch files we shall make one. Basically, a move
command will move the specified command from A to B, leaving no copy of
it at A (unlike the copy command). Using edlin to create the file
MOVE.BAT, put in the following data:
4.5
COPY %1 %2
4.5
DEL %1
4.5
So to use the command, you simply type in MOVE followed first by the
original name of file, and then the new location of the file, just as if
you were using the copy command. If you typed in:
4.5
MOVE C:\BITOF.TXT C:\STORE
4.5
The file BITOF.TXT would be moved into the directory STORE (presuming it
existed first of course). The actual batch file would effectively be
executing:
4.5
COPY C:\BITOF.TXT C:\STORE
4.5
DEL C:\BITOF.TXT
4.5
This command has some hidden power, and also some hidden danger. Both
are connected to the same thing, namely what would happen if the second
parameter was omitted. What the batch file would then do, would be to
copy the file into the current directory, and then delete the old copy
of it. This is fine unless the file being copied was already in the
current directory, where it will be deleted. Forgetting both parameters
will simply give a couple of öInvalid number of parametersò errors when
the relative lines attempt to run.
4.5
To echo or not to echo
4.5
The simplest, and in many cases the most useful, of the batch commands
is ECHO. In has two uses, both of them controlling output to the screen
from a batch file. Normally when a batch file is run it displays each
line as it executes it (as you may have noticed when using the move
command). This is often required so that the user can see what is
happening, but often it is unnecessary. By executing the command ECHO
OFF at the start of a batch file these line are not printed to the
screen.
4.5
A file with a first line of ECHO OFF will print that command to the
screen but none of the subsequent lines. It can of course be turned off
at any point in the batch files execution, with the command ECHO ON.
Switching echo off only stops the command to be executed being displayed
Ö messages from MS-DOS will still be printed. If we added ECHO OFF to
the first line of our move file (something I do not suggest, because in
its present state, the user can escape by pressing <ctrl-C> if he
notices something is going wrong), although we would not have seen the
COPY commands being executed, we would have seen the messages line ö1
file(s) copiedò.
4.5
Command messages in batch files can still be redirected to other sources
instead of the screen by using the > symbol. There is a special place we
can direct these messages to if we do not want them at all, and this is
nul:. If we had the line:
4.5
COPY %1 %2 >nul:
4.5
in our batch file, we would not get the message that the file had been
copied. Whether or not we saw the command would depend on whether echo
was on or off. MS-DOS being an intelligent beast at times, will still
send us any important error messages.
4.5
Another use of ECHO is to send a message to the screen. When it is not
followed by either ON of OFF, this is exactly what it does. It is of
slightly more use when echo has previously been turned off, because
otherwise the message is effectively repeated. For example, you would
see:
4.5
Echo move program running . . .
4.5
move program running . . .
4.5
Whereas with echo off you would simply see:
4.5
move program running . . .
4.5
If echo is on, it is far better to use the REM command rather than the
ECHO command. As with BASIC, a REM command is simply ignored by the
computer and so, with echo on, it is printed on the screen and, as it
does nothing, the computer will move on to the next command.
4.5
The second really useful batch command is PAUSE. When the computer comes
across this in a batch file it pauses, prints the message öStrike a key
when ready . . .ò and then waits for a key to be pressed before
continuing. If you use this command, but do not want the prompting
message to appear, use:
4.5
PAUSE >nul:
4.5
This is of use if you used echo to print a prompting message more
suitable to the situation.
4.5
To show the use of ECHO and PAUSE we shall now update the move command
so that it is more user-friendly and easier to stop if something is
going wrong. You could use edlin to edit the old program, but because it
was so small it is probably easier to delete the old move.bat file and
start anew. When you are ready, enter the following program:
4.5
ECHO OFF
4.5
COPY %1 %2 >nul:
4.5
ECHO %1 has been copied as %2
4.5
ECHO About to delete old file
4.5
PAUSE
4.5
DEL %1
4.5
By adding the messages and the pause you can now see if the file has
been copied successfully and, if so, just press a key to delete the old
part. If you notice that something has gone wrong you can simply press
<ctrl-C> to abort. The above example also demonstrates the fact that you
can put %1-%9 in an echo message.
4.5
IF, GOTO and FOR
4.5
The final three commands for batch files are used less often and make it
far more like a small programming language. The commands IF, GOTO and
FOR allow conditional execution, skipping of steps and repetition. Most
batch files simply run from start to finish, executing every line, and
these commands are only really used in more complicated batch files.
4.5
IF checks for certain conditions, and if they exist will execute a
certain command line. IF NOT can also be used, and this will execute the
command line if the condition is not met. The actual conditions are of
three types Ö strings being equal, errors having occurred, and the
existence of files.
4.5
The string comparison compares two pieces of text between quotation
marks, and checks whether they are equal. If a parameter occurs in one
of the strings (e.g. ö%1ò) then it is replaced with the string it
actually represents. Between the two strings there must be two = signs.
If, for some reason, we wanted to know when we were moving our move
program, we could add the line:
4.5
if ö%1ò==ömove.batò echo Moving
4.5
 the move program!
4.5
If we entered move.bat as our first parameter, the computer would print
öMoving the move program!ò to the screen. When a parameter occurs in a
string but is not used, it is replaced by a blank (not a space, because
spaces, equal signs, commas and semicolons are not allowed in these
strings). So if we wanted to check that a second parameter had been
entered we could use:
4.5
if ö%2ò==öò echo No second
4.5
 parameter!
4.5
IF can also check whether an error has occurred. This is because many of
the MS-DOS commands send numbers back to MS-DOS on their completion
(this is how it knows when to print a special error message, and why
these messages are printed even when the commandæs output is going to a
file or nul:). This number is a 0 if no error occurred, and a positive
integer if an error occurred.
4.5
IF can check this using the extra command ERRORLEVEL followed by a
number. If the number returned to MS-DOS was equal or higher than this
number, the command line will be executed. So, if we wanted to print an
error message when part of our program went wrong, we could use a line
similar to:
4.5
if errorlevel 1 echo AN ERROR
4.5
 HAS OCCURRED!
4.5
If for some reason we wanted to indicate everything was running fine, we
could use a line like:
4.5
if not errorlevel 1 echo
4.5
EVERYTHING IS A-OKAY.
4.5
Finally, we can use the word EXIST and a file name after IF, to see
whether a certain file exists. More often than not, this command is used
with IF NOT to see if a file does not exist. In our move program it
could be useful to know if the file we were trying to copy did not
exist, and so we could add a line:
4.5
if not exist %1 echo File %1
4.5
 does not exist!
4.5
The problem with IF so far is that it will only execute one line. By
using the GOTO statement we can skip to an area of the program, and
execute as many as we want to. If you have used GOTO in BASIC you may be
wondering how to use it as our batch files have no line numbers (the
ones in edlin are for reference only.) The answer is by using labels.
4.5
Using labels
4.5
A label in a batch file is a semicolon followed by a name. If a batch
file comes across a label when running, it ignores it. By specifying the
labelæs name (ignoring the semicolon), after a goto statement you can
jump through the program to that label and continue execution from
there. We can thus modify our move program to jump to the end when we
ask it to copy a non-existent file. Using edlin to edit the program,
change it so that it looks like this:
4.5
ECHO OFF
4.5
if not exist %1 goto nf
4.5
COPY %1 %2 >nul:
4.5
ECHO %1 has been copied as %2
4.5
ECHO About to delete old file
4.5
PAUSE
4.5
DEL %1
4.5
goto end
4.5
:nf
4.5
ECHO The file you want to move
4.5
 does not exist!
4.5
:end
4.5
As you can see, GOTO is not just limited to being used after an IF
statement. As an exercise, try changing the program so that it tells the
user if they have forgotten to enter any parameters what the syntax is.
4.5
Finally, for this month, we come to the FOR command. For allows you to
repeat a command on various files. If you had five text files on a disc
and wanted to view them all using the type command, this is the best way
of doing it. The actual command you would use is:
4.5
for %%a in (*.TXT) do type %%a
4.5
The %%a is the variable name used by FOR, and can be any letter preceded
by double percentages. The item in brackets is the set of files which
the command will be executed on (in this case all files with the ending
TXT. The final bit, type %%a, is simply the command. In turn, each file
ending TXT will become %%a and so it will type all the files. The actual
syntax of command is: for (variable) in (set of files) do (command)
(variable).
4.5
The * used above is a wildcard, and they are worth a brief mention.
Wildcards, as the name suggests, can stand for anything. There are two
type in MS-DOS, the asterisk (*) which stands for any number of
characters, and the question mark (?) which stands for a single
character. So to delete all the files in a directory with the ending FUF
you would type in:
4.5
DEL *.FUF
4.5
and to delete all files with an ending which starts and ends with F you
would type in:
4.5
DEL *.F?F
4.5
Thatæs about all for this month. As a final note, several programs are
available for PCæs, many public domain, which allow enhanced batch files
Ö allowing user input while running etc.  A
4.5

4.5

4.5
Impression II in Context
4.5
Stuart Bell
4.5
In Archive 1.1, October 1987(!), Paul reported, öComputer Conceptsæ DTP
Package, as yet un-named, sounds more impressive than the DTP system Iæm
using to prepare this magazine.... ò The description that followed
painted a remarkably accurate picture of what Impression would even
tually look like and concluded, öI canæt wait, but Iæm going to have to
as it is scheduled for öEarly 1988ò. It was not until late æ89 that
Impression finally saw the light of day, preceded by Acorn DTP, and
followed by Beebugæs Ovation. Tempest is due out any time and the
original Impression has been followed by a significantly more powerful
Impression II and a more basic, yet still very useful, Impression
Junior.
4.5
Whilst Impression II may be the all-singing all-dancing DTP package for
the Archimedes and A3000 users, very few of us will have widespread
experience of DTP on other machines. Paul started Archive on a Mac (I
trust that he is Archimedes-based by now!), (Sure am! Ed.) and Ian
Lynch, the original DTP column editor, admitted to experience of
Pagemaker on 386-based PCs. Where then does Impression II fit into the
wider world of Mac and PC-based DTP? Thatæs the aim of this article ù to
put Impression II in context.
4.5
First, let me admit that my experience of other DTP is very limited.
Itæs because I was so impressed by Impression that I wanted to find out
if itæs as amazing as I thought. The October 1990 edition of Byte
provides the background ù an in-depth review of seven high-end DTP
packages for the Mac and PCs entitled. öIs the Typesetter Obsolete?ò
distinguishes five page-layout packages from two document publishing
programs. The former group take prepared material produced on word-
processing and graphics packages, and enable the user to produce well
laid-out brochures, leaflets and books. If any complex editing is
required, the WP must be loaded and the text changed before being
reloaded back into the layout program. Thus, such well-known packages as
Venturer Publisher and Aldus Pagemaker 3.01 on a PC lack simple editing
functions like search-and-replace and a spelling checker. Similarly,
Quark XPress 2.12 on a Mac lacks Index and Contents generation, whilst
Letraset DesignStudio 1.01 (again on a Mac) wonæt handle sub- or super-
scripts.
4.5
Producing lists of missing features is, in itself, a futile exercise ù
such a list could, and indeed will be, produced for Impression II. What
they do illustrate, however, is that Impression II should be compared
with the second group reviewed, the document publishing programs Frame
Technology Framemaker 2.1 (tested on a Mac but available for use with
Unix), and Interleaf Publisher 3.0 (on a PC). Pretty soon, however, it
becomes clear that with the latter having so many deficiencies relative
to Impression II (maximum point size 72, no configurable rulers, no
master pages, no fractional point sizes and no scaled screen views, etc.
etc.), the real öhead-to-headò encounter that will set Impression II in
a wider context is a comparison with Framemaker 2.1 on a Mac. So, here
goes...
4.5
Hardware platforms
4.5
The minimum hardware requirement for Framemaker is a Mac SE with 2Mb
RAM, although it was tested by Byte on a Mac IIfx with 4Mb, a 13 inch
AppleColor display, and an 8 Ö 24 Display Card. Both configurations
require an Apple Laserwriter IINT. My local Apple dealer tells me that
the minimum set-up ù the SE 30 is the only current SE model, but a 68030
is probably advisable for DTP in any case ù comes in at about ú6,000.
The top end Mac system works out at a mighty ú9,500 inc. VAT. The new
range of lower-priced Macs will have changed things somewhat, but I
wouldnæt try serious DTP on the 68000-based Mac Classic.
4.5
Equivalent Archimedes packages might be first an A440 equivalent with
mono screen, and CCæs Laser Direct Printer. Archive VAT-inclusive prices
total ú3150 including Impression II. The top-end system (say a 540 and
Taxan 795 multi-sync, even with the HiRes version of Laser Direct) only
manages to reach ú5600. PC-based systems are cheaper but, to match a
540, a fast 386 system with EDSI or SCSI discs, Super VGA display and a
Postscript printer will be needed. Machines like that with recognisable
names (Tandon, Epson, etc) come in at about ú3.5K plus printer and
software. As for æ486s...
4.5
Whilst comparing the cost of hardware platforms, we should remember that
Impression will work quite adequately on a 1Mb system and a single
floppy, but runs very nicely on an A3000 with 2Mb, Oakæs new low-cost
20MB SCSI disc and the Hewlett Packard DJ500 ink-jet printer. I make
that ú1840 with a medium resolution colour screen.
4.5
Apparently, that suggests ÉRound 1æ to Impression. The problem is, of
course, that if people already have sufficiently powerful Macs or PCæs,
then the cost is much less. What we are trying to do is evaluate
Impression in a wider context, not expecting that people will ditch
their PCæs just because of Impression.
4.5
Page layout
4.5
Even looking across all the seven packages which Byte tested, the page
layout facilities of Impression compare well. It lacks a grid system but
the page-ruler facility (new to Impression II) arguably provides a
similar tool. The Master Page capabilities are notable, especially now
that chapters with pairs of master pages can start (as they usually
should) with the right-hand master. Some layout packages offer a
Pasteboard (a Clipboard on which elements can be viewed and moved) to
hold material which has yet to be added to the current page. Again,
Impressionæs ability to have multiple files open (not found on most pure
DTP programs), permitting the use of a temporary scratchpad file,
provides a comparable facility.
4.5
Typography
4.5
Whilst older DTP packages limit the precision with which point-sizes can
be defined, Impression at least matches newer systems. Its Élock to
linespace gridæ is comparable to FrameMakeræs vertical justification,
and the ÉKeep togetheræ style attribute provides some of the functional
ity of proper control of Éwidows and orphansæ (single lines of text at
the top and bottom of pages). It does, however, lack some of the
sophistication of hyphenation and justification algorithms provided by
DesignStudio or Quark Xpress to emulate traditional typesetting
niceties.
4.5
It is in the provision of tracking that we encounter the first arguable
weakness in Impression. This term describes the amount of horizontal
space within text. Generally, the larger the text size, the less space
(proportionally) is required to make it readable. Some packages, such as
PageMaker, allow the use of different levels of tracking ù from very
loose (letters spaced) to very tight (letters very close together). If a
line will not quite fit where it is required, tightening the tracking
can be very useful, as it can be on a larger scale with slightly over-
long material. Impression implements an approximation to this with the
Éfont aspect ratioæ figure, the problem being that this also changes the
sizes of the characters, as well as the space between them. So, variable
tracking starts my wish-list for Impression III.
4.5
When the space between letters is reduced to the point at which they
start to overlap (e.g. a capital V next to a capital A), this is termed
kerning. On many specialist typesetting systems, and Letrasetæs
DesignStudio and Quarkæs XPress, for each font there is a kerning table
which lists the optimum spacing for every possible pair of letters, or
at least those pairs, like A and V, which must be kerned if they are to
look Érightæ. Impressionæs ability manually to control kerning to one
thousandth of an em is matched only by DesignStudio. Framemaker manages
only 0.1 em. However, there are no kerning tables ù every AV pair must
be manually kerned ù which is a minor inconvenience, rather than a major
shortcoming.
4.5
Text handling
4.5
As we noted in the introduction, Impressionæs ability to manipulate text
sets it apart from page layout packages. Only Framemaker matches it.
4.5
Views and printing
4.5
Impressionæs capability of displaying pages at virtually any magnifi
cation, and with text always optimally free of jagged edges, is a
tribute as much to Acornæs Font Manager as to Computer Conceptsæ
programming. Nevertheless, it bears repeating that the quality of screen
text that Archimedes users take for granted is unmatched by any PC and
only now is about to be emulated by Appleæs latest system software. If
you donæt believe me, get a PC DTP user to give you a 400% blow-up and
see those Éjaggiesæ! (Only FrameMaker could manage 800%).
4.5
Most layout packages are pretty competent at printing out their results.
With Apple having failed to update its dot-matrix ImageWriters for
years, Postscript laser printers are the only (expensive) option. PC
packages will drive HP LaserJets (and compatibles), but the high-end
products favour Postscript. In any case, if a final document is to be
properly type-set, then the ability to produce Postscript files is
essential.
4.5
Impression itself provides all that might be expected. On cheap
printers, like HPæs DeskJet, it is slow but, in my personal experience
people just donæt believe what a ú350 printer has produced, even if you
can make a cup of coffee whilst it prints a page! Its draft printing
facility attempts to overcome the speed problem, but is rather limited.
The output of the text story for later printing can be a better
solution.
4.5
The one aspect of Impression discussed in this article of which I do not
have experience is its use with the Laser Direct and Arc Laser. Both
printers, which have been described in Archive, provide fast output at
relatively low cost by directly connecting the printing engine to a
podule in the host computer. The Hi-Res version of the former works at
up to 600 dpi ù not up to the standard of commercial typesetting, but
visibly better than run-of-the-mill 300 dpi printers (ú1560 inc VAT from
Archive). Even that beauty is cheaper than any Postscript laser printer.
However, Postscript output is also provided, including output to file
for typesetting. By using !PC-Dir, transfer to a PC-format disc should
be easy, but can anyone tell me of a typsetting service which exists now
for Impression users that will handle Archimedes discs directly?
4.5
Graphics
4.5
Impression makes no claim to be a graphics package. CCæs attitude is,
apparently, that it makes much more sense to multi-task it with other
software than to make it larger ù too large for 1Mb machines ù by
duplicating the kinds of thing that !Draw does. DTP packages that
include a graphics capability usually offer little beyond tables,
rectangles, circles and the like. A stand-alone package will, in
general, be needed for anything more complex. (Incidentally, !Draw+,
a.k.a. !Draw1╜, on Shareware 34 is a vast improvement on !Draw but the
FPE must be loaded first ù see Archive 4.3 p23.)
4.5
Impressionæs scaling, cropping and rotating of imported graphics is
beyond reproach. When combined with the software supplied with its
scanners, the handling of graphics images is further extended. I do,
however, have one Éwishæ. At the Computer Shopper Show, I asked CC how
to get text to flow round graphics images (as opposed to the frame
holding the image) as, for example, around the keyboard in the original
Impression advert in Archives 3.2 to 3.9. öItæs a trickò, they had to
admit, achieved by the use of several small frames in a step formation
down the edge of the keyboard. They promised it for a future release.
Itæll be nice when it arrives, as the majority (but not all) of Mac and
PC packages provide such a facility.
4.5
Impression in context
4.5
Before I prepared this article, I was impressed with Impression (groan)
but had no real idea how it compared with PC- and Mac-based systems. Iæm
sorry if itæs turned out to be a eulogy for CCæs flagship package. From
what Iæve seen of Ovation, it also provides a powerful DTP facility at a
price which would amaze users of other machines even more than does the
cost of Impression. Remember, the list prices for all the DTP packages
which Byte tested are $795. The document publishing systems are $995 and
we all know the kind of dollar conversion rates which apply to US-
originated software!
4.5
I was amazed at what the famous packages of which Iæd heard so much, but
never used, do not have, making a good word processor ù and a lot of
Éto-ing and fro-ingæ ù essential.
4.5
My Éwish-listæ for Impression really only runs to two entries ù proper
variable tracking and a more powerful kerning facility. The timed back-
up which Ovation offers would also be useful, especially as, not
surprisingly for such a powerful program, Impression is not yet totally
crash-proof.
4.5
Were I a PC or Mac user, Iæd be asking why Computer Concepts invested so
much time on software for such a minority-interest machine. Assuming
that a 80386 or 68030 is powerful enough, then Impression on one of them
could have swept the market with the right price and advertising, and
made much more money for Computer Concepts.
4.5
As Iæm an Archimedes user, Iæm glad to confirm that Impression more than
holds its own in the wider context of DTP and document publishing
programs on any personal computer.  A
4.5

4.5

4.5
Preparing Material for Archive
4.5
Paul Beverley
4.5
In order to speed up the preparation of the magazine, I would ask that
people sending in material on disc should try to follow a set of
guidelines Ö what you might call the öhouse styleò of Archive.
4.5
Disc format
4.5
The text you send in can be in any disc format you like: 3╜ö or 5╝ò, E,
D or L format Ö even MSDOS if you really have to!
4.5
Wordprocessor / DTP format
4.5
We can cope with almost any WP / DTP format but, for preference, would
like Impression since that is the application we actually use when
producing the magazine. If you do have Impression or Impression Junior,
let us know and we will send you a sample document with the styles on
it. Come to think of it, we might as well send you this document as a
sample!
4.5
House style
4.5
For those of you who produce a lot of printed material, I know itæs
difficult to change your style but, if at all possible, I would like
people to prepare their articles for Archive with a particular öhouse
styleò. Iæm not talking about your style of writing Ö your turn of
phrase etc Ö I mean the way you lay it out. A few examples will show you
what I mean.
4.5
Headings
4.5
If you look at the title of this article, you will see it is in titles,
i.e. initial capital letters for the main words, whereas the section
headings only use an initial capital letter on the first word except
where the word would have a capital anyway, like öImpressionò or
öArchiveò, or the name of a product like: öHow to use Impressionò.
4.5
Indents
4.5
There is no need to create indents, either with spaces or tabs. This is
dealt with automatically by the östylesò used in Impression. Thus, if
you have a couple of lines of program to insert in the text, as for
example:
4.5
 10 REM> WonderProg
4.5
100 PRINT öThis is a load of rubbishò
4.5
110 GOTO 100
4.5
What you should send in as text is just:
4.5
 10 REM> WonderProg
4.5
100 PRINT öThis is a load of rubbishò
4.5
110 GOTO 100
4.5
I then give it styles which set the typeface and add the indent. If you
had already given it indents by adding your own spaces, I would have to
strip them out otherwise I would get a double indent.
4.5
Impression styles
4.5
The observant among you may have noticed that the öspace after
paragraphò for the first two lines of the program is smaller than that
after the last line. This is done deliberately in order to separate out
the program segment from the rest of the text and yet not have the
program itself too widely spaced. To achieve this we have two different
styles: programtext and programtextend. I am sure that you to work out
which is which!
4.5
Tables
4.5
If you have tables within the text and you lay out the data in column by
using spaces, remember that what looks OK in mono-spaced type looks
funny when typeset in a proportionally spaced type.
4.5
Thus...
4.5
Brown   6.5   13.6   11.11
4.5
Alliss  2.3    9.6   88.88
4.5
Mummy   1.1   11.1   99.99
4.5
may look OK separated by spaces but if I put that into proportionally
spaced text, you get:
4.5
   Brown   6.5    13.6   11.11
4.5
   Alliss  2.3     9.6    88.88
4.5
   Mummy   1.1    11.1    99.99
4.5
If you want to uses spaces to print it out, thatæs fine Ö I then just
use search & replace to change multiple spaces into tabs. However, if
you can present it using tabs, it makes my life easier.
4.5
If you are using Impression and you set up a table using a new ruler,
firstly remember that the text has to fit, if possible, into a normal
column width and, secondly, donæt leave the names of any new rulers as
öRuler1ò, öRuler2ò etc. Use your own name or some code word, like
Lynch1, Lynch2 etc. The reason for this is that when you paste text from
one document (your article) into another (the magazine) if a style of
the same name exists, it maintains the definition specified in the
destination document so you will lose your carefully set out
tabulations.
4.5
Abbreviations
4.5
I try, as far as I can, to use standard abbreviations and I try to be
consistent (but donæt always succeed). Here is a list of some I use:
4.5
a.m. (with full stops)
4.5
BASIC (not Basic)
4.5
e.g. (with full stops)
4.5
i.e. (with full stops)
4.5
Kbytes or just K (not Kb and not k or kbytes. Yes, thatæs a change to
make it consistent with Mbytes.)
4.5
Mbytes or just M (and not Mb)
4.5
p.m. (with full stops)
4.5
RISC-OS (not RISC OS, Risc OS, RISCOS etc as I have seen in other
documents)
4.5
We refer to the computer we all know and love as an Archimedes, not an
Arc or an Archie, please.
4.5
Archive references
4.5
When referring to articles etc in previous issues of Archive, the
convention is to use,
4.5
öArchive 3.4 p45ò
4.5
Spell-checking
4.5
If possible, please run a spell-checker over your text before sending it
in.
4.5
Dashes and hyphens
4.5
A hyphen is the character on the keyboard between the zero and the
equals sign and is the thing used in hyphenated words Ö e.g. RISC-OS Ö
whereas dashes are produced as <alt-153> or from the !Chars application
and are used for separating bits of text as earlier in this sentence. On
!Chars, (in Trinity, anyway) itæs the third of the dash-like characters
Ö under the letter y. If you are using system font then itæs the
underlined d, again under the y.
4.5
To save all this hassle, all you need to do is use a double hyphen where
you want a dash. This is a common practice but I canæt demonstrate it
because at some stage, I will be doing a global search & replace on this
document and the double hyphen will end up as a dash!
4.5
Describing keyboards actions
4.5
The conventions we use in Archive magazine to represent keyboard and
mouse actions are best illustrated by a bit of meaningless sample text:
4.5
If you want to press the return key (no angle brackets on return) or one
of the other keys I would tell you to press <return>, or to press <N>,
<Y> or <?>. To start up, press <shift-break> and use <ctrl-shift-f5>
(use f5, not F5) or double-click on the icon (<select> is assumed if you
donæt mention which mouse button) but click <adjust> (not öthe right
hand buttonò) if you want to add something to the selection. In
PipeDream we have control sequences like <ctrl-BSE> for searching which
actually means pressing <ctrl-B> and then <S> and then <E> but for
convenience we put them all together in one set of angle brackets.
4.5
Comments on English style
4.5
One of the common errors (well, I think they are errors Ö others may
think they is a matter of style) that I have to correct are that you
should never use a preposition to end a sentence with. And you should
never start a sentence with a conjunction like öandò or öbutò. But
people do! However, it is OK to use öhoweverò to start a sentence. Also,
you can use öalsoò to start a sentence.
4.5
As a general rule, writers tend to make their paragraphs too long. It
makes the text easier to read if it is broken up into smaller logical
units. Also, it is good to use (short) titles at regular intervals to
make the structure of the article easier to gather for busy people who
havenæt time to read every word of every article and just want to find
the bit of a review that declares itself to be the öConclusionò.
4.5
Writing reviews
4.5
While Iæm on the subject of reviews, could reviewers try to think
themselves into the position of the person reading the review who has
never heard of the product? If they want to buy a copy, they need to
know, at the very least, how much it costs and who the supplier is. It
is also useful if you can mentioned the version number of the software
under test so that people can see whether it is the current version that
was being tested or an earlier version.  A
4.5

4.5
FlexiFile
4.5
John Schild
4.5
Minerva Software are marketing Flexifile as a RISC-OS multi-tasking
replacement for System Delta Plus, one of the first database management
systems to be available for the Archimedes. In attempting to review it,
I feel somewhat handicapped by the fact that I have never used System
Delta Plus, and it is therefore difficult to judge this important new
product by its own ancestry. However, I have come to Flexifile with a
number of convictions about what a DBMS (database management system)
ought to offer, and after living with it for some weeks my reactions are
mixed.
4.5
This is serious software aimed at a discriminating market Ö and it does
most things well Ö but for me it is flawed by some errors and omissions
which all but vitiate its many powerful features. Very much to my
disappointment, I think I have to conclude that Archimedes users may go
on waiting for the definitive DBMS at an accessible price.
4.5
I am aware that other potential users, with needs different from my own,
might find my criticisms trivial and with this possibility firmly in
mind, I have decided to reverse normal procedure and present my
conclusions first.
4.5
Conclusions
4.5
My principle criticisms of Flexifile concern its structure and its
input/output facilities. I donæt think I am trying to be funny when I
say that Minerva probably trusted the writing of Flexifile to one of
their adventure games experts. It is mouse-mad! Too many important
features can only be accessed by the right number of clicks on the
correct mouse button over the appropriate bit of the relevant window,
and if these functions are in only occasional use, the mouse operations
are simply too difficult to remember and very cumbersome to trace
through the manual.
4.5
Trend setting software products such as Pipedream and Impression have
adopted the path of comprehensive menus with key short cuts which can
gradually be learned Ö but every important function can be accessed from
a menu, a vital feature of a large program with many possible opera
tions. Using Flexifile as a beginner requires constant reference to the
manual to learn the appropriate mouse actions. It demands too much
learning time and I do not find it at all intuitive.
4.5
My other significant complaint is about the import and export of data,
which I find quite inadequately supported. Data can be taken in only
from the keyboard or from other Minerva database programs via a slow
operating conversion utility. For Flexifile to be seriously useful to
existing data managers, Minerva must give us some import facilities for
the most common PC programs, and certainly for Pipedream.
4.5
My final reservation concerns the utterly frustrating fact that all data
taken from Flexifile for importing to another program such as a word
processor comes packed out with ASCII character 32 spaces Ö fine if you
are exporting to an old-fashioned mono-spaced WP with easily adjustable
line length, but painfully frustrating if you want to take a table into
something like an Impression frame. This is unfortunately the case
whichever of the report formats is in use. Has the programmer never
heard of TSV or CSV formats?
4.5
It is wonderful to be able to multi-task with a DTP program and drag the
contents of a card straight across into a waiting text frame Ö but the
benefit is simply thrown away if you then have to spend even more time
chasing all those irrelevant ASCII 32s (all the more difficult because
you canæt see them!).
4.5
The same limitation is present in a different way in label production.
There is a label facility and it is relatively simple to produce a
ömaskò of the desired fields from a database laid out for label
production. However, if a single line requires several fields, e.g.
title, first name and surname, Flexifile will not close up the empty
spaces in the fields, but leaves unsightly gaps in the printout. It is
so frustrating just because it is so unnecessary and Flexifile already
costs enough without users being obliged to purchase alternative front
ends for adequate report production.
4.5
All that said, I want to emphasise that this is not Mickey Mouse
software, but packed with powerful and sophisticated features, which I
will now try briefly to describe.
4.5
Presentation
4.5
Flexifile comes on a single 3.5ö disc containing the utility and some
useful sample files fully documented in a well produced 164 page manual.
The manual is divided into tutorial and reference sections, but the
tutorial section alone is not sufficient to get the new user started.
Minerva have chosen to protect their product with a key disc require
ment. Although working discs may be freely created on floppies or a hard
disc, the original key disc must be inserted before files can be loaded
and work begin. This irksome procedure can be avoided on payment of a
further ú30 for a single user unprotected version, or a larger sum for a
multi-user site licence. Flexifile loads to the icon bar, and operates
in a windowed environment alongside other RISC-OS products. In-memory
transfer to and from other co-operating packages is generously supported
but I found that, in practice, it was necessary to drag filer icons via
a RAM disc to set up a path and avoid an error message.
4.5
FlexiFile in use
4.5
Existing files can be loaded in two different ways. Double clicking on a
filer icon will load a file using the minimum of the computeræs own RAM
Ö useful for 1 megabyte systems. Alternatively, dragging the same filer
icon to the application icon on the icon bar opens a window allowing the
user to set the level of memory use Ö very helpful in speeding up
searches on a large file if enough RAM is available. More than one
window can be open at a time and files can be linked, allowing data to
be extracted from a second file which contains data matching that in the
parent file. This feature falls short of true örelationalò properties as
described in my article in Archive 4.2 but is still very useful. One
limitation is that only two files may be so linked Ö the true relational
model assumes unlimited linkage.
4.5
The card and tools windows
4.5
Opening a file window reveals the card laid out according to the useræs
choice, with fields in any desired position in the window. Field names
are assigned to each field but need not be displayed on the card. The
familiar field types (string, numeric, etc) are supported, as are
graphics windows. At the card design stage, fields can be designated as
key fields, allowing quick searches to be made. öSoundexò properties can
be assigned to any chosen field, speeding up the search for such items
as surnames where the precise spelling is not known. Any number of
fields can be designated as index fields, allowing the database to be
presented at will in different alphabetical orders. These key and index
facilities are valuable, but a price has to be paid in terms of the
speed of the search operation.
4.5
Most reviewers shower praise on Minervaæs övideo styleò tool display
used for moving around the database and setting up simple searches. My
enthusiasm is tempered by the fact that the different tool functions are
mouse selected in a small window, and inadequately labelled, so the
beginner is too much at the mercy of the manual. However, once mastered,
the tools window is very helpful for browsing a database, making quick
searches, selecting an index or subset, adding new cards and initiating
field calculations employing a macro definition.
4.5
My favourite Flexifile gimmick is that dragging a number to the
telephone icon will cause the computer speaker to output Telecom
touchtones into the mouthpiece of your phone! If your local exchange has
gone digital you can now dial out straight from the database. I like it
but I wonder if it still works on a machine which has had the pitch of
its voice raised by the fitting of a video enhancer? Does anybody know?
4.5
Clicking <menu> over the card window leads off to a range of familiar
features.
4.5
Macros
4.5
Macros are expressions which can be made to operate on the contents of
selected fields. They can range from a simple multiplier (for example,
to raise all the prices in a price list by the same percentage) to a
complex conditional bit of mathematics best left to an expert. Up to 30
lines of macro expressions (conforming to BASIC syntax) can be typed
into an edit window or imported by dragging in an ASCII file. Once a
macro definition has been entered, it can operate either globally, or on
a single displayed card. This is a powerful feature of Flexifile.
4.5
Card
4.5
Card allows the card display to be resized or the current card selected
for deletion. It also allows the entire contents of a card to be
exported either to a disc file or to another application, but sadly,
trailing all those troublesome spaces. An alternative route to the same
end is to drag the mouse pointer with <adjust> across the desired fields
only from top left to bottom right, which is obviously more selective.
Incidentally, single fields can be dragged out in a similar manner.
4.5
File
4.5
The most important function of File is to open up the complex search
window, allowing search expressions to operate on selected fields and
placing the result in a target subset. This is a powerful facility which
merits careful study of the manual to get the best out of it. Once a
search list has been established, it is stored as a subset and, if
desired, just this subset can be displayed in the card window and
reports produced from it. The second function of the file menu allows
the compaction of a file which has become untidy through deletions.
4.5
Window
4.5
The window menu leads off to many functions of which the most important
is Reports. I have to confess I find the menu structure here quite
bewildering and would urge Minerva to do a bit of rebuilding. Clicking
on Report opens a report window onto one of five report formats.
Clicking with <menu> over this window allows a different report type to
be selected.
4.5
Card produces a vertical strip of cards down the screen which can be
browsed using the scroll bars, printed or exported.
4.5
Sheet brings to the screen a spreadsheet display, to which fields can be
added either by dragging from the card window to the report window or by
opening up a setup window into which the required field names can be
typed. The setup box offers several additional options such as the
totalling of numeric fields. The report can either be printed or
exported.
4.5
Formula allows cards to be selected for printing or exporting according
to Flexifileæs set of search expressions.
4.5
Label allows the production of address labels. I have previously
commented that spaces are not stripped from adjacent fields on the same
line nor empty fields closed up, leaving the output looking decidedly
amateurish. A great pity.
4.5
Paged allows for the incorporation of headers in a report covering
several pages.
4.5
Apart from those ubiquitous ASCII 32s, my other disappointment with the
Flexifile reports facility is that it does not allow user-designed
reports with flexible layout and strings incorporated alongside search
data.
4.5
Other essential routines are selected by clicking <menu> over the
application icon on the icon bar. Create is to be found there, allowing
new card layouts to be designed. It works, as obviously it must, but it
is far from user friendly. Fast sort allows a file to be ömechanicallyò
sorted on the disc rather than relying on a resident index. Transfer
allows a new database to be cloned from an existing one with fields
added or removed.
4.5
That, then, is an outline of Flexifile Ö a powerful piece of programming
intelligently exploiting RISC-OS facilities, but strangely lacking in
some important respects. If Minerva Software could be persuaded to give
us Flexifile II in due course with adequate import and export facilities
and a more user friendly structure, it would be a winner.  A
4.5

4.5
Public Key Cryptography
4.5
Brian Cowan
4.5
The theory of numbers has traditionally been regarded as one of the
purest branches of pure mathematics, having no practical applications.
The great British mathematician G.H.Hardy was once asked of what benefit
to mankind was his study of the theory of numbers. He replied that
although of no use, it did no harm, unlike other areas of scientific
endeavour. He could not have been more mistaken. It turns out that
number theory, particularly that part which deals with prime numbers, is
at the heart of all sophisticated coding systems and is therefore used
by the military forces throughout the world!
4.5
Public key cryptography
4.5
In the simple methods for encoding messages, knowledge of the encoding
algorithm permits knowledge of the decoding algorithm. Thus, for
instance, if the message is encoded by swapping various letters around,
then decoding is effected by simply swapping in the reverse way. Public
Key Cryptography does not work in this way. Knowledge of the rule by
which a message was encoded is not sufficient to permit its decoding. A
third piece of information is required: something which relates the
encryption and decryption recipes.
4.5
Practical operation
4.5
So how would this operate in practice? Encoding and decoding are
effected by two different keys. These two keys are generated from the
third öconnectingò key. The owner of these keys can then make public his
encryption key for messages he receives (his public key) and people can
then send him messages which no one else can decode. So if you want to
send someone a secret message you look up his public key and use that
for encoding. He decodes it using his private key, known only to
himself.
4.5
Message authentication
4.5
The scheme can also be used in reverse. If you encode a message using
your private key then if someone knows it is from you then they can
decode it with your public key. The message is not then secret, but the
receiver can be sure who sent the message. However, full secrecy may be
obtained by the method of double encryption. Having encoded the message
with your private key, it is then encoded once again with the receiveræs
public key. Thus full security is obtained, of great benefit, for
instance, in business transactions.
4.5
The RSA algorithm
4.5
A paper published by Rivest, Shamir and Adleman in 1977 proposed a
method for encoding which incorporates the above ideas. The main problem
with any method is its security. Is it possible for a dedicated hacker
with a powerful computer to crack the code? In other words, knowing the
public key, can he find the private key? For the RSA method, cracking
the code is related to the factorisation of very large numbers. To
factorise the sort of numbers we are dealing with, using current
computers, would take a time longer than the age of the universe! Thus
the method seems quite secure. (Roger Sewell, technical editor of the
Archimedes Public Key, says that, to be fair, there are some techniques
that would factorise it faster than that Ö it would only take a few
hundreds of thousands of years! Ed)
4.5
The Public Key magazine
4.5
A magazine has just been published for people interested in the aspects
of Public Key Cryptography. There are two sorts of people that this is
catering for. Firstly, there is the aspiring mathematician/code breaker
and then there is the potential user, concerned with sending and
receiving secure messages.
4.5
The Public Key caters for both. In the first issue, there are articles
explaining the RSA algorithm, one covering the practical essentials and
one treating the mathematics of the algorithm. Twenty pages contain a
BASIC and assembler program for encryption, decryption and the genera
tion of keys. Clearly it is impracticable to type such a program in by
hand, so a disc is supplied containing the program.
4.5
Running the program
4.5
The program runs as a single task and the user is advised to quit the
desktop. I followed the instructions and managed to produce a public and
a private key. All went well. Also, I found it quite easy to encode some
chunks of text. However, I have not got as far as sending them to
someone to see if they can actually decode them!
4.5
First Impression
4.5
The first issue of the magazine has forty A4 pages, Impressively
produced using Impression. The editor is George Foot, and Roger Sewell
is the technical editor. The program is straightforward to use and it is
certainly a good application for exploiting the power and speed of the
Archimedes. At the back of the magazine is a list of public keys of
various people. One such person is David Pilling, the author of much
high quality and reasonably priced Archimedes software. For all
Archimedes owners interested in Public Key Cryptography and all aspects
of codes and code breaking, this is the magazine for you. (After
Archive, of course!)
4.5
Fact file
4.5
The Public Key is available from George Foot, öWaterfallò, Uvedale Road,
Oxted, Surrey, RH8 0EW.
4.5
Cost of the magazine is ú1 for UK, ú2 for EEC countries and ú3 for
overseas air mail. The disc may be obtained for ú2.50.  A
4.5

4.5
Some Notes on I-APL
4.5
Alan Angus
4.5
I have experimented with I-APL for a while, and it has a lot of
potential in mathematics education. Anyone interested in learning or
using maths should consider getting a copy of the interpereter. You also
need to get a good introductory book on APL. The two books I am using to
explore APL are  Howard A. Peelle, APL An Introduction published by
Holt, Rinehart and Winston 1986 and M. A. Curth, H. Edelmann APL a
problem-oriented introduction published by Ellis Horwood 1989. Peelleæs
book is better for the beginner.
4.5
I started off using APL in a very simple way, doing some work on
functions with a minimal amount of programming. It rapidly became
obvious that you can do a lot of useful work with very little, and that
the very limited memory space available (32k!) is not too big a
handicap. The reason for the small memory is compatibility across a
range of implementations of I-APL for many different machines, however a
32bit Archimedes implementation with large memory, and I imagine high
speed, is in an advanced state of development.
4.5
The following listings show the contents of my simple functions
workspace FUNC .
4.5
START
4.5
THIS IS A SIMPLE SET OF PROGRAMS ON THE IMPORTANT MATHEMATICAL IDEA OF
FUNCTIONS. YOU CAN THINK OF A FUNCTION AS A MACHINE THAT TURNS ONE
NUMBER INTO ANOTHER ONE.
4.5
THERE ARE 3 LITTLE PROGRAMS, PART1, PART2, PART3. WORK THROUGH EACH OF
THEM IN TURN. YOU WILL NEED TO KEEP NOTES OF WHAT YOU DO. AFTER
COMPLETING EACH PART WRITE AN ACCOUNT OF WHAT YOU DID AND OF ANYTHING
YOU DISCOVERED
4.5

4.5
PART1
4.5
FOUR FUNCTIONS HAVE BEEN DEFINED WITH THE NAMES A, B, C, D.
4.5
YOUR JOB IS TO FIND OUT WHAT THEY DO. TYPE IN A FUNCTION LETTER FOLLOWED
BY A SPACE AND A NUMBER.
4.5
FOR EXAMPLE,        B 4
4.5
NOTE WHAT THE COMPUTER GIVES YOU AS A RESULT.
4.5
THE FUNCTION i CAN MAKE YOUR TASK EASIER. i10 PRODUCES THE LIST
4.5
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
4.5
TO GET i PRESS THE SHIFT AND I KEYS.
4.5
NOW TRY TYPING IN  B i10  WHAT DOES THE FUNCTION B DO TO THE NUMBERS?
TRY TO FIND OUT WHAT A, C AND D DO TO THE NUMBERS YOU GIVE THEM.
4.5

4.5
PART2
4.5
NOW THAT YOU KNOW WHAT EACH OF OUR FUNCTIONS DO TRY THE FOLLOWING
COMBINATIONS.
4.5
A B 3
4.5
B A 5
4.5
B B i5
4.5
WHAT DO THEY DO?
4.5
NOW TRY OUT OTHER TWO LETTER COMBINATIONS AND WRITE DOWN WHAT YOU CAN
FIND OUT ABOUT THEM.
4.5

4.5
PART3
4.5
NOTE DOWN THE FOLLOWING SEQUENCES OF NUMBERS.
4.5
EACH ONE CAN BE PRODUCED BY USING A PAIR OF OUR FUNCTIONS WITH THE i
FUNCTION.
4.5
0 1 4 9 16 25 36 49 64 81
4.5
1 16 81 256 625 1296
4.5
9 36 81 144 225
4.5
3 12 27 48 75
4.5
3 1.5 1 0 0.75 0.6 0.5
4.5
YOUR JOB IS TO FIND THE RIGHT COMBINATION OF FUNCTIONS SO THAT YOU CAN
REPRODUCE EACH SEQUENCE. FOR EXAMPLE Ö1 0 1 2 IS PRODUCED BY THE
COMBINED FUNCTION  C C i4
4.5
GOOD LUCK
4.5
Here is a listing of the function definitions using standard characters
to represent the APL characters.
4.5
Z <Ö A X
4.5
Z <Ö XxX          squares the input
4.5
Z <Ö B X
4.5
Z <Ö 3xX          outputs 3 times the input
4.5
Z <Ö C X
4.5
Z <Ö XÖ1          input minus 1
4.5
Z <Ö D X
4.5
Z <Ö ≈X           reciprocal
4.5
The best is yet to come
4.5
This is only a tiny taste of the potential of APL in maths education,
using very few of the many functions built in to the interpreter. I have
kept it very simple to avoid problems with printing the special APL
characters  in the magazine. Hopefully, in time a way will be found to
overcome this difficulty, and we will see some APL articles in Archive.
(That should be quite possible now that I am doing the magazine on
Impression II. Ed.)
4.5
There are many powerful functions in this language, and they operate on
scalars, vectors and arrays. Simple combinations of functions can do
matrix multiplication and many, many other things. The potential is
enormous.
4.5
I-APL can supply the program for the Archimedes with a manual for ú4.50.
They can also supply a number of books, including some APL Press titles
which have been difficult to get hold of in recent times.  Any enquiries
about I-APL should be sent to: I-APL Ltd,     2 Blenheim
Rd, St Albans, Herts, AL1 4NR.
4.5
The reason why I-APL is so cheap is that it was developed by enthusiasts
to make APL available to schools at a minimum cost, and its development
has been funded by the British APL Association and others. Many thanks
are due to all who are involved in the I-APL project, and I only hope
that teachers and students of mathematics will take advantage of the
results of all this effort.
4.5
If you become an APL addict, why not join the British APL Association
and get their journal VECTOR, or at least subscribe to the education
newsletter?  A
4.5

4.5
Irlam Instruments    133 London Road, Staines, Middlesex TW18 4HN. (0895-
811401)
4.5
Krisalis Software    Teque House, Masonæs Yard, Downs Row, Moorgate,
Rotherham, S60 2HD.
4.5
LongmanÖLogotron    Dales Brewery, Gwydir Street, Cambridge, CB1 2LJ.
(0223Ö323656) (Ö460208)
4.5
Minerva Systems    Minerva House, Baring Crescent, Exeter, EX1 1TL.
(0392Ö437756) (Ö421762)
4.5
Oak Solutions (p20)    Cross Park
House, Low Green, Rawdon, Leeds, LS19 6HA. (0532Ö502615) (Ö506868)
4.5
Ray Maidstone (p13)    421
Sprowston Road, Norwich, NR3 4EH. (0603Ö407060) (Ö417447)
4.5
RESOURCE    Exeter Road, Doncaster, DN2 4PY. (0302Ö340331)
4.5
Silicon Vision Ltd    Signal
House, Lyon Road, Harrow, Middlesex, HA1 2AG. (081Ö422Ö2274) (Ö427Ö5169)
4.5
Simtron Ltd     4 Clarence Drive, East Grinstead, W. Sussex, RH19 4RZ.
(0342Ö328188)
4.5
The Serial Port    Burcott Manor, Wells, Somerset, BA5 1NH. (0243Ö531194)
(Ö531196)
4.5
Topologika    P.O. Box 39, Stilton, Peterborough, PE7 3RL. (0733Ö244682)
A
4.5
4mation    Linden Lea, Rock Park, Barnstaple, Devon, EX32 9AQ.
(0271Ö45566)
4.5
Abacus Training    29 Okus Grove, Upper Stratton, Swindon, Wilts, SN2
6QA.
4.5
Acorn Direct    13 Dennington Road, Wellingborough, Northants, NN8 2RL.
4.5
Acorn Computers Ltd    Fulbourn
Road, Cherry Hinton, Cambridge, CB1 4JN. (0223Ö245200) (Ö210685)
4.5
Aleph One Ltd (p19)    The Old
Courthouse, Bottisham, Cambridge, CB5 9BA. (0223Ö811679) (Ö812713)
4.5
Apricote Studios (p6)    2 Purls
Bridge Farm, Manea, Cambridgeshire, PE15 0ND. (035Ö478Ö432)
4.5
Atomwide Ltd (p26)    23 The
Greenway, Orpington, Kent, BR5 2AY. (0689Ö838852) (Ö896088)
4.5
Beebug Ltd    117 Hatfield Road, St Albans, Herts, AL1 4JS. (0727Ö40303)
(Ö60263)
4.5
Cambridge International Software         8 Herbrand
Street, London, WC1N 1HZ. (071Ö833Ö4023) (Ö837Ö6077)
4.5
CJE Micros    78 Brighton Road, Worthing, W Sussex, BN11 2EN.
(0903Ö213361) (Ö213901)
4.5
Clares Micro Supplies    98 Mid
dlewich Road, Rudheath, Northwich, Cheshire, CW9 7DA. (0606Ö48511)
(Ö48512)
4.5
Colton Software (p14)    149Ö151 St
Neots Road, Hardwick, Cambridge, CB3 7QJ. (0954Ö211472) (Ö211607)
4.5
Computereyes    16 Starnes Court, Union Street, Maidstone, Kent, ME14 1EB.
(0442Ö63933) (Ö231632)
4.5
Computer Concepts (p30/31)    Gaddesden
Place, Hemel Hempstead, Herts, HP2 6EX. (0442Ö63933) (Ö231632)
4.5
Cygnus Software    11 Newmarke Street, Leicester, LE1 5SS.
4.5
Electronic Font Foundry (p25)    Bridge
House, 18 Brockenhurst Road, Ascot, SL5 9DL. (0344Ö28698)
4.5
EMR Ltd    14 Mount Close, Wickford, Essex, SS11 8HG. (0702Ö335747)
4.5
E.S.M.     Duke Street, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, PE13 2AE. (0945Ö63441)
4.5
Foster Findlay Associates     148 West
Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 9QB. (091Ö273Ö1111)
4.5
G.A.Herdman     43 Saint Johns Drive, Clarborough, Retford, Notts, DN22
9NN
4.5
Hampshire Microtechnology Centre    Connaught Lane, Paulsgrove,
Portsmouth, Hants, PO6 4SJ. (0705Ö378266.)
4.5
Ian Copestake Software    10 Frost
Drive, Wirral, L61 4XL. (051Ö648Ö6287)
4.5
IFEL (p29)    36 Upland Drive, Plymouth, Devon, PL6 6BD. (0752Ö847286)
4.5

4.5
Norwich Computer Services    96a Vauxhall Street, Norwich NR2 2SD.
(0603Ö766592) (Ö764011)
4.5

4.5
Government Health Warning Ö Reading this could seriously affect your
spiritual health
4.5
Naturally, our thoughts and prayers are with the innocent people in the
Gulf region (on both sides of the conflict) who are suffering so
terribly at the moment. What can I say in the face of such suffering?
Whatever I say will sound trite. All I can do is point to Jesus dying on
the cross Ö He knows what it is to be innocent and to die a most cruel
death. God didnæt take the suffering away (even though he asked his
Father to do so) but he transformed it. What looked like death and
defeat was transformed into a glorious victory over the forces of evil.
Does that sound far-fetched? Well, itæs what the bible teaches. (Thereæs
no space to explain it here, but if you want to know, ask someone you
know who is a Christian why the Jesusæ death is so important.)
4.5
God does miraculously take suffering away sometimes Ö Iæve mentioned in
this column how God healed my back Ö but whether He takes suffering away
or helps us through it, He brings good out of the evil of suffering. Let
us pray that this will be seen to happen in the Gulf region very soon.
4.5

4.5

4.5
Vauxhall Street, here we come
4.5
The Obnservant among you will have noticed the significance of the
password that has been used for the Archive Bulletin Board this last
couple of months ù Vauxhall. This relates to the fact that we have just
purchased a new property for Norwich Computer Services at 96a Vauxhall
Street. It was actually built as an R.S.P.C.A. clinic but has been owned
for many years by Messers Hutchins & Sons Ltd who have been printing
Archive magazine since Volume 1 Issue 1.
4.5
Vauxhall Street is not huge, but it will give us quite a bit more room
to move than the three rooms that we were using at the Beverleyæs
private residence in Mile End Road. Unfortunately, although Vauxhall
Street is no more than 1/2 mile away from Mile End Road, it is in a
different Telecom area so all the phone numbers will have to change!
4.5

4.5
Contact Box
4.5
Å    Games Devotees Ö If anyone is interested in an Archimedes games user
club, send an S.A.E. to John Charman, 45 Smiths Lane, Fakenham, Norfolk,
NR21 8LQ.
4.5
Å    Southampton area Ö Anyone interested in setting up an Archimedes
Usersæ Group to exchange ideas, PD etc, please contact Dr Andrew Provan,
79 Roselands Gardens, Highfield, Southampton, SO2 1QJ.
4.5
Å    Club BBC Archimedes de Paris is a group of fifty Archimedes
enthusiasts who meet every Friday afternoon from 6.30 p.m. to 8.30 p.m.
at the following address (except during holidays): Ecole Superieure des
Arts Appliques DuperrΘ, 11 Rue du Petit Thouars, 75003 Paris.  A
4.5