* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *¢¢ Newsletter Changes¢ by¢ Thomas J. Andrews¢¢¢ Welcome to the latest version of The¢ Ol' Hackers Newsletter program!¢ After so many years with only minor¢ changes our Editor, Alan Sharkis, and¢ I felt it was time for a face lift.¢ So, after several email discussions,¢ we came up with what you now see.¢ Some of the changes were implemented¢ in the last few newsletters, but I'm¢ going to explain them all here.¢¢ First of all, you'll probably notice¢ a lot that's familiar. That's¢ because we're still using Kris¢ Holtegaard's original program and my¢ original modifications as a base.¢ Quite frankly, that's because I¢ couldn't think of anything better.¢ Simple is almost always best in this¢ type of program, and Kris' original¢ concept is so simple and¢ straightforward it's difficult to¢ improve upon.¢¢ Most of the changes are cosmetic.¢ They start with the "Welcome" screen,¢ the screen you see while the¢ newsletter is initializing. I've¢ moved the Welcome Screen loader to a¢ separate program, so it's loaded and¢ displayed much more quickly and for¢ longer than before, with shorter¢ blank spots. A new AUTORUN.SYS file¢ sets the screen colors, shuts off the¢ I/O sounds, and eliminates display of¢ BASIC's READY prompt about as quickly¢ as is possible without modifying¢ DOS.SYS itself.¢¢ You'll see the next change on the¢ Main Menu. Option #3, which used to¢ be printer configuration, is now "RUN¢ Side 2". Since NEWSLTR.BAS requires¢ you to configure it for your printer¢ the first time you go to print an¢ article, Alan and I thought it was¢ redundant to do so from the Main¢ Menu. We think it's better to offer¢ a convenient way to switch sides¢ without rebooting. To use it, just¢ flip your disk over and press 3.¢ There's no disk-flipping prompt, so¢ if you don't flip the disk first,¢ you'll simply rerun the side you're¢ on.¢¢ You've probably noticed the next¢ changes, on the text reader screen.¢ The line at the top, identifying this¢ as the Ol' Hackers Newsletter, was in¢ Kris' original version, but an¢ unnoticed bug in a later line erased¢ it before the reader could see it.¢ This bug was carried through all the¢ subsequent upgrades, still unnoticed,¢ until now. This version restores¢ that line as I believe Kris¢ originally intended.¢¢ The command prompts have been moved¢ to the bottom of the screen, and¢ prompts for the joystick commands¢ have been added. Please note that¢ the CONTROL-C and joystick-down¢ commands for canceling the file are¢ now active all the time, instead of¢ just when text is scrolling.¢¢ You've also probably noticed the new¢ text scroller. The text now scrolls¢ up from the bottom, leaving the last¢ line of the previous page at the top,¢ while the title and prompt lines¢ remain stationary. This is¢ accomplished through the use of a¢ custom display list that redirects¢ the stationary lines to strings away¢ from normal screen memory. These¢ strings are preloaded with the screen¢ code for the characters to be¢ displayed. The Screen Editor ignores¢ these redirected lines when¢ scrolling. We think it makes for a¢ better looking text reader.¢¢ One last change involves the¢ correction of a bug that wasn't¢ really a bug. The joystick routine¢ uses a Vertical Blank Interupt (VBI)¢ to operate. It works great, but the¢ problem was that it remained active¢ all the time and caused display¢ problems if the joystick was moved¢ when the Main Menu was on the screen.¢ Worse yet, it wasn't de-activated¢ when exiting to BASIC or when RUNning¢ the "space bar program". I've added¢ programming so that the joystick VBI¢ is only active when reading text.¢¢ A few other changes involving screen¢ colors, error handling, and program¢ streamlining round out this latest¢ version.¢¢ Programmers please note: NEWSLTR.BAS¢ contains three ML routines that might¢ be very useful in other Atari 8K¢ BASIC programs. One is SETVBI, in¢ line 850. This one safely sets the¢ VBI vector to any address you¢ specify. If you try to set this¢ vector with BASIC PEEKS and POKES,¢ you'll almost certainly crash your¢ system. The other two routines are¢ DPEEK and DPOKE, in lines 700 and¢ 750. These are a convenient way to¢ PEEK and POKE two-byte numbers¢ without all that time- and memory-¢ consuming arithmetic. They perform¢ the same functions as similar¢ commands in Turbo BASIC XL.¢¢ I hope you enjoy the new newsletter¢ program. If you have any comments or¢ suggestions, my address is on the¢ member list, or you can email me at¢ tandrews16@delphi.com. Or, get a¢ message to Alan Sharkis and I'm sure¢ he will relay it to me.¢¢ Tom Andrews¢¢ * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *¢¢¢
