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july playnotes
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PlayNET COMAL Notes for July, 1985
======= ===== ===== === ==== ====
by: Joel Ellis Rea (Joel R)
-------------- July 04 ---------------
The conversation started out on
Commodore's new Modem/300 Model 1660.
The new PlayNET software now supports
this modem and a host of others. The
1660 is advertised as having auto-dial
via both pulse and tone dialing, auto-
answer, and a built-in speaker so you
can monitor the progress of the call.
(The speaker shuts off when a carrier
tone is received).
Commodore's advertising seems
slightly exaggerated on two of these
features: First, the 1660 does NOT
perform tone dialing: the sound chip
of the computer (SID, for the 64)
must generate the tones. Thus, the
VIC-20 can't use the 1660 for tone
dialing. Second, and more serious, is
the fact that the 1660 does not send a
carrier-detect signal to the computer.
This means the computer itself has no
way of "knowing" if it is connected to
another computer or not. Carrier
detect (CD) is a NECESSITY for
auto-answer (imagine running a BBS
that had no way of "knowing" if the
user had been cut-off suddenly!).
Advertising a modem without CD as
"auto-answer" is like advertising an
automobile without automatic clutch
as having an automatic transmission!
And the 1660 obviously can detect
carrier, or the speaker wouldn't know
when to shut up! Why CBM didn't spend
the few extra pennies to tell the
computer what the modem MUST already
know is beyond me!
Anyway, Richard O is writing a BBS
in COMAL 2. Ken S suggested he use
PROMAL instead for speed, to prevent
RS-232 buffer overflow. I pointed out
ways around buffer problems. Earlier,
DT showed me a trick with substrings
and I shared it. Basically (as you
know), the substring S$(5) is just
short for S$(5:5), returning the 5th
character of S$. Well, there are 2
other short-cuts. S$(:5) is the
same as S$(1:5), and (best of all)
S$(5:) is the same as S$(5:LEN(S$))!
Foghorn J and I discussed Conway's
Game of Life in COMAL (see program on
this issue). We talked about FORTH
and compared it's "write-only"-ness to
COMAL's supreme readability.
-------------- July 11 ---------------
Captain C told us that IBM's
PC-DOS is out in America and runs on
generic MS-DOS machines, costs $250
or so, but comes only with a Danish
manual at present. Today Disk #8
will have a package called BASIC that
will allow a COMAL program to load
and run a BASIC program that will,
upon completion, return to the COMAL
program! COMAL in education was
discussed, with most agreeing than an
Apple COMAL is needed BADLY, but very
little agreement on how to accomplish
this. ST10C is a 10Meg hard disk from
Computer Specialties Inc. that works
on the 64 (!) and sells for about
$1995. Richard O has completed about
90% of his COMAL BBS software.
-------------- July 18 ---------------
COMAL Today #8 is at the printers,
and will have an article on the
INTERRUPT command! CT#8 will also
include a Sprite File Loader for
0.14. Also a SAVESPRITE!
UniCOMAL's MS-DOS COMAL (IBM's
PC-COMAL) is now available from
CUGUSA for $295, $250 for Today
subscribers. Lego's new toy robots,
which can be controlled via a 64
running COMAL, will be shown at CUGUSA
at MARCA Fair.
Cap has now seen Jesse Knight's
COMAL QUICK in action. COMAL 0.14
loads in 16 seconds - works on both
the 1541 and MSD drives!!! It comes
with Utility Disk #2 - double sided!
$14.95 ($10.95 for Today
subscribers). Comes with a booklet,
too!
Quick Chip will also be shown at
MARCA. David M2 is working on a fast
loader which he claims will work on
1541, MSD and SFD-1001!
Note: COMAL 0.14 may NOT be placed
on a BBS. This violates the agreement
that CUGUSA has with UniCOMAL, and
also violates UniCOMAL's copyright.
It is okay to send to a PERSONAL
computer via modem, but 131 sectors
times 300 baud equals one long
upload!
-------------- July 25 ---------------
Due to the MARCA Fair, there was no
COMAL meeting this Thursday evening
=========== End of Article ===========