Introduction
When I reviewed Purple Software's
Backgammon for the Series 5, I mentioned that the heart of it was
licensed from from EMCC.
Unbeknown to me at the time, another EMCC product was soon to appear,
in the shape of a book with the above title. The author, Leigh
Edwards, has been developing on Psions for a few years, and has been
gathering information during the course of that.
The Book
This has led to the production of a book which seems set to
become the definitive reference work for those interested in programming or
using Psion machines. As Psion have stopped shipping the Programming
Manual with current machines, and have replaced it with an electronic
version on the PsiWin CD, there's a great need for something more easily
accessible and with more detailed explanations and examples.
Contents
Leigh has produced some 640 pages working through the
differences between the Psion machines in their programming languages,
memory usage, basic architecture, linking to printers and PCs, and software
distribution. There isn't any explicit mention of the Acorn Pocket
Book machines, but much of the S3 and S3a stuff will be relevant. He
covers OPL16, OVAL (in the S3c and the ruggedised Workabout) and OPL32.
Chapters include the Series 3 family, EPOC16 and the 16-bit
SIBO architecture. There's a full example OPL16 application (on the CD-ROM)
with extensive comments/detailed explanations in the OPL16 chapter, and a
170 page reference guide to OPL16 and OPL32. For those interested in buying
the Software Developer Kits from Psion, there's a complete guide to the SIBO
OPL and C SDKs, and a complete electronic index to the latest C SDK.
One of the great advantages of the book is that it was published after the release of the Series 5, and Leigh has managed to include a substantial amount of information on programming that machine too. The Series 5, EPOC32 and the 32-bit architecture are explained, along with the changes from OPL16 to OPL32. There's also a full OPL32 application with similarly extensive comments and explanations to the OPL16 example. The examples illustrate many techniques such as how to implement Help, Toolbar menus, and zoomable icons.
There's an excellent index, lots of examples and explanations, advice on producing and testing of application programs, details of file formats, error messages, etc. One chapter gives a list of Psion dealers, international contacts, and on-line software sources, and another deals with the contents of the CD-ROM included with the book.
CD-ROM
That contains around 55 Mb of software (which is a lot, given
the small size of Psion applications), including:
There is one "illegal" directory called "PARSE$" which can't be opened under RISC OS, but everything else I've tried seems to behave properly.
Conclusions
Whether you're an active programmer, dabbling in a few things for
yourself (which describes me), or just an interested user of one of the
machines, this is a book you really should consider. Every Psion owner I've
shown it to has either already got a copy already, or scribbled down the
details to get one - it's that good! Not only is it packed with information,
but it is actually a good read. I find myself picking it up to browse in
idle moments, and not wanting to put it down.
This is an excellent book that deserves to do very well, and
Leigh should be congratulated for the Herculean efforts he has put into
producing it.
Prices
Programming Psion Computers costs £29·95 plus
P&P direct from EMCC at:
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