Archive Magazine 1996/ARCHIVE_96.iso/text/magazine/volume_09/issue_01

Text File | 1995-09-07 | 313KB | 6,841 lines

Products Available
9.1
20/20 credit Ö Up to Christmas, Acorn are offering a very generous
credit scheme for buying computers. Basically, if you are buying a
computer and a monitor, you can have 20 monthsæ interest free credit.
There are limitations, of course, and these are: (1)áthe minimum deposit
is 10%, (2)áthe maximum loan is ú1485, (3)áthis offer cannot be combined
with any other Acorn offer, such as Clan Cash-Back or Special Purchase
without monitor.
9.1
So what does this offer mean in practice? The box below gives some
examples.
9.1
As you can see, once you are buying something costing more than about
ú1600, you are onto the maximum loan figure, so the more you buy from
there upwards, the more the deposit. i.e. (Deposit = Full Price Ö ú1485)
and the repayments are ú74.25 per month.
9.1
This scheme is a good one for several reasons. (1) It does not cost you
a penny. (2) It does not cost NCS a penny because, unlike previous
interest free schemes, Acorn are covering the full cost of the finance.
(Thank you, Acorn!) (3) It will allow people who havenæt saved up enough
money yet to buy their computer now rather than waiting. (4) It will
allow others, who have the money now, to buy a bigger monitor, or other
peripherals, or more software or whatever. This can save money in the
long run and it is more convenient to have peripherals fitted and tested
by NCS rather than doing it yourself later.
9.1
N.B. The Acorn 20/20 scheme only lasts until
9.1
31st December 1995.
9.1
A4 scanners Ö The Epson GT6500 is now obsolete and has been replaced by
the GT8500 with 30-bit colour and 400 dpi optical resolution and the
GT9000 which also has 30-bit colour but an optical resolution of 600
dpi. The prices are ú599 +VAT and ú699 +VAT respectively plus ú12.50
+VAT carriage from Irlam Instruments or ú710 and ú830 inclusive
respectively, through Archive. In each case, the Irlam software is for
either parallel or SCSI connection, although the scanners have both
types of interface. Please specify which you require when ordering.
9.1
Acorn Pocket Book II (1Mb) Ö There is now a 1Mb version of the Pocket
Book II which costs ú285 +VAT or ú335 through Archive inc p&p. The 256Kb
version is still available at ú205 +VAT (ú240 through Archive) but it
looks as if the 512Kb version may be on its way out.
9.1
Acorn RiscáPC 700 & A7000 Ö People have been asking about the
availability of the new computers. Since the RiscáPC 700s computers
became available in mid-August, there has been no difficulty in supply,
except for the ACB76 (10Mb with CD-ROM) and, in any case, most
purchasers prefer to have the Eesox quad speed CD-ROM instead of Acornæs
dual speed drive, since it only costs ú40 more (ú170 cf ú130), and it
and the ACB75s are available from stock.
9.1
The A7000s are more of a problem. The 2Mb versions are beginning to be
available in limited quantities but the 4Mb versions are said to be
available at öthe end of the yearò! Apparently they are having problems
sourcing the 4Mb memory chips.
9.1
If you want to buy one of the new Iiyama monitors (see below) with a
RiscáPC, as an alternative to the Acorn monitors, Acorn have provided a
scheme for you to do this. Just ask us for a form, fill it in and send
it back to us with your order. (This does not apply if you are buying on
the 20/20 scheme. Sorry!)
9.1
Alsystems SCSI 2 card Ö An alternative to the established Cumana SCSI 2
interface is Alsystemsæ Power-Tec giving up to 5Mb/sec data transfer
through podule slots 1 or 2 in a Risc PC (up to 2Mb/sec on ARM3
machines). The card has built-in CDFS v2.21, Kodak Photoview and DAT
tape streamer driver, plus a number of valuable performance and
operating features, including the ability to read from one device while
concurrently writing to another, auto-termination, auto-spindown and
password protection. The price is ú175 + carriage +VAT from Alsystems,
or ú205 through Archive.
9.1
Archive CD Ö This is still available at the special price of ú8 if
ordered with a subscription renewal, provided this is done before 15th
September. (Thatæs the date we set last month but the magazine only goes
out on the 12th, so weæd better make it Friday 22nd September Ö which is
my birthday anyway!!) The CD-ROM seems to have been well received and
people are finding it contains some extremely useful information. Having
it all on one CD is a bonus. There are one or two minor technical
hitches that have come to light Ö these are dealt with in Hints & Tips
on page 17.
9.1
ARM710 upgrades Ö (Still no ARM700s yet but...) If you have an old
RiscáPC 600 and want to upgrade to an ARM710, you can do so for the
promised ú100 +VAT (well, sort of). What you have to do is get it from
Acorn Direct in Wellingborough (address and phone number in Factfile)
for ú146.88 (thatæs ú125 +VAT). Then, when (if) you send them the old
ARM610 card back, they will refund you ú29.38 (ú25 +VAT). Some may
prefer to keep the old processor card, just in case... !
9.1
Atomic Software have released two scientific programs. Elements is a
Periodic Table like youæve never seen Ö it will need someone with a big
brain to review it! Itæs a database containing the latest information,
in graphical form, on all the elements and their isotopes up to element
110. It contains information on boiling points, melting points, highest
valency, isotropic purity and atomic weight (to name but a very few!).
Nuclides is a graphical database containing information on the 2400+
isotopes of elements, or nuclides; both stable isotopes and radioactive
isotopes, displayed on a Serge chart.
9.1
To use the programs you will need a machine with at least 2Mb RAM, mode
31 capability (for Elements) and mode 20 or 39 for Nuclides, i.e. a
multisync monitor is essential. Elements and Nuclides can be bought
together for ú14.95 or separately for ú9.95 each, from Atomic Software.
9.1
CD-ROMs from Anglia Ö The Art Store Ö Looking at Animals CD brings
together a collection of paintings and sculptures from over forty art
galleries and museums around Britain and the Republic of Ireland. The
images range from lap-dogs to lion skins, domestic animals to exotic
wildlife. As well as the pictures, there are nearly 150 activity sheets
for use in the classroom; and a museums and galleries guide giving
details of the pictures contributed, opening times, detailed location,
and other related pictures in the collections. This CD costs ú50 +VAT
from Anglia or ú55 through Archive.
9.1
British Isles from the Air brings the best of the Aerofilms collection
to CD-ROM. The 230 photos cover a wide range of natural and man-made
features, with some of the photos going back to 1919. Designed initially
for the classroom, the selection of photography has already been well
received on a wider front. For users of the Key Plus database system,
the photographs are also duplicated in that format, together with
references for the powerful mapping facilities which Key Plus offers.
This CD costs ú40 +VAT from Anglia or ú45 through Archive.
9.1
Chroma Genlock Ö Wild Visionæs Chroma-Genlocks allow you to overlay and
record to video any computer graphics. You can overlay colour graphics
from the computer onto a colour video signal to create exactly the
result you want. The combined output can be recorded to video or
displayed on a video-compatible monitor.
9.1
Chroma Genlock expansion cards are supplied as a package with Sideshow
and Overlay software. Sideshow acts as a flexible medium for taking
text, draw objects and sprites in drawfiles and overlaying them, either
as full screen or selectively, onto video. It provides scaling,
sequencing, looping, screen blanking and scrolling. Overlay is the
utility which controls the overlay and interlace status of the desktop.
The package costs ú149 +ú6 p&p +VAT from Computer Concepts or ú175
through Archive. (Itæs important to state which computer itæs going into
when ordering.)
9.1
Cine Works Ö Oregan Developments have updated their video mixing and
editing studio program to version 1.03. New facilities include support
for multiple ARMovie sound tracks, improved AVI support, MPEG video
encoding and audio support, WAV audio export, new transitions and video
filters, timeline colour coding, improved YUV rendering and improved
trigger interface. Upgrades are free to registered users. The price from
Oregan Developments remains at ú159.95 inclusive or ú152 through
Archive.
9.1
ClickArt Animals & Nature Pack Ö from Matt Black is a collection of 150
high-quality images for education and DTP users. In addition to the 150
drawfile images supplied on four floppy discs, thereæs also a collection
of over 120 drawfile silhouettes (normally costing ú29.95) given away
free! And, to help ClickArt users manage their collection of clipart,
Matt Black have thrown in a copy of Hugh Eagleæs freeware application
PickAPic. PickAPic features include fast loading of saved images and
thumbnails and presentation of thumbnails in filer style windows.
9.1
The images in the Animals & Nature pack are not compressed, making them
easier and faster to load from floppy disc. The pack costs ú35 +ú2 p&p
in UK and Europe (ú4 to the rest of the world). All of Matt Blackæs
ClickArt packs come with a free school site licence.
9.1
FaxModems Ö US Robotics have re-priced their modems. The WorldPort
14,400 portable is now ú190 inclusive through Archive and the non-
portable Sportster has dropped to ú160. There is now also non-portable
28,800 baud Sportster at ú250 through Archive. This is a V34 fax/data
modem, with VFC capability, MNP4/5 data compression and error detection,
class 1 and class 2.0 fax support.
9.1
They all come with PC cables and PC software. The cables are OK for
A5000 computers and later but if you have a pre-A5000 computer, you will
need a special cable costing a further ú13. In terms of Acorn software,
our recommendation would be ArcFax (ú33) for providing fax facility and
Hearsay II (ú82) for access to bulletin boards etc. These two packages
work well together with the modems. We use them in the office and so are
able to give advice in setting them up.
9.1
(Weæll make some recommendations for software for accessing the Internet
once weæve sorted it out ourselves!)
9.1
Guardians of the Greenwood is an eco-fantasy on a single CD-ROM, aimed
at the 9Ö14 age range at home and school. The story is a simple one:
industrial development by ÉHawk Enterprisesæ is threatening the
Greenwood and its inhabitants. Crinkle, the heroine of the story, sets
out to save the forest from destruction... with assistance from the
forest folk, and a bit of magic, she is able to save the environment,
etc. There are 30,000 words of narration; a talking dictionary providing
definitions and examples of usage of over 500 difficult words found in
the program; thereæs sampled music, speech and sound effects, plus
graphics and animations. Thereæs also an adultæs guided tour to help
parents and teachers familiarise themselves with the program.
9.1
Guardians CD costs ú49.50 +VAT (p&p is free) from 4Mation, ú56 through
Archive.
9.1
High Risc Racing Ö a plan-view car racing game from a new(ish) company
to the Acorn market Ö Modus Software who were recognised as one of the
countryæs most promising enterprises, when they were a Scottish National
finalist at the 1995 LiveWire awards. Their first product is an arcade-
style game Ö a plan-view car racing game called High Risc Racing. Itæs
compatible with all RISC OS 2+ machines with 2Mb or more of memory, is
hard-disc installable and sells at ú25 inclusive of p&p from Modus
Software.
9.1
High speed Internet access Ö Intelligent Interfaces have responded to
usersæ demands to remove the computer-modem communication bottleneck by
introducing their new dual high speed serial interface card for Acorn
computers. This provides two additional RS232 compatible serial
interfaces, with standard 9-pin D¡type connectors, capable of
communicating at baud rates from 50 to 230,400 including 9,600, 19,200,
38,400, 57,600 and 115,200 baud. The software includes Block Drivers to
enable the use of Hearsay II, ArcFax, ARCterm 7, the Internet Starter
Kit, etc. The card can be used in any computer with a backplane and
requires RISC OS 3.1 or later. The dual high speed serial interface card
is available from Intelligent Interfaces for ú149 +VAT + carriage or
ú175 through Archive.
9.1
Iiyama VisionMaster monitors Ö Four new monitors have arrived this month
from this company that has gained such a high reputation in such a short
space of time. (NCS has not sold any other monitors, apart from Acorn,
since taking on the Idek Iiyama range of monitors!) There are two 17ö
and two 21ò monitors and they replace the existing models which are now
no longer available.
9.1
The final figure in each column is the extra that you have to pay if you
are buying one of these monitors as an alternative to the Acorn 14ö
(AKF60) monitor. Weáhave special forms for you to fill in if you want to
do this Ö ask us for an ÉAcorn Special Purchaseæ form.
9.1
InterTalk allows access to both electronic mail and news, locally and
via the Internet. You can create local newsgroups for general discussion
and information, and to make your views known throughout the world. The
administrator or single user decides the choice of sites that the
individual may talk to, and controls the costs of wide area networking
ownership. At a later date, a World Wide Web browser will be added
(hopefully before the end of the year Ö maybe sooner) and for those who
bought InterTalk before the browser was available, there will be a free
upgrade. There are two versions of InterTalk, a single-user version and
a multi-user version, priced at ú79 +VAT and ú299 +VAT respectively, or
ú88 and ú330 through Archive.
9.1
Land, Sea & Air is the second of a series of interactive strategy
simulations from UK Software. The object of the game is to achieve a
high total profit over 15 and 30 years. This is achieved by identifying
concentrations of passengers and commodities, then taking them to where
they are required. You do this by building stations and tracks, then
designing routes for your trains to take. To ensure that your trains go
to the correct destinations, you have at your disposal a timetabling
system which enables you to schedule your trains with their cargo and
routes. You have the opportunity to start an Airline, a shipping line or
even a football team Ö you can even make a take-over bid for your
competitors (before they get you!). Land, Sea and Air works on all 2Mb
RISC OS machines, except the Risc PC, and costs ú19.95 inc. from
UKáSoftware.
9.1
LIVE Accessory Pack Ö Longman Logotron have released the complete plug-
in-and-go solution to recording and analysing information collected from
experiments in and around the classroom. Pupils can now collect data
with Longman Logotronæs LIVE interface box, control and analyse
experiments with the Junior Insight program, and access and monitor data
from different sources with the new LIVE accessory pack. The pack
comprises a range of sensors measuring light, temperature and sound, and
an extension cable which makes it possible to collect data on field
trips and in other situations where it is difficult to locate the
computer close to the data source. The LIVE accessory pack for Acorn
users is ú45 +VAT (single user). The LIVE interface box costs ú99 +VAT
and Junior Insight is ú44 +VAT. The complete kit is available at ú178
+VAT for a single user.
9.1
Merlin Ray Tracer Ö Merlin is a program which allows you to create
images using a technique called ray-tracing, where each pixel is
affected by light sources, shadows, reflection, refraction etc. Merlin
offers an excellent 3D editor (until now Acorn machines have only had
textual script files with which you are meant to Édescribeæ your scene),
a texture/material editor and, of course, a ray-tracer. Its features
include texture-mapping, Phong and Gouraud shading, anti-aliasing,
polygons-into-lines, transparency, mist/fog, different classes of light-
sources, various cameras and the ability to import Draw and DXF
(professional CAD) files, and it is designed with ease-of-use in mind.
Merlin costs ú100á+ ú6 p&p + VAT from Evolution Computer oráú120
inclusive through Archive. (Merlin was reviewed in Archive 8.11 p9.)
9.1
Mission Control: Crystal Rain Forest 2 Ö Sherston Software are launching
a sequel to their much acclaimed package. This new package is an
adventure in its own right but it is aimed at control technology at Key
Stage 2. Mission Control costs ú44.95 +VAT or ú50 through Archive.
9.1
Oak SCSI cards Ö IFEL have limited quantities of the Oak SCSI card
available. Although somewhat dated, they are a popular interface and
compatible with a wide range of SCSI 1 devices (check with Jim
Nottingham about your specific combinations). The price from IFEL is
ú99+VAT. Ifáyou want CDFS v2.20 individual on the card, the price is
ú124 +VAT. Existing users of Oak cards can obtain CDFS v2.20 upgrades
direct from IFEL for ú25 +VAT.
9.1
OmniClient Ö This is designed to make the business of connecting RISC OS
machines to PC, UNIX and Apple networks as simple and cost-effective as
possible. It is a software-only solution, so no additional hardware is
required, which enables the sharing of hardware and software including
hard discs, printers, JPEGs, MPEGs and text files Ö all on the same
physical Ethernet network. It supports the use of NTServer, LanManager,
Windows for Workgroups, Windowsá95 and NFS as well as RISC OS solutions
such as Level 4 and Acorn Access, all through a single software
interface. It allows the transfer of data to Éselectedæ servers and
retrieval when required Ö this includes RISC OS applications. Files can
be simultaneously shared with RISC OS, PC and Apple machines, and
OmniClient provides a Éwhole-site networkæ for mixed environments.
OmniClient happily co-exists with all other Acorn networking solutions
and a site licence costs ú249 + VAT or ú275 inclusive through Archive.
If you are a lone Acorn computer user trying to link onto alien
networks, you can buy a single user copy of OmniClient from ANT Ltd for
ú50 +VAT or ú56 through Archive.
9.1
More (Stage 3) Talking Stories Ö Sherston have released another set of
their Talking Stories, based on popular stories from the Oxford
University Press ÉOxford Reading Treeæ scheme, as used in many schools.
The stories, narrated by Sinead Cusack, include Kipper the Clown,
Strawberry Jam, The Jumble Sale, At the Seaside, Kipperæs Idea and The
Snowman. More Talking Stories costs ú40 +VAT (ú45 through Archive) for
the single user version Ö site licences are also available.
9.1
Padlock Ö Base5 Technical Graphics have produced a desktop security
manager aimed mainly at schools and small businesses. Facilities include
password-controlled access, access privileges by group allocation, user
privileges set by supervisor, anti-theft protection for selected
applications, independent access control of directories, applications
and files, blanket cover of files by filetype, automatic user log
available to Supervisor, and optional additional anti-hacking
safeguards. The application comes in two versions: Padlock at ú49
inclusive from Base5 (no VAT) and Padlock Junior at ú15 inclusive, which
contains the main features of Padlock but not all, and does not include
the programmeræs documentation for the ÉSecureæ module which is at the
heart of the system.
9.1
Pop-up Cards is a novel idea from Southern Printers. Itæs a do-it-
yourself card-making package with designs for pop-up cards, front and
back type cards, and folded cards. Two compressed discs contain ready-
made templates that can be loaded into any package that takes drawfiles.
Once printed, the templates can then be cut out and assembled to produce
a variety of greetings cards. Coloured paper or card can be used to
brighten up cards printed on mono printers Ö there are even black and
white outlines for children to colour in, instead of using the coloured
examples. The pack comes with the two discs, an instruction manual with
ideas for using the designs, and a manual showing the designs contained
on the discs.
9.1
Pop-Up Cards costs ú14 or 24 for an educational site licence (fully
inclusive) from Southern Printers. Also available is a disc of the line
art drawings only for ú6.
9.1
Quad speed ATAPI CD-ROM drives Ö Eesox now have quad speed CD-ROM drives
available which are suitable for the RiscáPC and the A7000. They cost
ú145 + VAT + p&p from Eesox or ú170 inclusive through Archive.
9.1
RISCáOS 3.1 Ö Those of you who having been waiting to get hold of copies
of RISCáOS 3.1 will be pleased to know that, after several months delay,
some have come through. Not a lot, and we havenæt fulfilled all the back
orders yet but we are hopeful. Also, the way it is being sold has now
changed in that you can (will be able to!) buy the documentation
separately for ú25 inc p&p and the chip sets for ú35 per set through
Archive with discounts for bulk orders (3+) bringing the cost down
towards ú30 per set. So, the one-off set, including the documentation,
which was ú89 is now ú60 through Archive.
9.1
RSDFS Ö Remote Serial Disc Filing System is a program from ARMed Forces
which is designed to allow you to access the contents of the disc drives
on one computer from another. (It is ideal if you have just bought a
RiscáPC and are thinking, öI donæt fancy using floppy discs to get all
my files and applications across onto this new machine!ò Ed.) It is a
versatile system that allows the user easy access to remote file
resources in a variety of ways. You can link two machines, network up to
5 slaves and 1 server and view the hard drives of certain bulletin
boards, but this requires the more advanced version. The standard
version, which allows you to link two computers together, costs ú38 from
ARMed Forces or ú38 through Archive. (There is no discount because ARMed
Forces is not VAT registered, so we lose 17.5% of the ú38!) If you need
a serial lead to link the two machines, these cost ú12 through Archive.
The advanced version costs ú66 from ARMed Forces.
9.1
SchoolServer Ö The Acorn SchoolServer provides a complete fileserver
solution to meet schoolsæ networking needs, with the capability to
consolidate curriculum and administration networks. It uses a powerful
RISC-based (PowerPC, not ARM!) hardware server, offering high
performance, reliability and expansion capability, that comes supplied
with Microsoft Windows NT software, offering the latest in advanced
server software.
9.1
The Acorn SchoolServer can also be supplied with Acorn OmniClient which
is unique in offering the advantages of integrated networking in a mixed
environment of RISC OS, Apple Mac, PC and UNIX-based network stations,
and gives a consistent user interface to Acorn and other network
servers. There are two variants of the hardware and each can come with
or without OmniClient. The REPs are: ú5199 for the AS500 with OmniClient
and ú5099 without, ú7999 AS1000 with OmniClient and ú7899 without. The
SchoolServer is only available through Acorn Education Agents, i.e. not
from NCS.
9.1
Simon the Sorcerer Ö Taking advantage of the CD-ROM medium, Gamesware
have employed professional actors to bring speech to the game. Taking
the role of Simon is Chris Barrie of Red Dwarf fame. Simon the Sorcerer
is now available on CD, priced ú45.99 inc VAT from Gamesware or ú42
through Archive.
9.1
Sound upgrades (for RiscáPC) Ö For owners of existing RiscáPCs who want
SoundBlaster capabilities, there is a program available that will allow
you to play .WAV files. This will give you much of the functionality you
need, especially for CD¡ROMs. This is available free on the Acorn ftp
site but if you donæt have Internet access and have already bought a
sound upgrade from NCS, send a blank formatted disc and weæll send you a
copy. Otherwise, please send in an order for it to NCS with ú2 to cover
admin.
9.1
There will be, say Acorn, öa chargeable upgrade available in Novemberò
that will allow the use of Midi synthesis files which should then allow
PC games, etc, to be fully functional in terms of sound.
9.1
Twain Ö David Pilling has now produced Twain drivers for Agfa Arcus Plus
and the UMAX Vista S6 and S8 scanners. These are ú19 each through
Archive or ú53 if bought with ImageMaster.
9.1
VerbMaster-French Ö Version 1.10 of this Shareware aid to learning
French verbs is now available. New features include a variety of
configuration options for schools, the ability to Éturn offæ tenses and
some brief grammar text notes to accompany each tense. In addition, the
subjunctive mood has been added and many of the criticisms expressed in
Archiveæs review have been addressed, including a clearer, more user-
friendly test verb screen. For full details, an unregistered version
(ú1) or the full registered version (ú7.50), please contact: Nigel
Caplan, 33 Alwoodley Lane, Leeds, LS17 7PU.
9.1
Review software received...
9.1
We have received review copies of the following: ÅArtáStore Ö Looking at
Animals CD (e), ÅElementsáand Nuclides (e), ÅLand, Sea & Air CD (e),
ÅPop-up cards (he), ÅRemote Serial Disc Filing System, ÅVerbMaster
German (e), ÅVistamusic-3 (e).
9.1
e=Education, b=Business, bk=Book, c=Comms, g=Game, h=Hardware,
l=Language, m=Multimedia, u=Utility, a=Art.
9.1
If you would like to review any of these products, please contact the
Archive office. Potential reviewers will need to show that they would
use the product in a professional capacity or that they have some
knowledge of the particular field.áuá
9.1
4Mation    14 Castle Park Road, Whiddon Valley, Barnstaple, Devon, EX32
8PA. (01271¡25353) (01271¡22974)
9.1
Abacus Training    29 Okus Grove, Upper Stratton, Swindon, Wilts, SN2
6QA. (01793¡723347) (01793¡723347)
9.1
Acorn Direct   FREEPOST, 13 Dennington Road, Wellingborough, Northants,
NN8á2BR. (01933¡279300)
9.1
Acorn Computers Ltd    Acorn House, Vision Park, Histon, Cambridge, CB4
4AE. (01223¡254254) (01223¡254262)
9.1
Akalat Publishing  (p5)  P.O. Box 231, Barton, Bedford, MK45 4HQ,
(01582¡881614) (01582¡881614)
9.1
Alsystems   47 Winchester Road, Four Marks, Alton, Hampshire, GU34 5HG.
(01420¡561111)
9.1
Alternative Publishing   Suite 91, 9A Pentagon House, 36 Washington
Street, Glasgow, G3 8AZ. (0141¡248¡2322) (0141¡248¡3638)
9.1
Anglia Multimedia   Anglia House, Norwich, NR1 3JG. (01603¡615151)
(01603¡631032)
9.1
ANT Ltd   P.O.Box 300, Cambridge, CB1 2EG. (01223¡567808) (01223¡567801)
9.1
APDL    39 Knighton Park Road, Sydenham, London, SE26 5RN.
9.1
Apricote Studios   2 Purls Bridge Farm, Manea, Cambridgeshire, PE15 0ND.
(01354¡680432)
9.1
ARMed Forces   38 Main Road, Littleton, Winchester, SO22 6QQ. (01962-
880591)
9.1
Atomic Software   1 Fells Grove, Worsley, Manchester, M28 7JN
9.1
Avie Electronics (p9)  7 Overbury Road, Norwich. (01603¡416863)
(01603¡788640)
9.1
Base5 Technical Graphics   P.O. Box 378, Woking, Surrey, GU21 4DF.
(01483¡761197)
9.1
Colton Software   2 Signet Court, Swanns Road, Cambridge, CB5 8LA.
(01223¡311881) (01223¡312010)
9.1
Computer Concepts   Gaddesden Place, Hemel Hempstead, Herts, HP2 6EX.
(01442¡63933) (01442¡231632)
9.1
Cumana Ltd   Pines Trading Estate, Broad Street, Guildford, GU3 3BH.
(01483¡503121) (01483¡503326)
9.1
Dalriada Data Technology   145 Albion Street, Kenilworth, Warkwickshire,
CV8 2FY. (01926¡53901)
9.1
David Pilling   P.O.Box 22, Thornton Cleveleys, Blackpool, FY5 1LR.
9.1
Desktop Laminations    P.O.Box 332, Bristol, BS99 7XL. (0117¡979¡9979)
9.1
Eesox   5 Hillfield Road, Comberton, Cambridge, CB3 7DB. (01223¡264242)
9.1
Euro¡Asia Systems Ltd   334 Queenstown Road, Battersea, London, SWB 4NE.
(071¡498¡7816) (071¡498¡3218)
9.1
Evolution Computer   An den Klippen 23, 57462 OLPE, Germany.
(00¡49¡2761¡3062)
9.1
ExpLAN   St Catherineæs House, 20 Plymouth Road, Tavistock, Devon, PL19
8AY. (01822¡613868) (01822¡610868)
9.1
Granada Microcare  01234-226866
9.1
Hazelnut Software   197 Blackshots Lane, Grays, Essex, RM16 2LL.
(01375¡375514)
9.1
Intelligent Interfaces Ltd   P.O.Box 80, Eastleigh, Hants, SO5 5YX.
(01703¡261514) (01703¡267904)
9.1
Kudlian Soft   8 Barrow Road, Kenilworth, Warwickshire, CV8á1EH.
(01926¡851147)
9.1
Longman Logotron   124 Cambridge Science Park, Milton Road, Cambridge
CB4 4ZS. (01223¡425558) (01223¡425349)
9.1
LOOKsystems   Unit 1, The Gables Yard, Pulham Market, Diss, IP21 4SY.
(01508¡608585) (01508¡608575)
9.1
Matt Black   6 Henry Court, Henry Street, Peterborough, PE1 2QG.
(01733¡315439)
9.1
Modus Software   90 Telford Road, Lenziemill Industrial Estate,
Cumberland, Glasgow G67á2NJ.
9.1
Oregan Developments   36 Grosvenor Avenue, Streetly, Sutton Coldfield,
B74 3PE. (0121¡353¡6044)
9.1
Repair Zone   421 Sprowston Road, Norwich, NR3 4EH. (01603¡400477)
(01603¡417447)
9.1
Sherston Software   Angel House, Sherston, Malmesbury, Wilts. SN16 0LH.
(01666¡840433) (01666¡840048)
9.1
Sibelius Software   75 Burleigh Street, Cambridge, CB1 1DJ.
(01223¡302765) (01223¡351947)
9.1
Southern Printers   47 Drake Road, Willesborough, Ashford, Kent TN24
0UZ. (01233¡633919)
9.1
T¡J Reproductions   Unit D, Canada House, Blackburn Road, West
Hampstead, London NW6á1RZ. (0171¡372¡4430) (0171¡372¡0515)
9.1
UK Software   38 Midlands Estate, West End, Southampton, SO3 3AD.
(01703¡474681)
9.1
Archive Monthly Disc
9.1
u Beginneræs Basic program from Ray Favre Ö page 76.
9.1
u ExtASM assembleráÖápage 39.
9.1
u Files from Gerald Fittonæs ColumnáÖápage 64.
9.1
u Serial Mouse application from Stuart TyrrelláÖ page 19.
9.1
u Two programs for Pocket Book II Ö page 14.
9.1
u Sample Sibelius files from Ian Beswick Ö page 51.
9.1
u Sound coversion program from Rick Hudson.
9.1
u Sparkplug for decompression of parts of the Archive CD-ROM Ö page 17.
9.1
u Keystrip for TableMate3 (for Ovation) by Aneurin Griffiths.
9.1
u VZap virus Protection program from Paul Vigay Ö see the review on page
74.
9.1
Norwich Computer Services     96a Vauxhall Street, Norwich, NR2 2SD.
(01603-766592) (764011)
9.1
áááááá        áááááááááááemail: [e-mail]
9.1
Fact-File
9.1
(The numbers in italic are fax numbers)
9.1
Government Health Warning Ö Reading this could seriously effect your
spiritual health
9.1
If, as you read my burblings each month, you feel moved to respond,
either with a comment or a question, please donæt hold back. Iæm always
happy to correspond with anyone who is genuinely interested in the
Christian faith. As I have said many times, if Jesusæ claims are true,
they are of infinite importance to everyone but if they are not then
youæve lost nothing by looking into them.
9.1
A couple of years ago, I was writing to someone who lives down on the
South coast Ö Ron, weæll call him Ö not his real name. I was trying to
say to Ron that it was important to check out Jesusæ claims and not to
Éleave it until tomorrowæ because who knows if weæll still be here
tomorrow? I told him about my 26-year old friend, Nick, from our church
here in Norwich. A few weeks earlier, he had gone to a nearby flat to
try to mediate in a marital feud. The wife was brandishing a knife and
threatening to use it. Nick tried to intervene and she stabbed him
straight through the heart and he died. Nick had been married for one
year. We were stunned.
9.1
I didnæt get a reply from Ron for some months. Maybe I had been too
melodramatic Ö but Nickæs death had really affected me and made me think
about what is really important in life. But, eventually, I got a reply.
Of all the people I have written to over the eight years of Archive,
people all over the country and around the world, Iáhave (I think) only
mentioned Nickæs death once. Ron said, öSorry I didnæt reply earlier but
I was a bit shocked by your letter. I presume you were talking about
Nick Stanley Ö I was at school with him!ò
9.1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
9.1
If you want to check out Jesusæ claims, there are now about 1,600
churches around the UK, and some overseas, running Alpha courses. (It is
anticipated that, during 1995, around 100,000 people in the UK will have
been on an Alpha course.) These courses are for anyone interested, there
is no charge, there will be lots of other sceptical people attending
them, you can ask anything (and I mean anything) and if you go to one of
the meetings and then decide not to go again, there is no Éfollow upæ.
In short, youæve got nothing to lose.
9.1
If you are interested, ring 0171-581-8255 and ask to speak to the Alpha
Coordinator who will be able to tell you if there is a course near you.
The courses run three times a year and most of them start during
September, so donæt delay Ö give them a ring today Ö or fax them on
0171-589-3390.
9.1
P.B.
9.1
Paul Beverley
9.1
Mark Colton
9.1
Everyone in the Acorn family was saddened recently by the sudden death,
in a motor racing accident, of MarkáColton of Colton Software. Our
thoughts and prayers are with Markæs friends and family. Gerald Fitton
has kindly written an appreciation of Mark in his Column on page 69.
9.1
NCS Ö The future
9.1
Many of you wrote to express your concern about the future of NCS Ö it
seems you donæt want to lose us! That is most gratifying, thank you.
Yes, we have lost all our educational sales and, yes, Acorn have dropped
the dealer margin but, at the moment things are just about OK. Thatæs
because people are buying the new RiscáPC 700 in reasonable numbers. If
you want a RiscáPC, we have them in stock Ö feel free to order one!
9.1
Another major problem this month is that Greyhound Marketing have gone
into liquidation. They were an excellent company that supplied our
software needs so that, if you ordered an Acorn title we didnæt have in
stock, we could ring them and, the following day, it would be delivered.
So, if you have been waiting for some software, please accept our
apologies (Other Acorn dealers will be having the same problems, I
guess, as Greyhound was the main Acorn distributor.) There are two
companies trying to gear up to fill the gap but, if there are some
teething troubles, please bear with us. There may even be some titles
that we will have to take off our list. öNormal service will be resumed
as soon as possibleò!
9.1
Thatæs it for now. Happy reading!
9.1
  Full Price  Deposit  Loan  20 Payments of
9.1
ACB60 + AKF60  ú1349  ú135  ú1214  ú60.70
9.1
ACB70 + AKF60  ú1599  ú160  ú1439  ú71.95
9.1
ACB71 + AKF60  ú1729  ú244  ú1485  ú74.25
9.1
ACB75 + AKF60  ú1989  ú504  ú1485  ú74.25
9.1
ACB75 + AKF85  ú2315  ú830  ú1485  ú74.25
9.1
20/20 Scheme examples
9.1
Model  AKF85  17  Pro 17  21  Pro 21
9.1
Screen  FST  FST  DiamondTron  FST  DiamondTron
9.1
Dot pitch (mm)  0.27  0.26  0.25  0.27  0.30
9.1
Horiz. Freq. (Hz)  50-120  50-160  50-160  50-160  50-160
9.1
Vert. Freq. (kHz)  30-82  27-86  27-92  25-94  25-94
9.1
Resolution  1280╫1024 (70)  1280╫1024 (80)  1280╫1024 (85)  1280╫1024
(90)  1280╫1024 (90)
9.1
Resolution  1600╫1200 (60)  1600╫1200 (65)  1600╫1200 (70)  1600╫1200
(75)  1600╫1200 (75)
9.1
Weight (kg)  21  21  23  31  34
9.1
Archive Price  (ú620)  ú660  ú740  ú1490  ú1590
9.1
With RiscáPC  ú326  ú370  ú450  ú1200  ú1300
9.1
Avie
9.1
New artwork
9.1
Club News
9.1
Suffolk Acorn Risc Club Ö The club meets every month, usually on the
second Thursday of the month, in Ipswich Central library (use the side
entrance in Old Foundry Road). Doors open at 7 p.m. with tea and coffee
available, and talks start at 7.30 p.m. Special events include:
9.1
Saturday, 23rd September Ö Club BBQ in Felixstowe, 5 p.m. (social event,
bring your own meat and drink)
9.1
Wednesday, 11th October Ö Colton Software demonstrating Fireworkz, etc.
9.1
Saturday, 28th October Ö Coach trip to Acorn World (8.30 a.m. departure
from Ipswich)
9.1
Thursday, 9th November Ö Games weæve liked for years... (informal
Christmas games Ö bring your machine, competitions and prizes on the
night)
9.1
Thursday, 14th December Ö Christmas Cracker (Design session with a prize
for the best Christmas card)
9.1
For more details, please contact: Paul Skirrow, Chairman, SARC, 9
Randwell Close, Ipswich, IP4á5ES. (01473-728943) (01473-270643)
([e-mail])áuá
9.1
Is Suffolk the only place in the universe that has interesting Acorn
club meetings? OK, so tell me about it! Ed.
9.1
Acorn 1995 Christmas Card Competition
9.1
Ding Dong Merrily.....!
9.1
Donæt groan Ö you could win a Risc PC! Following the success of last
yearæs competition, budding artists and would-be designers are once
again invited to try their hand at producing a design for Acornæs 1995
Christmas card. The winning entry will be professionally printed and
used by Acorn this Christmas, and the winner will receive a fabulous
Acorn Risc PC600 4Mb HD425 system.
9.1
All entries must be original work and should be produced using an Acorn
computer. Designs should be submitted in both drawfile format and as an
A4 hard copy.
9.1
Please send entries to:
9.1
  Acorn æ95 Christmas Card Competition
9.1
  Corporate Affairs Department
9.1
  Acorn House
9.1
  Vision Park,
9.1
  Cambridge, CB4 4AE
9.1
Entries must be in by no later than Monday 9th October æ95.
9.1
Designs from groups and individuals, young and old, are all welcome.
9.1
Terms and conditions
9.1
1  All entries must be received by second post 9tháOctober 1995.
9.1
2  The prize will be an Acorn Risc PC600 4M HD425.
9.1
3  The winning entry will be chosen on 23rdáOctober 1995 and the prize
winner will be announced at Acorn World æ95 (27th-29th October 1995,
Wembley).
9.1
4  Photographs and other promotional material may be requested of the
prize winner.
9.1
5  All designs must be original.
9.1
6  Only one entry per person or per group.
9.1
7  Designs cannot be returned.
9.1
8  The following are not eligible to enter: employees and contractors of
Acorn Computer Group plc, Advanced RISC Machines Limited and their
subsidiaries, agents, dealers or anyone connected with the competition.
9.1
9  Entries must be submitted in drawfile format and A4 hard copy.
9.1
10  Acorn Computer Group plc and its subsidiaries shall have the right
to reproduce all designs for future use and applicants shall, if
requested, sign an appropriate form of authorization.áuá
9.1
Acorn World æ95
9.1
Weæve not had time this year to get round to companies to find out what
new products they are going to be launching, so all weæve got is Acornæs
own PR Ö but at least it gives you some idea of what will be on offer Ö
youære unlikely to be disappointed. (Mind you, some of the PR sounds a
little over-optimistic to me Ö there are going to be a few late night
sessions down at Vision Park if all this is to be fulfilled in time!
Ed.)
9.1
A great venue for the school half-term holidays Ö take a trip down the
Information Superhighway at Acorn World æ95, Wembley 27-29th October.
9.1
Itæs the best show in town to educate and amuse the whole family, and it
comes at just the time when you want to know more about the Information
Superhighway, the Internet, browsing the World Wide Web, and the
emerging, broadband network ÉSet-Top Boxæ technology.  Acorn World æ95
is a super event to find out what all this means, and the best way to
Éget onlineæ. With lots of demos, information from experts and good
savings on advance tickets Ö itæs altogether too good to miss!
9.1
Each day thereæll be a variety of topical theatre presentations,
including one by Acornæs Chris Cox at which heæll explain all about the
Superhighway, and answer questions from the audience.
9.1
At the Cyber Cafe...
9.1
Youæll be able to get online at the event, both by getting hands-on
experience of the Internet in the futuristic Cyber Cafe area Ö a chance
to find out what itæs like Ö and by buying-in through VTI, which will be
selling Internet subscription. So come on down and have a browse.
9.1
Also in the Cyber Cafe, thereæll be a live Internet link with the Blue
Peter stand at the CBBC Big Bash in Birmingham at the NEC. Whizz kids at
both events will be able to chat over the net. Blue Peter will be
filming them at Wembley on Friday, the first day of Acorn World æ95, for
transmission on their programme later that day.
9.1
At Technology City...
9.1
This is the mecca of the event, and the place to see the latest
technology from Acorn:
9.1
ÅáNew Acorn models Ö Risc PC700 and A7000
9.1
ÅáNext generation of PC Cards demonstrated, with redesigned ASIC. Hear
the significantly improved soundblaster quality.
9.1
ÅáMultimedia as part of Risc PC system Ö an opportunity for some face-
to-face questioning, and on the upper level of the exhibit, a whole
Multimedia Experience area.
9.1
ÅáSimtec multiprocessor card will be running.
9.1
Networking
9.1
There will be a feature on networking which picks up the theme of the
show:
9.1
ÅáOmniclient running in conjunction with a Power PC Schools Server.
9.1
ÅáAccess and other networking protocols running on the Risc PC.
9.1
ÅáA Risc PC 700X demonstrating the use of UNIX on the Risc PC.
9.1
ÅáAnd itæs likely youæll see Risc BSD. (Iæll try to find out what this
means by the time of the next issue of Archive! Does anyone know? Ed.)
9.1
ÅáTAOS Ö see the latest version for the Risc PC Ö this is a microkernal-
based operating system, recently released.
9.1
Something for everyone...
9.1
An Early Learning area reflecting Acornæs recent link-up with the Pre-
School Learning Alliance to promote IT in playgroups nationwide. An
opportunity for parents and toddlers to play on computers and get some
sound advice.
9.1
PLUS a futuristic computer games arcade, competitions with prizes,
jugglers, magicians, face painting and a free, colourful, toy-packed
crΦche!
9.1
And over 100 organisations showing their IT products and services.
9.1
Call the Acorn World æ95 Ticket and Information Hotline on 01933-441448,
who are including a special P&O cross-channel offer for those who book
early.
9.1
Acorn World æ95 special offers
9.1
The Acorn A3010 Early Years Learning System, the ideal IT start for very
young children, comprising computer, mouse, joystick ports for two users
and a variety of colourful and stimulating software programs, normally
ú399, will sell for ú199 +VAT.
9.1
Acorn PC Exchange will be released at Acorn World æ95. It will enable
you to move text, graphics and sound between RISC OS and Windows. It
will cost ú25 +VAT, including three discs and a manual.
9.1
Acorn Pocket Book II 256Kb inclusive of RAM disc worth ú42 will be on
sale for ú205 +VAT.
9.1
...plus other selected equipment at attractive prices.
9.1
The biggest attraction...
9.1
The Archive stand is likely to be the biggest attraction at the whole
show (thatæs edæs totally unbiased view!) so donæt miss it...
9.1
Charity Bring and Buy Ö Weæve been saving up charity bits and pieces and
now have lots to sell, but please bring more with you when you come.
Even old BBC programs on tape will sell Ö youæd be amazed Ö  itæs for
fun, itæs for charity, so why not join us?
9.1
Chat Shop Ö Come and meet each other and chat. If you have ever
contributed to Archive, come to the stand, pick up a badge, write your
name and area(s) of expertise and hang around the stand for a while Ö
you may even be accosted around the exhibition hall as people see your
badge and want to chat to you.
9.1
CD-ROM Offer Ö The Archive CD-ROM special offer (ú8 if you buy it at the
same time as a subscription before 15th September) will be resurrected
for those three days and it will apply to new subscriptions to Archive
as well.áuá
9.1
Small Ads
9.1
(Small ads for Acorn 32¡bit computers and related products are free for
subscribers but we reserve the right to publish all, part or none of the
material you send, as we think fit. i.e. some people donæt know what
Ésmallæ means and there are certain things, as you can imagine, that we
would not be prepared to advertise as a matter of principle. Sending
small ads (especially long ones!) on disc is helpful but not essential.
Ed)
9.1
A310, ARM3, RISC OS 3.1, 4Mb RAM, no monitor, Oak SCSI interface and
Quantum 105Mb HD, Atomwide VIDC enhancer 1.61, CC ROM/RAM board, Watford
2¡slot backplane, 5╝ö floppy interface and drive. Software including: PC
emulator 1.82, Wordz 1.03, Robico, Stranded, Enthar 7, Lemmings, Caverns
and lots of PD. ú450 o.n.o. Phone Rob on 01895¡423179 or 01705¡631747.
9.1
A310, 4Mb, ARM3, RISC OS 3.1, 40Mb HD, AKF17 monitor, fan quietener,
PCEmulator 1.6, leads, manuals, discs, ú450 o.n.o. + p&p. Phone
01275¡393203.
9.1
A310, 4Mb, RISC OS 3.1, ARM3, 4¡slot four¡layer backplane, two 3╜ö disc
drives, 80Mb ext. IDE , stereo speakers, multisync monitor, joystick, PC
emulator, 180 discs utils/games/music/art, dust covers, ú550. Phone Eric
on 01603¡259052.
9.1
A4 portable, 4Mb RAM, 60Mb HD, various software, vgc (original boxes)
ú1000. Phone 01792¡771513 after 6.
9.1
A410/1, 4Mb RAM, 33MHz ARM3, 50Mb HD (2 off), Newlook desktop, I/O
podule, MIDI, sound sampler, keyboard extension cable and postage ú500
o.n.o. Phone Mark after 6 on 01905¡754277.
9.1
A540, 4Mb RAM, RISC OS 3.1, 120Mb SCSI HD, Eizo 9060S, s/w + games inc.
Wonderland + Interdictor 2, ú800. Can deliver within reasonable distance
of Nottingham. Phone 0115¡953¡2122.
9.1
A540, 8Mb RAM, 120Mb SCSI HD, RISC OS 3.10, Acorn SCSI board, Eizo
9060S, ú590. Software inc. EasiWriter, PipeDream 4 and Prophet. Phone
01342¡714905.
9.1
A3000, 2Mb, 40Mb IDE drive, RISC OS 3.1, 14ö AlphaScan high res monitor,
Style, EasyFont, PipeDream, etc, ú400. Phone Ian on 01256¡461566.
9.1
A3000, 4Mb RAM (IFEL), 40Mb ICS HD, RISC OS 3.1, Acorn monitor, ú450
o.n.o. Phone 01373¡462213.
9.1
A5000, 4Mb RAM, 40Mb HD, RISC OS 3.1, 14ö multisync, external floppy
interface, good cond, ú600. Phone Steve on 01803¡873073.
9.1
A5000, 4Mb RAM, 234Mb IDE, AKF18, RISC OS 3.11, ú550. Risc PC 2nd slice
ú75, 2Mb VRAM ú100. SCSI card ú50. Eagle M2 ú185. Scanner 256 ú90. A310
and b/w monitor ú75. Publisher ú90. Artworks ú90. Photodesk ú90. NEC 14ö
multisync ú100. LQ850 ú30. Phone 01827¡330118 eves.
9.1
A5000, 4Mb RAM, 80Mb HD, Acorn 14ö, Watford I/O card, RISC OS 3.1, 3 car
simulators, 5áflight simulators, 8 games, 2 modem packages, 2ámusic
composers, 2 WPs, PC emulator with DOS 5 and Autoroute, ú690. Phone
01235¡766374 eves.
9.1
A5000, 4¡8Mb memory board, Eizo 9060, fan quietener, 240Mb HD, PC
emulator, TouchType, Squirrel 2 and more! ú850 o.n.o. Phone
0181¡898¡0447 eves.
9.1
A5000LC, RISC OS 3.11, 4Mb RAM, 2 ╫ 40Mb HD, monitor, software, discs,
magazines etc, ú750. Pete on 01276¡28433.
9.1
ACB25 Risc PC 600, 6Mb + 2Mb VRAM, 210Mb HD, 17ö monitor, quad speed
CD¡ROM drive, Oak SCSI card, Acorn 486 co¡processor, ú1500. Phone
01202¡740710 eves.
9.1
ACB25 Risc PC 600 9Mb, 425Mb HD, Cumana Indigo CD¡ROM drive, exc cond,
also some software, ú1300. Phone Steve on 01803¡873073.
9.1
Aleph One 386 PC podule with 4Mb RAM, fast PALs, !PC versions 1.72 and
1.52, and Windows driver, ú270. Phone Ray on 0181¡864¡7208.
9.1
Aleph One 486SLC PC podule with 4Mb RAM, 50MHz, IPC software, Windows
drivers, DR DOS and manual, ú250. Phone 01342¡714905.
9.1
ANSI C release 3 ú50, Z88 computer + bits ú50. Phone Mike on
01462¡434061.
9.1
Archive magazines (complete set) and Risc User magazines for sale. Best
offer for either or both. Phone 01424¡753303.
9.1
Conner IDE hard disc, 420Mb, 3 months old, formatted and with many PD
and shareware programs, ú115. Phone 01992¡462072.
9.1
Expansion card: Acorn MIDI c/w EMR Studio 24+ (v2) & MIDI music/utility
discs etc ú90, GammaPlot (v2) ú15, System Delta+ (v2) ú25, Genesis (v2)
ú20, Investigating Local Industry ú20, Sporting Triangles ú5, The Art
Machine 1&2 ú20, Word Up Word Down ú3. Books: MS¡DOS Quick Reference ú5,
RISC OS 2 PRMs ú35. Phone 01737¡832159 eves.
9.1
Fireworkz Pro, boxed with full documentation, ú100. Phone 0131¡477¡8624.
9.1
Games, Chuck Rock ú5, Zool ú10, Lotus Turbo Challenge 2 ú10, Boogie
Buggy ú5, Enter The Realm ú15, Swiv ú5, Gods ú5, The Krisalis Collection
ú10. ú50 for the lot. Phone Chris on 01925¡755250.
9.1
IDE hard disc, 210Mb (ex Risc PC) ú70, Cumana 3╜ö floppy drive with PSU,
hardly used, ú45. PRES A3K6 disc buffer board for A3000, ú20. Phone Ian
on 0151¡678¡9879.
9.1
Old¡style Econet cards, 10 for ú250 or ú30 individually. Phone Mr Bartle
on 01263¡713271.
9.1
PipeDream 3 (Unregistered) ú15, Joystick Interface ú10, Tracker ú10,
Euclid ú10, Disc Rescue ú10, Speech! ú5, DataWord ú5, Impression Borders
ú5. Games inc Real McCoy 1, 2 and 4, Wonderland, Chopper Force, etc. ú10
each. Acorn User magazines Jan 1991 Ö Aug 1994 with discs from September
1991, offers. Phone Robert on 01256¡27519.
9.1
PipeDream 4, unopened, unregistered, ú35. Phone Paul on 0831¡612025.
9.1
Pocket Book, as new, with Schedule, boxed with manuals, ú100. Phone Camp
on 01952¡247783.
9.1
Pocket Book 1, 256Kb, Schedule, Plotter, exc cond, ú100. Phone Andrew
Jackson on 01935¡881835 or 0378¡930659.
9.1
Printers Ö CC LaserDirect HiRes8 ú700; Panasonic KXP1124 (24¡pin dot
matrix) ú90. David on 01908¡501951 eves.
9.1
ProArtisan 24, boxed with manuals, ú90. Phone Major Tompkins on
01276¡28932.
9.1
Psion games disc one (7 games). Works with Pocket Book, PB II, Series 3
or 3a. Phone Mark after 6 on 01905¡754277.
9.1
ScanLight 256 (standard podule, v2.06) hardly used, ú100. Revelation 2
CD (inc. CDFS 2.21Y) ú50. ProArtisan 2 CD (inc. ProArt24 upgrade voucher
and a PhotoCD) ú50. PinPoint 2.01d, ú50. Magpie 1A.51b, ú30. All for
ú280. Telephone David on 01752¡840027 eves.
9.1
Wanted Ö CC Colour Card Gold for an A5000. Phone 01992¡462072.
9.1
Wanted Ö AKF17 or AKF50, or similar, suitable for an A420/1. Phone Paul
on 0831¡612025.
9.1
Wordz, unused copy, boxed with manual and two Abacus ZLine discs of
resources/suggestions/helps, etc ú30. Phone 01952¡247783.áuá
9.1
Pocket Book Column
9.1
Audrey Laski
9.1
The pigs flew! As I had half-hoped, half-feared, no sooner had I got my
text off early to Paul, than the letters came in Ö still not many, but
full of good information and questions.
9.1
Pocket Book tuning
9.1
John Woodthorpe of Rugby, one of the columnæs most regular
correspondents, has been testing a Californian program called PSTuner
which samples sounds received by the built-in microphone and very
accurately determines the pitch; he has uploaded it to Arcade and the
Datafile PD library on behalf of the author, who asks for a donation to
be made to his favourite charity. He remarks, öI think this is a really
innovative use for the machine, and perhaps gives us a glimpse of how
Psion may be moving towards voice recognition, as they hinted when the
Series 3a was launched. One supplied example uses it as a sound monitor,
constantly displaying the waveform on the screen. It is easy to imagine
someone extending this by writing a program to be triggered by a loud
noise (e.g. turning off an alarm by shouting at it).ò Itæs very exciting
to see the range of activities in which the Pocket Book can be of
service.
9.1
Still more about linking
9.1
John also writes of the problems experienced by an acquaintance who had
been trying to get a Psion 3-Link to work with a Risc PC and PocketFS Ö
initially an impossibility. öThe solution was to (bravely) hack off the
9-pin D plug from the 3-Link (fortunately, all the shorting links are in
that end of the wire) and replace it with one wired correctly for an
Acorn. This can best be appreciated by looking at the little round mini
DIN plug that goes into the Ésoap on ropeæ, with the flat portion at the
top. You then have an arrangement of:
9.1
  pin  space  pin  pin
9.1
  pin  pin  pin  pin
9.1
    pin  pin
9.1
The 3-Link has them connected to the following pins on the D-plug:
9.1
  8    7  5
9.1
  2  6  5  4
9.1
    5  3
9.1
For the A-link, things are somewhat different. It goes:
9.1
  8+9    7  N/C
9.1
  2  1+6  5  4
9.1
    4  3
9.1
N/C = no connection.ò
9.1
After discovering this with the aid of a continuity checker, they wired
the pins as for the A-Link and öeverything now works fineò.
9.1
Printing problems
9.1
Jeremy Mitcheson, of Portishead, Bristol, is an enthusiastic Psion 3a
user, particularly keen on öthe To-Do lists, the Agenda and the great
convenience of typing letters and notes, whether with my thumbs when
sitting in an easy chair or with fingers at a tableò. He enquires about
printing directly to a printer Ö say, a Canon BJ200 Ö in different
print/font sizes, especially with a view to using a large typeface for
the convenience of readers with failing eyesight. John of the other side
of the bed, waving a banner with the strange device ÉRTFM!æ, points out
that p103 of the Pocket Book manual shows how to set the font-size for a
chosen printer; presumably there is similar advice somewhere in the
Psion 3a manual. He adds: öCanon can use IBM Proprinter X24E (Canon DIP
switch 1-10 off) for which, certainly, a printer-driver is provided, or
its own command rules (DIP switch 1-10 on). Because of the different
character sets, top-bit set characters will probably have different
effects. ú is the most likely to be awkward...ò He recommends that you
experiment with the byte numbers in the manuals of all the machines
involved.
9.1
Loading PD software
9.1
Jeremy also mentions difficulties experienced in loading programs from
PD software such as PDCD1 from Datafile. John of the other side of the
bed agrees with him that the problem is the incompatible filenames
syntax of the two OSs, expanding thus: öDOS names are seven characters,
a fullstop and then three characters (<name>.<ext>). This is too long
for RISC OS, and it would construe the dot as another branch in the
directory. RISC OS displays DOS filenames by substituting É/æ for É.æ,
and truncating. (Sparc uses another character which I canæt remember for
É/æ.)ò
9.1
He notes that PocketFS helpfully uses the Acorn É/æ convention, when
taking files from the Acorn to the Pocket Book, but warns of the risk of
losing the last extension character and suggests making a note of the
filenames before transferring, to be able to repair the effect of
RISCáOSæs too narrow channel. The first file to be passed over should be
immediately renamed, as a lost character from the end of the extension
might make two files with similar names indistinguishable.
9.1
Power Pack Blues forever?
9.1
My Pocket Book is back with a new gizmo attached to the power pack lead
to try to keep it connected. The green light still blinks out from time
to time when I am trying to use it on a very uneven surface, but
jiggling the gizmo restores it. Iæll have to be satisfied with that, I
guess; but Iæm probably the only user who both works in bed and keeps
the power pack engaged.
9.1
Endnote
9.1
It was good to see a substantial article praising the Pocket Book in the
September issue; please keep the letters coming so that we can continue
to spread the word.áuá
9.1
Flexible Memory Allocation
9.1
Robert Lytton
9.1
When programming in Basic, if you need to store some data, such as text,
the usual approach is to use the DIM command to set aside a block of
memory and store the data there. This means that you need to know the
size of block required when writing the program and set up an
appropriate Wimpslot in the Run file to make sure you do not run out of
memory.
9.1
Also, the block of memory is permanently allocated by the Basic
interpreter and cannot be reduced or increased in size, nor removed to
enable the memory to be used for other purposes. This causes problems
when you do not know the size of the data to be stored, particularly
when the data could be quite long, e.g. text files.
9.1
One solution is to run the program with the largest possible Wimpslot
and allocate the largest possible block of memory using DIM, thereby
being able to accommodate large data blocks. This, however, is very
wasteful if the data is only very limited. Swallowing up all available
memory, when you only need a few Kb, can be very annoying to the user!
9.1
Memory usage in Basic
9.1
The diagram opposite shows how memory in the Basic programæs WimpSlot is
used. The lower section is the program code. Above this, variables,
strings, array and blocks of DIMensioned memory are all allocated space
once, and once only. Starting from the top (HIMEM), a stack is
constructed for use by the Basic interpreter. If all is well, the stack
does not meet the variable storage space! The answer to flexible memory
allocation is to use memory above that used by the Basic interpreter.
9.1
The WimpSlot
9.1
If you increase the WimpSlot, your task will have an area of memory
above the current Basic interpreter (HIMEM). This is now available to be
used as you wish and may be increased or decreased using the following
SWI:
9.1
SYS öWimp_SlotSizeò,NewSize%,Ö1 TO
9.1
 ActualNewSize%
9.1
where NewSize% is the desired WimpSlot in bytes and ActualNewSize% is
the WimpSlot actually allocated.
9.1
Two other very useful SWI calls are:
9.1
SYS öWimp_SlotSizeò,Ö1,Ö1 TO
9.1
 PresentSize%
9.1
where PresentSize% is the present WimpSlot size in bytes, and:
9.1
SYS öOS_ReadMemMapInfoò TO PageSize%
9.1
where PageSize% is the step size in bytes by which the WimpSlot can be
increased. This varies from machine to machine and any requests made to
alter the WimpSlot will always be rounded up to a multiple of the
PageSize% bytes.
9.1
Altering HIMEM
9.1
If you know that your program only needs, for example, 12Kb of memory
and, when run, 32Kb has been allocated to it due to the page size being
32Kb, there will be a wasted 20Kb of memory within the Basic
interpreteræs space, see top right of this page.
9.1
It is possible to move the top of the Basic interpreteræs memory by
altering the value of HIMEM. This will then make the 20Kb available for
your own use, and it can then be further increased (in 32Kb blocks, in
this case) using SYS öWimp_SlotSizeò, NewSize%,Ö1 TO ActualNewSize%. You
should do this at the beginning of the program, before any function or
procedure calls, by entering:
9.1
HIMEM=HIMEMÖ20*1024
9.1
This will lower HIMEM by 20Kb, as follows:
9.1
How do you know how much to lower it? The easiest way is by trial and
ÉERRORæ and when a minimum is found, increase HIMEM by a few Kb to be on
the safe side. (The empirical approach!)
9.1
How you use this block of memory is up to you. It starts at the address
given by the value of HIMEM, and the size is equal to the amount by
which HIMEM was lowered, plus the amount by which the WimpSlot has been
increased or decreased. You will need to keep a check on its usage and,
preferably, decrease its size when it is not needed, by using a call to
SYS öWimp_SlotSizeò, NewSize%,Ö1 TO ActualNewSize%. This will place the
memory back into the free pool for other programs to use. The block of
memory should be accessed using the indirection operators ?, !, $ and
|.áuá
9.1
Hints and Tips
9.1
Alt(ernative) characters Ö (This is a reprinted and updated version of a
hint from Archive 6.1 Ö many people seem to be unaware of these special
characters.) On upgrading from RISCáOS 2 to RISCáOS 3.1, I thought I had
lost my É╫æ character. I eventually found that it had moved from <alt-,>
to <shift-alt-,>. So I investigated all the other possible
ALTernatives(!). Here are all the ALT characters I found. They are laid
out in QWERTY order but where no special character appeared, the key is
not included in the list.
9.1
  key  alt  shift-alt
9.1
  `  ¼  ░
9.1
  1  ╣  í
9.1
  2  ▓
9.1
  3  │
9.1
  4  ╝
9.1
  5  ╜
9.1
  6  ╛
9.1
  9    ▒
9.1
  r  ╢  «
9.1
  y    Ñ
9.1
  o  °  ╪
9.1
  p  ■  ▐
9.1
  \    ª
9.1
  a  µ  ╞
9.1
  s  ▀  º
9.1
  d  ≡  ╨
9.1
  f    ¬
9.1
  z  ½
9.1
  x  ╗
9.1
  c  ó  ⌐
9.1
  m  ╡  ║
9.1
  ,    ╫
9.1
  .    ≈
9.1
  /    ┐
9.1
(On the RiscáPC, you also get ñ with <shift-alt-3>. The A4 also has some
different characters, Iábelieve, but we donæt have one available for
test.)
9.1
There are some additional Alt-key characters that donæt actually produce
a character themselves Ö they just set up an accent so that the
following character is changed into an accented character. This only
happens if the accent is suitable for the following character.
9.1
For example, to type an Θ, hold down <alt>, press and release <[>,
release the <alt> and then press and release <e>. Characters available
in this way are:
9.1
  alt-[  Θ ╔ φ ═ ≤ ╙ · ┌ ² ▌
9.1
  alt-]  Φ ╚ ∞ ╠ ≥ ╥ ∙ ┘
9.1
  alt-;  δ ╦ ∩ ╧ ÷ ╓ ⁿ ▄
9.1
  alt-É  Ω ╩ ε ╬ ⌠ ╘ √ █
9.1
  alt-,  ± ⌡ ╒
9.1
  alt-.  σ
9.1
  alt-/  τ ╟
9.1
The only other Alt-key character missing from the previous list is Alt-
hyphen which gives character 173. In the Acorn fonts, this looks exactly
like a normal hyphen, but is a non-breaking hyphen, i.e. it does not get
split across two lines when it occurs near the end of one line. (But
does anyone know how to avoid the slash character splitting at the line
end, as öaround 4/5 of them are splitò?)
9.1
Ed.
9.1
Archive CD Ö Some of you may have difficulty in accessing some of the
Spark format archives if you only have ArcFS. The solution is to use
SparkPlug which (space permitting) you will find on the monthly program
disc. The other problem that has come to light is that, because ISO
standard filenames do not allow hyphens (ASCII 45), they are converted
to underscores (ASCII 95). This means that some of the Genesis
multimedia applications are not able to locate their internal resources.
The solution is to copy the application to another disc and then rename
any of the files within it which have underscores, back to hyphens.
9.1
JamesáTaylor, NCS.
9.1
ATAPI CD-ROMs Ö Following the warning last month that not all ATAPI CD-
ROMs would work on Acorn machines, I thought you might like to know that
I put a quad speed Mitsumi FX400 drive in a RiscáPC 700 and it seems to
work fine. It cost me ú105 +VAT from a PC Éboxshifteræ.
9.1
Malcolm Churchill, High Wycombe.
9.1
BJC-600 ink cartridges Ö I had some trouble with my BJC-600 colour
bubble jet printer after replenishing inks from a refill kit. Some
colours refused to print, despite repeated nozzle-cleaning operations. I
eventually found the trouble Ö there is a filter pad for each colour on
the print block that holds the four ink cartridges. When the cartridge
is snapped into place in the print block, this filter projects slightly
into the cartridge and is supposed to make contact with the sponge
filling which is saturated with ink. Perhaps I was heavy-handed with the
syringe supplied for filling with ink. This has a hypodermic needle
which has to be passed through the sponge into the rear ink compartment.
It appears I had pushed the sponge in so that the filter was failing to
contact it. Teasing it out slightly with a pin cleared the trouble.
9.1
Eric Ayers, Ipswich.
9.1
Directory and filenames Ö How do you force directories or files to the
top (or bottom), so that they are easy to find (or are out of the way)?
Iáused to use Éaaæ or Ézzæ at the beginning of the name, then I started
using É!æ. This is OK for files, but not for directories as they become
applications and you have to <shift> double-click to open them.
Recently, I discovered É~æ which pushes files to the end and found that
the hard space, <alt-space>, which I had used regularly within
filenames, could be used to pull the file to the beginning of the
directory. The only disadvantage of using the hard space is that it is
invisible and may therefore be a little confusing.
9.1
(P.S. Why not use É<hardspace>!Nameæ? Although you canæt see the hard
space, at least the exclamation mark would remind you that there is
something odd about the name and you wonæt be fooled into thinking
youæve left the files sorted by date or something.)
9.1
Ed.
9.1
Image scanning Ö It is becoming increasingly commonplace to introduce
photographs into DTP documents by using a scanner so that the photograph
can then be processed. Recent advances have made it possible to handle
24-bit colour photographs (16 million colours) and to print the document
in colour with equipment of modest cost.
9.1
As always, it needs experience to learn the Éwrinklesæ necessary to
obtain the best results. An intriguing example is the fact that Kodak
paper, as used for normal colour prints, is mottled, although only to an
extent indiscernible in its normal use. However, if a photograph is
scanned and is then magnified several times, the mottle is also enlarged
and will entirely spoil the picture which will appear very Égrainyæ.
9.1
The only real way to avoid the problem is a big enough photograph so
that it doesnæt need to be enlarged electronically.
9.1
You could scan from a negative or a transparency which, of course, has
no mottle, but the equipment required to scan small size negatives at
high resolution is elaborate and expensive.
9.1
Another solution is to download from a Kodak PhotoCD which Kodak produce
for you on high¡resolution scanners. However, unless a Kodak PhotoCD is
required for other purposes, this would be a complicated and expensive
procedure.
9.1
However, in most circumstances, 4ö ╫ 6ò prints will suffice because
computer prints larger than this are not likely to be required.
9.1
George Foot, Oxted, Surrey.
9.1
Impression borders (Noel Williams, Archive 8.12 p19) Ö It seems that
when Impression imports a border of 3pt or less, it ignores rounded or
mitred corners and substitutes squared corners. It is rather strange,
therefore, that the standard, built-in, borders do not have squared
corners, as Cain Hunt pointed out in Archive 8.10 p14. 3pt is about 1mm,
so you need a magnifying glass to see the difference. Iáwonder how many
users had noticed the messy corners of the standard borders?
9.1
It is possible, if you really insist, to create a border 2pt thick, for
example, with rounded or bevelled corners. Draw a rectangle 2 pts wide
(see Cain Huntæs article), no line colour, filled black. Group with it,
on its right-hand side, an invisible rectangle two pts wide, no line
colour, no fill colour. The group object is now four pts wide, and will
not be trapped by Impressionæs 3pt limit. The corner shape should be as
shown (for a bevelled corner), no line colour, filled black. Although
the two objects do not overlap, it is important that the corner shape
should be defined in Draw as being Éin frontæ.
9.1
The only possible disadvantage of this is that this border will appear
two pts outside the defined edges of the Impression frame, rather than
immediately outside the frame.
9.1
Colin Singleton, Sheffield.
9.1
Impression: spurious styles and effects Ö Having discovered the Cnf1
trick in Impression (8.3 p29) Ö thank you, Paul Ö I can now see all the
years-old effects, generally unused, which are cluttering up my
documents.
9.1
With a bit of research, I now have a better idea how they arise. If I
select a piece of text and centre it, Publisher creates a new effect in
my document, appropriately named Centre. If I then centre another piece
of text in the same document, Publisher assigns the same named effect to
that text. If I change the size of a piece of text, Publisher creates an
effect named 10pt, or whatever. Similarly, underlining text creates an
effect named Underline. All very helpful.
9.1
However, if I select a piece of text and italicise it, Publisher creates
an effect with the un-helpful name Effect 298, or some such. Similarly,
if I select Bold, Superscript or Subscript. If I italicise another piece
of text, Publisher applies the same numbered effect to this text, so
there is only one numbered definition for each effect. Can I put
Meaningful Effect Names on my wish list for the next Publisher upgrade?
9.1
I can change the name of an effect using the Edit Style feature, though
in order to select the effect for editing I must first apply it to a
piece of text, since it does not appear on the list of styles shown by
the Edit Style feature. There are, however, a few pitfalls.
9.1
An edited effect becomes a style, which is handled slightly differently.
It does now appear on the list of styles in the Edit Style function, but
it does not now appear in the style menu where Cnf1 originally caused it
to appear! The latter can be remedied by setting Show on style menu in
the Edit Style options.
9.1
If I change the name of an automatically-created effect, Publisher will
not then use it when I try to apply the same effect again Ö it will
create another numbered effect. This can be partially remedied by
assigning the standard keyboard short-cut (<ctrl-I> for italic) to the
re-named Style, using Edit Style. This will cause the re-named style to
be used in future if I select italic by <ctrl-I>, but if I select italic
from the toolbar, I get a new numbered effect!
9.1
In my master document for contributions to Archive Iáhave created styles
called Heading MathGreek, Dingbats and Program. These define fonts only
(superimposed on my Normal style), which Paul can, I hope, easily change
to his choice of font.
9.1
I have also created Styles called Italic, Bold Superscript, and
Subscript. These define the appropriate effects only, and provided I
remember to select Italic and Bold by <ctrl-I> and <ctrl-B>, Paul will
not be confused by mysterious effect numbers.
9.1
Colin Singleton, Sheffield.
9.1
PC mice Ö Richard Torrensæ article on mice (8.12 p31) was interesting,
but for those of us who donæt know which end of a soldering iron is
which (Ouch!), there is a plug-and-play alternative. APDL has a PD
program called SerialMse by Stuart Tyrrell which allows a serial PC
mouse to be used with an Acorn computer. (!SerialMse is on this monthæs
disc. Ed.)
9.1
Sudipta Sarkar, Chester.
9.1
Printing from Write Ö Regarding Keith Hodgeæs query about printing from
the Risc PC using Windows Write, I had the same problem myself; after
consulting the Oracle (MS Windows guide), I discovered a DOS command to
test the printer to computer interface. The command from the DOS prompt
is
9.1
COPY C:\WINDOWS\SETUP.TXT LPT1
9.1
Full of anticipation, I tried this Ö zilch. Further consultation Ö yet
more zilch. Stopped to think, applied logic. öIf it is possible to copy
to LPT1, it must be possible to copy to LPT2ò. Changed 1 to 2, pressed
<enter>, öEureka!!!ò Ö reams of printed matter everywhere.
9.1
A quick check in the !PCconfig doodah and there it was, a choice of
printer outputs, an equally quick change to LPT2, start Windows again,
type rubbish into Write (eminently suitable), choose PRINT, even more
EUREKA, success!
9.1
I checked with my computing comrade and found that he was using LPT1
without any problems, the only difference being that his Risc PC was one
of the first and mine is a Dec æ94 vintage.
9.1
B. Coleman, Cleveland.
9.1
RISCáOS <ÖÖ>áPC interchange Ö I have used the Risc PC (8Mb+2Mb VRAM)
with a PC486 coprocessor running Windows 3.1 and several bits of
commercial software, such as MS-Word, as well as some specialist
freeware scientific software for fluorescence cell analysis. I have been
most impressed and have found very few problems.
9.1
However, I still like to do as much as I can under RISC OS and this
requires data transfer between the PC partition and RISC OS. I know of
several people who have reported problems with corruption of their PC
partition, but I have found that the following seems to work well and
avoids problems.
9.1
1) I have avoided installing options for disc compression under DOS/
Windows.
9.1
2) If I use the RISC OS filer to transfer files to and from the PC
partition, I always quit from !PC rather than just freezing the
application.
9.1
3) Better still, for data up to 1.44Mb, you can transfer data whilst
multitasking using 1.44Mb DOS formatted discs. The trick is that, once
you have modified the disc under RISC OS, you must click on Édismountæ
under the RISC OS filer menu before you modify the disc using PC
software. If you donæt, you will find that RISC OS gets confused about
the disc contents and may corrupt the data! This is, of course, exactly
the same problem as using one disc in two computers without dismounting
in between, except that, in this case, the disc doesnæt physically move
from one drive to another!
9.1
Mike Clark, Cambridge.
9.1
Runny letters Ö David Holden suggested spray fixative to stop inkjet ink
from running. At school, I use the cheapest hair spray I can find. Does
the same job, quarter of the price and comes in bigger cans so lasts
longer. However, like the fixative, use as little as possible and keep
the target flat if possible. (The only problem I have is going into the
local chemist to buy a product I obviously donæt use!)
9.1
Jim Wyllie, Edinburgh.
9.1
SlideShow problems Ö The version of SlideShow that comes with the new
RISCáOS 3.6 machines contain an absolute reference to the JPEG
decompression code within ChangeFSI, and this means that if you move
ChangeFSI from its original position, you will get the error öCouldnæt
find <JPEG$File>ò. You can correct this quite simply by altering the Run
file within ChangeFSI. The current Run file looks like this:
9.1
Set SlideShow$Path <Obey$Dir>.
9.1
Set Images$Dir <Boot$Dir>.^.Images
9.1
Set JPEG$File <Boot$Dir>.^.Utilities.!ChangeFSI.
9.1
CFSIjpeg
9.1
Set Shell$Messages <Obey$Dir>.ShellMess
9.1
WimpSlot -min 32k -max 32k
9.1
Run SlideShow:!RunImage
9.1
...and it should look like this:
9.1
Set SlideShow$Path <Obey$Dir>.
9.1
Set Images$Dir <Obey$Dir>.^
9.1
If ö<ChangeFSI$Dir>ò=öò then Error
9.1
 Open a directory containing
9.1
 ChangeFSI and try again
9.1
Set JPEG$File <ChangeFSI$Dir>.CFSIjpeg
9.1
Set Shell$Messages <Obey$Dir>.ShellMess
9.1
WimpSlot -min 32k -max 32k
9.1
Run SlideShow:!RunImage
9.1
James Taylor, NCS.
9.1
Upgrading VRAM Ö Surely Fred Williams is wrong regarding reconfiguring
the machine before removing your VRAM. If I remove mine, when I turn the
Risc PC back on, it automatically detects the lack of VRAM and defaults
to a lower resolution. (Yes, I get the same behaviour. Perhaps Fredæs
monitor simply cannot cope with the mode to which it defaults. JT.)
9.1
Dave Floyd, London.
9.1
Online Media
9.1
Graham Jones
9.1
Itæs been too long since I last wrote concerning Online Mediaæs
exploits, which means that thereæs an awful lot to report now. I donæt
intend this to turn into a list of achievements, but whilst I have been
quiet, Online Media has been very busy!
9.1
NatWest
9.1
Probably the first thing to report is that the NatWest Bank joined the
Cambridge trials, providing the UKæs first cable TV home banking
service. Account transfers, statements and balances will be available
through interactive TV.
9.1
NatWest havenæt been inactive in the world of multimedia. They already
have a video conferencing system giving a visual and audio link between
some ofátheir branches and their insurance specialists in Bristol. They
will also be taking part in BTæs interactive TV trials in Colchester and
Ipswich, amongst other things.
9.1
ICL
9.1
The Cambridge trials moved into phase 2 a short while ago. Initially,
the trials were only taking place in a few homes of people connected
with the companies involved. With phase 2, the coverage is increased to
around 250 homes throughout the area. As phase 2 began, the consortium
heading the trial was joined by ICL who have supplied a server to hold
some of the services on offer such as movies, music, home shopping, etc.
9.1
What makes up an iTV system?
9.1
There are four main components of an interactive TV system:
9.1
1)áPowerful servers which hold the services (in digital form) and are
capable of getting that information onto the fibre network at extremely
high speed. No Risc PCs here Ö ATM and ICL have supplied the necessary
hardware.
9.1
2)áA Set Top Box (STB) Ö This is where Online Media comes in. The STB
receives the digital data from the network and presents it to the
Évieweræ. The information could be in the form of a movie, a screen full
of pictures and selections which can be made or a music video and so on.
The viewer has control over what he/she does, even down to putting a
movie into reverse, slow play or paused, even though it is the server
that supplies the data.
9.1
Online Mediaæs STB was initially based around the ARM 610, basically a
Risc PC in a different box with a remote control instead of a keyboard.
It also included an MPEG card for decompressing video data which also
allowed connection to the cable network.
9.1
The second generation STB was announced recently which is now based
around the ARM7500. This is the all-in-one processor now used in the new
A7000 machine which was reported on in the last issue of Archive. It
also has single chip MPEG support. These developments have reduced the
size and overall cost of the machine, also allowing other parts of the
system to be made more efficient.
9.1
3)áA cable network Ö without the Cambridge Cable network, there would be
no Online Media interactive TV trials. Of course, any network capable of
delivering the data fast enough will do. BT will be using something
equivalent to a phone line in their trials.
9.1
4)áThe interactive services. Digitised films, music videos, home
shopping/banking etc.
9.1
The technology currently being used in the trials is capable of
supplying interactive TV services to thousands of households.
9.1
Catch 22
9.1
There is one big problem to overcome with interactive TV Ö until there
are STBs in a significant number of homes, schools and businesses, no-
one will be inclined to provide services on a suitable scale. However,
no-one is going to buy an STB until there are some services to make use
of. Online Media call it ÉThe catch 22 in DiTVæ (Digital interactive
TV).
9.1
Online Media are also breaking this catch 22 by providing a ÉService
Nurseryæ.
9.1
Potential users of the system have had a chance to try it out with the
services provided so far. Now potential service providers can try out
the system and see what it might hold for them. Amongst the first to
join this initiative are Tesco, the marketing research company NOP,
advertising agency BMP DDB Needham, and Anglia TV. The idea is to
reverse the catch 22; once some equipment is installed (having provided
some services) there will be a need for more services. This in turn will
create demand for more equipment, and so on.
9.1
Science Museum exhibition
9.1
By the time you read this it may be a little late, but fortunately all
is not lost. Let me explain.
9.1
Running from April to September this year, the Science Museum has an
exhibition entitled ÉThe Information Superhighwayæ Ö although Iæm not
sure if anyone has really managed to define exactly what that is yet.
Anyway, when I was in London recently, Iádecided to visit the
exhibition.
9.1
The press release is well-written and makes it sound as if there is a
large and comprehensive exhibition there. Itæs split into three stages.
In the first area öComputer models are used to explain the technology
behind global computer networksò. In reality, this was a video intro to
the exhibit followed by two Risc PCs running an information system
controlled by touch screens allowing you to select information about the
Internet, email, the World Wide Web (WWW), etc.
9.1
I think this could be a good introduction for people who have no
experience of such things, but personally, I wasnæt too excited by
standing around reading screens of text, even if they were interspersed
with pretty pictures.
9.1
The second stage is ÉSurf Cityæ consisting of computers donated by
Hewlett Packard. Here you can sit down and surf the Internet, with the
assistance of experienced helpers if need be. There are two Sun
workstations and six other HP machines, all running Netscape. This is a
widely available WWW browser available for UNIX platforms, PCs and
probably Apple. Arcweb and Webster are the main equivalents currently
available for Acorn machines, although Termite Internet and ANTs
networking software are, or soon will be, available. There may be more,
including one from Acorn.
9.1
The Suns responded at the speed I would expect but the HP machines
seemed to respond slower than a Risc PC over a phone line. Here you can
sit and try out the WWW for a while.
9.1
The last section consisted of three parts. First, an Online Media STB
with the same demo as you will find at the Acorn shows during the year.
Unfortunately, some of the buttons were broken on the large museum style
control panel which made it hard to find your way around the
demonstration. When I had worked out what to do, I found example Movie
trailers, pop videos and a demonstration of home shopping.
9.1
Alongside that is Éthe latest technology from Philips CD-iæ (Compact
Disc interactive). This setup was running an interactive encyclopaedia,
controlled by a big tracker ball with a couple of buttons. It seemed a
little more gimmicky than useful, with little animations to move you
between sections. I wasnæt particularly inspired by it and canæt say I
would be keen on using it at all.
9.1
Finally, there was a third Risc PC looking after an interactive
questionnaire, asking questions such as ÉDo you think the Information
Superhighway exists alreadyæ and ÉAre you wary of using computersæ. At
various times some stats about previous answers are given.
9.1
Overall I wasnæt impressed by the exhibition and Iæm glad I didnæt make
a special trip to go and see it. Outside the museum, there were enough
banners advertising its existence but once inside we took ╛ hour to find
the exhibition, having asked directions twice! Since the exhibition is
going on tour from early September, starting in Manchester, it couldnæt
be too big. Probably a better way of getting the same information would
be to read one of the slightly less technical magazines and ask a friend
or two.
9.1
Online Media boldly goes...
9.1
Probably the most surprising (and encouraging) announcement to date is
that OM will be supplying STBs to The Lightspan Partnership Inc, a US
educational company. The idea is that STBs will be installed in the
schools, and also in the pupilsæ homes, allowing parents to become
involved and follow their childrenæs progress.
9.1
DEC again
9.1
DEC are getting further involved with Online Media by selecting them to
supply their STBs for Westminster Cableæs iTV trials starting at the end
of the year. Online Media will be modifying its hardware and software to
work with Westminsteræs Superstar network. Superstar is an intelligent
network enabling homes to get iTV services without the need for an STB.
However, somewhere along the line, the work of an STB must be done and
this is where Online Mediaæs modified STB comes in.
9.1
The Post Office
9.1
The very latest news is that The Post Office is joining the Service
Nursery that I mentioned earlier. The objective is to develop new
delivery services by Royal Mail and Parcel Force to fulfil orders placed
by home shoppers Ö someone has to deliver the goods to your home if
youære not going to go and get them yourself.
9.1
I canæt say that home shopping is something Iæm in a hurry to try.
Personally, I enjoy wandering into a shop and having a real look at what
I want to buy, especially food. I also get a bit of exercise, get out of
a stuffy office and breathe real air. (OK, so in Oxford City Centre, the
real air is largely real car and bus fumes but itæs the principle that
counts!) Iæve glanced at QVC, the satellite shopping channel and,
looking at that, I suppose one benefit of DiTV shopping is that we will
be spared the presenters who havenæt a clue about the products that
theyære demonstrating and have to fill time!
9.1
One concern I have about the technology Iæve seen so far is the
flexibility of the whole system. The examples of Online Mediaæs system
involve a fixed Émenuæ of options. If you canæt find the service you
want through the menus, thereæs no easy way of searching for something.
You can connect a keyboard or joystick to the STB but that entails
typing in addresses which might be lengthy and hard to remember. I donæt
see Éthe average useræ wanting to start using the STB as a computer Ö
use of the system should be made easier than current technology, not the
same or harder! The situation I was thinking of is that it should be
possible, in the end, for anyone to make information available over the
cable network. There could be local community information, schools with
their own services etc, but they are useless if you canæt find them.
9.1
If anyone has any views on anything associated with Online Media and
interactive TV or has experience with the Cambridge (or any other)
trials, I would be interested to hear your views. Iæm sure Paul would be
happy to forward any letters, or you can contact me via email:
[e-mail]áuá
9.1
Comment Column
9.1
Acorn Édealersæ Ö I have lived in a number of parts of the country
during the last few years, and always make a bee-line for the nearest
Acorn dealer to try out new machines or listen to what they have to say,
and Iæve always found an enthusiastic bunch of fellows thoroughly
dedicated to selling the Acorn philosophy as well as the machines
themselves.
9.1
Recently, however, a friend of mine was interested in buying a powerful
computer for home use. I immediately spouted all the usual arguments in
favour of Acorn, including my impressions of the Étop endæ PCs I have to
use at work. Having never heard of them, he remained less than
impressed, so I took him straight to the local Acorn dealer for a dose
of medicine (my Risc PC had not arrived at that point).
9.1
The dealer sold both Acorns and PCs in roughly equal number, and I told
them of my friendæs needs, which I knew would be best suited to a Risc
PC. The dealer on the other hand (who I guess ought to remain nameless)
was unbelievably pro-PC from the word go! Every time I tried to steer
the conversation to the wonderful OS or the amazing upgradability, I was
cut down by crummy arguments about industry standards. The worst comment
was when he said öThe Acorn is a good enough tractor, but a PC is a
Rolls Royceò and he was demonstrating a 486SX25!! If the professionals
canæt support Acorn, how will any of them survive?
9.1
Alastair Orchard, Sherborne, Dorset.
9.1
Acorn Ésupportæ? Ö In Archive 8.11 p30, Jim Nottingham was complaining
about Acornæs support. I have had Acorn machines for about 13 years and
was responsible for buying quite a few for work but I realised that,
until recently, I had never actually dealt directly with Acorn Ö only
via their dealers who have given excellent service.
9.1
A short while ago, I took delivery of my PC Card and found that the DOS
discs were missing. I contacted my supplier and was told that (a) they
were sealed packages, and (b) he was just the middle man, so I should
contact Acorn because they would not believe him!
9.1
I contacted Acorn who said they would look into it and report back Ö but
nothing happened! Weeks went by but Acorn had öno record of the first
phone callò Ö öWe will look into it and let you knowò Ö nothing! The
supplier then said that Acorn had promised him they would supply the
discs direct Ö nothing arrived! I sent letters because long distance
phone calls are expensive and, nine weeks after the original dispatch, I
finally got the discs.
9.1
Such poor service makes a mockery of initiatives like Clan Acorn that
are supposed to promote Acorn machines.
9.1
Alan Wilburn, Hartlepool.
9.1
Acornæs future? Ö I would like to support Paulæs remarks in his
editorial last month. I too believe that Acorn has a good future and
that Acorn Ébox shiftersæ werenæt doing any favours either to Acorn or,
ultimately, to its users. As for so-called Acorn dealers who come in
from a distance and sell PCs into schools against a local dealer selling
Acorns... Iæm lost for words. (Actually, that last sentence is an
edited, but printable, version of what Keith actually wrote!)
9.1
Acornæs move is very bold, but if the Acorn Educational Agents plan
properly, the drift of schools away from Acorn can be reversed.
9.1
Where Acorn has failed over this issue is in its PR. They should have
called a meeting to outline their plans and to ask the 70 educational
dealers to do a presentation on their plans to sell Acorns into schools.
Some dealers probably deserved to be kicked into touch, but others
didnæt. The faithful dealers who werenæt big enough to support being an
Agent should have been informed personally before the whole world
learned of the changes. When will Acorn learn? They have, arguably, the
best overall platform available but in terms of PR and timing, they come
some way down the league!
9.1
Now that Acorn has beefed up its educational setup, how is it going to
support these dealers/agents? I hope they will embark on a training
programme to equip these agents with the necessary marketing skills, and
their sales forces with the selling skills required. (Yes, that is the
plan and, with only 25 agents, that is realistic. Ed.) I know plenty of
good sales and marketing people who do not know the finer points of
computers but, given the right training, could sell Acorn computers with
very little difficulty. Acorn must seedcorn these developments or else!
9.1
So much for education, but what about retail? I have a list of dealers
(as does anyone who has got the Acorn User CD-ROM) and it includes
companies such as A (in central London) and C. I have never seen an
Acorn advert from either company but I did see a stand which C set up at
an Apple Print Show! Iáonce tried to see what A had to offer its Acorn
customers Ö nothing! You had to make an appointment to visit and when I
asked, in all innocence, about DTP, I was told öyou need an Apple for
that!ò Acorn needs to weed out the dealers who are simply box-shifters
and get closer to its good and effective dealers like Beebug and Watford
Electronics.
9.1
Both are large organisations, both are developers for the Acorn market,
one exclusively Acorn, the other into PCæs as well. Working with Watford
(perhaps sharing costs) could see advertising in PC magazines like
Computer Shopper and Personal Computer World. This may seem like a small
move, but it is a cost-sharing and effective way of trying to expand the
user base.
9.1
Working with Beebug could involve resource-sharing for the development
of the missing products in the product line-up. After all, MicroSoft and
IBM cooperate with other companies (not by taking them over) to fill
gaps Ö just look at PC¡DOS 6.3 from Central Point Backup. Finally,
working with people like NCS, they could get their names better known
locally Ö by sponsoring local press adverts or arranging drop-in shows.
The sponsorship list is endless but, if done well, is ultimately
cost¡effective and mutually beneficial.
9.1
If I have Édronedæ on for too long, I apologise but I feel strongly that
the good dealers must be supported, the average improved and the dross
dumped. Acorn must address this now Ö we donæt want to see dealers like
NCS go bust, DO WE? (Er, speaking personally, no! Ed.)
9.1
Keith Parker, London.
9.1
In the wake of Acornæs decision to (effectively) axe a number of
dealers, PC and Mac supporters are moving in to try to take over. NCS
has been phoned by an Apple representative to ask if we would like to
consider selling Apple machines into schools. (We said, politely, öNo,
thank you.ò) Also, a couple of PC companies have tried hard to win us
over to selling clones. We declined.
9.1
Ed.
9.1
CD-ROM driver problems Ö I have a Wearnes CDD 120X IDE CD-ROM drive
which Iáobtained from VTI with a driver. I am having a problem with it,
but only on the audio side. I use the ARM Clubæs Smart CD+ for playing
my audio CDs, which I play constantly when working (playing!!!) on the
computer, and the driver doesnæt appear to be keeping time properly. If
I play an audio CD, the time display skips forward, sometimes only a few
seconds, sometimes great chunks. This happens to such an extent that I
might be playing a 20-track CD and, when Iæm actually on track 14, the
audio player thinks it has finished and stops playing!! This also
happens on the Acorn application !CDPlayer. As SmartCD+ has a nice
catalogue and displays the title of the track, it is a little
disconcerting not to be able to match up the output with the written
word. VTI recently sent me an updated driver, version 1.53, but this
made no difference, so they sent a replacement drive Ö still no joy. Is
anyone else having the same problems?
9.1
Peter Young, Northallerton.
9.1
CD-ROM drivers Ö Last year, I bought a Ébargainæ CD-ROM drive. It was
such a bargain that Iácould not get hold of any driver software for it!
I have just discovered that Eesox (who supply a range of CD-ROM drives)
sell a Éuniversalæ CD-ROM driver for drives which support the SCSI 2
protocol Ö you donæt need a SCSI 2 interface, though. Most modern SCSI
drives do support this and I was happy to get my drive working with no
trouble. Mark Watson at Eesox told me that if the driver would not work
then they would either öget it to workò or give me my money back.
Excellent service, Eesox! (Now available through Archive for ú29. Ed.)
9.1
Brian Cowan, Wembley.
9.1
Chess for promoting the Risc PC (Archive 8.9, p22) I agree with what Rob
Pollard said, yet at the same time I totally disagree. Yes, a couple of
the strongest dedicated chess machines do indeed use ARM processors.
These are ChessMachine Schr÷der and ChessMachine The King. Both
Émachinesæ are plug-in cards for PCs, containing an ARM2 processor at
30MHz. Both have an ELO rating of approx. 2300. Being plug-in cards for
PCs means that Acorn users canæt use them. Besides, they are expensive,
about 1000 guilders (~ú400) and probably now out of production. So these
cards, beautiful as they are, were never a big success. The Tasc R30
computer which Rob mentioned is by the same author as ChessMachine The
King, but at a price of more than 3000 guilders (ú1,200+)!
9.1
A couple of years ago, I spoke to both programmers, Ed Schr÷der and
Johan de Koning, both Dutchmen. Iáasked them whether they had any plans
for releasing the programs for Acorn computers. In my opinion, they only
needed to add some input-output routines, which couldnæt be difficult.
They made it clear that they had no plans to do so, because the size of
the Acorn market was simply not big enough to make it financially
viable.
9.1
How are things today? Well, both programmers have switched to 90MHz
Pentiums. Unfortunately, all good chess programmers are working on
Pentiums, probably because it is the fastest processor around, as well
as having access to the enormous PC market. There is no sign of Acorn
programmers any more. Besides, the trend is clear: the market for
dedicated chess machines is getting smaller all the time, and it is the
chess programs for computers that are making big progress. You (that is
a PC owner) can buy a very strong program for around ú60 to ú80.
9.1
So, what is my conclusion? Forget about finding a programmer willing to
convert the code to an Acorn computer. The only chance you have is to
ask Richard Lang, an Englishman and author of the strongest program at
the moment (Chess Genius 3.0 running on a Pentium 90), if he would like
to help the English computer industry by porting the code to Acorn. I
guess I know his answer!
9.1
What, then, are the options if you want a strong chess program? Well,
simply buy an Aleph One PC card or a Risc PC with PC card. According to
the Swedish rating list (April 1995) the programs ChessGenius 1.0 and
Fritz 2.0 have an ELO rating of 2200+ and  2100+ respectively, running
on a 33MHz 486, so the recent versions are probably even stronger. If
you buy one of these recent versions, you get access to the fantastic
chess databases (ChessBase and NicBase) as well. It is not so bad to
follow this route, because that is why the PC cards were invented: to
run the kinds of software that are not (and will not become) available
on the Acorn platform.
9.1
Final question: is it possible that one of the many talented Acorn
programmers in the world could write a very strong chess program? I
think not, because writing good chess programs takes many yearsæ work.
Ed Schr÷der of Rebel, Johan de Koning of The King, Richard Lang of Chess
Genius and Frans Morsch of the Fritz programs have all been working on
their programs for more 10 years, as full time professionals. So donæt
expect too much of the chess programs from David Pilling. As Tord
Eriksson has pointed out, for most of the people who know how to play
chess (including öhouse, garden and kitchen playersò) Chess II will be
more than adequate. Iáestimate (although I have never seen the program)
that it will have an ELO rating of about 1600. If you want more than
1600 ELO, then use the PC programs.
9.1
Piet Muis, Den Haag, Holland.
9.1
Clan Acorn Ö I am a little disgruntled with the Clan at the moment after
discovering that those members with access to the net have been offered
beta tests of the new filecore! What about the rest of us Clanners who
havenæt access to the net? I spoke to ÉElæ Cox about this and
remonstrated that the Clan was perpetuating the elitist thing already
and now it was creating an Éinner sanctumæ amongst the elite! He did say
that the Érestæ of us should be getting something in the post round
about the time Iæm writing this note, 14th August!! (Itæs now September
4th and I gather the mailing is coming RSN. Ed.) I did ask what
proportion of Clan members had access to the net and he said roughly
50%. So come on you unclean 50% who arenæt on the net, ring your bells
and complain!
9.1
As an aside, would someone please write a blow by blow account, for the
idiot and less accomplished, about BBS access and use, and the same for
Internet!
9.1
Peter Young, Northallerton.
9.1
As a starter, I have an Internet Glossary which I hope to publish next
month and Chris Claydon is starting a Comms Column, Chris Johnson is
starting a Networks Column and Adrian Bool has promised to kick the
Internet Column back into life, so perhaps people should write to them:
9.1
Chris Claydon, 38 Main Road, Littleton, Winchester, SO22 6QQ.
([e-mail])
9.1
Chris Johnson, 7 Lovedale Grove, Balerno, Edinburgh, EH14 7DR.
([e-mail])
9.1
Adrian Bool, 8 Dudlow Green Road, Appleton, Warrington, Cheshire, WA4
5DS. ([e-mail])
9.1
Corel Draw3 Ö In Archive 8.11 p36, Corel Draw3 was mentioned by Keith
Parker as a good source of clipart. There is another program on the CD
called CorelTrace which is quite useful, being in the same stable as
Trace and Tracer on the Acorn machines. Like them, it can produce
outlines that are then filled in what I call a silhouette approach, but
it can also trace lines with no fills to give line drawings. Both modes
can give some very good results.
9.1
There are a large number of choices to customise the tracing to your
needs. The system is slightly complicated to use from the Acorn platform
because you first have to change your sprite to a usable format such as
BMP or PCX with ImageMaster or a PD program such as !Creator. Then you
trace it, save it in Trace EPS format, load it into CorelDraw and export
it in a suitable format, such as EPS or WMF. This is not all that
complicated once you have set it up because the programs remember which
directories and formats to use for saving and loading. The files can
then be loaded into ArtWorks or changed to draw format with a PD
application.
9.1
The CD version of Corel Draw3 is available at prices ranging from ú41 to
ú100 +VAT so it is sensible to shop around but the end result of 15,000
items of clipart plus CorelTrace which make it a worthwhile proposition
if you have a PC Card. Applications to change formats, both vector and
bitmap, can be found on APDL Careware 19 and B233. At the moment, there
donæt appear to be any applications to change Corel Draw (CDR) or
Professional Draw (form of EPS) files directly to an Acorn standard.
9.1
Alan Wilburn, Hartlepool.
9.1
Cumana SCSI 2 card problems? Ö When I purchased my Risc PC some five
months ago, I also decided to buy the Cumana SCSI 2 card because I
already had a fair-sized investment in SCSI devices, hard drives, CD-
ROM, SyQuest removable and a tape streamer. I couldnæt really afford to
replace them as well as my old A3000. Since then, I have been a little
unhappy with the problems I have been experiencing with the card.
9.1
In the beginning, the problems centred round öTarget error Ö medium
errorò when writing to the SyQuests, both a 44Mb, 5╝ö drive and a 270Mb,
3╜ò drive (prior to getting the 270Mb, I was using a 105Mb drive with
the same problems). The errors were not constant but frequent enough for
me to be unhappy about the numbers Ö generally occurring when writing
fairly large files. If I attempted a Éretryæ, that also failed on the
first attempt but mostly appeared to work on the second attempt. If a
retry Éretryæ failed, eventually I resorted to Éskipæ and then
transferred the file in question again with no problems!
9.1
I spoke to Cumana about this and eventually it was suggested that I
should turn the Block Mode Transfer flag OFF for the SyQuest drives.
This I duly did! It didnæt cure the problems but what it did do was to
slow down the speeds of read/write to the SyQuests (see the table below)
to an unacceptable level.
9.1
I returned the Block Mode Transfer flag to its normal ON state and lived
with the transfer failures/errors. Iádonæt mean to be unkind to Cumana
(as they are certainly not the only ones) but it took a letter addressed
to the Managing Director before I actually found out what was going on.
I received a phone call from Chris McGee who assured me that there was a
new version of SCSI software almost ready for release. Unfortunately,
when the new release eventually arrived, I found that things had
actually got worse! When I related the tale to Cumana, a further release
followed Ö still no improvement. Myáoriginal release of SCSIFSDriver was
1.95, and Iáreceived versions 1.96 and 1.98 as flash ROM upgrades.
Remembering that my original problem was the ötarget errorsò, I found
the following additional problems in 1.96 and 1.98:
9.1
Å   On closedown there is a two minute wait if either of the SyQuests is
not loaded. With version 1.95, all Iágot was the message öThe disc drive
is emptyò, and once that was acknowledged, the machine closed down.
9.1
Å   The transfer speed of my Fujitsu hard drive was reduced by 35%. See
the table for speed comparisons.
9.1
Å   Eject ceased working on my 44Mb SyQuest.
9.1
Also, the problems identified with all versions to date are:
9.1
Å   Target errors whilst writing to SyQuests from any source.
9.1
Å   The SCSI Manger CONFIGURE menu is wrong and the entry for
SCSIFSEject has the entries for SCSIFSDirCache and the SCSIFSDirCache
has no submenu!
9.1
It is not my intention to knock Cumana but to find out if anyone else is
having these sorts of problems. I have sent a copy of this report to
Cumana so they are fully aware of my problems and my actions. I am not
sure if I will be relieved to discover others having the same problems,
or not. I am currently talking to Nigel Taylor at Cumana and Iæm sure he
would be grateful if people experiencing similar problems would contact
him at the usual Cumana address.
9.1
I see that other SCSI 2 cards now offer far more facilities than the
Cumana one and therefore I would be very interested to learn if anyone
has used the Alsystems PowerTec SCSI 2 card and with what success. (So
would I! Ed.) Cumana tell me that they will be offering the same
facilities as the filecore of RISCáOS 3.6 by allowing huge partitions
sizes!
9.1
If anyone has any news for me, I can be contacted at Appleby House, 20
Racecourse Lane, Northallerton, North Yorkshire, DL7 8RD.
9.1
Jim Nottingham, if you read this, I am not interested in taking over
your SCSI column!
9.1
Peter Young, Northallerton.
9.1
Alan Angus also had some problems with the Cumana SCSI 2 and SyQuest
combination. His response, which is later than Peteræs, may offer some
hope of a solution to Peteræs problems.
9.1
Cumana have responded to my letter about the problems I was having with
the SCSI 2 card by sending me a disc. On it there is an upgrade to the
flash memory and a new version of the SCSIMgr utility. The manager
software now partitions the SyQuest cartridge to the correct size,
256Mb, solving the previous partitioning problems.
9.1
The update to the flash memory, version 1.98(beta), should also overcome
the problems I experienced when copying large numbers of files. I have
tested it by copying a lot of files from one SyQuest cartridge to
another using a directory on the main hard drive for intermediate
storage. This worked well, without the ÉParameter not recognisedæ error
and other problems I experienced with the previous version of the SCSI 2
software. I am now much happier with the Cumana card and SyQuest drive
combination.
9.1
The problem of the card not recognising the SyQuest as a dismountable
drive was solved by switching on the external SyQuest drive first so
that, when the computer was switched on and the SCSI link was scanned on
start-up, the drive was ready and the interface recognised it as having
interchangeable media. So now, the correct ejectable drive icon appeared
on the iconbar. (Er, but what would happen if it were an internal drive?
Ed.)
9.1
To be continued... (I suspect)
9.1
Alan Angus, Blyth, Northumberland.
9.1
Disc Rescue-ing Ö Iæd like to say a few words about Adrian Lookæs
technical comments that were published together with my own article
öUnderstanding Disc Formatsò in Archive 8.11 p17.
9.1
First of all, Iæd like to make it clear that I wrote the Shareware
program fsck which I mentioned in my article and that it was included on
the Archive monthly disc: I am sorry that Paul didnæt add an editoræs
note saying so! (Ooops, sorry! Ed.)
9.1
Although Adrian seems to suggest that you should öbackup and reformatò
the disc in the case of map corruptions (i.e. when *CheckMap reports
öMap inconsistent with directory treeò), Iæd like to emphasise that this
is almost never required and it isnæt even the Ésafestæ action! In fact,
fsck has been able to fix a lot of discs with this problem with a
success rate of 100%! If you think this sounds like an exaggerated
claim, try it on a broken map and see Ö the version on Archive Program
Disc 8.11 hasnæt been crippled in any way so you may try it for free.
You can use fsck to save the disc map to a file first, so if the fix
fails and the map is more corrupted than before, you can always restore
your original map.
9.1
Concerning broken directories, again, a öbackup and reformatò can always
be avoided. Once the directory has been Éeliminatedæ, fsck can recover
the lost space.
9.1
The important thing to note is that a Éfixedæ map can be trusted just as
much as a map that has never been corrupted! A disc map is either broken
or healthy, so once a map has been completely fixed, there is no reason
to reformat the disc. It is more probable that youæll lose some data
during the backup procedure (if it isnæt well organised or if it is made
to floppies) than if it were left on the ex-corrupted disc!
9.1
The öDisc not understood. Has it been formatted?ò error might be thought
to be more serious than an inconsistent map or broken directory, because
the contents of the whole disc is unreadable. Generally, this error can
be easily fixed by fsck (actually, by its companion utility hardfix)
although it may be caused by a complete map corruption (i.e. both copies
of the map filled with random data) and hence it can be completely
unfixable (I have never encountered this second case).
9.1
There are a number of other weird errors that may lead to a broken root
directory (you canæt just eliminate it!), such as unwritable disc,
unreadable files, etc. Fortunately, they are rather uncommon Ö Iádid my
best to enable my programs to fix them, but I canæt be sure that every
possible case has been covered.
9.1
What I said can be applied to both floppies and hard discs, although I
never specifically considered floppies since it is less likely that they
become corrupted (except for physical disc errors) and they can be
easily backed up and thrown away!
9.1
I hope this will not look like an advertisement for my programs (after
all you can try them for free and then choose whether to register). I
just wanted to point out that, regardless of Adrianæs experience, I am
absolutely against his Ébackup and reformatæ policy because it is
generally not needed and, moreover, it has nothing to do with real disc
fixing!
9.1
Sergio Monesi, Via Trento e Trieste 30, 20046 Biassono (MI), Italy.
([e-mail]).
9.1
(Not) Doom and gloom Ö Why doesnæt everyone just go out and buy a Risc
PC? Itæs cheap, fast, upgradable, has a great operating system,
brilliant graphics, good sound and plenty of software. Surely those
stick-in-the-mud PC users can see the light!
9.1
Suppose that the Risc PC really did out-perform PCs in every department,
would PC users switch? The answer is NO and until we understand the
reasons why, the Acorn community will continue to whittle on about size
of VRAM and whether a floating point unit is better than a faster
processor.
9.1
People want Windows machines because most other people have them. This
is not bigoted PC-ism, itæs common sense. Try thinking of the operating
system as a language Ö if two people use the same operating system on
their machines there is nothing they canæt exchange (copyright
excepted). They can download the latest version of Mosaic Netscape or
Doom or whatever they like and it will run on their machine (well,
usually).
9.1
Imagine that Windows was English, Mac OS was French and RISC OS was
Welsh. If you lived in England there would be no way that youæd bring
your children up speaking Welsh as their mother tongue Ö even though it
is a beautiful and musical language. All the books are in English,
everyone speaks in English, you canæt even get Welsh TV. OK, so you
could use Welsh for communication in your company/school/home but why
bother when you could use English?
9.1
Would you write a cookery book in Welsh if you want to sell it in
England? Of course not Ö but thatæs what all our software houses are
doing! They have to put in the same amount of effort to create a product
for a market 100 times smaller. Sure, thereæs more competition in the
English cook book market but what this probably means is that only when
a book is successful in English is it translated into Welsh Ö and
usually with some considerable delay. Does this sound familiar?
9.1
I was amazed at the throw-away comment in Septemberæs Archive from Keith
Parker: öEven if CC abandoned the Acorn market we would simply move to
Ovation Proò. Impression, Artworks and the Turbo Drivers are (for me)
the most important products in the Acorn market. If even CC are unable
to make a profit from selling Acorn software then times must be dire
indeed.
9.1
Do you believe that the desires of computer consumers influence the
products that computer suppliers make? Iádo! Therefore, if there is any
good idea in RISC OS which the rest of the computer world is crying out
for, it will eventually percolate into MS Windows. Do you remember
raving about a true 32-bit operating system with a drag-and-drop filing
system and real multi-tasking? Now read the feature list of Windows 95
or NT. OK, weæve still got text anti-aliasing but if they really want
it, itæll be in the next version.
9.1
It isnæt the computer suppliers who have insisted that computers become
more uniform. Before the MS-DOS PC came along, users were bewildered by
Commodore and Sirius and Atari and PC/M and  PC/N Ö none of which seemed
to be able to share data, let alone programs. When a half-decent
operating system came along, everyone bought the computer. This wasnæt
IBMæs idea Ö they were surprised too. Windows (especially NT) offers
users a stable, uniform environment where programs work together and you
know that (almost) everyone else uses the same system. Windows users are
not going to give this up, whatever you tempt them with. In any case,
they know that if enough of them want something, theyæll get it anyway.
9.1
Will Acorn still be making desktop computers in five years time? What do
you think? Iæd like to believe that they will, but I wouldnæt bet on it.
If DEC produce a 200MHz ARM chip, my next machine might well be a Risc
PC, but if CC quit the Acorn market it will definitely be a Pentium. I
think even Apple are going to find it impossible to resist the weight of
numbers forcing computer suppliers to conform in the long run.
9.1
This isnæt doom and gloom! Here we are, a community of enthusiasts who
love fast machines and adore hand crafted machine code (it is so
satisfying to watch my friends gasp at the speed of Impression on my
A410). The family spirit which produces magazines like Archive is
brilliant and we must strive to keep it alive. But unless we are going
to do the computer equivalent of sitting on an island in the middle of
nowhere, we have to move on.
9.1
Cain Hunt, Cambridge.
9.1
PC card screen resolutions Ö There is a program (unsupported) on the
Acorn ftp site which allows the PC card to work in screen modes of öany
resolutionò. Has anyone tried it?
9.1
Malcolm Banthorpe, Hayes.
9.1
Pricing of A7000 Ö I think Acorn have made a very poor judgement in
pricing the A7000. It is obviously aimed at schools who will appreciate
even the paltry saving of ú150 over a Risc PC, as it will add up when
buying a batch of machines. However, to appeal to home users, it needs
to be at least ú300 cheaper to justify the lack of expansion, especially
VRAM. I canæt imagine it staying as over-priced as this for long Ö it
canæt cost much to make compared with the RiscáPC.
9.1
Tony Houghton, Southampton.
9.1
Printing in colour Ö There has been quite a bit in Archive recently
about printers and it is useful to have unbiased comments based on
usersæ experience, so I offer my own. I feel that the merits of the
Epson Stylus Color have received too little attention and that the
exceptional quality of the results in its 720dpi microweave mode have
not been stressed sufficiently.
9.1
As an illustration, I have sent Paul two specimens of pages I produce
regularly for the newsletter of a small computer group. (I must say that
the printouts are of exceptional quality and are held here in the NCS
office in our Ésample printoutsæ file if anyone wants to see them Ö
sadly, I couldnæt reproduce them in the magazine for obvious reasons!
Ed.)
9.1
This printer employs a piezoelectric printhead which is far superior to
a bubblejet, is also more economical in ink and is particularly robust.
Every month, for example, I use it to produce the 50 copies (A4) that
Iárequire for my newsletter, printing in the background so I can get on
with other work, and all copies come out at identical quality. The
special paper used costs about 11p per sheet.
9.1
The same printer, in black-and-white at 360dpi, can be used at adequate
speed for correspondence.
9.1
George Foot, Oxted, Surrey.
9.1
RAM and disc sizes Ö Two years ago, (Archive 7.1 p28) I analysed the
growth, over the years, of RAM and hard disc capacities for the top-of-
the-range desktop computer, fully enhanced. Largely based on figures
quoted by Paul in the previous issue, I concluded that both figures tend
to double each year, disc capacity always being about 12átimes that of
RAM.
9.1
Given that this is an approximation over a period of time, my formulµ
for capacities in Mb at the beginning of the year 199n are RAM =
5á╫á2n▒1 and Disc = 60á╫á2n▒1. This allows an error factor of two either
side of the estimate. Two thirds of the way through 1995, this gives RAM
= 128Ö512 Mb and Disc = 1╜Ö6 Gb.
9.1
These figures seem reasonable. In the case of RAM, there is a grey area
between total capacities theoretically available (and quoted in
advertising) and those your dealer can actually supply. PCs are
certainly available with 256 Mb, using 8╫32 Mb SIMM boards.
9.1
Discs seem to be growing apace Ö witness the new Risc PC 700 with nearly
1 Gb as standard! Two years ago, I did not foresee a desktop machine
with expanding sides which would accommodate four internal hard drives,
each of which, referring to the latest NCS Price List, could be 1.9 Gb.
9.1
Whatever the maxima, I suspect that, in the PC world, the latest memory-
guzzler known as Windows 95 will lead to a doubling of typical RAM and
disc sizes. As I write, W-day (August 24th) is still in the future Ö I
wonder whether it will be a great leap forward, or a magnificent non-
event?
9.1
I will stick with my formulµ for the time being.
9.1
Colin Singleton, Sheffield.
9.1
Redefining filetype sprites Ö I think that Brian Cowan may have got the
wrong end of the stick in the Help! column over sprites. The Wimp will
always use the sprites that it was told to use most recently with an
*IconSprites command; the trick is that it isnæt always told.
9.1
Most applications contain a !Sprites file that contains sprites for the
application and for filetypes that it uses. When an application is first
seen on the desktop, the Wimp checks to see if it already has a sprite
of the same name as the application. If it hasnæt, then it öbootsò the
application, either by running the applications !Boot file or, if there
isnæt one, by loading the !Sprites file. Since the !Boot obey file
almost invariably loads the !Sprites with an *IconSprites command, what
happens is that we see the files for that application appear with its
defined sprite on the desktop, and the files for that application are
shown with the sprite that the application gives to them. If these
happen to be of one of the public filetypes that some other application
has used in the past, tough; they get the new sprite whether they like
it or not.
9.1
When a second application with the same name as the first is first shown
on the desktop, it isnæt booted because the wimp already has a sprite of
the same name as the application. However, when you run the application,
it is quite common for it to *IconSprites the !Sprites file again, on
the off-chance that it hasnæt been loaded yet. At this point, you get
the new application sprite, new filetype sprites perhaps, and so on and
so forth. We usually donæt notice the new application sprite, since the
first thing that most of us do is close the directory window that had
the application in it.
9.1
Rhodri James, ([e-mail])
9.1
RISC OS 3.6 upgrades Ö Reports are starting to appear in the Acorn press
about the new machines being good, but Acorn do not seem to care much
about the enthusiasts who have bought RiscáPCs already and who want to
be able to upgrade soon, not at some indefinite time in the future. The
24-bit version of Paint, for example, might well be all I need as an art
package, and some of the other features of RISCáOS 3.6 make it sound
like a reasonably desirable upgrade. If there is a problem with RISCáOS
3.6 upgrades due to the need for reformatting of the hard drive, then
let Acorn issue the various utilities, such as the JPEG loader and new
versions of Draw and Paint, in a form that can be run from hard disc; I
would be quite happy with this. However, there must be many RiscáPC
owners who have good backup facilities and who could cope with having to
reformat the main hard disc.
9.1
Alan Angus, Northumberland.
9.1
Risc PC 600/700 Ö I understand the ARM610 in the new Risc PC 600 has a
clock speed of 33MHz, instead of the previous 30MHz. It does not
automatically follow that it will process 10% faster but, in this case,
that is probably about right. The new ARM710 runs at 40MHz. The 33%
increase in clock speed compared with the old ARM610 is probably a
pessimistic indication of the increase in processing speed, because the
new processor should be more efficient. I would expect about a 40%
increase in Dhrystones/sec.
9.1
[See my notes on Dhrystones in Archive 7.9 which Iáhave no reason to
change. Risc User have published figures in their supplement to the
July/August issue. (This has just arrived, a week after the Archive
September issue!) Their figures generally confirm mine, but I would like
to know where they got them.]
9.1
Colin Singleton, Sheffield.
9.1
Tablemate 3 Ö This is a really excellent piece of software. The best
improvement over version 2 (not mentioned in the publicity) is the fact
that the program does not slow down when lines are removed or Éhiddenæ.
The older versions used to be dreadfully slow once lines were taken out.
9.1
Dennis Croome, Bracknell.
9.1
Teacheræs Guide to IT Ö The desirability of IT in the school is in
inverse ratio to the amount of money available for it. Governors are
keen on having it, inspectors look for it, headteachers rarely
understand it.
9.1
Network Ö System of storing and making available information passed
between headteachers. Sometimes known as the OB network, its speed,
encryption and inaccuracy are legendary, exceeding any known or claimed
clock speed; handshaking protocols and communication via the telephone
are both complex and meaningful. System failure is unknown, while output
is highly predictable.
9.1
Standalone Ö The IT teacher is expected to shoulder the entire
responsibility for the failure of the school to provide computer
expertise to all and sundry.
9.1
Inspections Ö These take place every four years. They cause total
failure of printers and photocopiers. They are the most efficient and
incurable viruses in the computing world, causing horrible network
failure one day before the inspection, destroying pupilsæ work, and
causing widespread apoplexy amongst colleagues.
9.1
Discs Ö Once respected as the only things which could make a BBC Micro
do anything. Now that they have grown hard plastic coatings, they
function as useful table mats. Pupilæs discs, like some of their owners,
are known to carry notifiable diseases.
9.1
Mouse Ö This device invariably assumes the neuter gender, and refuses to
be sociable to its associated lady computer. Methods of preserving its
masculinity include the timely application of superglue (sadly not to
the offending pupils), melting the base of the mouse with a soldering
iron, or removing the mouse altogether and pretending the cursor keys
are just as good.
9.1
Modem Ö Telephone/computer devices supplied free to every school. With
no money to buy telephone lines, schools when asked, öDo you want more
of them there modems?ò, answered öNo moædem, thank you.ò
9.1
Binary Ö This ridiculous way of adding up was foisted on IT teachers to
conceal the unpleasant fact that their pupils were destined for the
Tertiary system anyway.
9.1
DTP Ö Under this regime, the IT teacher replaces the combined resources
of the local printers, school secretarial staff, and local commercial
artists, and produces immaculately designed school brochures, notepaper,
prospectuses, concert programmes and personal headed notepaper for the
headteacher.
9.1
Network Manager Ö The IT teacher who stays behind until seven oæclock
every evening, undoing the cunning rejigging of the network undertaken
by pupils who, while preparing a simple pi-chart, break into the
network, discover every password, and generally foul up the whole
contraption. A fortune awaits the first publisher of a network manageræs
companion book entitled öA Million and One Alternative Passwordsò.
9.1
Pen Ö Rare and little understood piece of technology, despised by
pupils; allows three sentences to be written on paper in a minute, when
the pupil could spend an hour poking a computer keyboard with one finger
to produce the same result using ú1,000 worth of laser printer.
9.1
Printer Ö Output from this is claimed by pupils to constitute a
satisfactory piece of work, irrespective of quality, size and content.
9.1
Sublimation Ö A process in which the anxieties and woes of the IT
teacher melt smoothly and richly into premature retirement with fifteen
yearsæ pension enhancement. At present merely a dream, but a
consummation devoutly wished for.
9.1
John Hughes, Newport, Dyfed.
9.1
School admin with Acorns Ö Following Chris Wraggæs comments on using
Acorn machines for school administration, I can assure him that he is
not the only one to be looked at slightly askew by colleagues and
others. At my school, a small village primary school of 100 children, I
have been using Acorn machines for school administration for at least 7
years. What Chris says is quite true: in Norfolk, all primary schools
were issued with an Apple Mac Ö in my case, an SE30. Well, whilst my
fellow headteachers were extolling the virtues of this machine, I
quickly dismissed its tiny screen, single tasking and awful software
(Works 2, I seem to remember) and used my own A310 with Ovation, Draw
and a Laser Direct printer. My colleagues could not understand how I
could produce such relatively classy reports, fliers, posters and
brochures! Indeed, on a number of occasions, I produced brochures for
them. (How did I find the time?)
9.1
Well, since those days, the technology has leapt forward on all
platforms and, despite the continued pressure from County Hall to revert
to the Mac, Iáhave resisted. Now my office computer is a 33MHz A5000
with 8Mb of memory, attached either to a Canon A4000 (for occasional
colour work as well as general printing) or BJ230 (for A3 printing). I
still use Ovation for all word processing and DTP work and look forward
to Ovation Pro when it is ready. All our output is of the highest
quality, which prompted a chief adviser, who is privy to publications
from lots of schools, to comment that it was very rare for a primary
school to produce such excellent documents. (This is NOT bragging Ö it
is just true!)
9.1
However, it is school finances where using our A5000 has really scored.
Using Eureka, school budgeting is a doddle with budget control
reporting, commitment and expenditure control, forward projections and
financial planning all available at the touch of a button Ö or mouse.
All spreadsheets can be exported to Ovation (as a drawfile) and adjusted
accordingly, ready for reporting. Once again, my colleagues who have
watched me work with Ovation, Eureka and Draw all at the same time,
switching at will between them, just look in awe.
9.1
And that is not all. Recently, Norfolk schools have been given complete
control Ö with the exception of salaries Ö over all their expenditure,
through the use of a cheque book. The recording of these transactions
has been a nightmare to understand. Again, using Eureka, I have copied
the spreadsheet structures given to us by County Hall. Now all
transactions are computerised, but with one major difference. Using
Eurekaæs linking feature, all reporting is taken off one master sheet.
Even the journal that County Hall insist is handwritten on a very formal
form has now been faithfully reproduced and is automatically generated.
This saves my secretary a great deal of time, and more could be saved if
County Hall would accept the journal. When my finance officer last
visited, he commented that County Hall had been trying, for 6ámonths, to
do what we had done and still failed.
9.1
Elsewhere, we use Eureka for class lists and registration (wonderful Ö
it just gives you an up¡to¡date percentage). Ovation produces school
calendars, policy documents, National Curriculum Carpets, Reports,
Worksheets and all the other administrative paraphernalia that schools
have to contend with these days.
9.1
Back in those early days, Acorn did not have a machine to compete with
the Macs (the A3000 had only just been produced). There was also a
dearth of easy-to-use software Ö no PIMS Iæm afraid. Consequently,
having committed themselves to Macs, most schools have continued using
them and have bought more, with the encouragement of County Hall. I am
leaving my school for a yearæs secondment and have helped by deputy who
will be acting headteacher to get to grips with all that I have
mentioned above. She is familiar with the Acorn desktop, having used an
A3000 for some years in her classroom. The school secretary (who now has
an A5000 at home which her husband uses to design his office furniture
layouts) is also leaving at the end of September. It will be interesting
to see how the acting headteacher and new secretary come to grips with
the office machine. My real hope is that they will both find the
structures easily accessible and trouble free.
9.1
If anyone else out there uses any of the programs Iáhave mentioned and
would like copies of the spreadsheet or DTP templates, please contact me
on 01603-742638 during the evenings. A final thought echoing Chrisæ
comments Ö öAre there any other mavericks out there using Acorns for
school administration?ò
9.1
Richard Rymarz, Norwich.
9.1
School admin with Acorns? Ö I read this article with much sympathy and
understanding. Iástarted my company, T-J Reproductions, with an Acorn
A540 and a LaserDirect printer in 1990. Today, I have two 40Mb Risc PC
600s, (I remember when ö40Mbò would be the hard disc size, not the
memory size! Ed.) an A540 (8Mb), an A4, two PowerMacs (7100), two
Quadras (900/700) and one 486/DX4 PC and I still do 90% of all my
business administration on the A540. My secretary has used PCs before
and therefore is happier with them, but she has come to grips with the
Acorn OK!
9.1
Like Chris Wragg, I get a lot of pressure to move to PCs for admin but I
am reasonably happy to continue with the Acorn. In fact, some of the new
software coming out, like Prophet, is much better than anything
available on the PC and (happily for me) cheaper.
9.1
Not only is the software cheaper but the hardware overheads are so much
lower. Take Richard Lambley, for example Ö he used to produce Land
Mobile magazine on an A440/1 (4Mb RAM) and an A4 (4Mb RAM) but he now
has a 10Mb Risc PC 600 whereas his office needs a 16Mb PC just to run
WordPerfect6 easily.
9.1
Having said all that, there is one major thing that would improve the
usability of RISC OS software (and assist the post-PC learning curve)
and that is the ability to save without drag and drop. Windows brings up
a dialog box that allows the destination of the file to be typed in.
Now, if RISC OS 3.7 could allow my secretary to type in the destination,
and me to drag-and-drop, it would help me no end. Change to PCs for
admin? Not if I can help it!
9.1
Tony Tolver, T-J Reproductions, London.
9.1
TRUK Ö Talk Radio UK (8.12 p43) Ö The attitude displayed does not
surprise me in the least. In London, there used to be LBC NewsTalk which
had a regular computer (sorry, PC) phone-in. Iáwrote to them extolling
the virtues of the Archimedes but got no joy, so I wrote to the then
chairman and, for a few weeks, there was a marked change of attitude.
They at least acknowledged the fact that Acorn was (and is) out there
and that it could often match the Éwondersæ of the PC. I suggest that we
all write to the chairman of TRUK demanding that ÉCaesar the Geezeræ has
his education completed and that we attempt to flood his ÉCaesarTECHæ
phone-ins. If all of that fails, perhaps it may help to send a letter of
complaint to the Radio Authority about accuracy and honesty in
broadcasting.
9.1
Keith Parker, London.
9.1
Windows 95 Ö Donæt dismiss it too quickly! Ö Acorn and Risc PC users
should take great care not to dismiss Microsoftæs new baby too quickly.
As a long-standing Acorn enthusiast (four BBCs, two Masters, an A310 and
currently an A440/1) I have to admit that Windows 95 now puts uses of
PC-based systems into a very attractive environment. It is by no means a
Éhalf bakedæ mix of RISCáOS and Appleæs System 7, as suggested by Mike
Clarkson in the September issue of Archive. As for DOS, well thatæs now
firmly in the sidelines. Windows 95 no longer uses DOS, booting directly
into Win 95 as a full operating system. However, should you wish to run
older DOS applications you can, by simply launching DOS like an
application Ö rather like we used to with the old Acorn BBC emulator on
the Archimedes.
9.1
Presentation Ö This may seem to be a rather superficial place to start
but appearances really do count! The visual presentation of Win 95 is,
to put it mildly, very professional, and can make RISCáOS look somewhat
tired to the uninitiated. Even when compared with Acornæs Énew lookæ
display, Windows 95 has a sharper, crisper Élookæ and letæs face it, for
many users this will be what hooks them, when they are making their
choice.
9.1
In action! Ö So far, so good, but whatæs it like to actually use. Again,
Iæm sorry to have to say, Acorn take note! For a RISCáOS user, Win 95 is
a real breath of fresh air in the PC world. Pure Windows users may well
find the change somewhat of a trauma initially. However, users of
RISCáOS will feel right at home. Mike Clarkson noted the ÉTaskbaræ. To
an extent, this is similar to the iconbar in RISCáOS, displaying an
Éiconæ for each application you run. However, it has some very nice
additional tricks which I would love to see in a future version of
RISCáOS.
9.1
1.áIt can be on permanent display or on only when needed.
9.1
2.áIt can be set to be Éalways on topæ or not.
9.1
3.áIt can be enlarged or reduced, as required, at any time.
9.1
4.áIt displays an entry for every current activity, making it very easy
indeed to switch between tasks.
9.1
All in all, this makes it a very powerful tool indeed in managing your
system use. And when this is linked to the Windows ÉAlt Ö Tabæ switch
facility, where the user can hold down the ÉAltæ key and then press TAB
to flick from one running application to another without having to
locate its window or the icon bar, multitask management is simplicity
itself.
9.1
Windows grows up Ö Probably the biggest down side of the old Windows was
its file and application management, with the Program and File Managers.
This was where many users found Windows most lacking and unhelpful. It
is now history! The general desktop can now be run in a very similar way
to RISCáOS (sticky board and all!). By using an option called ÉMy
Computeræ (Yuck! Ö terrible name, powerful tool) you can display drive
and directory windows as required Ö including network links, shared PC
areas, etc, launch files or applications, perform file management
operations, etc, etc. While some of RISCáOSæs nice refinements, such a
Élive draggingæ rather than the more crude Éoutline onlyæ arenæt there
yet, other more useful features are. Most notably...
9.1
1.á A folder does not have to be open in order to drag files, etc into
it. (Yes please, Acorn! A firm requirement for RISCáOS 4.)
9.1
2.áWhen an application is launched, it automatically opens a window
(Windows has always done this) rather than the RISCáOS format of placing
an icon on the iconbar and the user having to click on this again to get
the first window. Again, yes please, Acorn.
9.1
3.ááFiles can now be dragged and dropped into their applications, as in
RISCáOS. However, as yet the Édrag and dropæ to save ability isnæt
there.
9.1
System requirements Ö As indicated, Win 95 is Édemandingæ on your
system. A full 486 running at 66MHz with 8Mb of RAM and at least 3Gb
plus of hard disc would be my recommended base line. Winá95 itself uses
66Mb to 70Mb of disc space for normal installation, including a small
selection of optional elements. This is somewhat more than Windows 3.1
or 3.11, but not that much. The real penalty for Windows users is still
the vast amount of disc space required for Windows applications, making
a 0.5Gb drive nothing out of the ordinary (my Arc is still running
happily on 4Mb RAM and 53Mb hard disc!).
9.1
Conclusion Ö Even with these demands on the system, it is now going to
be even harder to get non-Acorn users to consider the Acorn alternative
seriously. Ináthe past, I have been able to show the distinct advantages
of the RISCáOS environment, resulting in a number of Acorn converts.
Now, Iæm not at all sure this is going to continue. All-in-all, this new
generation of Windows comes a great deal closer to the sort of
environment we RISCáOS users have always thought should be the standard.
Microsoft have certainly done their homework with this one and, while it
does require quite a powerful system to make it work, for about ú1000
thatæs not a real problem!
9.1
Mike McNamara, Dunstable.
9.1
Will someone please explain to me why Acorn can put an operating system
in 4Mb of ROM, including some fonts, Draw, Paint, Printers, etc, etc,
and it will run very acceptably on a 2Mb A7000 when Microsoft need
66Ö70Mb of hard disc space and a minimum of 8Mb of RAM? Jim Nottingham
tells us elsewhere that the Windows 95 applications are 8Ö30Mb in size Ö
surely, with a bigger operating system, the applications should be
smaller. Is it just a marketing ploy? i.e. itæs padded out with zeros
because if something is bigger, it must be better? Or is Microsoft part
of a big cartel with the RAM and hard drive manufacturers? I canæt buy a
hard drive smaller than 500Mb these days! Ed.
9.1
Windows 95 Ö I enquired about purchasing Windows 95 after the review I
read of it in Archive. (My company is a beta testing site, so Iæve used
it, and agree with much that was said.) The PC vendor informed me that
he would not recommend using Win95 with less than 16Mb of RAM.
Apparently, Microsoft has increased the minimum requirements from 4 to
8Mb, but that itæs only really usable with 16Mb or more! Apart from the
fact that this is a crazy amount of RAM (and money), surely Micro$oft
has mislead millions who have been waiting for months and now have to
upgrade. (I wish I were a PC dealer selling memory! Ed.) (No I donæt!!
Ed.)
9.1
Alastair Orchard, Sherborne.
9.1
Windows 95 Ö I was reading a review of Windows 95 in the Church Computer
User Group magazine where they were saying that Windows 95 has a great
innovation. Apparently, you can define a task or a file and create an
icon for it which you can then attach to the Desktop (i.e. the
background). You can then double-click on these icons and the task or
file will be automatically executed. Wow! Unless Iæm very much mistaken,
that sounds like the pinboard facility which Acorn users have had for
several years and have long since taken for granted!
9.1
I find it so sad and frustrating when I think of the countless man-hours
of programming that must be going into cobbling together a half decent
OS onto an archaic (but industry standard!) hardware platform. Ifáa tiny
fraction of all that programming effort were able to be applied to
RISCáOS 4, or Taos, or whatever, for the ARM platform, the world would
be a very much better place! Dream on!
9.1
Ed.
9.1
Device  SyQuest 105Mb removable  SyQuest 270Mb removable  Conner 420Mb
Fujitsu 528Mb
9.1
Free space  79Mb  256Mb  101Mb  84Mb
9.1
Software version  1.95  1.98  1.95  1.98  1.95  1.98  1.95  1.98
9.1
Block Mode Transfer Flag  ON  OFF  ON  OFF  ON  OFF  ON  OFF  ON  OFF
ON  OFF
9.1
Write Speed (Kb/s)  154  153  197  194  1111  630  1051  598  1202  1275
2541  1676
9.1
Read Speed (Kb/s)  891  669  1138  698  1707  698  1707  697  1311  1323
2560  1681
9.1
Average (Kb/s)  743  565  949  597  1587  684  1568  677  1305  1313
2556  1680
9.1
Speed Tests on Cumanaæs SCSI 2 Card
9.1
Graphics Column
9.1
David Thornton
9.1
This month, I shall preview the forthcoming ImageFSá2 from Alternative
Publishing and review DeskTop Laminationsæ Graphics Loaders.
9.1
ImageFSá2 preview
9.1
In my previous article (Archive 8.11 p73), I wrote about the benefits of
CCæs Graphics Loaders package. Since I wrote the review, I have had the
opportunity to evaluate an alpha version of the forthcoming ImageFSá2,
from Alternative Publishing. In this article, I intend to preview some
of the features which may appear in the final version of ImageFSá2. You
may also like to refer to the original review in Archive 8.6 p71.
9.1
ImageFS is an application which allows a variety of foreign bitmaps to
be imported into any sprite-accepting RISC OS application. All
operations in loading the foreign bitmap are virtually transparent to
the user. ImageFS is actually a dedicated filing system designed for
bitmap manipulation.
9.1
I received version 1.72a which, while still in its alpha version, seemed
virtually complete and bug free. The program now supports most of the
major and many of the minor bitmap file formats. SunRaster files are now
fully supported, as are Macintosh PICT and AmigaIFF/ILBM files.
Additions have been made to some of the other formats, in that TIFF,
GIF, PCX and others have improved handling. The accompanying
documentation described over one hundred improvements which have been
made to ImageFS since the original version.
9.1
One of the most useful features of ImageFSá2 is the TinyView option. By
<Ctrl> double-clicking on any supported bitmap, an attractive preview
window displaying the sprite is opened. The window can either be 200╫200
or 400╫400 pixels, and it also displays some information about the
bitmap. From here, the bitmap can be dragged into a bitmap editor or
other application.
9.1
Bitmap export
9.1
The most important new feature of ImageFSá2 is that it will allow a
sprite to be saved, in most of the supported file formats (see above
table). Export in MacPaint and IMG is not supported, but as these are
only 1bpp (2 colours), it would be pretty useless anyway.
9.1
The save procedure is invoked in a simple and logical manner. To save a
sprite from most applications, a file name is entered into a field and a
sprite icon dragged to a disc directory. Saving as an alternative file
format, using ImageFS, is performed in exactly the same way except that
<Alt> is held down when dragging the sprite icon to disc. The following
window then appears.
9.1
It is a simple matter of selecting the desired foreign format, and
clicking on convert. The sprite is then saved as the selected foreign
bitmap. This is a very useful option and allows any sprite application
such as Paint, PhotoTouch or Studio24 to export a sprite as a foreign
file format. The PICT format is especially useful for transfer to an
Apple Macintosh, where PICT files are used extensively. To a graphics
artist, support for this format alone is worth the entire cost of the
application.
9.1
Other new features include a new global options window. The new one will
avoid the need to scroll the window in order to view all of the options.
9.1

9.1
There will also be a separate utility which, when a supported bitmap is
dropped onto its icon, will display information about it. I have wanted
a utility like this for a while, and suggested the idea to Alternative
Publishing.
9.1
Alternative Publishing are considering the PNG and Photoshop formats for
future implementation. JPEG may also be implemented, depending on the
responseáto the launch of RISC OS 3.60 which has JPEG manipulation
utilities built in. If PhotoCD filesáare implemented, it will be done in
a slightly differentáway from the other formats, due to the size of the
files.
9.1
Summary
9.1
ImageFS is one of those essential products that anyone who is remotely
interested in DTP and graphics should have. At around ú29 +VAT it is
definitely worth every penny, if not a lot more. ImageFSá2 will be even
better. I would not be surprised if it came bundled with every computer
in the future, especially as it allows you to transfer the vast majority
of bitmaps between RISC OS and other operating systems. Donæt hesitate
to buy it. Itæs the ultimate in bitmap file transfer.
9.1
Desktop Laminations Graphics Loaders
9.1
As I mentioned in my first article, Archive 8.11 p73, Computer Concepts
have devised a standard way of importing and exporting bitmap graphics
(and other files) to and from any application. This is only possible if
an application chooses to recognise the standard. According to the
letter from Desktop Laminations, they believe that the CC standard is
the way forward for importing and exporting files, so they have produced
their own loaders, using the CCácode. The new loaders import the
following bitmap file formats: PCX, BMP/DIB, ICO, GIF, WPG, and PCD (the
latter is an enhanced version of the CC one.) Desktop Laminations also
intend to rewrite the CC JPEG and TIFF loaders (what about the Clear
loader?) to the standard of their other loaders. They also hope to write
loaders for vector line-art files including a TransCDR (CorelDraw!
format) loader.
9.1
The package
9.1
I received two program discs (in two CD style cases). The first disc
entitled Trans-Graphic Loaders contains the BMP, GIF, ICO, PCX and WPG
loaders. This disc costs ú45 +VAT from Desktop Laminations. The loaders
function in a similar way to the CC loaders, but there are some new
features.
9.1
Features
9.1
With the CC Graphics Loaders, dragging a bitmap onto, say, an Impression
frame would always produce a dialogue box allowing the user to select
import options. With the Desktop Laminations Loaders, dragging a
supported bitmap onto an Impression frame automatically imports it
without displaying a dialogue box. However, dragging a graphic onto an
Impression frame while holding down <Alt> will display the import
options dialogue box, from which the bitmap quality can be selected as
shown.
9.1
The Éas inputæ option is a feature which the CC loaders do not have. It
basically reads the bitmap and imports it with its current values, i.e.
number of colours/bpp. This is a useful option and probably the one that
most users would choose. The loader can also force the bitmap to be
imported as 8¡bit colour or 24¡bit colour.
9.1
There are also two new buttons on each loader. Theádefault button
returns the import options to the default values. The save button saves
the current import options. This is useful as it removes the need for
the import options dialogue to appear every time aábitmap is loaded. The
window only needs to be displayed when you want to change the import
options. The saved options are used every time, unless <Alt> is held
down.
9.1
The PhotoCD loader utilises a slightly different dialogue box from the
other loaders, having the Floyd/Steinberg dithering option, but not the
simple one. It also contains six radio buttons for each of the six
PhotoCD resolutions. The Éas inputæ button is also missing because it is
not applicable to PhotoCD files. It has been replaced with an 8¡bit
greyscale option. Iámentioned in my review of the CC Loaders that the
Base/64 option always seemed to be greyed out. I am happy to say that
the Desktop Laminations PhotoCD loader has implemented it.
9.1
The GIF loader also contains an extra option, over and above the
standard dialogue box. GIF 89a files can also contain text, so selecting
the text option allows text to be included in the GIF. If appropriate,
the GIF loader will import the text into a text editor. This is like
having a separate caption embedded in the bitmap.
9.1
The ICO loader does not display a dialogue box. Windows ICO files are
used for displaying icons and resource files. There is a template
dialogue box inside TransICO but it would not invoke, using <Alt>.
Iáexpect it has been disabled. The ICO loader imports ICO files as a
sprite. All the other loaders import their bitmaps as drawfiles but this
is only relevant to Impression. Drawfile import prevents direct OLE.
9.1
The WPG loader allows WordPerfect metafile files to be imported.
Unfortunately, the loader cannot render vector line-art files and had
problems with some of the later WPG files which I tested.
9.1
Darkroom, version 2
9.1
The second disc I received contained another application called
Darkroom2. This disc costs ú35 +VAT from DeskTop Laminations. Darkroom2
can be described as a front end for the loaders, and it works with all
loaders, including the CC ones. Loading Darkroom2 and clicking on its
icon produces an empty window. Here, any file supported by the loaders
can be dragged to display a thumbnail image (a small copy of the main
image). Multiple images can be dragged to the window and a slide show
can be activated which displays all of the imported files. Double-
clicking on any image in Darkroom2 will convert it to a sprite and allow
export, again using the loader.
9.1
The thumbnails and file location can be saved out of Darkroom2 as a shoe
box application (yes, I said shoe box!). This can be reloaded into
Darkroom2 to display the thumbnail. It will also find the file, on disc,
and allow it to be exported.
9.1
Darkroom2 has a number of greyed-out options on its menus. I assume
features like undo and redo (which are greyed out) will be implemented
some time in the future.
9.1
Darkroom2 removes the need for the user to have Impression or ArtWorks.
As Darkroom2 is the front end for the loaders, it is easy to export any
supported bitmap as a sprite. I recommend that Darkroom2 is also
purchased, along with the Desktop Laminations loaders for optimum
usability.
9.1
Summary
9.1
The Trans-Graphics disc of loaders is an excellent application. If
Desktop Laminations rewrote the CC loaders for TransTIFF, TransJPEG and
TransClr to the same specification but with the new features, the CC set
of loaders will be effectively obsolete. Iásuppose thatæs what can
happen if you give away your code.
9.1
I would like to see an issue two of the Trans-Graphic loaders. It should
include all of existing Desktop Laminations loaders, including the new
TransPCD loader, new TransJPEG, TransTIFF, and TransClr loaders, and
what about TransPBM+, TransILBM, TransPCT2 (PICT2) and TransTGA (Targa)?
9.1
Itæs a shame that only a few applications support the loaders. I
recommend the pack to any graphics user. They will soon totally
supersede the CC offerings, and there are plans for loaders to handle
other media files, including Text, Replay, Fli, Draw, ArtWorks, Vector,
Sound and others. Watch out for TransCDR (Corel Draw) and other vector
loaders. Darkroom2 will also be developed to utilise these formats.
9.1
The Desktop Laminations loaders, especially with the new TransJPEG,
TransPCD and TransTIFF, loaders are an ideal combination with ImageFS.
On the plus side, ImageFS is faster than the loaders (the loaders
require the same amount of RAM as the size of the file to function), and
it also works with all sprite-accepting applications.
9.1
ImageFS 2 will also allow saving in different formats. However, Desktop
Laminations seem very committed to producing new and improved loaders
quite quickly. They also provide WPG and ICO loaders, which ImageFS does
not have. My advice is to buy them both, for a complete solution.
9.1
Final comments
9.1
I will be at Acorn World æ95 on the Friday and the Saturday. If you have
questions, comments, or other information, I will be more than happy to
help.
9.1
In my next column, I will suggest ideas for future articles/columns. I
would like to thank all the software developers who have sent me
software to be featured in the Graphics Column. If you have any ideas,
suggestions, questions, etc, my address is: 1áCastleáCourt, Lower
Burraton, Saltash, Cornwall, PL12á4SE. (No telephone calls, please.) If
you want a reply, please include postage, preferably as stamps.áuá
9.1
ExtASM Assembler
9.1
Chris Coe
9.1
Sometimes you buy a new program and then wonder how you ever survived
without it. Well, if youære into ARM code programming, ExtASM (short for
Extended Assembler) is one such program.
9.1
The package consists of a single disc, with no written documentation
but, fortunately, extensive instructionsáare provided on the disc. Since
the manual is provided as a StrongHelp file, as well as text, I strongly
recommend that you get a copy of theáfreeware StrongHelp program. This
is a very useful program which provides help files with hypertext links
so that you can browse around with ease. It also comes with several
manuals on Basic, SWIs and so on.
9.1
ExtASM is an assembler which means that it takes ARM assembler mnemonics
and turns them into machine code ready for the processor to execute. The
ARM Basic assembler comes free with the machine and is useful in that
you can use Basic expressions to do calculations and use makeshift
macros, etc. I have always used this assembler ever since I learnt ARM
code, despite having seen several others. ExtASM blows them all away.
9.1
The first step is to enter your program in your favourite text editor.
(StrongEd provides special facilities for assembling code with ExtASM,
although I prefer to use Zap.) You then drag it to the ExtASM icon and
it is assembled and saved in the same directory as the source code Ö
very handy.
9.1
ExtASMæs strengths
9.1
Where ExtASM stands out from other assemblers is that it oozes with
extra instructions and directives that make writing ARM code much, much
easier. Some of these features include full ARM2/3/6 instruction support
(so that you can use ARM3æs SWP instruction and ARM6æs status register
instructions), full FPA instruction support (so you can do things like
sines, square roots and polar co-ordinates in single instructions!),
extra instructions which I will come to later, many switches (commands
to the pre-processor which alter the way the code is assembled) and some
smart features like auto-expansion, register relativity and most of
Basicæs mathematical and string functions.
9.1
One of the most impressive features of ExtASM is the auto-expansion of
instructions. Just to explain that a bit, most ARM instructions have
limits imposed on them as to how they can operate, and itæs very easy to
break the limits without realising it. For example:
9.1
ADR R0,label
9.1
; 8 kbytes of code here
9.1
.label
9.1
Unfortunately, the range of ADR is only 256 bytes, so that attempting to
assemble this would normally result in a Ébad address offsetæ error.
However, in ExtASM, the ADR will automatically be replaced with the
appropriate instructions required to achieve the equivalent result. For
example:
9.1
MOV R0,#&4321
9.1
However, after reaching the value 256, only certain values can be used
as immediate constants in MOV, and the above instruction would actually
cause a Ébad immediate constantæ error when assembling. ExtASM,
therefore, automatically assembles it as:
9.1
MOV R0,#&4300
9.1
ORR R0,R0,#&21
9.1
which is the best way of doing the same thing. It will even work on CMPs
and CMNs with illegal immediate constants, LDRs, STRs, bitwise
operations and so on.
9.1
Another useful feature is that, if you enter something like
ADDáR0,R0,#Ö123, it will automatically assemble it as SUB R0,R0,#123.
Similarly, if you use MOVáR0,#Ö5, it will be correctly assembled as
MVNáR0,#6 and so on.
9.1
Extra functions
9.1
There are a number of extra instructions which Iæm sure will prove
extremely useful. For example, DIV operates exactly the same as MUL,
except that it divides one register by another and puts the result in
aáthird. (This instruction, needless to say, is a extremely useful.) EXG
will swap the contents of two registers, TEMP and LOCK reserve temporary
registers and lock them again (see below), STRUCT will define a
structure (as in C!) and MACRO defines a macro, which can take different
types of parameters and be neatly called by just putting the macro name
as an instruction, even using a condition code! For example:
9.1
macro ADDREG$cc regr:r reg1:r reg2:r
9.1
{regr ,reg1,reg2
9.1
}
9.1
...
9.1
CMP R3,#4
9.1
ADDREGEQ R0,R2,R4
9.1
The $cc part in the macro definition takes any condition code applied
into the variable cc, and at any point in the macro, if you issue an
instruction with $cc on the end, will apply it to that instruction.
9.1
Structures are great fun! You can define them, as in C, as:
9.1
struct screen
9.1
{0 9.1
.width  DCD 0
9.1
.height  DCD 0
9.1
.size
9.1
}
9.1
Unfortunately, theyære not addressed quite as well. Once the struct has
been allocated with .screendata DBB size,0 you have to refer to it as
LDR R0,screendata + screen.width, whereas it would be preferable to use
LDRáR0,screendata.width.
9.1
However, in reply to the long letter I penned to the author of ExtASM
concerning this and many other points, he agreed that this should be
changed, so you may see an improved version released soon.
9.1
The use of TEMP and LOCK is interesting. Instructions such as DIV
require extra registers to store temporary results. At the start of a
program, all registers are LOCKed. This means that they should not be
corrupted by instructions like DIV. If the assembler encounters a DIV
instruction, it has to stack some registers, perform the calculation,
then unstack them. This uses a lot of time, so if you use TEMP to
allocate some registers that you arenæt currently using, instructions
like DIV will use these instead, saving lots of processor time.
9.1
There are several other extra instructions, but anotheráexcellent
feature is the preprocessor which, by the use of switches in the source
code (directives that begin with a hash, like #include and #define in
C), allows extra control over the way the code is assembled, saved, and
so on. In ExtASM, these switches include setting variables, compile-time
repeat-until and if¡else-endif constructs, floating-point space
allocation, load and execution address settings, importing external
variables, including other source files and so on. Apparently, you can
do things like this:
9.1
#import printf
9.1
...
9.1
BL printf
9.1
The options
9.1
The ExtASM options menu includes a comprehensive range of things to
experiment with, from throwback and variable listings to auto-code
shrinking and auto-run-after-save. You can even bring up some pie charts
showing what percentage of different groups of instructions your program
contains! This is actually very useful, because you can see how much
time your program is wasting doing branches, etc. There are also
numerous facilities for creating AOF (ARM Object Format) files, which
can be linked with C source to produce powerful hybrid code.
9.1
Overall
9.1
You will by now realise that this is an extremely powerful program.
Compared to other ARM assemblers, ExtASM wins hands down. A couple of
things that arenæt catered for which would have been nice are run-time
if-else-endif constructs, and arrays Ö mind you, there are a number of
difficulties involved in programming such items which may mean it isnæt
worth the effort. The amazing thing about all this is that ExtASM is
shareware and the author is only asking ú20 per copy, an absolute
bargain! Buy it now.áuá
9.1
ExtASM is available at HENSA if you have access to Internet, or you can
write for a copy to Terje Sletteb°, Bjerregaardsgt 21 (Leil. 1304), N-
0172 Oslo, Norway. Itæs also available at a BBS in Norway, InfoLink (+47
225-71600). The monthly disc is pretty chocka this month, but if we get
space, weæll put it on.
9.1
PC486 Card Ö Hints & Tips
9.1
Jim Nottingham
9.1
I was sorry to read that Simon Coulthurst had had to call it a day,
because I always found his RiscDOS Column very valuable (thanks, Simon).
I do hope someone will be able to take over the reins but, in the
meantime, I trust the following notes will be of benefit to anyone who
has installed a shiny new PC486 card and isnæt too sure where to go from
there.
9.1
Iæm a reasonably experienced user of PC applications (bleghhh...) but
probably fall in with the majority of Archive subscribers in that I had
no previous experience of the rigours of installing DOS, Windows and the
like, having either used machines where these were pre-installed or
having had it done for me by a competent person!
9.1
Inevitably, I ran into some problems which I had to resolve by using a
modicum of gumption, a lot of trial and error, comparing notes with
other users and, as a last resort, asking the PC fraternity for help. So
hereæs a few hints and tips, doæs and donæts:
9.1
Buying Windows
9.1
Do shop around for Windows, as prices range from under ú60 to over ú100!
I bought mine from ESL in London for ú58.76 inclusive and they supplied
overnight; an excellent service. They sent Windows for Workgroups which
is the network version (v3.11), but this also works fine on a single
machine, automatically detecting and configuring itself for the stand-
alone platform. (We gave up selling Windows when Greyhound Marketing,
our main software distributor, went bust. Ed.)
9.1
Documentation
9.1
Donæt be put off by the dreadful Microsoft PC DOS and Windows user
guides; the Acorn user guide and the helpful on-screen prompts should
make installation a straightforward process. But do follow the
procedures in the Acorn user guide to the letter as there are some
fairly critical configuration options to be set.
9.1
Jargon
9.1
Donæt be put off by the PC jargon. In very general terms, the
öAUTOEXEC.BATò file equates to an Acorn main !Boot file, the öWindows
desktopò is a poor-manæs RISC OS desktop, the öMS DOS promptò is where
we can type in DOS commands (similar to pressing <f12> and typing RISC
OS *commands), and the öDOS shellò screen roughly equates to our icon
bar display of drive icons and directory displays.
9.1
Storage
9.1
Do believe everything youæve heard about PC applications being very
memory-hungry. PC DOS and the configuration files come to some 3Mb and a
full Windows v3.11 installation takes a hefty 25Mb (Win95 is reportedly
90Mb)!! Your typical PC application is 8Ö30Mb so, clearly, all this may
have your hard disc drive bulging at the seams, even before you start
using the kit.
9.1
Second partition
9.1
To ease the storage problem and if you have the bonus of a second drive,
do consider having just DOSáin a partition on your main drive (drive_c
in DOS-speak), with Windows, PC applications and your data files in a
second partition on the second drive (drive_d). Similarly, if you have
the luxury of having a removable media drive (e.g. Syquest or magneto-
optical), do consider having a separate cartridge or disc dedicated to
PC stuff.
9.1
Partition size
9.1
The !PCconfig program supplied with the card makes it very easy to set
up the partition(s) and the Acorn user guide is very clear. With a
single partition, Acorn recommend a size of at least 80Mb but, looking
at the numbers in the previous paragraphs, and if you have the capacity,
do consider something bigger. With two drives and partitions, you can
split the applications as you think fit; Iæve taken my own advice and
gone for just DOS and the configuration files in a 5Mb partition on my
hard disc, with Windows, a number of PC applications and all the
document files being given lots of elbow room in a large partition on a
270Mb SyQuest cartridge. This arrangement works very well.
9.1
Drive formatting
9.1
If you decide to dedicate a storage device to PC stuff, as suggested
above, you may see a formatting funny. When you format a device, it is
quite usual to Éloseæ a few Mbytes. For example, on my 270Mb Syquest,
both Size and Free come up as 256Mb. So when I configured the PC
partition for the drive, I selected the (apparently) full 256Mb as the
partition size. This seemed to work OK in that performing Count on the
partition came up with 256Mb. However, if I click menu on Free on the
iconbar, Used comes up as only 243Mb, leaving 13Mb Free! Iæve no idea
why this happens but, by a process of trial and error, I found I could
create a 270Mb partition even though, on the face of it, this exceeded
the free space available. This also seems to work on other devices,
regardless of their type (fixed or removable media) or whether they are
SCSI or IDE, so is well worth trying. Does anyone have an explanation
for this strange behaviour?
9.1
(No, I donæt have an explanation, but counting files and free space
rarely work out because directories themselves take up, sometimes, a
considerable amount of space. This is not consistent, however, as small
files may be fitted into the space that might otherwise have been
allocated to the directory. JamesáTaylor, NCS.)
9.1
Configuring for Windows
9.1
One command described in the Windows manual but not included in the
Acorn guide is that, for the PC card to boot up with the Windows desktop
display, you have to add a öWINò command at the end of the AUTOEXEC.BAT
file (this is the equivalent of adding *Desktop as the last line in our
main !Boot file). To do it, find the AUTOEXEC/BAT file in the drive_c
partition (note: /BAT, not /BAK). Load the file into !Edit and, at the
bottom, type in C:WIN. Save the file and, when you next start the PC
card, you should finish up with the Windows desktop display.
9.1
DOS shell
9.1
I say öshouldò but, if you finish up with the DOS shell display instead,
donæt panic... The probable reason is that, when installing PC DOS, you
opted to select the DOS shell instead of the DOS prompt. As a result, a
DOSSHELL command will have been added to the AUTOEXEC.BAT file and
Windows will not get a look in. Quit the PC card and re-load AUTOEXEC/
BAT back into !Edit. Look for a line (probably immediately preceding the
C:WIN command) which reads something like C:\DOS\DOSSHELL.EXE[0d] and
delete it. Re-save the file and now, when you start the PC card, you
should finish up with the Windows desktop display.
9.1
Display resolution
9.1
At this stage, donæt worry if the Windows display resolution looks less
than the screen mode string you specified when first using !PCconfig
(pageá9 of the Acorn manual). This is because you havenæt yet installed
the enhanced Windows 3.1 Screen Driver supplied with the card. Follow
the procedure on p22 of the manual (also described in Archive 8.9 p38)
and everything should then come good.
9.1
CD-ROM drive
9.1
If you configure the system to use two partitions (i.e. drive_c and
drive_d) and also have a CD-ROM drive, leave setting up the CD-ROM until
last. Configure it by following the procedure on p24 of the Acorn user
guide. However, although logically the drive will finish up as drive_e,
do not change the various commands shown in the user guide from
        /D:MSCD000 to /E:MSCD000; it wonæt work. Enter them exactly as
shown in the guide and it seems the system detects the presence of
drive_d and automatically configures the CD-ROM drive as drive_e. Clever
Stuff.
9.1
I hope all this helps and that, at the end of the day, you will be as
enormously impressed with Acornæs implementation of the PC card as I am.
9.1
As ever, if you hit problems, please do drop me a line at 16 Westfield
Close, Pocklington, York, YO4 2EY. Iæll aim either to offer some help or
Ö more likely Ö ask someone who knows about these things...áuá
9.1
STOP PRESS: Michael Clarkson, who did the excellent article on Windows
95 last month, has agreed to be our new RiscDOS Editor. In order that
Jim can concentrate on his text transfer articles and SCSI card
compatibility, it would probably be better to send your questions, etc,
to: Michael Clarkson, Riggæs Hall, The Schools, Shrewsbury, SY3 7AZ.
(Some of our contributors are of school age but Michael is actually a
teacher!)  Ed.
9.1
Printers and Printing
9.1
Dave Floyd
9.1
Welcome to a new regular column dedicated to printers and printing. The
intention is to provide a forum, and help, for those experiencing
problems with their printer set ups. I will try to keep the answers as
general as possible so that they will be of use to as many readers as
possible.
9.1
Of necessity, much of the usefulness of this column will come from you,
the reader. I obviously do not have access to every make or even type of
printer, so will be unable to emulate the more specific problems that
people come across. Most, if not all, problems will have been
experienced and overcome by other readers, however, and so any help or
suggestions you may have would be gratefully received.
9.1
On a more general level, I also hope to give advice and suggestions for
obtaining the best quality output for various needs. Let me know which
subjects you would be interested in and Iáwill see what I can do.
9.1
Paper alignment
9.1
Neil Dickson writes with problems he is experiencing with paper
alignment. Apparently, the default paper definition supplied with Turbo
Driver (v.4.00) for the Canon BJ10ex does not seem to work properly.
When using the grey printer margins to position text or graphics in
Style or Draw, for instance, he often finds that they are cropped on
printing, even though on screen they appear to be inside the borders.
9.1
My initial instinct here would be to check the configured paper size.
Load the printer driver and click <menu> over the icon on the iconbar,
making sure that the relevant printer definition is highlighted if you
have more than one present. Next, select ÉEdit paper sizesæ which should
present you with a window containing the current configuration. The grey
printer borders that appear in Draw and Impression are read from the
values held in the ÉGraphics marginsæ section of this window. Change the
values for top, bottom, left and right to match those of your printer,
save the new configuration and, in future, the grey border should
correlate correctly with the non-printing area required by your printer.
The correct values should be found in your printer manual.
9.1
For those who do not have a manual to hand, reset the values to zero and
save. Load Draw and create a page with one line running the complete
height of the page and another line running the complete width. Print
the page and measure with a ruler how much the lines have been cropped.
9.1
Graphic positioning
9.1
Neil also has a problem regarding graphics positioning when using
Impression Style. He says that a graphic which Style claims to be 2cm
from the top of the page (for example) is not printed 2cm from the top
on the printed sheet. Even when he moves the frame by the required
amount to rectify its misplacing, the graphic does not appear to move by
that distance when reprinted.
9.1
This sounds to me as if it is caused by the way Neil has his Impression
print setup configured. From the Style print window, select ÉSetup...æ.
Deselect ÉCentreápagesæ and select ÉIgnore page borderæ. Click ÉOKæ,
then back on the main print window, select ÉSet valuesæ. Style should
now print exactly what is visible on screen without trying to reposition
anything.
9.1
Turbo Driver and KX-P4420
9.1
Mick Carroll has a Panasonic KX-P4420 laser printer. He has owned the
printer for almost two years and experienced no problems with it until
he invested in a copy of Turbo Driver to speed up his printing. Single
page documents print perfectly, as do single pages of multi-page
documents and multiple copies of single pages. When he tries to print a
multi¡page document all at once, however, only the first page and the
first couple of lines on page two are printed. All other pages to the
end of the document appear as blank sheets.
9.1
As a friend of Mick, and somebody who also owns a KX-P4420, I was the
obvious person for him to turn to and after some three months of re-
installing the software, reconfiguring everything we could think of and
phone calls to Computer Concepts we had all but admitted defeat. We had
even installed it on my system where it had worked perfectly.
9.1
It was only when I visited him at his office for an entirely different
reason and started idly flicking through the options menu on the printer
(as one does!) that I realised there were not as many options as
appeared on mine. A quick status print later and Iáhad the solution.
Mickæs KX-P4420 has a version 1.00 ROM fitted. Mine has version 2.01.
9.1
The moral of this story would appear to be that if you use a KX-P4420 to
print multi-page documents and are considering buying Turbo Driver, make
sure you do a status print first. If you find that you have version 1.xx
firmware, youæve got problems unless you can find someone to supply a
ROM upgrade Ö Panasonic stopped selling them some time ago. Can anyone
help Mick?
9.1
The part I find confusing with this, is that both versions 1.xx and 2.xx
function perfectly with the HPáII driver supplied with !Printers.
Computer Concepts claimed on the phone that this was irrelevant, as
!Printers and Turbo Driver function in completely different ways. While
I accept that, for the great speed gains obtainable by using Turbo
Driver, this must be true, surely HP-compatible output is HP-compatible
output?! If somebody could explain this perversity to me in easily
understandable language, Iáwould be most grateful.
9.1
Turbo Driver hazard warning
9.1
Further to his problems detailed earlier, Neil Dickson suggests a
solution to Eddie Lordæs problem with Turbo Driver (Archive 8.11 p26).
Eddie commented that, ö... the printer icon cycles between the hazard
warning and the standard printer icon at regular intervals and, each
time, accesses the hard drive.ò Neil suggests that this can be (sort of)
solved by loading !Printers then quitting it. Applications can still
print, but you do not experience the constant clicking of the hard disk,
which also slows down RISC OS significantly.
9.1
Bad compression field
9.1
In the Help!!!! Column (Archive 8.10 p25), Torben Steeg commented that
when printing long documents using Impression II and a Canon LBP8 Laser
Direct version 2.61, he often got an error message along the lines of
ÉBad compression fieldæ, which required a hard reset to rectify. David
Worden writes to say that he regularly encounters a ÉBad compression id
fieldæ error with his setup of Impression Publisher and a Canon LBP4
Laser Direct.
9.1
David finds that he can clear the problem by freeing some memory.
Although he only uses a small number of fonts, he normally allocates 1Mb
of memory to the font cache so that he can resize the document without
repeatedly running into delays while the fonts are re¡built at the new
size. Reducing this cache size to 128Kb appears to do the trick without
having to resort to a hard reset.
9.1
Lasers vs. inkjets
9.1
I suspected that my comments (Choosing a printer, Archive 8.12 p59) on
this subject would not be the last. To the defence of monochrome inkjets
comes Peter Robertson.
9.1
Peter writes that, for those who have limited desk space, upright
inkjets take up far less space than even the smallest lasers. This may
be worth bearing in mind for those who are severely limited for space
around their computer and cannot create any more. The downside to the
small upright printers is that their paper handling is not as convenient
as that of the desktop models. I also understand that they are more
expensive to run, although I cannot verify this.
9.1
On a similar note, Panasonic recently released a couple of upright PC
GDI laser printers, and if they prove to be popular, I assume that
Panasonic will expand the range further.
9.1
A very serious point is that inkjets do not produce ozone, whereas most
lasers do, due to their printing methods. Ozone is generally toxic and
is particularly bad for people with asthma or a heart condition. Laser
printers do contain ozone filters which alleviate the problem to some
degree, and I have not come across anybody who has suffered any side-
effects from using a laser, except where ventilation and airflow in the
room were deficient. Anybody using a laser printer should ensure there
is enough space around the machine to allow proper airflow and open a
door or a window if the room it is in is small or stuffy.
9.1
An interesting observation is that laser prints (and photocopies) will
offset onto the inside of plastic file covers if you are not careful. To
avoid this, you should place a blank sheet of paper at the front of your
file. Image transference can also occur if you use plastic pockets to
batch laser printed or photocopied documents together. Once again, this
can be solved by the insertion of a blank sheet at the front, but if
this is unsuitable, I believe that you can buy specially manufactured
plastic pockets to take laser printed and photocopied sheets without
this occurring. Inkjet copies do not suffer from this problem.
9.1
Peter also raises the question of cost differentials, and how long it
would take the average home user to recoup the extra cost of the
printer. Every useræs requirements being different, this is impossible
to answer. It is also very difficult to compare the relative costs, as
those who print more graphical documents will obviously use more toner
or ink and will therefore spend more on running costs.
9.1
The following figures from the September 1995 issue of What Personal
Computer may be of interest, however. The tests all involved colour
inkjets and were based around a ten page document, mainly text, with a
couple of tables and charts which used small areas of colour. All
calculations include paper costs at ú6.99 for 500 sheets. To allow a
rudimentary comparison, I have printed some 18,000 copies from my
Panasonic KX-P4420 over the last three years and had I used the same
paper, this would have cost me about 3.3p per copy.
9.1
Printer              Cost per page
9.1
Canon BJC-600  5.7p
9.1
Canon BJC-4000  7.1p
9.1
Citizen Projet IIC  16.2p
9.1
Epson Stylus Color  8.8p
9.1
HP Deskjet 540  14.7p
9.1
HP Deskjet 560C  6.6p
9.1
HP Deskjet 1200C/PS  7.7p
9.1
Lexmark Execjet IIc  6.6p
9.1
Olivetti JP360C  14.8p
9.1
Printing envelopes on a BJ200
9.1
Peter also felt that it may be of use to some readers to share the
details of how he goes about printing envelopes with his BJ200 inkjet.
He writes:
9.1
In case any readers may be getting frustrated about this, here is how
one distinctly non-technical reader goes about it.
9.1
My filing system branches out through main headings like ÉPhotographyæ,
ÉWritingæ, ÉEuropeæ, ÉMarketingæ, ÉHydrogenæ, ÉSolaræ and so on, each of
which has a correspondence directory. Each of those has a subdirectory
called ÉEnvelopesæ. Each of those is furnished with a copy of an
EasiWriter Éstationeryæ item called ÉEnvelopeæ.
9.1
During a correspondence session, I copy the address from every letter to
a new Envelope file, or check that it is already filed.
9.1
Having printed out the letters, I prepare my BJ200 by re-setting the
printer head, paper transport lever and paper guide. This takes about
ten seconds.
9.1
I use two kinds of letter envelopes: heavy Conqueror ones and Éordinaryæ
light ones. I find the BJ200 will cope unaided with the latter, almost
without fail. It needs a little help with the stiffer envelopes: I bend
each of these a little by Émassagingæ it gently over the edge of my
desk, which seems to have just the right, slightly rounded, profile.
9.1
Using the printed letters as a guide, I place the appropriate type of
blank envelope in the feeder. Then I drag the icon of the appropriate
address file to the printer icon on the iconbar.
9.1
I have had no trouble at all since I began Éconditioningæ the Conqueror
envelopes. Even though I feed the envelopes singly, I find I can address
twenty or so in about five minutes.
9.1
Labels would certainly be more convenient for some jobs, but for
individual correspondence, where tasteful presentation is desirable, I
prefer directly addressed envelopes.
9.1
Future columns
9.1
If anyone has any queries, problems or solutions to problems regarding
printers then please write. Subjects that have already been suggested
include, scanning sprites to obtain a good quality print and how to
print sprites that photocopy well, both of which I will look into over
the next couple of months. To contact me please write to, Dave Floyd,
          c/oáPOáBox 2795, London NW10 9AY.áuá
9.1
C++ Column
9.1
Tony Houghton
9.1
This month, I will be looking at derived classes which are C++æs
mechanism for implementing inheritance, an essential feature of Object
Oriented Programming (OOP).
9.1
Defining a derived class
9.1
Imagine you had written a class in the past to describe an Archimedes:
9.1
class Archimedes {ram ;
9.1
  const int processor;  // eg 2, 3, 250
9.1
  const int riscos;    // eg 200, 310
9.1
  // ...
9.1
public:
9.1
  Archimedes(int mem, int arm, int os) :
9.1
    ram(mem), processor(arm), riscos(os)
9.1
  int get_ram(void) {ram ;}
9.1
  int get_processor(void) {processor ;}
9.1
  int get_riscos_version(void) {riscos ;}
9.1
  // ...
9.1
};
9.1
Now you want to write a class to describe a Risc PC; this has a great
deal in common with an Archimedes and you just want to add a few members
without disturbing the original class or rewriting the same members for
a new one. You can do this with a derived class:
9.1
class RiscPC : public Archimedes {vram ;
9.1
  // ...
9.1
public:
9.1
  RiscPC(int mem, int arm, int os, int vram) :
9.1
    Archimedes(mem, arm, os), RiscPC::vram(vram)
9.1
  int get_vram(void) return vram;
9.1
  // ...
9.1
};
9.1
The colon after the new class name (RiscPC) signifies that RiscPC is
derived from any classes following the colon. Classes after the colon
are base classes Ö each one has its own access specifier (e.g. public)
which I will describe below. A derived class inherits all the members of
its base classes; they become members of the derived class. When the
base class is public, as in this case, the members of the base class can
be accessed from Éoutsideæ exactly as if they were defined in the
derived class. So here you could call the members get_ram(),
get_processor() etc, as well as get_vram() for RiscPC objects.
9.1
Derivation can continue for as many levels as you like. For instance,
you could define:
9.1
class RiscPC700:public RiscPC {/*...*/ };
9.1
RiscPC is a direct base class of RiscPC700; Archimedes is an indirect
base class of RiscPC700.
9.1
Friends
9.1
Friends are not inherited.
9.1
Inheritance and constructors
9.1
Constructors are not inherited, so if a base class has a constructor
with arguments, it must be called from the constructor of any class
derived from it. This must be done in the constructoræs initialisation
list, i.e. between the colon and the body of the constructor function in
its definition (see my previous article). More than one base class can
be initialised here along with other members (such as the vram member
above), separated by commas. Order of initialisation depends on the
order of declaration of the base classes at the top of the derived
classæ definition, not the order in the derived classæ constructoræs
initialisation list. Base classes are initialised before members.
9.1
Access control
9.1
There are three access specifiers: public, protected and private. These
can be applied to members of a (base) class and to the whole class when
it is inherited into a derived class. I will summarise the rules for
each specification of a base class:
9.1
Public base class
9.1
Public members of the base class can be accessed from any other
function.
9.1
Protected members of the base class can be accessed only from members of
the base class or classes derived from it.
9.1
Private members of the base class can only be accessed from other
members of the base class.
9.1
Protected base class
9.1
Public and protected members of the base class can be accessed only from
members of the base class or classes derived from it; they become
protected members of the derived class.
9.1
Private members of the base class can only be accessed from other
members of the base class.
9.1
Private base class
9.1
Similar to protected base class, but the public and protected members of
the base become private members of the derived class.
9.1
The most significant effect of the difference between protected and
private base classes occurs when you derive a further class from the
derived class. It determines whether the indirectly derived class has
access to the original base.
9.1
The access specification of a base classæ member can be adjusted by a
derived class, provided it has access to the member and does not try to
reduce access:
9.1
class Base {a ;
9.1
public:
9.1
  int b;
9.1
};
9.1
class Derived : private Base {base::b ;  // Error: attempt to reduce
9.1
 access
9.1
public:
9.1
  Base::a;  // Error: Derived does not
9.1
have access to Base::a
9.1
  Base::b;  // Now external functions can
9.1
 access Base::b via Derived
9.1
};
9.1
Pointer conversion
9.1
One thing that makes inheritance so powerful is that a pointer to a base
class can also point to a class derived from it, if the function
performing the conversion has access to the base class.
9.1
class Base {/*...*/ };
9.1
class PubDerived : public Base {/*...*/ };
9.1
class ProtDerived : protected Base {{ Style öBox headingò Off}  Base
*get_base(void);
9.1
};
9.1
class PrivDerived : private Base {{ Style öBox headingò Off}  Base
*get_base(void);
9.1
};
9.1
void f(PubDerived *pub, ProtDerived *prot,
9.1
 PrivDerived *priv)
9.1
{*b ;
9.1
  b = pub;    // OK
9.1
  b = prot;   // Error: no global access
9.1
 to protected bases
9.1
  b = priv;   // Error: no global access
9.1
to private bases
9.1
}
9.1
Base *ProtDerived::get_base()
9.1
{this ;  // OK: member has access
9.1
 to its protected bases
9.1
}
9.1
Base *PrivDerived::get_base()
9.1
{this ;  // According to Stroustrup
9.1
 this should be an error,
9.1
                // (PrivDerived theoretÖ
9.1
ically not having access
9.1
 to Base)
9.1
                // but it is OK with Acorn
9.1
 C++ at least
9.1
}
9.1
The same rules apply to references to objects.
9.1
It is also possible to explicitly cast a pointer to a base class to a
pointer to a class derived from it. In either case, the compiler
modifies the integral value of the pointer if necessary (a base class
will not necessarily be placed at the very start of the derived class in
memory). The compiler cannot detect whether a pointer to a base class
does in fact point to a sub-object within a derived class, so trying to
cast a pointer in this case will not cause a compilation error, but may
crash the program at run-time.
9.1
Assignment
9.1
A derived class can be assigned to one of its base classes:
9.1
  Base b;
9.1
  PubDerived d;
9.1
  b = d;  // OK
9.1
  d = b;  // Error
9.1
The first assignment assigns bæs members with the subset of those from d
which are inherited from Base. The second is not allowed because it
would potentially leave some of dæs members unaccounted for.
9.1
Virtual functions
9.1
A derived class can have member functions with the same name and
arguments as member functions in its base class. The derived classæ
function will override the base classæ function when called from the
derived class, but the base classæ function will be called when used via
a derived objectæs base sub-object:
9.1
#include <iostream.h>
9.1
class Base {f(void) {<< öBase::f()\nò;}
9.1
};
9.1
class Derived {f(void) {<< öDerived::f()\nò;}
9.1
};
9.1
int main()
9.1
{= new Derived;
9.1
  Base *b = new Derived;
9.1
  b->f();  // Base::f()
9.1
  d->f();  // Derived::f()
9.1
  d->Base::f();  // Base::f()
9.1
}
9.1
Virtual functions provide us with a very powerful mechanism to ensure
that a derived classæ overriding function is always called even if
called from its base sub-object:
9.1
#include <iostream.h>
9.1
class Base {void f(void) {{ Style öParaIndentò On}öBase::f()\nò;}
9.1
  void g(void) {f() ;}
9.1
};
9.1
class Derived {f(void) {<< öDerived::f()\nò;}
9.1
};
9.1
int main()
9.1
{= new Derived;
9.1
  Base *b = new Derived;
9.1
  b->f();  // Derived::f()
9.1
  b->g();  // g() calls Derived::f(), not
9.1
 Base::f()
9.1
  d->f();  // Derived::f()
9.1
  d->Base::f();  // Qualification allows
9.1
 access to Base::f()
9.1
}
9.1
If a derived class does not have its own definition of the virtual
function, its base classæ function is used.
9.1
Selecting the correct function is done at run-time. Toáachieve this,
certain implementation-dependent information needs to be stored with
each class, so you cannot make assumptions about the storage space
needed for objects with virtual functions.
9.1
A virtual function may be declared pure; this means that a version is
not defined for the base class, but must be provided by a derived class.
To declare a pure virtual function, append ö=0ò to its declaration. For
example:
9.1
class Base {void f(void) = 0;
9.1
};
9.1
Any class containing a pure virtual function is an abstract class.
Objects cannot be created from an abstract class, and classes derived
from it are also abstract unless they contain definitions for all
virtual functions. A virtual function can be redeclared virtual
(optionally pure) in a derived class if you intend to derive further
classes from it.
9.1
Since a base classæ constructor is called before constructing the rest
of a derived class, calling a virtual function during a constructor
calls the base classæ function; the mechanism to find a suitable
overriding function in a derived class is not invoked. This is not
possible for pure virtual functions, neither is explicit qualification
(::) with the name of the base class.
9.1
The access specification of a virtual function (public/private/
protected) depends only on the initial declaration in the base class;
access specification of overriding functions is ignored.
9.1
A good way to see how powerful virtual functions are is to consider a
collection of shape classes. There would be a base class called Shape
and several classes derived from it eg Circle, Square, Triangle. If
Shape had a virtual function void draw() which was defined for each
derived shape, you could then draw any shape from Éexternalæ functions
without needing to know what sort of shape you were dealing with:
9.1
class Shape {public: 9.1
  virtual void draw(void) = 0;
9.1
        // Abstract shape canæt be drawn
9.1
  // ...
9.1
};
9.1
// Definitions of derived shapes:
9.1
// Circle, Square etc
9.1
void update_screen(list_of_shapes &list)
9.1
{= list.get_first();
9.1
  while (shape)
9.1
  {shape->draw() ;
9.1
    shape = list.get_next();
9.1
  }
9.1
}
9.1
Virtual destructors
9.1
Although the default operator delete does not need to be passed the size
of the object it is deleting (the size is stored alongside the object),
it is possible to redefine delete (this will be the subject of a future
article) in ways that do require the size to be passed. This can lead to
a crash when deleting derived objects from pointers to their base sub-
objects. For example:
9.1
void f()
9.1
{= new Derived;
9.1
  // ...
9.1
  delete b;  // Trouble
9.1
}
9.1
This is because delete, in this case, is passed the size of a Base
instead of the size of a Derived.
9.1
If a class has a destructor, the actual removal of an object from memory
is done as if called from the destructor, and the size is calculated at
this point. Aávirtual destructor has a slightly different meaning to an
ordinary virtual function. Declaring a base classæ destructor virtual
effectively provides all derived classes with a destructor if they do
not provide one themselves, and the correct size will always be passed
to delete. Virtual destructors are not overridden, but a derived class
can have its own destructor which will be called before its baseæs
virtual destructor.
9.1
class Base {public: 9.1
  // ...
9.1
  virtual ~Base() {additional 9.1
 clearing up */}
9.1
};
9.1
It is good practice to give all your classes destructors (even empty
ones), and make them virtual if there is any possibility that other
classes will be derived from them.
9.1
ÉVirtual constructorsæ
9.1
It is not possible to have a virtual constructor, but sometimes it would
be nice to have one so that you can create a new object of the same type
as another, even if the original is referred to by a pointer to its base
class. This effect can be achieved by something like:
9.1
class Base {public: 9.1
  // ...
9.1
  virtual Base *_new(void) {{ Style öParaIndentò On}Base;}
9.1
};
9.1
class Derived {public: 9.1
  // ...
9.1
  Base *_new(void) {derived ;}
9.1
};
9.1
// etc
9.1
void f(Base *p1)
9.1
{p1->_new() ;  // If p1 actually
9.1
    // points to a Derived, a new
9.1
    // Derived will be created instead
9.1
    // of a Base
9.1
  // ...
9.1
}
9.1
Multiple inheritance
9.1
Multiple inheritance is very simple in itself, but the ambiguities that
can result cause complications. Consider a modified hierarchy of classes
representing computers:
9.1
class ComputerWithVRam {/*...*/ };
9.1
class AcornComputer {/*...*/ };
9.1
class RiscPC :
9.1
  public ComputerWithVRam, public AcornComputer {... };
9.1
Class RiscPC is derived from both ComputerWithVRam and AcornComputer.
Whatáif both of the base classes had a function intáget_ram(void); which
one is called by the statement rpc.get_vram() if rpc is a RiscPC object?
In this case, the compiler would be unable to decide; neither of the
base classes has priority and you would have to qualify the statement
with rpc.ComputerWithVRam::get_vram() or rpc.AcornComputer::get_vram().
9.1
In some cases, the compiler can make a sensible decision for you; the
full rules are beyond the scope of this article, but they should not
cause any unpleasant surprises.
9.1
It would also be reasonable, in this example, that ComputerWithVRam and
AcornComputer would both be derived from a class Computer. In this case,
a RiscPC would include two copies of Computer and you would have to
qualify all statements involving Computeræs methods. In practice, you
would avoid wastefully duplicating data in that way unless it was
necessary to have two or more similar base sub-objects (e.g. having an
object on more than one linked list).
9.1
Virtual base classes
9.1
It is not possible, in the general case, to ensure that a derived class
only has one copy of an indirect base class, but it is possible to make
a number of derived classes all share one base sub-object. This is done
by using a virtual base class. All derived classes that declare the base
virtual share the same copy of that sub-object. If the base has a
constructor, it is called once when its first derived object is
constructed.
9.1
class Screen {public: 9.1
  void draw(void);
9.1
  // ...
9.1
};
9.1
class ScreenWithBorder : virtual public
9.1
 Screen {{ Style öParaIndentò Off}  // ...
9.1
public:
9.1
  void draw(void);
9.1
  // ...
9.1
};
9.1
class ScreenWithStatusBar : virtual public
9.1
 Screen {{ Style öParaIndentò Off}  // ...
9.1
public:
9.1
  void draw(void);
9.1
  // ...
9.1
};
9.1
All ScreenWithBorder and ScreenWithStatusBar objects will share the same
Screen sub-object; this is a good example, because a computer (usually)
only has one screen.
9.1
There is one point to beware. Suppose the definitions of draw() in the
derived classes are:
9.1
void ScreenWithBorder::draw()
9.1
{screen::draw() ;
9.1
  // Draw border
9.1
}
9.1
void ScreenWithStatusBar::draw()
9.1
{screen::draw() ;
9.1
  // Draw status bar
9.1
}
9.1
and you also define:
9.1
class ScreenWithBorderAndBar :
9.1
  public ScreenWithBorder, public
9.1
 ScreenWithStatusBar
9.1
{public: 9.1
  void draw(void);
9.1
};
9.1
void ScreenWithBorderAndBar::draw()
9.1
{{ Style öBox headingò Off}ScreenWithBorder::draw();
9.1
  ScreenWithStatusBar::draw();
9.1
}
9.1
The last function causes Screen::draw() to be called twice. This is, at
best, inefficient, and it could cause corruption of the screen. To avoid
this, you would have to give each derived class two drawing functions,
one to just draw what is specific to each class and one to draw that
plus what is specific to each base class. Iæll leave that for you to
work out.
9.1
Conclusion
9.1
Derived classes are implemented in C++ quite simply, but they give rise
to subtle effects throughout the language, particularly in the ability
of using a pointer to a derived class where a pointer to its base class
is expected.
9.1
Unfortunately, I lack the time and experience to provide a tutorial on
the wonderful uses (and abuses) to which you can put C++æs powerful OOP
concepts, but I hope that you are finding this series useful for
learning syntax and implementation details.áu
9.1
Sibelius 7
9.1
Ian Beswick
9.1
Sibelius has received a lot of favourable publicity in recent months,
both in the Acorn and the non-Acorn press. But what exactly is it all
about? This short series of articles aims to look beyond the hype, and
take a more detailed look into the workings of Sibelius.
9.1
From the outset, I should point out that I am neither a composer nor a
professional musician. In fact, I am a software engineer with a keen
interest in music and, as such, I will be looking more at the technical
side of the package rather than its benefits as a composition tool. (See
the interview with John Rutter in Archive 8.6 p9. for this viewpoint.)
9.1
To play or not to play
9.1
Most music software tends to be either for the playback or the printout
of music, and Sibelius falls most definitely into the latter category.
Having said that, it contains some excellent playback facilities, but
you would be disappointed if you purchased it expecting to get a MIDI
sequencer package.
9.1
The purpose of Sibelius is to produce musical scores. For those
unfamiliar with musical jargon, a score is a musical document containing
all the instructions for a group of musicians to be able to perform the
music. A score is generally extracted into a number of separate parts,
each containing just those instructions for a single musician, and it is
for this purpose that Sibelius really comes into its own.
9.1
First steps
9.1
The Sibeliusá7 package includes two discs, a function-key strip, an
audio cassette, and one of the best written manuals I have ever read.
The first 60 pages include details on how to set up your system, plus a
helpful tutorial. This includes details on both software and hardware
installation, even down to the level of setting up any MIDI equipment
and/or printer that you might be using.
9.1
Like many people, I could not resist the temptation of diving straight
in after reading the first part of the tutorial. However, the reference
section of the manual is excellent, and well worth reading from cover to
cover, although it is probably best left a few days after starting to
use the package. The wry humour helps to keep the manual interesting as
well as informative.
9.1
One word of warning, however, relates to the copy protection mechanism
used by Sibelius. The program disc must be registered, by typing your
name, and then its contents can be installed onto your hard disc using
the program supplied. This effectively removes the original program from
the floppy disc, thus preventing it being installed on another machine.
Iápersonally far prefer this method of protection, to having to insert
the original disc each time, but it does carry the risk of losing the
software in the event of accidental deletion from the hard disc. I would
strongly recommend following their advice of making a backup (to a blank
floppy disc) immediately after installing the package. This backup
cannot be used on another machine, but will enable the software to be
deinstalled back onto the original disc if required.
9.1
Not entirely WYSIWYG
9.1
Upon loading Sibelius, a colourful logo and licence details are
displayed briefly on screen, and then a É7æ icon is added to the
iconbar. This icon can be clicked upon (to start editing a new file) or
an existing file can be dragged to it or double-clicked. This is all
quite normal for a RISC OS application, but what is not so normal is
what happens next. The desktop disappears and is replaced by the
Sibelius editing screen (see the screenshot below).
9.1
At first sight, it would appear that Sibelius has taken over the system,
and is single tasking. In fact, any other tasks are still running in the
background and may from time to time pop up their own windows over the
Sibelius editing screen (e.g. an Alarm notification, or an Impression
öDocument has just been savedò message, etc). In fact, the screenshot
was created by using Paintæs screengrab with a 10 second delay, during
which time I switched into Sibelius.
9.1
All that has happened is that Sibelius has put its editing window in
front of all the other windows and is filling the whole size of the
desktop. At any time you can toggle the editing window to a small
version by clicking on the normal RISCáOS Échange sizeæ icon in the top
right of the screen. This small version cannot be used for editing,
despite the fact that a small amount of music may be visible in it, and
clicking on it reverts it back to full size.
9.1
The editing window enables Sibelius to run at its much publicised speed.
The fact of being able to overwrite the whole screen avoids the need to
continually render the screen in arbitrary rectangular regions as passed
by the Wimp. (Try creating a number of small filer windows in front of a
Draw document and watch how the screen is redrawn). The editing window
also uses a number of tricks in order to gain speed. One of these is the
fact that the display is almost, but not quite entirely, WYSIWYG. For
example, a four-colour screen mode is used and so very limited anti-
aliasing is possible, and the music is always shown at the same scale.
Some of the more obscure music symbols appear as boxes rather than the
actual symbol.
9.1
All of this does enable the program to redraw and scroll around very
quickly, but what about seeing the real ÉWYSIWYGæ music? Well, this is
what the overview window is for (see second screenshot). When the
editing window is in its small state, the overview window is displayed.
This display does use anti-aliased fonts, and may be scaled from 3% to
3700%! It also enables the score to be saved, exported as a drawfile or
printed.
9.1
Printing
9.1
The results obtained even from a low cost dot-matrix or ink-jet printer,
are quite amazing. One feature which contributes to this quality is the
ability to Éregularizeæ lines, which ensures that thin lines appear at a
uniform thickness, regardless of the scale at which they are printed.
This attention to apparently small details is what really sets Sibelius
apart from the competition.
9.1
However, even this would not be quite up to scratch for publishing
purposes and, to this end, a utility is provided which takes the output
from the Acorn PostScript printer driver, and converts it into an EPS
(Encapsulated PostScript) file for sending to the printer. This enables
really high quality printing to be done.
9.1
Radar??
9.1
No, Sibelius has not been adopted for use by the RAFáfor tracking
missiles, but it does include a radar nonetheless. This is the clever
little gadget in the bottom right-hand corner of the editing screen, and
shows a miniature skeleton version of the current and adjacent pages. A
white rectangle represents the area of the score which is currently on
view in the main editing window. It is particularly useful for scrolling
around the score at high speed.
9.1
Give me the Moonlight...
9.1
For my first assignment in using Sibelius, I decided toátranscribe one
of my favourite piano pieces, Beethovenæs öMoonlightò Sonata (Opus 27 No
2). Atáfirst sight, the first (well known!) movement appears relatively
simple, but it contains sections which pose quite a challenge!
9.1
To create a new score, it is easiest to copy one of the style sheets
which are supplied with the package. These contain a single system of
empty staves reading for starting work.
9.1
Titles can be put at the top of the page using the text style options.
There is a preset number of styles, each of which can be defined to
appear in a particular way. For example, the öTitleò style, by default,
appears centred at the top of the page in 30ápoint Trinity Bold, whereas
the öExpressionò style is 12 point Trinity Medium Italic. New styles
cannot be created, but some of the more obscure styles can be redefined
for other purposes.
9.1
Sibeliusæ way of using the mouse initially takes a bit of getting used
to. Objects are added to the score using <adjust>, while the <select> is
used for selecting and moving existing objects. Sibelius helpfully
changes the pointer into a mouse with the appropriate button highlighted
at certain times.
9.1
The currently selected object is highlighted in red, and may be copied
using <adjust>. This can be a single note or chord, a whole bar,
multiple bars, or even bars across all the instrumental parts. This
feature allows scores to be built up amazingly quickly, since
rhythmically similar sections can be copied, and the notes then dragged
up or down to the appropriate pitch. A selected region of bars may also
be transposed up or down by any specified interval.
9.1
The first movement of öMoonlightò was particularly difficult to
transcribe because of the two distinct rhythmic parts contained in a
single stave, namely the triplet quavers and the dotted-quaver semi-
quaver rhythm. The triplets are inserted into the second, or alternate,
övoiceò by holding down <alt> whilst creating the note. I found the
quickest way to work was to create a stack of bars with nothing but
triplets in the second voice, and then add the melody in a second pass.
Note that the first (normal) voice always has note stems pointing up,
and the second (alternate) voice has stems pointing down. This means
that the triplets on the lower stave have to be inserted into the first
voice, and the bass semi-breves have to go into the second voice.
9.1
All spaced out
9.1
Sibelius uses various algorithms to determine how notes should be
positioned on the stave, and constantly re-applies these algorithms as
you edit the score. For example, the bar you are working on may grow too
large to fit on the end of the current system. It is automatically
wrapped round to the start of the next system, and the bars on the
previous system are reformatted to fill up the extra space. This is not
all that dissimilar to typing into a word-processor in fully-justified
mode, whereby a word will wrap to the start of the next line as it is
being typed.
9.1
Just as with a word processor, you can override the default spacing if
required. The simplest way of doing this is to drag a note horizontally
to create an extra gap in front of it, although this is seldom necessary
due to Sibeliusæ Éexpert systemæ generally knowing what your score ought
to look like.
9.1
The most useful way of overruling the default layout is to specify that
a particular bar will always fall at the end of a page, in order to make
a convenient point for the performer to turn the page. Sibelius
reformats the whole of the previous page to distribute the bars
uniformly over the page. It is a process that you have to witness in
order to fully appreciate! (What would be really impressive is if
Sibelius could work out for itself a convenient place for a page turn!!)
9.1
Another way of marvelling at Sibeliusæ reformatting ability is to change
the size of the paper that you are using. This causes the whole score to
be reformatted, which happens at a speed that can only be described as
breathtaking.
9.1
How does it sound?
9.1
Whilst editing the score, you can choose for the notes to be played as
they are selected. This reduced the number of errors I made. At any
time, the score can be played (either through the internal speaker or
via MIDI), optionally sounding just the current stave.
9.1
The ÉEspressivoæ feature enables Sibelius to play the part with a
configurable amount of expression, such as putting stresses on the
Éstrongæ beats in the bar (e.g. first and third, in common time). Whilst
the playback is certainly passable, it is not ideally suited for a piece
such as öMoonlightò, especially the first movement which requires a
considerable amount of Éfeelingæ to make it sound right.
9.1
Comparing Sibeliusæ playback with my own attempts at playing the piece,
I would say that I win on the first movement, but Sibelius most
definitely wins on the third movement. Those of you who know the music
will understand what I mean!
9.1
(I have sent a copy of the öMoonlightò sonata file to Paul for inclusion
on the monthly disc, so you can try it for yourself if you have a copy
of Sibeliusá7.)
9.1
Next time...
9.1
Iæll be creating an orchestral score, extracting some parts, and taking
a more detailed look at Sibeliusæ playback facilities. If any Archive
readers would be interested in an article about setting up MIDI
equipment, this might go into a third article.
9.1
If you have any questions, suggestions, ideas, etc, write to me c/o the
Archive office.áuá
9.1
Help!!!!
9.1
Archive CD Ö The Archive CD-ROM is proving very popular and we want to
improve the information it contains ready for either a re-run or an
Archive CD 1996 version. So can you help, please? Can you make comments
about the way it is laid out? Suggest improvements? What other
information would you like on it? Can you help us to improve the
glossary? Are there words you looked up that were not there? A couple of
minor technical hitches have come to light (see Hints & Tips page 17).
Have you come across any other Éfunniesæ?
9.1
Ed.
9.1
Audio tapes Ö Have you got an öIntroduction to RISCáOS 3ò audio tapes
gathering dust (or any other usable audio tapes)? We need some for doing
recordings for partially sighted people. If you have any spare, weæd be
most grateful if you could send them in to us at NCS. Thanks very much.
9.1
Ed.
9.1
IDE et al Ö There was an excellent article in Computer Shopper last
month about IDE, E-IDE, etc, comparing them with SCSI and describing the
nightmare that PC owners face when upgrading hard drives and CD-ROMs. A
subset of that nightmare is available to Acorn users(!) and so it would
be good to have an article about this in Archive. (The CS article would
provide good background reading for the author.) I realise that itæs
very dangerous to put anything on paper about IDE as it is such a Éblack
artæ, but would anyone be prepared to have a go at writing such an
article? If so, do get in touch. Thanks.
9.1
Ed.
9.1
Impression reader Ö Has anyone seen any software that would allow a non-
Impression owner to read Impression files? (Youære not thinking of the
Archive CD-ROM are you? If so, donæt worry, the words files are on the
disc as well as the Impression files. Ed.)
9.1
R Breese, Sheringham.
9.1
Music on Acorns Ö I would like to see more about music in Archive. For
example, is there an expert who can explain Midi files? Is there anyone
who can give comments on the bugs in Rhapsody 3 and, especially, how to
overcome them?
9.1
Peter Avis, Buckingham.
9.1
Panasonic KX-P4420 Ö Does anyone know where I can get a Éfirmware
upgradeæ for a P4420 from version 1.xx to 2.xx? Panasonic discontinued
the upgrade a couple of years ago.
9.1
Mick October, 27 Henniker Mews, London SW3á6BL. (0171-351-9871)
9.1
Problematic PC software Ö öConflict in Jerusalemò from Lion Publishing
seems a fascinating way of exploring the events of Holy Week and Easter,
moving about Jerusalem at will and interrogating the personalities
involved. It looked beautiful, as the salesman demonstrated it on his
Pentium PC laptop; its full colour pictures of Jerusalem were
magnificent.
9.1
I bought a copy, loaded it into my Risc PC with PC card, 8Mb DRAM, 1Mb
VRAM and Windows 3.1. Fine Ö except that the pictures were visible for a
millisecond and then remained black, as did the instruction panels I was
supposed to click on...
9.1
I rang Lion Publishing. öIt doesnæt work with the Risc PCò, I was told.
He said it was something to do with having been written in Asymmetric
Toolbook release 1.5, and the graphics/video drivers not being
compatible. Does anyone know different?
9.1
Michael Harding, Newcastle.
9.1
RISCáOS 4 wishlist Ö If you sent in a wishlist on a blue disc with a
label that had a picture of an electronic circuit board on it, thank
you. Who are you, please? There was also some other useful info about
RTF and about printing from Windows. The disc may have got detached from
the associated paper documentation. If so, sorry about that. Tell me who
you are and weæll be able to use the info. Thanks.
9.1
Ed.
9.1
Space Simulator Ö The PC486 card was extremely easy to fit and I now
have it working, running a lot of my old DOS software such as Derive,
plus Windows for Workgroups. I hope that the DOS screen support is
improved to cover more modes and 256 colours so that more games are
playable on it. The one I am particularly looking forward to using is
Microsoftæs Space Simulator; it does work, but slowly and with regular
breaking up of the display Ö but, according to the release notes, this
happens on PC compatibles as well. If anyone has managed to get Space
Simulator working in single-tasking mode with a full VGA or SVGA
display, I would love to know how to do it.
9.1
Alan Angus, Northumberland.
9.1
Stolen RiscáPC Ö If anyone sees an ACB25 going cheap, check the serial
number, please. If itæs 1010483, please contact me and/or the police!
9.1
(As long as it is covered on insurance, Simon, at least you can replace
it with one of the newer machines! And you did have the hard disc backed
up, didnæt you?! Other people please note Ö this could be you! Ed.)
9.1
Simon Anthony (0115-981-7409).
9.1
StrongARM information Ö I asked for someone to find out about StrongARM
for us and write an article. I noted in my Éarticlesæ file that ÉAlex
Singletonæ had offered to do it. Unfortunately, I canætáfind anyone of
that name on our subscriber database. If youære there, Alex, I have a
letter from someone asking specific questions about StrongARMáthat Iæd
like to pass on to you. (Yes, I know Iæm inefficient, sorry!)
9.1
Ed.
9.1
Thin Ethernet cabling Ö Is there a charity needing some thin Ethernet
cable? I have several bundles I would be pleased to give to a good
cause.
9.1
Sherwin Hall, Cambridge.
9.1
Vistamusic Ö We have a package for review that enables people with
physical disabilities to compose or arrange music via an RISCáOS
computer linked to a Midi keyboard. Would anyone feel able to review it
or does anyone know of someone who might?
9.1
Ed.
9.1
Windows configuration Ö On my Risc PC, I have configured DOS for a UK
keyboard which works fine in both DOS and GWBasic, but when using Write
or Notepad from Windows, the keyboard is configured US. This is
particularly noticeable when using the quote key next to the hash. Any
ideas?
9.1
B. Coleman, Cleveland.
9.1
HolyBible Revisited
9.1
Gabriel Swords
9.1
It was good to see the new version of HolyBible (v1.24) free of charge
from ExpLAN. Since version 1.11, a number of improvements have been made
to the way it works, as well as in the options it gives you. Itæs good
to see a software company that responds so quickly to the wishes of its
customers!
9.1
The NRSV Study Bible, so weæll have a brief look at this new module, but
first, in no particular order, these are the improvements you will find
in HolyBible version 1.24:
9.1
Å  The new version has been prepared to interface with external
dictionary applications. At the moment, the only available dictionary is
Strongsæ, which is provided by the HolyBible application itself.
However, other dictionaries will be made available as separate
applications, and they will then automatically appear on the dictionary
menu.
9.1
Å  Individual words are now highlighted when selected using <adjust>.
This allows an individual word to be exported, and shows more clearly
which Strongæs definition is being selected in the KJV. A ÉLookupæ
option leads to a list of installed dictionaries, e.g. Strongæs in the
KJV and presumably any of the other dictionary applications as they
appear.
9.1
Å  When using export, you can now transfer text with paragraphs merged,
so that four or five individual verses now become one paragraph. There
are also some shortcuts provided for exporting as DDF or plain text.
9.1
Å  The whole of a notes file can be exported to WP Ö each item is
preceded by the reference it refers to, enclosed in square brackets.
9.1
Å  Word search has been greatly enhanced, giving more flexibility over
the kind of search you can do, e.g. it can now do word, phrase or
proximity searches.
9.1
Å  There is a new wildcard É?æ, which stands for any single letter, e.g.
É?oesæ finds: does, foes, woes etc.
9.1
Å  It is possible to search for Strongæs numbers. Strongæs numbers can
be entered into any search input field by prefixing the number with É@Hæ
for the Old Testament and É@Gæ for the New Testament.
9.1
Å  The style window contains a ÉLine spacingæ field. This is a
percentage of the font size, (the default being 120%).
9.1
Å  The verse reference added to exported text can now contain the full
book name or its abbreviation.
9.1
Å  The ÉCompile indexæ function has been enhanced and now shows the
index in biblical order and does not show duplicated entries.
9.1
Å  Interactive help is now supported.
9.1
Å  Book menus can now be displayed in sections, as in version 1.11, or
laid out as either OT/NT or a simple flat menu, displaying Genesis to
Revelation.
9.1
Å  Resources can now be opened from the toolbox as well as from the
iconbar.
9.1
Å  Any verse list can be re-sorted into Biblical order.
9.1
The NRSV
9.1
The NRSV Study Bible is a direct copy of the standard paper version Ö
including the mistakes! Youæll find, for example, a note on 2
Corinthians 13: 1Ö10 referring to Mark 15:56 which, of course, doesnæt
exist. But as the paper version also contains this reference, ExpLAN
canæt really be blamed. There are one or two other anomalies concerning
Strongæs numbers and the Apocrypha which may be corrected some time in
the future.
9.1
In operation, the NRSV works in the same way as the other versions.
However, once you open the study notes from Resources, you get a Éread
onlyæ window with comments about individual verses or passages of
scripture. Itæs rather like a mini commentary. Within these notes, where
other verses are referred to, double-clicking will bring up that
reference in another window Ö this window doesnæt have to be the NRSV Ö
it can be any of the other versions you might have. What you get then is
one window with the original verse highlighted, and another window with
the new verse/passage you want to look up. It makes looking up other
verses really quick and easy, and you donæt lose your original passage.
9.1
As well as the study notes, there are also notes on other topics, such
as The Canon of Scripture, Translations of the Bible, The Growth and
Structure of the New Testament, etc.
9.1
Is it worth getting the NRSV? Well, the answer to that question depends
on whether you like the NRSV as a translation, and as a study Bible. If
youæve never read the paper version, you might be disappointed to find
it isnæt a full blown commentary. On the other hand, if you like the
hard-copy version youæll be stunned at the speed and ease of use which
HolyBible offers. If you are one of the former, my advice would be to
borrow a paper version first to see if you like it. If you do, I would
certainly recommend the electronic version. The NRSV module costs ú45
+VAT from ExpLAN or ú52 through Archive.áuá
9.1
The Russian module is also now available. This also costs ú45 +VAT from
ExpLAN or ú52 through Archive. Here is a well known verse, as used in
the God slot two months ago, but in a slightly different guise...
9.1
á16╕╤▐ Γ╨┌ ╥▐╫█ε╤╪█ ▒▐╙ ▄╪α, τΓ▐ ▐Γ╘╨█ ┴δ▌╨ ┴╥▐╒╙▐ ╡╘╪▌▐α▐╘▌▐╙▐, ╘╨╤δ
╥ß∩┌╪┘ ╥╒απεΘ╪┘ ╥ ╜╒╙▐, ▌╒ ▀▐╙╪╤, ▌▐ ╪▄╒█ ╓╪╫▌∞ ╥╒τ▌πε.
9.1
(John 3:16 RST)
9.1
Need I say more?! Ed.
9.1
Text & Data Import
9.1
Jim Nottingham
9.1
When I started the discussion about Text Importing (Archive 8.3 p63), I
certainly didnæt envisage it stretching beyond two issues. But this is
Part 5... Calláit an occasional column? The meat of recent
correspondence has again fallen into specific areas, so it may help to
run over the various matters arising.
9.1
Top-bit set characters
9.1
Methods of entering the top-bit set characters were discussed in Archive
8.3 pp66/67, and readers have shown considerable interest in the
alternatives to Acornæs !Chars. For various reasons, I tend to use the
<alt-xxx> system of entering Éfunniesæ for preference, mainly because my
brain seems to be able to recall the 3-digit ASCII codes for those
characters I use most regularly; ASC 143 for a bullet, ASC 153 for a
dash, and so on. Fortunately, this has led to sussing out a fairly
straightforward way of solving an annoying problem which may work
equally well for others.
9.1
This came up when a reader on the Continent, who regularly uses a
notebook PC for inputting text for transfer to his A5000, wrote to say
that his documents were littered with top-bit set characters (Θáand the
like). Having imported the documents to the Acorn machine, all these
funny characters were being corrupted and he was spending more time
having to massage them in Edit than in stripping out the scribble,
sorting out linefeeds, etc. His question was öIs there a way of
automating the translation process or, better still, avoiding the
corruption altogether?ò.
9.1
My first reaction was to consider setting up a series of Keystroke hot
keys to aid translation but, in the event, I opted to look at what might
be causing the problem of the wrong characters appearing in the first
place.
9.1
Non-standard(!) notebook PCs
9.1
A clue came from my own poor-manæs notebook PC (the Samsung Magic Note).
On that, you enter top¡bit set characters by pressing a Code key, typing
a 2- or 3-digit code and pressing Enter so, in that respect, it closely
resembles the <alt-xxx> procedure on Acorn machines.
9.1
This led me to look more closely at the 2- and 3-digit numbers and I
found that the Magic Note codes for most of the normal keyboard
characters are identical to those in the standard ASCII range 32-127.
However, the codes for virtually all the top-bit set characters (ASC
128Ö255) are very different from those we are used to; in other words,
they do not follow the ISO 8859 international standard.
9.1
Checking with the reader who asked me the original question confirmed
that he was in the same boat Ö but that the character-mapping on his
machine was as different again! So who says PCs are öindustry
standardò?!
9.1
Eureka...
9.1
It took only a wee bit of lateral thinking to realise that, if we
entered the ISO 8859 ASCII codes instead of the oddball numbers into our
respective notebook PCs (although that inevitably would display the
wrong character), when we subsequently imported the document into an
Acorn machine, these funny characters would then miraculously become
correct Ö without our having to do any massaging!
9.1
Apart from that valuable bonus, a further advantage is that we can
discard the non-standard character table specific to a particular
notebook PC and simply use the standard, ISO 8859 table instead Ö or we
may already know the codes for characters we use regularly.
9.1
The only disadvantage I can think of is that, when we enter the ISO 8859
characters into our notebook PC, we have to accept that some other
character will probably be displayed. But knowing this is only an
interim step, we can easily live with that. For example, something like
this Érºtaæ on the Magic Note will look wrong; but when imported into
the Acorn machine, it will become the Ér⌠taæ we want.
9.1
The dreaded ú sign
9.1
A small extension to this discussion is that we may find one or more
keys on a notebook PC keyboard whose ASCII codes are outside the basic
keyboard set which lie in the range 32-127; the ú sign (ASC 163) is
going to be a common example. Following the earlier argument, pressing
the ú key will correctly display a ú character on the notebook PC but,
when imported to an Acorn machine, it will probably have become
scrambled. For instance, importing a Magic Note file to an Acorn returns
a £ instead of a ú sign.
9.1
In this event, we can make things easier for importing by treating it as
any other top-bit set character and, instead of pressing the ú key, type
in the relevant code (ASC 163) instead. We will see something else on
the notebook PC display but, following import to the Acorn machine, the
desired ú sign will appear.
9.1
Help!!!
9.1
These suggested procedures work fine on the Magic Note and two other
notebook PCs we have checked but, to be rigorous, could I invite readers
with an A4 or a notebook PC to please confirm whether the top¡bit set
character-mapping on their machine follows the ISO 8859 standard, or
not, and let me know. That is, are the ASCII codes in the range 128¡255
the same as in the table in Archive 8.3 p64?
9.1
ISO 8859 standardisation
9.1
It recently came to my notice that ISO 8859 may cover only the Latin 1-
5, Cyrillic, Modern Greek and Hebrew fonts, so we shouldnæt assume that
fonts outside this group, and from different manufacturers, will
necessarily exhibit any standardisation.
9.1
A Égotchaæ example of this is in the SCSI compatibility tables which
have appeared in Archive (e.g. 8.5 pp40/41), all the ticks and crosses
having come from an EFF Dingbats font which Iæve had since RISC OS2
days. However, when I recently tried to export the table for inclusion
on the monthly disc, it all went haywire...
9.1
This was because, to make it readable by everyone, using Acornæs RISC
OS3 standard fonts, Iæd converted all the symbols to Selwyn. It
immediately became apparent that, although EFFæs Dingbats and Acornæs
Selwyn include the same range of symbols, the character mapping (i.e.
which code produces which character) is very different. Thanks guys!
9.1
A bit of nifty massaging using Editæs find and replace facility solved
the problem, but it was another nail in the so-called standardisation
coffin.
9.1
Invisible returns
9.1
No, this is not a comment on the derisory interest rate on my meagre
savings, but a response to a readeræs letter asking why linefeed codes
were invisible.
9.1
I would think the probable intention is so that they donæt become
intrusive on the monitor display. All other printer codes in Edit, for
example, are shown in hexadecimal format and in square brackets (e.g.
[0d] is a carriage return) and I think we could do without the linefeed
equivalent ([0a]) appearing on every line of a document produced in
Edit, such as a Read_Me file.
9.1
However, let me say that linefeeds are not always invisible although, to
my knowledge, they are in Acorn word-processors, DTP packages and Edit.
Some PC and Mac applications do show the existence of linefeeds, opting
to use a representative character from the top-bit set to display
something like this:
9.1
  Now is the winter of our discontent╢
9.1
  Made glorious summer by this sun of York╢
9.1
  And all the clouds that louræd upon our house╢
9.1
  In the deep bosom of the ocean buried.╢
9.1
No thanks! I prefer invisibles...
9.1
But just because the linefeeds are invisible, we mustnæt forget they are
there. Few Éforeignæ packages allow the linefeeds to be stripped out,
even when a simple ASCII text file is exported. (But, Ovation doesnæt
export end-of-line returns and Impression Publisher has an option of
omitting them.)
9.1
These unwanted linefeeds, visible or otherwise, will almost certainly
prevent our being able to re-format the document as we may want it. So
we may still need to go through the massaging procedure described in
Archive 8.4 p44, or use a commercial package to do the job for us.
9.1
Commercial solutions
9.1
The availability of commercial packages was discussed in Archive 8.3 p63
and, since then, Hermes has appeared on the scene. This was reviewed in
Archive 8.10 p59, with an advert in 8.11 p20.
9.1
The extra information on p33 of the same issue suggests that it will do
the conversion for us. However, on the face of it, the procedure doesnæt
seem to be much less complex than the DIY system using Edit and it may
not be flexible enough to handle automatically all the variations we are
likely to see. You pays yer money...
9.1
Hard and soft returns
9.1
Another reader asked me what was the difference between Éhardæ and
Ésoftæ returns. I havenæt seen a written definition of the difference
but, as I understand it, a hard return is one which we have entered into
the document by pressing the return/enter key. In effect, this is Éset
in concreteæ as it will stay in situ whatever reformatting takes place
and, if a document is exported as ASCII text from packages such as
Publisher or Ovation, the hard linefeed characters (ASC 10) will be
exported with it.
9.1
On the other hand, an end-of-line return is one which has been entered
by the host application. What do I mean by that? Normally, in a word-
processor, we will set a right-hand margin where we want it. Then, as
text is entered into the document, it will come up against the limit set
by that margin.
9.1
Ignoring clever things like automatic hyphenation, the procedure then is
that the package will detect the margin limit has been reached, go back
to find the previous complete word and replace the space immediately
following it with a linefeed. This simple and automatic process will
continue to give a formatted paragraph Ö like this one Ö unless and
until we enter a hard linefeed by pressing <return>.
9.1
I believe these end-of-line commands entered by the package, by
convention, are called soft returns and differ from hard returns in that
their position in the text is not necessarily fixed. They will be
adjusted automatically if, for example, we edit the text or move the
margin and they are not normally exported from Acorn packages unless we
specify it (e.g. in Impression Publisher).
9.1
For these reasons, normally we donæt need to worry about the soft
returns generated by Acorn packages. However, we mustnæt forget that
both hard and soft returns will be present in files imported from most
Éforeignæ sources. So back to Hermes or the DIY procedure described in
Archive 8.4 p44.
9.1
Data import
9.1
In Archive 8.9 p28, I introduced the notion of using Edit to help us
import data files. The TableMate2 problem described has gone away with
TableMate3 (which is splendid) but the discussion has led to a deal of
correspondence from readers with data-import problems. This is too
extensive to relate in detail but perhaps a few general points are worth
covering.
9.1
Firstly, if you plan to import a data file to an Acorn spreadsheet or
database, try to get the incoming file sent in CSV format (comma-
separated values) or TSV format (tab-separated values) for preference.
Most Éforeignæ packages will allow the file to be saved in one or other
of these formats. Both reduce the data to their most basic levels, are
roughly equivalent to a text file transferred in ASCII format and,
normally, will make good sense after import. If this doesnæt happen,
more often than not, a modicum of massaging will put matters right.
9.1
If you have no control over the incoming file and it has been saved in
the format of the host-application, such as Lotus 123, all is not lost.
Your Acorn package may have a built-in filter to accept the file as it
is and, in my admittedly limited experience, these seem to be very
effective. Similarly, there are a number of commercial and shareware/PD
packages to assist.
9.1
But if all else fails, guess what...?
9.1
Using good old Edit...
9.1
Yes, as with text, there is no reason why we shouldnæt use Edit to help
us do whatever massaging is necessary to enable the file to be input to
our Acorn application. In principle, the procedures are the exact
parallel of what we have discussed in earlier issues, but concerning
data instead of text.
9.1
In the worst case (i.e. a file saved in the format of the host
application rather than in CSV/TSV), and as with an equivalent text
file, the content will normally be made up of three groups. These will
be some pages of Éscribbleæ which will be the general printer and
formatting commands, the actual data and, finally, some more scribble
bringing up the rear.
9.1
In this case, however, the actual data may well not be as easily
recognisable as the wanted text in a text file would be. The reasons for
this are two-fold. Firstly, instead of seeing whole lines of text
separated by some sort of linefeed code(s), the wanted data is likely to
be made up of much shorter segments of numerical stuff, perhaps
interspersed with short portions of text, such as labels.
9.1
Secondly, instead of fairly repetitive linefeed codes, you may find the
individual data elements are separated by rather more complex code, as
these are needed to support the moves from cell to cell, row, column or
field, line thicknesses, colours, and so on.
9.1
The net result is that, at first sight, we may not be able to see the
wood for the trees...
9.1
Perseverance pays off
9.1
So my primary advice on importing a datafile into Edit is not to be
dismayed by its apparent complexity. With only a little more
perseverance than is necessary for a similar text file, normally it will
be possible to identify the start and end of the section of wanted data,
allowing us to mark and delete (<ctrl-X>) the leading and trailing pages
of scribble.
9.1
Then, to make the file readable by the spreadsheet orádatabase, convert
whatæs left into CSV format. Byáthat, I mean replace any section of
formatting commands appearing between two adjacent sets of data with a
comma, using Editæs Find/Replace facility, just as you would with a text
file. Whether you can do this globally, or have to do it in progressive
steps, will depend on how the foreign application has formatted the
file.
9.1
All the usual document health-insurance rules apply. Never try to
massage the original file; always make a back-up and use that instead;
ideally, save an interim file as you progress so that Ö if you make a
mess of things Ö you donæt have to go back to square one.
9.1
Text import Ö Part 6??
9.1
Iæll purposely leave it at that for this issue and see if the above
generates any interest and further correspondence. So please donæt
hesitate to come back with comments and queries. If the subject warrants
it, Iæll aim to go into further detail and include some worked examples
in a future issue.
9.1
Suffice to say at this stage that, from experience to date, I believe
most data-import problems can be resolved using the same utilities and
general procedures we looked at in the earlier, text-import parts of
this series.
9.1
As an illustration of what can be achieved, recently an Archive reader
successfully transferred some 10,000+ database records from a defunct
application into Fireworkz Pro. It presented a slightly unusual problem
in that the final stage of the massaging process had to be done within
Fireworkz rather than Edit but, that said, the find/replace procedures
he employed were near-identical to those we have become used to.
9.1
Reportedly, Fireworkz Pro took over 2 hours to re-format the 10,000+
records, but it all came good in the end!!
9.1
The end bit
9.1
If new(ish) subscribers wish to go back to the start of this series of
articles (which started last December), please send me an A5 SAE and
Iæll return a booklet containing the text and illustrations to date. (Or
you could buy the Archive CD-ROM at ú12! Ed.)
9.1
If you would also like a copy of the example text files and ISO 8859/
ASCII tables (drawfiles) mentioned in the earlier articles, please send
me a formatted disc as well. In that event, could you send an A5 padded
envelope and allow 2╫19p stamps for return postage. My address is: 16
Westfield Close, Pocklington, York, YO4 2EY.áuá
9.1
Beginneræs Guide: Fonts
9.1
Dave Pantling
9.1
Many Acorn users came into the RISCáOS arena relatively recently,
missing out on detailed press coverage of the features of RISCáOS that
make it so special. I have come across many friends using various
machines running RISCáOS, all with different intentions and all using
different software. However, they all use one advanced facility.
9.1
Scalable fonts
9.1
RISCáOS has the ability to recognise fonts in ROM or loaded into RAM,
making a wide selection of styles and weights available at low cost.
These fonts take the form of a list of descriptions of the outline of
the characters in the character set. They can be scaled to virtually any
point size, then printed with great accuracy on todayæs modern, high
resolution printers. Monitors, however, do not have anything like the
display resolution of even a poor dot matrix printer. Characters
displayed at small point sizes suffer badly.
9.1
As you can see, each pixel, or picture element, is either set or unset.
Detail is lost and the character loses its shape. With modern display
technology, even on the lowliest RISCáOS machine, it is possible to
display 16 or 256 colours simultaneously Ö we will see how to use these
to enhance the display shortly.
9.1
Caching
9.1
When the OS is instructed to display a font, it Écachesæ it. Before
displaying the first character, the entire character set is turned into
a set of Ébitmapsæ of the correct size. A bitmap is an image of the
character made up of individual dots. This bitmap is stored in an area
of RAM along with other fonts or other sizes of the same font. This area
of RAM is a temporary store or Écacheæ. This massively increases the
speed of display Ö the font need only be prepared once, the first time
it is used in any given point size. After this, charactersæ bitmaps are
fetched from the font cache where they are stored, ready to be
displayed.
9.1
You can set an upper limit to the size of fonts being cached. If a
character is larger than the upper limit set for cacheing, the bitmap
will have to be worked out character by character, as required. Even if
the same letter appears a number of times, it will need to be converted
from an outline each time. If this size of text is frequently used, the
screen display is going to be very slow.
9.1
Anti-aliasing
9.1
If the machine is producing a bitmap for the character set, it can start
to do clever things in the conversion process. One such trick is Éanti-
aliasingæ.
9.1
Anti-aliasing uses shades between the foreground and background colours
to Ésmoothæ the edges of each character. The effect is best demonstrated
by example: two characters of the same size, one anti-aliased, the other
not.
9.1
In the first illustration, the bitmap was not anti-aliased. It has a
chunky appearance. If the character were much smaller, legibility would
be the first victim, (closely followed by your eyes!). The second
illustration has been Éanti-aliasedæ.
9.1
The font conversion routine calculates how much of each bordering pixel
would be covered by the outline of the character. If there are, for
example, six intermediate shades between the foreground and background
colours, the proportion of a given pixel which would have been covered
is worked out and an appropriate shade is allocated.
9.1
With fonts being proportionally spaced, the position of each character
is dependent on the position of the previous character. When displaying
fonts at smaller scales, it is quite likely a character may fall in a
different position in the pixel grid to the Éstandardæ position.
Therefore, RISCáOS has sub-pixel anti-aliasing. Instead of producing a
single version of each character, it can produce four versions, one in
each of four possible positions. It is possible to set upper limits to
horizontal and vertical anti-aliasing separately.
9.1
How big?
9.1
Cached fonts use memory. Anti-aliased fonts use more memory. The amount
of RAM increases dramatically with larger text sizes. You must make a
trade-off between speed and free memory. If you have a 34Mb RiscáPC,
this is not a concern, but 1Mb A3000s owners might like to be a little
more prudent, limiting the maximum cached, anti-aliased text to 14 or 16
points. Sub-pixel anti-aliasing would definitely be a disposable item.
If you limit the maximum size of the font cache to too small a figure,
it will slow down the screen update considerably. How much cache to
configure depends on your usage.
9.1
Common misconceptions
9.1
Some people think that anti-aliasing fonts on screen affects the final
quality of printing. This is not true Ö it is set by the resolution of
the printer. The only exception to that would be if you were printing
the contents of the screen as a graphic image or sprite, say by using a
Paint snapshot.
9.1
As you use different fonts in different sizes, they expand the font
cache to the cache limit. This is set, as you might guess, in the
Émemoryæ section of !Configure. Many people overlook it because it isnæt
immediately connected with fonts. The font cache could be set to 64Kb,
and the font cache limit to anywhere from nothing to 1020Kb (on my
RISCáOS 3.1 Archimedes).
9.1
I can only recommend you load up !Configure and play with the default
settings Ö itæs nice to be greeted with anti-aliased text when you turn
on your machine. If you think it doesnæt make much difference, turn it
off altogether by setting the ÉCache Bitmapsæ option in !Configure to
zero. You will soon realise what it is youæve been taking for
granted!áuá
9.1
Puzzle Corner
9.1
Colin Singleton
9.1
Owing to Paulæs early publication of last monthæs ÉRiscáPC700 Specialæ,
most readers received the answers to puzzles 26Ö29 before the entry
deadline. Honest competitors that you are, nobody cheated! In spite of
the shortened time limit, entries were more numerous than ever, and it
is pleasing to see new names appearing every month. In reply to one
readeræs enquiry, you are welcome to publish these puzzles elsewhere,
provided the other magazine does not insist on original work.
Appropriate acknowledgement would be appreciated. Now for the results.
9.1
(26) Race Tracks
9.1
This puzzle clearly kept quite a few machines busy for quite some time.
A few readers experimented (successfully) with different numbers of
posts, but no-one appeared to recognise that the post at position 3 was
my artificial restriction to reduce the number of solutions. Hence no-
one found the unique fundamental solution of order five which has posts
at positions 0, 1, 4, 14 and 16 on a 21-unit track. The prize winner is
Neil Dunford of Walton-on-Thames.
9.1
(27Ö29) Overlapping Squares Ö Harems Ö Back to Basics
9.1
Most entrants solved the first two Ö but were baffled by the third. I
thought it was an old favourite, perhaps not. One reader suggested I
should give two clues! The prize for this trio goes to Jeremy Miller of
Norwood, London.
9.1
Last monthæs solutions ...
9.1
(30) Rectangles
9.1
Martin Gardner acknowledged me as the originator of this puzzle Ö in the
puzzle world there can be no greater compliment! To make the sides all
different lengths, there must be at least five small rectangles, plus
the outer one. Can we solve the problem using the numbers 1Ö12 as the
sides? With trial and error you will soon convince yourself that the
answer is No! The nearest to this ideal uses the numbers 1Ö13, except 8,
the outer rectangle being 13╫11. There are four variations on the
detailed solution, ignoring rotations and reflections. This solution
minimises the total length of the 12 sides and, incidentally, the outer
perimeter. Further Ö preferably systematic Ö juggling will reveal the
minimum area solution, 16╫8, with the same perimeter. Again there are
four variations on the dissection.
9.1
(31) Tennis Balls
9.1
The total number must be 1▓ + 2▓ + 3▓ + ... + n▓, where n is the number
of layers in the pyramid. The only value of n which gives a perfect
square total is 24, the total being 70▓ = 4900. (I told you that in
Archive 3.4, January 1990. Remember?!)
9.1
(32) 27 Digits
9.1
One solution is 1á9á1á6á1á8á2á5á7á2á6á9á2á5á8á4á7á6á3á5á4á9á3á8á7á4á3,
but there are at least two others.
9.1
(33) Loony PAYE
9.1
You can prove this with simple calculus, or guess it by trial and error.
The optimum gross pay is ú50, leaving ú25 net.
9.1
This monthæs prize puzzle ...
9.1
(34) Euleræs Magic
9.1
This puzzle is based on one proposed by Leonhard Euler in 1779. The
diagram shows an Eulerian Square, also known as a Grµco-Latin Square, of
order 5. The 5╫5 grid contains all the base-5 numbers 00Ö44 arranged so
that each row and each column includes each digit 0Ö4 as a first digit,
and each as a second digit. In this example, the same is true of the two
diagonals, which earns extra Brownie points!
9.1
The problem is to find a Eulerian Square of each order from 3 to 10.
Some orders are easy, with many solutions. Some are not! Donæt feel
defeated if you cannot solve every order Ö send as many (one solution
per order) as you can.
9.1
This monthæs prize quickies (35Ö37) ...
9.1
(35) Multiple Factors
9.1
The number 60 has twelve factors Ö 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 15, 20, 30
and 60. Which number less than a thousand has the largest number of
factors?
9.1
(36) Monkey Puzzle
9.1
Lewis Carroll posed this puzzle in the 1880s, and many of his
mathematician colleagues got it wrong Ö so be careful! A rope hanging
over a pulley has a ten-pound weight on one end balancing a ten-pound
monkey on the other. What happens to the weight if the monkey starts to
climb the rope? We conveniently ignore the weight and friction of the
rope and pulley.
9.1
(37) Multiplication
9.1
More recently, I contributed this to Computer Weekly in 1968 Ö my first
published puzzle. A single-digit number, a two-digit number, a three-
digit number, and their product, a four-digit number, contain all ten
digits between them. If the single-digit number is notá1, find the
solution.
9.1
Comments and Solutions
9.1
Good Luck! Please send comments, contributions and solutions to me at 41
St Quentin Drive, Sheffield, S17 4PN. Solutions by Friday 6th October,
please.áuá
9.1
Geraldæs Column
9.1
Gerald Fitton
9.1
Protechnic
9.1
Colton Software have merged with a company called Protechnic. I can only
guess what the long term effects of this will be but, in the past, some
of you have expressed your concern that Colton Software is a Éone
product companyæ. Your concern is whether Colton Software will be there
in the future to continue to service your package. Let me try to
reassure you.
9.1
Protechnic and Colton Software have co-operated on many projects for
over a decade. Indeed, it was whilst Mark Colton was at Protechnic that
he created the View family culminating in View Professional for the BBC
micro. This package was ported to the Z88 laptop computer as
PipeDreamá1.
9.1
Colton Softwareæs first product as a company, independent of Protechnic,
was PipeDreamá2. It was written for both PC and Archimedes computers,
and was completely compatible with the Z88 version and accepted View
files. The multitasking RISCáOSá2 versions for the Archimedes,
PipeDreamá3 and then PipeDreamá4, quickly became market leaders.
9.1
The combined ColtonáSoftware/Protechnic organisation has a strength of
25 employees. Stuart Swales will continue as the leading programmer for
the Colton Software range of products. He has been with Colton Software
from PipeDreamá2 days and knows the Colton Software range of packages
with the intimacy which comes from having written large parts of the
software.
9.1
Colton Software will still operate with the same staff but with the
reassurance of being part of a larger group. I hope and expect that
there will be a wider range of products coming from the enlarged group.
9.1
Disappearing line numbers
9.1
As yet, nobody has come up with a work-around for the loss of parts of
line numbers in PipeDreamá4 on the RiscáPC. In case you missed it, the
problem is that if you have a line number of, say, 12345 (a big sheet)
then all but the 345 disappears. The only news I have is that Rex Palmer
says that PipeDreamá3 doesnæt have the disappearing line number problem!
9.1
From PipeLine to Wordz
9.1
When I first volunteered to write this column (asáPipeLine back in
1989), I rather expected to be writing mainly about spreadsheets. Since
I understood mathematical things (am I a member of a dying breed?) I
knew that Iæd always have plenty to write and that Iæd find it easy!
Little did I know how the column would expand. Little did I expect to be
writing about monitor resolutions, font cache parameters, desktop
publishers and region editors.
9.1
Over the last year or so, Iæve received many letters about the use of
Wordz. Most beginners praise it highly; some experienced users are
critical. Of course, Wordz does have its faults but many frustrations
experienced by users who have changed from other packages arise because
they want Wordz to work in the same way as the package they understand.
On the BBC computer, I was a committed Wordwise user. When I changed to
PipeDreamá2, I found that I had no idea how to do some of the things I
could do easily in Wordwise. Later, when I understood PipeDream better,
I found that I could do much more with PipeDream than was possible with
Wordwise.
9.1
Of the many letters Iæve received about Wordz, let me choose a few
points from just one letter written by Gavin Dobson to NCS which
illustrate the exasperation felt by those who upgrade to an unfamiliar
system. The full text of his letter and my reply are on the Archive
monthly disc.
9.1
Readability on screen
9.1
Gavin complains about the readability of text on screen. He sent in a
disc file, so I have been able to load his file and see what he sees. I
suspect that Gavin is used to a WP which displays text in the system
font on a low resolution screen with superb clarity. In his view, the
screen display of outline fonts leaves much to be desired. Referring to
Wordz, Gavin says:
9.1
öScrolling. I am afraid the scrolling facility at 100% is dire (slow)
and, of course, to fit the whole document onto the screen requires an
electron microscope to help differentiate between Wæs and Hæs.ò
9.1
It is difficult for me to reproduce on paper what Gavin and I see on
screen but Iæll try with a screenshot of part of his letter in its
original form.
9.1
Now look at the screenshot below.
9.1
I hope that youæll agree that this second screenshot is much clearer.
Whatæs the difference? The first screenshot was taken with the Wordz
document at Gavinæs original scale of 75%. The second was taken at 150%;
every linear dimension is doubled. I refer to this doubling as
ödisplaying at twice the resolutionò. The System font was designed for
clarity on a much lower resolution screen.
9.1
Gavin is using the Corpus typeface. I think that Corpus is about the
worst choice of an outline font for a screen display at small point
size. Homerton is much betteráÖáit is readable when printed at 8ápoint
with a 300ádpi printer.
9.1
I have no doubt what Gavinæs response to me will be because so many have
written to me saying the same thing. It is that, if he displays at 150%,
he wonæt be able to see a full line on the screen.
9.1
If you are using a 14ö standard monitor in mode 12, then 75% is close to
the highest scale factor which gives a full line on screen. Now I use
150% and I donæt read half a line at a time, nor do I do as Paul
Beverley does in Archive which is to use two columns in order to shorten
the line. What I have is a 17ò multiscan monitor and this allows me to
display at 150%. Those of you who are regular readers of my column will
know why. It is because I can get nearly twice as many pixels across my
VIDCámodeá102 17ö screen as in modeá12.
9.1
Incidentally, the resolution you get on screen is not as good as that of
a printout. A standard 14ö monitor will give you an approximate
resolution of 75ádpi; this is about a quarter of the resolution you will
get from a typical 300ádpi printer.
9.1
Again, regular readers of my column will recognise that the slow
scrolling to which Gavin refers is almost certainly due to having
inappropriate sizes for the various font cache parameters Ö in
particular, that fontmax is too small. Yes! I know what heæll say about
memory, but my reply (as in my previous writings in this column) is that
he needs at least 4Mb and that he ought to be looking towards 8Mb.
9.1
Styles or effects
9.1
You will know that one of my golden rules is: öDo not use an effect when
you can use a style.ò Again, referring to Wordz, Gavin asks:
9.1
öMenus. Why does everything have to be menu driven? There are 12
perfectly serviceable F-keys up top. Why not use them along with Shift,
Ctrl and Alt? It can be much quicker than driving through menus.ò
9.1
Studying Gavinæs disc file, I discovered that he is using a mass of
effects. On the monthly disc (and on the disc I sent to Gavin) I have
included Gavinæs letter in its original form as the file [Original] and
my version as the file [Stylish]. My version looks almost the same, but
I have removed all his effects and defined a suitable set of styles.
These styles can be applied quickly and easily with function key
combinations such as <ctrl-F2>, rather than having to plough through a
set of effects menus for every indent and underline.
9.1
Apart from speed of application, a further advantage of using a style is
that it is easy to change your mind. You might want to reduce all your
indents by a couple of mm. If you had set up your indents as effects,
youæd have to go through them, one by one, changing the effect. It would
take you such a long time that probably you wouldnæt bother; youæd put
up with something less than the best you could do.
9.1
With a style, you can change the attributes, and all the indents change
together.
9.1
The region editor
9.1
Gavin writes: öHidden control codes. I may have the wrong approach but I
cannot seem to work out where half the control codes go to when typed
in. How about some form of Reveal Codes?ò
9.1
Some of you, brought up on the most recent word processors, will have no
idea what Gavin is talking about. Older word processors, and
particularly those on the PC machines, have a command which changes the
display so that tabs, carriage returns and the like become visible as
right and down arrows or other unusual characters. I remember some years
ago, one of our college lecturers who teaches word processing,
explaining to me how useful it was to use this facility to see whether
the student had entered a tab or used spaces to create a document
containing a table.
9.1
Nowadays, you need a completely new strategy. With Wordz, this involves
learning how to use the so-called Region Editor. What you have to do is
think about your document having regions (areas) to which a style or
effect has been applied (in the same way as you would apply paint to a
canvas). What you need to know is the extent of the region and what
particular effect or style has been applied to that region.
9.1
Place the cursor in your document and execute <ctrl¡R> to call up the
region editor. You will find that the region becomes highlighted and the
effect or style name will appear in the status line. You can work your
way through the layers of styles and effects like layers of paint and,
as each layer is displayed, you will be able to delete the effect or
style (scrape away the paint) if you wish. The painting analogy breaks
down; in Wordz you can scrape away a layer of paint which is underneath
another without disturbing the upper layer.
9.1
You may complain that the Wordz region editor compares unfavourably with
that of Impression; many have, but many others prefer the way Wordz
region editor works. Iæm not going into that argument right now; the
point Iæm making is that, if you become familiar with the concept of a
region editor, you will find it much better than trying to find a way of
displaying control codes.
9.1
Medians
9.1
As a result of this section in last monthæs column, Iæve had requests
for a simple explanation of how to use custom functions written by
others. Let me use the median function as an example. The median
function appears in the file called [c_median]. In the [Demo] file, in
slot C19, I have entered:
9.1
[c_median]median(C6C10)
9.1
This expression is in three parts. The first is the name of the file
[c_median]. The second is the name of the function, in this case aptly
called median. The third part, the argument of the function, (C6C10), is
the range of slots containing the data for which the median must be
found. Look at it this way; apart from the file name, [c_median] (which
prefixes the rest), the expression mimics such functions as avg(C6C10),
the average of a range, and sum(C6C10), the sum of a range. All you do
with a well-written custom function is to prefix it with the file name
and add the arguments.
9.1
Up to now, I have had many letters explaining to me what a quartile is
and how useful percentiles are but, as yet, no custom function which
returns quartiles. For example, I have been sent a copy of an article
explaining why it is true that (a) average wages have risen and also
true that (b) at least half the working population of the UK are poorer
than they used to be. Wages is a Élop-sidedæ distribution.
9.1
Many of you want to know who wrote the original median custom function
back in 1992, suggesting that I get in touch with that author with a
view to requesting a version which produces percentiles. OK,áI give in.
Anyway, three of you guessed that it was that brilliant mathematician
who used to work for Colton Software, Robert Macmillan. The last I heard
was that Robert was working for Acorn, so maybe heæll read this and take
pity on us. If he doesnæt, I suppose Iæll have to write it myself!
9.1
Fireworkz/Impression comparison
9.1
I quite regularly receive submissions for publication, both for our
ZLine or ILine user group discs and for my Archive column, which compare
features of these two packages. I always find these articles of
interest, not because I can publish them (often what they contain is
misinformation) but because they demonstrate to me common ways in which
the packages are misused or misunderstood.
9.1
Let me give you a simple example. One correspondent described how
difficult it is in Impression to move a block of text compared with
moving a block in Fireworkz. I couldnæt publish their method for
Impression (nor their comparison) because Impression now has drag and
drop editing Ö you just mark a block and drag it to the new position. In
my view, this is a much easier operation than the cut and paste
technique necessary in Fireworkz, but my correspondent didnæt know it
existed.
9.1
One area where there is a great deal of misunderstanding of both
packages is the creation, application and deletion of styles and
effects. I believe that one of the most misunderstood features is the
ruler, in particular knowing when dragging a Tab or Margin changes the
current or base style and when the change is only a local effect!
9.1
Applying a style
9.1
Before I start on rulers, letæs tackle something more basic. You will
know that I recommend styles and discourage the use of effects. It is
hard enough to get that point across but, even when I do, some of those
I have convinced still have their problems.
9.1
How do you apply a style? Well, this is what I do. I type my text in
whatever style I happen to be Éinæ at the time. Then I check what styles
are applied to the region I am in by entering the region editor. To do
this in Impression, I mark the block and click on the style button; in
Fireworkz I use <ctrl-R>.
9.1
My next move is to delete any unwanted styles from that region. Too many
people donæt do this and so they finish up Épainting overæ an unwanted
style or effect with a new style just to get rid of the old one. Ináone
submission for publication I received recently, my correspondent
recommends defining a new Base Style to paint over unwanted effects! If
you donæt get rid of unwanted effects, theyæll crop up where you least
expect them, often when you press <return>! Iælláleave you to guess
whether he was referring to Fireworkz or Impression. It could be either!
9.1
I mark the block to which I want to apply the style and apply it.
Judging from my correspondence, many of you will be surprised to know
that in both Impression and Fireworkz you can do this within a
paragraph. Let me repeat that in Impression, as well as Fireworkz, you
can mark a few words within a paragraph and apply, not an effect but a
style! There is no need to revert to effects.
9.1
This is what I donæt do. I do not get to the point in my text where I
want the new style to start, apply the style, type away, and then try to
cancel the new style in order to revert to the underlying style. You can
get in a real mess if you use that technique. You will finish up not
knowing what is toggled on and what is off. Youæll have spaces between
words to which a style or worse an effect has been applied; youæll have
to go to the region editor and clear up the mess Ö and good luck!
9.1
Of course, using my method, I sometimes have a region where I need to
know what is going on as I type in the text. What I do there is to type
a couple of dummy letters, apply the style to those two letters, split
them with the cursor and then type away in the new style. I delete the
two dummy letters at the end of this operation.
9.1
Style rulers in Fireworkz
9.1
Have a look at the screenshot above. What does not show on it is that,
after placing the cursor between the aa (it shows as a thin vertical
line), I moved the pointer over the Left tab which is just under the
2.7ácm mark on the ruler. (Pointers donæt show in screenshots.) What you
will see is that the Status line displays öStyle ZLáIndent01.á.á.á.ò.
This indicates that any changes I make to the ruler will be changes to
the ZLáIndent01 style and not an effect.
9.1
It is a common mistake to think that the ruleræs zero is the paper edge.
Please notice that it is at the left of the printable area. All other
Fireworkz ruler measurements (e.g. the Paragraph margin and Tab
positions) are made relative to the so-called Left margin (the downward
pointing triangle which, in my screenshot, is hidden by the tab stop).
9.1
On the screenshot overleaf, the principal difference is that the aa is
now highlighted. The effect of this is that, when I move the pointer
(not displayed in the screenshot) to the left margin marker (just below
the 3.5ácm position), the Status line reads öRegion.á.á.á.ò The word
Éregionæ indicates that whatever I do by dragging the markers will be
executed as an effect which will be applied to the marked block.
9.1
As another Éby the wayæ, if you move the left margin in Fireworkz, the
paragraph margin and all the tab stops will move, so that their position
relative to the left margin is fixed, i.e., they all move together. Some
people find this disturbing; others praise this feature. The right
margin and column width markers do not move with the left margin.
9.1
Style rulers in Impression
9.1
The screenshot below is the Edit style menu which pops up when you
execute <ctrl-F6>.
9.1
If you click on the Paragraph radio button in the Edit menu, the
Paragraph submenu will pop up.
9.1
You will see that the Ruler box is ticked. Provided the Ruler box is
ticked and that the Edit Style menu is displayed, any changes you make
to the ruler are potentially changes to the style. Changes to the style
are only executed when you click on OK in the Edit Style menu. If the
Edit Style menu is not displayed, any changes you make to the ruler are
effects.
9.1
Some of you donæt know how to get at the tabs. Look at the screenshot
below. In particular, just to the right of the style button are two
radio buttons one above the other. Click on the bottom one to see the
Margin and Tab stops.
9.1
Just to the right of these two radio buttons are a couple of horizontal
arrows. If you click on them, you will be able to use the dialogue box
to the right to change the Margin and Tab stops numerically.
9.1
Summary
9.1
Understanding the differences between styles and effects is just the
starting point. The next problem youæll have is learning how to create,
amend, apply and delete them. Get to know how the region editor works.
Rulers are the most difficult feature of styles.
9.1
So far as a comparison of ease or difficulty of use of Fireworkz and
Impression is concerned, many of the articles which are submitted to me
on this topic canæt be published without heavy editing because they
include misinformation which is due to the correspondent not
understanding or being unaware of features built into the two packages.
9.1
My own comparison starts by pointing out that Fireworkz is cellular
(slot based) and Impression is based on frames. So far as styles, rulers
and region editors are concerned, I find them different in Fireworkz and
Impression Ö but equally usable. Iáwould like Fireworkz to include some
kind of styles list and Iæd like Impressionæs Help facility to be more
like the Status line in Fireworkz, but these are minor niggles.
9.1
Generally, if you want multi-column text or overlay graphics,
Impressionæs frames are easier. If you want neat tables, Wordz is
simpler. If you upgrade from Wordz to Fireworkz, you can use all the
facilities built into the spreadsheet such as, Names, slot references
and custom functions.
9.1
Finally...
9.1
Thanks again for all your letters Ö write direct to me at Abacus
Training (see Factfile) rather than via the Archive officeáÖáand please
keep them coming.áuá
9.1
Mark Colton
9.1
One of Mark Coltonæs great passions was motor sport. Last year he was
ranked second in the British RAC Hillclimb Championships and was running
in second place again this year. During a practice session at
Craigantlet, Northern Ireland, on Saturday 5tháAugustá1995, one of the
front wing sections of his powerful Pilbeam Judd MP72 racing car became
detached on a bend; without his front wing (which provides the down
force necessary for fast cornering) Mark lost control at over 130ámph
and tragically died in the crash which followed.
9.1
Mark was already a director of Protechnic when he created the View
family of software for the Acornæs early BBC micro. In 1988, Mark formed
his own company, Colton Software, to develop PipeDream independently of
Protechnic. Over the years that I have known them, his staff have always
spoken highly of him, not only as a programmer but also as the person
for whom they worked. Without exception, they all have commented on the
friendly atmosphere which Mark created and nurtured at Colton Software.
9.1
To the outsider, Mark was always reserved and he tended to be the least
known member of the Colton Software team. However, those who took the
trouble to get to know him will remember him for his dry humour, his
vivacity, his disarming honesty when faced with the difficult question
and, not least, his dedication to the quality of his companyæs products.
9.1
We shall all miss him.
9.1
Gerald Fitton.
9.1
Programming Workshop
9.1
Colin Singleton
9.1
This embryonic column has already attracted some Évalue addedæ response,
which I would like to share with readers.
9.1
Quicksort (Archive 8.11)
9.1
Graham Campbell wrote from Hathern, Leics., to explain that he regularly
needs to sort a file of details of nearly 1000 school pupils. The
Quicksort reduced this task from a couple of minutes to a couple of
seconds. Graham has also re-invented a technique I used years ago when
RAM and machine time were very much at a premium. The record for each of
his pupils comprises 33 data fields Ö rather laborious to drag around in
the sorting process. His solution is what I called a Tag Sort.
9.1
First create a list of tags, one per pupil record. Each tag comprises a
key and a pointer. The key may be any selection of fields from the
record concatenated into a single alpha variable, to achieve the
required sorted sequence. The pointer is the address or record number of
the record on the data file, appended to the alpha key. The tags are
sorted using Quicksort.
9.1
The sorted list of tags may then by used to read the records (using
random access) to build a new file in the required sequence. If you only
need to print the sorted list, there is no need to sort the whole file.
The sorted tag list can be used as an index to read the records in the
required sequence.
9.1
Easter calculation (Archive 8.12)
9.1
D A A Fagandini of Dulwich has sent a version of the Easter Day
Calculation which works for years on the old, Julian calendar as well as
the modern, Gregorian. I must point out, though, that he should not
assume that the change was made in 1583 Ö in Britain it was made in
1753!
9.1
Mr Fagandiniæs code is very different from mine Ö rather more elaborate
Ö but a check of several thousand Gregorian years reveals, very
satisfyingly, that it gives the same answers! It appears that both
versions are derived from algorithms published by the Glasgow
mathematician, T H OæBeirne.
9.1
Establishing the revised code for the Julian calendar is not trivial,
though the change turns out to be a simplification. Firstly, the Leap
Year rule is different Ö on the old calendar there was a leap year every
four years, whilst on the new calendar, three leap years every 400 years
are dropped. Secondly, the official rules for calculating the date of
the Paschal Full Moon (on which Easter depends) were changed.
9.1
The astronomical rule was laid down by the Church of Rome at the Council
of Nicµa in 325AD, but the algorithm, which removed the need for annual,
often unreliable, astronomical observations, was not agreed until the
Venerable Bede wrote the definitive work in 725AD. This calculation
assumed that 235 lunations (Full-New-Full Moon cycles) are exactly
equivalent to 19 Julian calendar years. This lead to an algorithm by
which Easter Day recurred in a 532-year cycle.
9.1
The error in the 235 lunations = 19 years assumption was about 4╜
minutes per year, and Easter slowly drifted away from the full moon.
With the new leap year rule the error is about 6 minutes per year the
other way! Hence, in tandem with the new calendar style, new, more
accurate, rules for calculating Easter were introduced. The new cycle is
5,700,000 years!
9.1
In this column last month, I gave the code to calculate the date of
Easter on the Gregorian calendar. Assisted by Mr Fagandiniæs code, I
have modified mine to calculate when Easter was observed in a given year
under the Julian calendar, thusáÖ
9.1
DEFFNEasterJul(Y)
9.1
LOCAL G,C,E,A,W
9.1
G=Y MOD19
9.1
C=Y DIV100
9.1
Y=Y MOD100
9.1
E=(G*19+C+15)MOD30
9.1
A=(G+E*11)DIV319
9.1
W=(C+Y DIV4*2ÖY MOD4ÖE+A+32)MOD7
9.1
=EÖA+W+22
9.1
As before, the function returns the date in March, adding 31 if the date
is in April. This code is equivalent to the Venerable Bedeæs calculation
tables Ö somewhat pre-Acorn, but an insight into Éprogrammingæ in the
Dark Ages! The change of calendar was made at different times in
different countries, from 1582 to 1927. That is something you need to
know for your country.
9.1
Combinations
9.1
I take it, diplomatically, as a veiled compliment to be publicly mauled
by Gerald Fitton in last monthæs Archive. I will return the compliment,
not in kind, but by hijacking a piece of program code from his column in
Archive 8.9. Nothing to do with airing underwear in public Ö these are
mathematical combinations!
9.1
In how many ways can you select three objects, with five to choose from?
Answer Ö ten, namely └ 123, ┴ 124, ┬ 134, ├ 234, ─ 125, ┼ 135, ╞ 235, ╟
145, ╚ 245, ╔ 345. How many ways are there of selecting r objects with n
to choose from? Mathematicians write this function nCr and calculate it
nCrá=án!î(n-r)!á╫ár! where n! means factorial of n, ie. 1╫2╫3╫...╫n. As
Gerald explained, this is most easily calculated using a recursive
function, i.e. one which calls itself.
9.1
Many programmers fight shy of recursive functions. This could be a
hangover from the time, not so many years ago, when compilers and
interpreters were unable to cope with procedures or functions calling
themselves. The machine would either go into an endless loop, or crash,
probably with a memory overflow. Today, things are different. This
function can safely be written in Basic:
9.1
DEFFNnCr(N,R)
9.1
IF R=0áTHENá=1
9.1
ááELSEá=áFNnCr(NÖ1,RÖ1)*N/R
9.1
In this column, I use BBC Basic V for all programming code. This
language comes Éfreeæ with every Acorn machine, and is probably
understood by every programmer who reads Archive, even if it is not his
favourite language. I assume, I hope not na∩vely, that interested
readers can translate the code into C or, where possible, into
spreadsheet functions. The Combination function is extensively used in
statistical calculations (particularly those concerned with gambling!)
and frequently crops up in number-crunching puzzles. Although it is
uncommon in commercial programming, it is an old friend of mine.
9.1
Having calculated the number of combinations of r from n, we may need to
list them, or generate them for subsequent processing. In the above
example, N=5, R=3, we may need a procedure which will generate the
combination 2Ö3Ö5 given the sequence number S=7. PROCSeqComb, below,
serves the purpose Ö the combination is generated in the array variables
C(1) ... C(R). It is interesting to note that the value of N is not
required. The sequence number S must be in the range 1 to FNnCr(N,R).
9.1
DEFPROCSeqComb(S,R,C())
9.1
LOCAL Z
9.1
WHILE R>1
9.1
ááC(R)=R
9.1
ááZ=1
9.1
ááWHILE S>Z
9.1
ááááS=SÖZ
9.1
ááááC(R)=C(R)+1
9.1
ááááZ=Z*(C(R)Ö1)DIV(C(R)ÖR)
9.1
ááENDWHILE
9.1
ááR=RÖ1
9.1
ENDWHILE
9.1
C(1)=S
9.1
ENDPROC
9.1
The converse function which, given the combination in C() will calculate
the corresponding sequence number, is provided by FNCombSeq, below.
9.1
DEFFNCombSeq(R,C())
9.1
IF R=1 THEN =C(1)
9.1
ááELSE =FNCombSeq(RÖ1,C())+FNnCr(C(R)Ö1,R)
9.1
If anyone can improve on this code, I would be very interested Ö
especially if it is possible to avoid the double-nested loops which are
explicit in the procedure and implicit in the function. Please send any
comments or suggestions for this column to me at 41 St Quentin Drive,
Sheffield, S17 4PN.áuá
9.1
Prophet 2 in Action
9.1
Andrew Rawnsley
9.1
Accounting is, to me, one of the most time-consuming and nrewarding
aspects of running a business. Most people still process sales and
expenses by hand, possibly making use of a crude spreadsheet when the
VAT return comes round.
9.1
Having recently gone into business myself, selling Acorn software and
offering Internet solutions to larger organisations, I too might have
opted for this approach, had I not happened upon Prophet 2 for review at
the Harrogate show. The opportunity to let my Acorn take the strain
seemed too good to let slip.
9.1
First impressions
9.1
Not being at all familiar with accounting, I was initially rather
daunted at the size and flexibility of Prophet 2. The manual runs to a
staggering 230 A5 pages, with the tutorial weighing in at a whopping 137
of them!
9.1
So, one morning, I sat down at my computer, manual on lap, and turned to
page one. After installing the application as described in the first
chapter, I was somewhat reassured, as everything seemed to be written
clearly and with the novice user in mind.
9.1
To my delight, the installation section was immediately followed by a
clever introduction to accounting for the uninitiated, which I guess is
what many users want. It certainly helped me.
9.1
Armed with my new found knowledge, I was then ready to start setting up
my personal files.
9.1
The tutorial
9.1
After reading the first few pages of the comprehensive tutorial, I soon
realised that the best way to approach Prophet was to try and set up
things as I wanted, and use the tutorial to explain each area of the
package as and when I needed it.
9.1
This worked well, as the tutorial is divided into sections, and the
index quickly guides you to the part you require.
9.1
Getting going
9.1
Once the application has been loaded in the traditional manner (either
by double clicking on the icon or on a Prophet file), you can begin
setting up your accounts.
9.1
My first move was to set up my company details. You can enter the name
and address, VAT number and telephone/fax numbers. If any of these
categories is not applicable to your business, you simply ignore it. For
example, not being VAT registered, I didnæt need any of the VAT support,
so that field is blank.
9.1
This principle applies throughout Prophet. If you donæt need something,
just ignore it. It is a very important factor, as Prophet has to have
many complicated features for demanding users, which simpler accounting
situations donæt require. By working this way, if you ever find yourself
requiring the extra functionality, you simply fill in fields that you
had previously left blank.
9.1
The other simple field that can immediately be filled in is the name of
your accounts. This will never be printed, or seen by anyone else, so
you can make it as descriptive as you like. A traditional name would be
something like:
9.1
[company name] Accounts 1995Ö96
9.1
When the next financial year comes round, you simply change this to
1996Ö97. Herein lies the beauty of Prophet; you can update and edit any
of your entries at any time, as and when you find it necessary.
9.1
Setting up a simple Prophet file
9.1
One of the things you notice immediately is that Prophet will handle
almost all of your business details. I had envisaged using a separate
database for customers and suppliers, and a word processor for invoices
etc.
9.1
However, Prophet keeps track of all these things automatically. You can
then drag and drop things into other areas of the package as necessary.
For example, when you make a sale to a customer, you can simple drag the
customer name from your Prophet database directly into the Sales Ledger
and Prophet will fill in the details. Of course, should you so desire,
you can enter it all manually, or even enter the customer into the Sales
Ledger and then drag the name into the database!
9.1
My first stop, therefore, was to enter my first customer, and try to
record the sale. This was not, perhaps, the wisest move, and resulted in
a lot of reading up in the Sales Ledger section in the tutorial.
9.1
I would have been wiser to start with the Bank Accounts section where
you can enter up to 12 different accounts.
9.1
These might take the form of, for example:
9.1
Business Cheque Account
9.1
Business Interest Account
9.1
Personal Cheque Account
9.1
High Interest Savings Account
9.1
Naturally, any sales and purchases can operate on any of the accounts. A
total balance of all the accounts is available, as well as individual
amounts.
9.1
Account Transfers can be managed by the Banking section of Prophet. VAT
and Profit/Loss Statements also fall under the banking section.
9.1
Your next port of call is likely to be the Sales Headings window. This
allows you to set up some form of analysis for your sales. Up to twelve
main headings can be defined, as well as eight sub-headings under each
main one. One of my main headings is Software Sales. Under this, each
software title is a separate sub-heading. Naturally, you can update and
edit as your business expands.
9.1
At any point, you can get an accurate breakdown of how much each product
has earned you, and how much each heading has earned you. This in turn
allows you to consider which products are proving popular and which
arenæt maximising their potential. Whatæs more, as with almost every
section of Prophet, this information can be printed out as a report.
9.1
Style Guide compliance
9.1
Acorn produce a special manual for software developers containing
information on how a generic application should look and behave.
9.1
When I decided to save my work, I was struck by the way the author of
Prophet has obviously followed this Guide because, in many ways, the
package looks and feels like any other (<f3> to save etc), but in some
key places, he has deviated from Acornæs ideals Ö where it makes life
much easier for the user.
9.1
Let me give you an example. How often, when working on a crucial
document, do you save and make a backup? Some packages offer a timed
auto-save facility in addition to the standard save, a feature present
in Prophet 2, but what happens if your data gets damaged through no
fault of your own Ö a power cut as the data is being saved, perhaps.
9.1
With other applications, you would have to bring up the save dialogue
box, rename the file and drag it out to the directory. The next time you
saved, you would need to reset the filename to the old file. However, in
Prophet, the save window is divided into two halves Ö one for the main
file and one for a backup file. At any point, a click on the appropriate
OK button will save either a backup or your current file.
9.1
You can also save your work or backup your files automatically on
leaving the program. All in all, itæs very difficult to accidentally
lose data Ö a crucial selling point for a program which will be looking
after your data day in and day out!
9.1
More advanced features
9.1
By now, I was able to record sales of my software, and generally keep
track of my finances, but Iástill needed to be able to create invoices
for customers.
9.1
Knowing that Prophet would print invoices for me, Iádecided to explore
this side of the package. My first stop was the invoice template icon.
This leads to a page editing system very similar to that of a DTP
application. You can incorporate a company logo or background graphic
but you canæt create new frames on the page. However, all the fields
youæll need are displayed on the page, and can be moved around. Again,
if you donæt want to include something, you can turn it off.
9.1
I found this part of the package less easy to use, but you must remember
that Prophet isnæt a DTP system, rather an accounting package with an
invoicing capability. With a little effort, I had a design that I was
pleased with and, having saved my work, I could rest in the knowledge
that I wouldnæt have to edit it again in a hurry!
9.1
I now had to create the invoice. Since any related aspect of the package
is available from any other, I got at the invoicing tools from the
customer database, which I happened to be using at the time.
9.1
By entering the product sold, and dragging the customer details into the
appropriate place, I was ready to print my invoice. Since I had already
entered the sale into the Sales Ledger, I turned off the option to
automatically record the invoice (and hence the sale) in the ledger.
9.1
You can print as many copies as you like, but the default of two copies
(one for the customer and one for my records) seemed a sensible choice.
At the click of a button, I could also have turned this invoice into a
credit note for a returned item Ö a clever idea. One click on the print
button, and the laser printer quickly churned out two copies, even over
an Access network. Phew! My client had his invoice, and Prophet had
taken everything in its stride. Next time would be a lot easier!
9.1
In a larger organisation, security becomes an issue. Almost every area
of Prophet can be password protected, if you wish.
9.1
Another important aspect for larger companies is that Prophet will
accept data from Silicon Visionæs Payroll Manager, so handling employee
pay cheques becomes a lot simpler.
9.1
And finally
9.1
There are still many aspects of Prophet that I havenæt even touched on.
Suppliers and purchases are almost identical to sales, but in reverse.
These lead to stock handling which is also catered for in another sub-
section of Prophet.
9.1
I have purposely refrained from discussing standing orders, VAT returns
and retail (cash register) sales because I have no direct experience of
using these. However, having used the rest of the system, I can almost
guarantee that these tools will offer every facility you could ever
need. Knowing that the VAT tools would be a key selling point for many
people, I contacted several known users who confirmed that Prophetæs
handling of VAT was exemplary.
9.1
Conclusions
9.1
At ú199 inclusive (or ú180 through Archive), Prophet 2 represents superb
value for money. Whilst it might seem a large outlay for a small
company, it saves so much time, and does so much that it couldnæt
conceivably retail for anything less.
9.1
An equivalent PC application costing twice as much would still be
considered stunning value Ö underpriced by many Ö for whom Sageæs double
entry accountancy and resulting huge investment in resources on top of
the ú600 RRP seems peanuts, compared with the time (and hence money)
saved by computerisation.
9.1
Without doubt, I shall continue to run my business with Prophet 2, and
it would take something very impressive indeed to make me change Ö any
guesses as to the availability of Prophet 3!?áuá
9.1
VZap Virus Checker
9.1
John Laski
9.1
VZap, probably the best Archimedes virus checker in the world (sic),
costs ú5 (Shareware) from Paul Vigay, 104 Manners Road, Southsea, Hants.
PO4 0BG. Dr. Solomonæs Virus Checker for MS-DOS costs ú99 +VAT. Faced
with that comparison, can VZAP 1.09 be all that it is claimed to be?
9.1
Firstly, we must recognise that code for any particular purpose for the
ARM is only some 60-80% as long as equivalent code for Intel processors;
secondly, since much of RISCáOS is held in read-only memory, but MS-DOS
keeps everything except BIOS (Basic I/O Services) in RAM, RISC OS has
far fewer hooks to which viruses can attach themselves.
9.1
There are only some fifty known ARM viruses as against at least ten
times as many on MS-DOS. Therefore there are far fewer patterns of
suspicious code to scan for, and these are in RISCáOS !boot/!run files
only, where the infection puts in extra lines that run rogue
applications/modules. In MS-DOS, code that accesses hard disc and
floppies can become corrupted and leave damage in any file. This means
that many more patterns, in many more kinds of file, could be symptoms
of an infection.
9.1
Therefore, do not conclude, because VZap is one-twentieth the cost of
its MS-DOS equivalent, that it is only one-twentieth as reliable. ARM
and RISCáOSæs design saves you money, not only on all your software but,
very particularly, on your virus protection. Of course, the RISCáOS
community is much nicer than the MS-DOS community and has far fewer
members, not only absolutely but also relatively, who want to give
viruses to their fellow computer users.
9.1
What does VZAP do?
9.1
A virus checker has two jobs to do. It has to recognise and inoculate
against known viruses, and it must recognise and warn against
suspicious-looking patterns in files that may imply that, as yet
unknown, viruses may be present. There is no doubt in my mind that the
first task, including the viruses listed in the !Help file, is
successfully accomplished by VZap.
9.1
I believe that the second job will be effective for viruses that may
plague us in the future, but I can have no firm reason for this belief.
This is an inherent problem with virus checking programs, because their
writers must not publish or display their code. If they do so, they tell
prospective virus writers what patterns to avoid. Therefore, reviewers
cannot evaluate their code to see how extra-ingenious any virus writers
who want to get around them will have to be. A virus writer who wants to
get around VZap has to write the virus and see if it is detected Ö the
(probably) abortive work needed is a great dissuader.
9.1
Two modes for operation
9.1
For these two jobs, VZap has essentially two modes for operation:
9.1
1. To scan automatically for known viruses and render them harmless;
Autozap button on.
9.1
2. To mark and present to the user, suspicious lines in files, so that
the user can judge whether or not they belong there. This will, of
course, catch the known viruses of (1), but should also catch newly
invented and distributed viruses; Autozap button off.
9.1
For the beginner who does not yet understand the command lines of obey
files, the first is obviously best. For those of us who have some
knowledge of what should be in !boot files, the second is better.
9.1
Moreover, Paul Vigay offers: öAll registered VZap users are welcome to
contact me for personal help or advice if they are still confused, or
donæt understand these instructions Ö or just want to offer ideas for
future versions. You can also log onto my computer bulletin board
(01705-871531) for technical help and upgrades 24 hours a day.ò Thus, if
a non-technical user encounters a new virus and tries using VZap in
Autozap off mode, there is no need to fear getting out of your depth;
Paul Vigay is there to rescue you. In the Docs 1.9 file ÉContact?æ, it
tells you how to make contact with him.
9.1
Documentation?
9.1
Forgive me, but the documentation of VZap 1.7 was awful. It could have
served as a first-class example for David Holdenæs discussion of what
wouldnæt sell as Shareware (Archive 8.11 p47). Indeed, there was an
extension to the choices window that I never discovered until Paul Vigay
pointed me to it. (It is now explicitly in 1.9æs documentation.) Now, in
1.9, the documentation has been been reorganised into a Édocæ directory
of nine files, and by looking at the ÉIndexæ file , you can find your
way straight to the kind of information you want.
9.1
This applies particularly to new users who have acquired VZap only when
they suspect they have a virus and need to know what to do. There is now
a very friendly !help message directing them straight to the Énewusersæ
file which gives a friendly step-by-step rundown of using VZap in
autozap mode, with a cross-reference pointer to the Émanualæ file. The
full list of Édocæ files is: !Index, Advert, Conditions, Contact?,
History, Manual, NewUsers and Viruses.
9.1
History and Viruses, respectively, list the changes made between
successive versions, and the viruses currently dealt with in Autozap
mode. It appears, as Iáread these files, that only one new Virus that
required a special fix has turned up in the last 15 months, so users of
the non-Autozap mode can be moderately confident that new viruses which
VZap canæt spot or inoculate against will only turn up very rarely. I am
unclear as to whether VZap failed to spot this one new virus, or only
failed to inoculate against it. Moreover, Paul Vigay undertakes to
examine suspicious discs if virus-like behaviour is found, and the
current version of VZap canæt cope. He will then provide you with an
extended version that will cope.
9.1
The file Conditions defines Shareware, and disclaims responsibility for
damage caused by use of VZap. Advert encourages you to buy a package of
file utilities which is the system that provides the underlying services
for VZap.
9.1
The file Manual lists the items on the main menu, the buttons on the
choices menu, and a short list of topics with a short paragraph on each
one. These are very clear, and I shall only mention facilities and
buttons on which I feel I have a constructive comment to make. Readers
should recognise that this will introduce a bias towards finding things
wrong in the text, and should remember that my overall view of it is
distinctly positive.
9.1
Practicalities
9.1
VZap can initially be asked also to watch for *set lines, which could
have been added by viruses. This seems also to include *seteval and
*setmacro lines. However, many such lines will be perfectly good, and I
strongly suggest that you donæt try this unless you feel confident that
you can interpret the results.
9.1
You can drag a group of files and directories to the VZap iconbar icon,
or to the VZap status window, to have them checked. In the choices
window, there can be specified a directory that can be checked on entry.
It is a pity that this must be set by hand and cannot be set by dragging
a directory to that window. Iáwould also have liked to have a union of
subdirectories to scan, along the lines of DDEæs Find.
9.1
It is claimed that broken directories and Disk Errors will not abort the
virus scan. This is admirable, but, fortunately, I did not have the
facilities to check that it worked!
9.1
However, I made some tests to see what would happen if various files and
discs were locked. As far as I can see, if you attempt to scan a locked
disc, you will sometimes get confusing reports on the status window, but
if you want to comment a line, you will get a helpful öunlock discò
message. If Write Access is forbidden on some file, write access will be
forced to be set, and the file modified. This behaviour is undocumented,
but sensible. If the disc is locked and Stamp is requested, stamping is
not done, and this is not reported. It would be better to send the user
an öunlock discò message.
9.1
Finally, when VZap sets its iconbar icon, it forces it to the left hand
side of the application icons. This is self-centred. It is quite correct
that when there is a potential virus event, the icon should be strongly
visible, but there should be a facility, in the iconbar icon menu say,
to force the icon out of the way to the right. Also, the status window
is left on the screen after an event such as testing for viruses on
opening a (new) floppy, even if no suspicion of viruses has been found.
This is very self-centred indeed.
9.1
Conclusion
9.1
VZap will, I think, discourage virus writers from trying to write new
viruses. It is impossible to say whether, or when, a new virus that VZap
cannot find will come along, but I think it will be quite a long time.
The VZap system, i.e. the disc package, the documentation, plus Paul
Vigayæs support should provide users of any level of experience the
confidence to tackle their virus problems without anxiety. The value for
money should be obvious to anybody, and all shareware users should pay
their dues promptly to him. Perhaps Paul B will put VZap on the monthly
Archive disc.
9.1
All programs can always be improved, and I have suggested some ways in
which VZap can. The interesting question is how long it will be before
the guts of the program, the Virus Scan, will need updating because of
some nasty new virus. I expect that it will be at least a year, and
maybe two or three, before this is needed. To be on the safe side, I
shall send Paul Vigay an extra disc and s.a.e. to hold for just such a
time.áuá
9.1
Paul Vigay will be looking into Johnæs comments, improving the
documentation slightly and implementing one or two of his suggestions.
9.1
No sooner said, then done... Ed.
9.1
P.S.
9.1
I have now received version 1.10 in which many of the ideas suggested
above have been implemented. I hadnæt realised when I first looked at it
that *set is not needed in Autozap mode, since it only scans for known
viruses. The documentation is still unclear, but I think this would be
one way to put it. öIf Autozap is used, it only scans for known viruses,
therefore, *set set will only remove Éset linesæ that are known to be
harmful.ò It may be the case, although this is not clear to me, that all
known viruses can be removed without use of the *set analysis.
9.1
You can abort a virus scan by pressing the <esc> key. (Buttons wonæt
work since a virus scan is, properly, stand-alone and doesnæt call
Wimp_Poll.) This is documented for the first time in v. 1.10. It appears
to me that <esc> is ignored if pressed during the initial analysis, and
is effected only if the key is pressed during the subsequent scan; this
limitation is not documented.
9.1
The exchanges I have had with Paul Vigay shows how programmers can have
a healthy and productive dialogue which can improve the design, correct
the implementation and copy-edit the documentation. Iáhope some others
will take up filling the suggestion box for !VZap; as with any good
program, it will never stop growing.
9.1
I have one or two suggestions outstanding and look to see Paul Vigayæs
response. But 1.10 seems to me a version well worth any Archive reader
acquiring.áuá
9.1
(VZap 1.10 is on this monthæs Archive disc. Ed.)
9.1
Starting Basic Ö Part 2
9.1
Ray Favre
9.1
I want to start working on real programs as early as possible, even
though it means introducing some things before explaining them.
Therefore, weæll pick suitable projects and work on them in the
articles, gradually developing programs as different programming topics
are covered.
9.1
Rummaging around, Iæve found a program which will be suitable as a
short, starter project. On the surface, it doesnæt sound particularly
exciting Ö it works out loan repayments, interest rates, etc. (yawn) Ö
but it will allow us to approach some essential beginnersæ topics
sequentially, including graphics. It will be non-Wimp Ö deliberately, at
this stage Ö although it would also be a good subject for a later first
crack at the Wimp.
9.1
Weæll call this first project the ÉLoanæ project/program Ö and weæll
label each program version to correspond with the Series part in which
it is updated.
9.1
Planning the program
9.1
It does pay to use a pencil or word processor for a few moments at the
start of even a simple programming exercise. We need to be clear about
what we are trying to achieve. The Loan project will concern four main,
inter-related parameters:
9.1
  loan amount
9.1
  interest rate
9.1
  repayment amount
9.1
  number of repayments
9.1
If any three of these are known, the fourth can be found. Our initial
project is to produce a program which, as a bare minimum, allows us to
decide which parameter is to be the unknown, choose values for the other
three and then find and display the fourth value from them Ö and then
let us start afresh if we want to.
9.1
We can therefore hazard an outline program structure something like:
9.1
  Show menu of the four parameters
9.1
  Select the unknown one
9.1
  Input values for other three
9.1
  Do calculations to find unknown
9.1
  Output result
9.1
  End or go back to beginning
9.1
Jotting down a broad structure like this, in note form, before touching
the keyboard is highly recommended for all programs. (It is often
referred to as Épseudo-codeæ i.e. a shorthand English version of the
eventual program.) The main advantage is that it forces us to look at
the complete program from the start. It will highlight any major
sequence problems and start to break the program up into logical
segments. Ideally, we want the segments to be as self-contained as
possible. For instance, we might want to ÉOutput resultæ in several
different ways (screen text, screen graphics, printer, file, etc.) and
we donæt want to have to go back and modify the ÉInput values ...æ
segment each time we have a new output idea.
9.1
Weæll use the first segment (ÉShow menu...æ) as this sessionæs vehicle
for the programming topic of ÉVARIABLESæ.
9.1
The listing
9.1
In an Edit Basic window Ö see Part 1 Ö type in and save ÉLoan_2æ, (or
drag it to the Edit iconbar icon if you have the Archive monthly disc).
Run it just to check itæs all OK Ö an Éerror trapæ has been included to
point out any faulty lines. (This highlights the difficulty of providing
a listing for beginners which does not use features which are to be
covered in later articles! Iæve deliberately steered clear of
Procedures/Functions, but felt that an error trap was important, in case
of typing errors.)
9.1
10 REM>Loan_2
9.1
20 REM** Initial ÉLoanæ program,
9.1
 öStarting Basicò Part 2 **
9.1
30
9.1
40 ON ERROR REPORT:PRINTö at Line
9.1
ò;ERL:END
9.1
50
9.1
60 REM Declaration of initial variables
9.1
70
9.1
80 heading$=öLoan Calculationsò
9.1
90 subheading$=ö(Simple Interest)ò
9.1
100
9.1
110 menu1$=öThere are four parameters:ò
9.1
120 param1$=öLoan Amountò
9.1
130 param2$=öNo. of Equal Paymentsò
9.1
140 param3$=öAmount of Each Paymentò
9.1
150 param4$=öInterest Rateò
9.1
160
9.1
170 menu2$=öYou need to give values
9.1
 for any 3 of these to find the 4th.ò
9.1
180 menu3$=öPlease choose the unknown
9.1
 one:ò
9.1
190
9.1
200 REM ***** Print menu *****
9.1
210
9.1
220 PRINT heading$
9.1
230 PRINT subheading$
9.1
240 PRINT
9.1
250 PRINT menu1$
9.1
260 PRINT TAB(10)param1$
9.1
270 PRINT TAB(10)param2$
9.1
280 PRINT TAB(10)param3$
9.1
290 PRINT TAB(10)param4$
9.1
300 PRINT
9.1
310 PRINT menu2$
9.1
320 PRINT
9.1
330 PRINT menu3$
9.1
340 PRINT:PRINT
9.1
350
9.1
360 REM ***** User choices/input *****
9.1
370
9.1
380 REM** Choices made for first
9.1
 example. **
9.1
400 temp1$=öThe unknown parameter is:
9.1
 ò+param3$:REM** New string
9.1
 variable **
9.1
420 loanamount=1000:REM** Real numeric
9.1
 variable **
9.1
440 ratepercent=8.5:REM** Real numeric
9.1
 variable **
9.1
460 no_of_payments%=36:REM** Integer
9.1
 numeric variable **
9.1
470
9.1
480 REM *** Calculation of unknown ***
9.1
490
9.1
500 REM** Simple Interest for first
9.1
 example only **
9.1
520 REM** Result is put into new real
9.1
 numeric variable **
9.1
530 amount_per_payment=(loanamount+
9.1
        (loanamount*ratepercent/100)) /no_of_payments%
9.1
540
9.1
550 REM ***** Output *****
9.1
570 PRINT temp1$
9.1
580 PRINT
9.1
590 PRINT param1$;ö = úò;loanamount
9.1
600 PRINT param4$;ö = ò;ratepercent;ö%ò
9.1
610 PRINT param2$;ö = ò;no_of_payments%
9.1
620 PRINT:PRINT
9.1
630 PRINT param3$;ö = úò;amount_per_
9.1
payment
9.1
640
9.1
650 END
9.1
Lines 80-180 create several Éstring variablesæ, and then lines 220-340
print them on the screen as an opening menu. For now, the choice and
inputs are made for us in lines 400-460, where examples of the remaining
two types of Évariableæ are introduced: two Éreal numeric variablesæ and
one Éinteger numeric variableæ. The rest of the program calculates the
4th parameter, assigns it to a third Éreal numeric variableæ Ö all in
line 530 Ö and lines 570-630 print a results table.
9.1
This listing will undergo significant change as we develop it and is, in
its current form, solely to introduce Évariablesæ and to get you Éup and
runningæ.
9.1
Variables
9.1
Basic programs consist, almost entirely, of operations on variables. To
use a variable, it firstly needs to be created (Édeclaredæ) by giving it
a name, and then giving it a value. After that, the variable can be used
as much as you like, including changing its value. Fortunately, in BBC
Basic, declaring a variable is almost transparent and is done
automatically by simply assigning a value to the variable the first time
we use it Ö exactly as in lines 80-180, 400-460 and 530 of the listing,
i.e. it can be given a direct value, or it can be given the results of a
calculation, or the value of a previously- declared variable. (Some
languages require you to declare variables at the start of a program,
without assigning values.)
9.1
Declaring a variable sets aside a space in memory to store the name you
have given it plus an associated space to store the variableæs value.
Whenever the value changes, through the course of a program, the
contents of the memory space set aside for the value will change
correspondingly. By referring to the (unchanging) variable name, we get
access to the particular value of that variable at the time Ö most
importantly, by using the name in routines and formulae.
9.1
So, in Line 530, we have used:
9.1
amount_per_payment=(loanamount+
9.1
        (loanamount*ratepercent/100)) /no_of_payments%
9.1
which says Écalculate the expression to the right of the equals sign
(substituting the current values of the variables named) and put the
result into the variable amount_per_payment æ. Or, in Line 220:
9.1
PRINT heading$
9.1
which says Éprint out the string stored in the string variable heading$
æ.
9.1
Variable types
9.1
BBC Basic recognizes three different variable types, which are
distinguished from each other by using unique characters as the last
character of the names of integer and string variables: É%æ for integer,
and É$æ for string.
9.1
integeráÖáAn integer variable can only store whole numbers (positive or
negative). It must use É%æ as the last character of its name: e.g.
integer%, Day%, aa%, AXE%, X% could all be names of integer variables.
In the listing, no_of_payments% is our only integer variable, because
itæs the only one where we can be sure that only whole numbers will be
needed.
9.1
The main advantages of using integer variables (compared with real
variables) are that they are processed faster, their accuracy is precise
and they use less space to store their value.
9.1
(The 27 integer variables formed by a single capital letter, or the É@æ
symbol, are known as Éresident integer variablesæ e.g. A%, B%, C%, etc.
and @%. They are stored at a special location and their values are not
erased when a new program is run or loaded. They can therefore be used
to pass simple data between programs Ö a later article will look at
this.)
9.1
real Ö A real variable can store any number, whether a whole number or
one containing a decimal fractional part. It is also called Éfloating
pointæ because it is not fussy about how the decimal point is shown when
you assign a value to it, i.e. a real variable will recognise 1.2,
1234.56, 0.004567 equally happily.
9.1
A real variable is distinguished by not having any special symbol in the
last character of its name. So, real, vat, AXE, pp are all real variable
names. In the listing, three real variables are used Ö line 530 contains
all three, as well as the integer variable.
9.1
Real variables are slower to process, are subject to Érounding errorsæ
in calculations and use more memory than integer variables to store
their values. (For these reasons, it is sensible to use integer
variables whenever you can.)
9.1
string Ö A string variable stores strings, i.e. a sequence of letters/
characters. It is distinguished by using the É$æ symbol as the last
character in its name: e.g. a$, X$, day$ are all valid names for string
variables. Our listing uses several string variables.
9.1
The maximum number of characters that can be stored in a string variable
is 255.
9.1
As the Series progresses, you will find that this, albeit simple,
pattern of three types of variable will weave its way into several
topics, including arrays, procedures/functions and files Ö so it is
important to introduce it early on. We still need to say some words
about naming variables and precautions when declaring string variables,
but they can be picked up later.
9.1
There hasnæt been much Éhands onæ this time, but there are several
features worth looking at in the listing (for homework!). Notice, for
instance, the different uses of REM and, in line 380, the simple string
manipulation which takes place. Next time, we will look at Ékeywordsæ
and examine a few of the most common ones in more detail.
9.1
Even though the Series is aimed at beginners, Iæm a bit worried that the
first two articles have been pitched at too simple a level Ö but Iæm
even more concerned not to go to the other extreme. Please let me have
some feedback on this. Ray Favre, 26 West Drayton Park Avenue, West
Drayton, UB7 7QA.áuá
9.1
Number Time
9.1
Richard Rymarz
9.1
Number Time is a multimedia CD-ROM dealing with three areas of
mathematical skill. They are all specifically geared to the younger
child and one has special educational needs in mind.
9.1
1. Times Tables Ö Twelve applications covering the traditional times
tables
9.1
2. Number Bonds Ö An application that allows the user to add any two
numbers between 0 and 9
9.1
3. Tell Time Ö Three applications covering hours, half hours and quarter
hours
9.1
The company that produced the CD Ö Hazelnut Ö have used Genesis to
create an easy-to-use multimedia environment that includes hundreds of
animations, speech and sounds.
9.1
All in all there are sixteen applications.
9.1
Times Tables Ö Clicking on one of the applications loads it onto the
iconbar. Menu options include the obligatory quit and an option to
search for a text string. The program itself begins with a title page
with the words spoken. Clicking on the arrow leads to the tables page
and a question. This page is fairly basic, with the question in the
centre of the screen and the possible answers around the outside edge.
The question is voiced and the child has to click on the answer. The
reward for answering the tables correctly is an animated picture Ö
answer wrongly and a shrill cuckoo sound is heard. All this is very
basic but each table has a theme Ö the 4 times table has picture and
sounds of animals, the 7 times table has animations based around an
alien, and so on. The pictures are basic but quite attractive, and will
appeal to the younger child.
9.1
Number Bonds Ö With this series of exercises, the child clicks on one
digit and then another and has to click on the sum of the two. Answer
correctly and a picture is shown which has an animation which the
children have to discover. This is very basic, allowing number bonds up
to an answer of 18, but double digits Ö e.g. 10 or 12 or 15 Ö cannot be
used. The same pictures, albeit with slightly different animations, are
used fairly often.
9.1
Tell Time Ö These three applications follow the same pattern. The child
navigates through the exercises by clicking on the clock. Each
application involves a theme which holds the whole thing together. There
are three animations if the child answers correctly Ö two of which the
child has to discover themselves.
9.1
Conclusions
9.1
What we really have here is a series of drill and practice exercises
which will test whether the child has mastered the appropriate skills.
This it does in a fairly attractive and orderly way. The speech is
audible Ö a primary school child clearly enunciates the words, although
the linking of some sentences is a little disjointed Ö not really a
problem though. The quality of the pictures is also adequate, some of
them being very attractive. If I were to be critical, it would be with
the animations, which are sometimes difficult to find and are a touch
insignificant. Further, the exercises are quite linear, with the
questions always following the same pattern.
9.1
I did like the themes that held the exercises together, and the subjects
are covered quite thoroughly.
9.1
Number Time comes on a CD which, on my review copy, did not tell me
which side was which Ö a slight irritation. It is recommended that the
applications are loaded onto hard disc in order to speed up the running
time Ö CDs are notoriously slow compared with hard discs. The
applications can also be bought separately on floppy discs but would
probably take an age to load and run. A hard disc or CD-ROM drive would
appear to be essential.
9.1
Number Time Ö The CD-ROM costs ú50 inclusive + ú1.50 postage. (Does not
include the Subtraction element in Number Bonds.) Times Tables Ö 12
discs costs ú30. Number Bonds Ö 3 discs covering addition and
subtraction costs ú15. Tell Time Ö 4 discs costs ú20. Add ú2.50 postage
but no VAT, as Hazelnut are not VAT registered.áu
9.1