Archive Magazine 1996/ARCHIVE_96.iso/text/magazine/volume_4

Text File | 1995-06-25 | 2MB | 35,033 lines

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

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

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

4.5

4.5
{4 .5

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

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

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

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

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

4.5
EFF
4.5
New artwork
4.5

4.5
Atomwide
4.5
From 4.4 page 6
4.5

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

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

4.5
Computer Concepts
4.5
New artwork
4.5

4.5
Computer Concepts
4.5
New artwork
4.5

4.5

4.5

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

4.5

4.5
Figure 1
4.5

4.5
Figure 2
4.5

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

4.5

4.5

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

4.5

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

4.5

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

4.5

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

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

Printing problems?
4.6
Sorry about the slightly duff printing of the last edition of Archive.
The boxes around the headings were all rather faded. The reason was that
I was using a 600 d.p.i. Laser Direct HiRes rather than the 300 d.p.i.
Mac Laserwriter. So why should a better printer produce a worse output?
Basically, the Laser Direct produced the shading using such tiny dots
that the offset litho printing process could not cope with it. What I
have done this time is to alter the type of shading used so that the
dots are a bit bigger and (hopefully) more easily printable.
4.6
Not quite so late this time?
4.6
Thanks to Impression (which I am more and more impressed with every day)
I have managed to shorten the time taken to produce the magazine quite
considerably. So, over the next few months, I hope to get Archive back
on schedule.
4.6
A gauntlet for Risc User!
4.6
Now that Acorn User, Archimedes World and Archive all use Impression for
production of their magazines, donæt you think itæs about time that Risc
User followed suit? Well, I wouldnæt expect them to use Impression, but
have they got enough faith in their own product, Ovation, to ditch their
Apple Macs?!?!
4.6
More competitions, please.
4.6
Weære very grateful to Colin Singleton for his consistent work in
producing the monthly Competition Corner, but I think itæs time he had a
bit of help from others. Itæs very difficult to keep producing new ideas
every month, so if you could help, either write to me or direct to
Colin.
4.6
More Wimp stuff, please.
4.6
Weæve had quite a number of folk asking us for more articles about
programming in the Wimp environment. People were pleased with the start
that Alexander Goh made but were sad that it stopped rather abruptly. So
were we and, if Sandie is reading this, I hope he will consider carrying
on where he left off.
4.6
Once again, many thanks to readers and contributors alike for making
Archive a joy to produce.
4.6
With best wishes,
4.6

4.6
Products Available
4.6
Å    Data cartridges for tapestreamers Ö We have found a better source of
data cartridges for tape-streamers and can do the 60M cartridges for ú23
and the 150M cartridges for ú26. The tapes for the 1 Gbyte tapestreamer
which we advertise at ú45 each are, apparently, just ordinary 2 hours
DAT tapes that you could buy from W.H.Smithsæ or such-like for ú8 or 9
and then formatted. It takes about 4 hours to format which is why Oak
charge so much for them.
4.6
Å    DataStore Utility Disc 2 Ö A second disc of utilities is now available
for ú14.95 inc VAT or ú14 through Archive. It contains: A desktop
backdrop with a difference, a desktop toolbox window, a disc indexing
program, a file activity monitor showing exactly which files are
currently open, a list of BT phone code and areas, a utility which
collects sprite name, system variables etc and enables you to set up
your computer quickly at switch-on, a viewdata frame display utility, a
utility that will replace your desktop A icon with an animation(!), an
on-line manual utility and a fun demo.
4.6
Å    Disc magazine Ö A.S.T.E. Syracuse is an Archimedes disc magazine
produced on an amateur basis. With the first issue, costing ú4.99, you
get a total of three discs; one containing the magazine itself and then
two discs of PD software. The organisers, B Browne and A Kells, insist
that it is not, as some magazine reports have said, a PD library.
4.6
Å    DTP (and other) utilities Ö A newly formed company, Design Concept,
has 11 utilities mainly intended for DTP users at various prices from ú1
to ú2 each. We havenæt got space to detail them all here but it includes
things like a shading facility for !Draw, a way of printing out all the
fonts you have got, a converter from X-window bitmap fonts and a
converter which stipples a colour image to two colours. Write to Design
Concept for a full list. We hope to get review copies soon.
4.6
Å    Educational management software Ö Cogent Software have produced two
packages for educational establishments. The first, Monitoring and
Reporting, provides facilities for recording, analysing and reporting on
studentsæ performance. The basic price of the package is ú400 for a
secondary school, ú200 for a middle school or ú150 for primary or
special schools. There are additional text files for different subject
areas at ú50 or ú65 each. The second package, Curriculum Auditing,
allows you to cross-reference the experiences the pupils are given with
the skills, knowledge and concepts outlined in the schoolæs curriculum.
The pricing for this is similar to the first package. Also available
from Cogent Software are optical mark readers which tie in with the
management packages.
4.6
Å    Educational software Ö Chalksoft, well known for its educational
software on various computers including the BBC Micro has now turned its
attention to the Archimedes. Titles available include: Puncman, programs
1 to 7, (ages 7 to 15+) cover various aspects of english; Spelling Ö
week by week (ages 6 to 14+); Reversals (ages 8 to 14+) help with the
problems of d/b, p/q etc; House of Numbers (ages 6 to 13) covers maths
for key stage 2; First Words & Pictures and Words & Pictures (ages 3 to
7+) concentrate on early words, matching them with pictures; Letters &
Pictures (ages 6 to 8+) introduces word building skills; Numbers &
Pictures (ages 4 to 6+); Maps & Landscapes (ages 9 to 14); Keyboard
player, music for ages 8 to adult; Note Invaders, a musical game for
ages 7 to adult and Mark Master for secondary or tertiary
administration.
4.6
Å    Flight Path Ö a simulation from Storm Software aimed at 9 year olds +
sets you up as the pilot of an airliner (and owner of the company) and
gets you to fly the plane and run the company. It brings in aspects of
maths, geography, english, science and history. Available now in
Archimedes format for ú36.95 inc VAT or ú32 through Archive.
4.6
Å    Fonts galore Ö A newly formed company, Design Concept, has 8 innova
tive new fonts for sale at Ésillyæ prices (my word, not theirs); ú1.50
per font plus ú2 carriage. If you want to see the sort of things they
are offering, have a look at the advert on page 17. We havenæt actually
got the fonts for review yet but weæll let you know what we think when
weæve seen them. Apparently, they are designed from scratch using FontEd
and include öproper hinting of the charactersò.
4.6
Å    Genesis I to II upgrade Ö If you want to upgrade from Genesis I to II,
all you need to do is to send your Editor disc to Oak Solutions with a
suitable cheque or official order and they will send you a complete new
pack. The cost of the upgrade is ú34.95 + VAT for education users or
ú59.95 for non-education folk. Please do not send it to Norwich Computer
Services.
4.6
Å    High speed SCSI drives Ö One of the advantages of SCSI is that, at the
moment, öeverybody is doing itò Ö and that means all the more commonly
used computers whose names I will refrain from using. High volume
production, of course, means lower prices such as we have achieved by
using removable drives that were being sold into the Apple Mac market.
In the same way, we have managed to find some extremely cheap and
extremely fast fixed 48M drives produced by ZCL who are also selling
them into the Atari and Commodore markets and for PCæs Ö there, Iæve
said it!
4.6
They are actually 52M drives that format to about 48.6M; they have an
average access time of 17ms and run at up to 1,000 Kbytes/sec (yes,
1Mbyte/sec) using an Oak SCSI interface. The öalternative testò that we
use (copying a large directory with many files) takes under 7 secs.
These compare with about 600 Kbytes/sec and 9.3 secs for a standard Oak
45M drive but I havenæt got any of the new HS or Worrawinnie Oak drives
in stock to test for comparison. (They will be coming into stock
tomorrow, but the magazine has to be at the printers tomorrow(!) so I
will put the results on the Price List.) The prices are ú520 for an
internal 48M drive with podule and ú590 for an external.
4.6
The internal drives look identical to Oakæs drives but the external
drives come in a strange-looking, yukkie brown colour, extremely compact
metal case with no cooling fan. The drive is mounted on its side and
sits in a metal cradle made of white plastic coated metal rods (a bit
like a plate rack!) to stop it falling over. Still, when you look at the
price, it has to be worth considering, and if you are worried about
quality (which I have to confess, I am slightly) they are guaranteed for
years. This Archive price comparison my help you see if it is worth
considering these drives as compared with the özero-defectò policy and
known good customer relations policy of Oak Solutions. The prices
include Oak podule, VAT and carriage and the figures in brackets are the
price per Mbyte.
4.6
Internal drives
4.6
Worrawinnie 45M    ú440    (ú9.78)
4.6
High Speed 40M    ú520    (ú13.00)
4.6
ZCL 48M    ú520    (ú10.83)
4.6
External drives A300/400
4.6
Worrawinnie 45M    ú490    (ú10.89)
4.6
High Speed 40M    ú720    (ú18.00)
4.6
ZCL 48M    ú590    (ú12.29)
4.6
External drives A3000
4.6
Worrawinnie 45M    ú490    (ú10.89)
4.6
High Speed 40M    N/A
4.6
ZCL 48M    ú590    (ú12.29)
4.6
Å    Midnight Graphicsæ Tracer Ö Now you can turn your sprites into !Draw
files with this impressive utility from Dabhand Computing. The potential
for DTP and improving scanned pictures is tremendous. We hope to have a
review very soon. The price is ú59.95 from Dabhand or ú56 through
Archive.
4.6
Å    MultiStore II Ö Minerva have released a new version of MultiStore
(still ú250 through Arc-hive) which features improved packaging and a
new style ring binder and box öwhich give the package a much more
professional imageò. Exist-ing users can get an upgrade to the new
software (but not the new packaging!) at a cost of ú11.75 for the two
new discs. MultiStore II has a new file format but, to overcome this
problem, Minerva provide a transfer utility so that you can convert your
old files to the new format. Minerva say, öThe changes to MultiStore
will not be immed-iately apparent to end users but some will notice an
increase in speedò.
4.6
Å    NStore II Ö HS Software have released a new version of NStore2, their
National curriculum record keeping package, still ú29.95 inc VAT.
Existing users can get an upgrade to the new software by returning their
original disc to H.S. with a cheque for ú5.00. NStore II has had many
new facilities added in the light of ideas and suggestions made by
teachers and advisors using the original package. These include improved
ranking and alpha sorting, improved printing options, transfer of class
data between discs and block data entry for groups of Statements of
Attainments. Subject specific versions for secondary schools can be
obtained containing levels 1 to 10 in a particular core subject. Science
is available now and Maths and English are due in April.
4.6
Å    PD library Ö Westbourne Services have just started a PD library for
the Archimedes. The discs are ú1.50 each. Westbourne Services will
supply a sample disc and catalogue for ú1.
4.6
Å    Structural analysis of 2D frames Ö Civil engineers will be pleased to
see that the power of the Archimedes has been harnessed to provide
structural analysis of 2D frames and grids. Vision Six have two programs
for each Ö an entry level (ú150 +VAT each) allowing up to 32 items and a
full version (ú450 +VAT for frames and ú300 +VAT for grids) where the
number of items is only limited by the available memory. There is a
discount if you buy both a frames and a grids program at the same time.
öNever knowingly undersoldò Ö Vision Six say that if you can find a
better or even equivalent piece of software sold commercially for ANY
micro at a lower price, they will refund the difference!
4.6
Å    ÉTwoæ productivity tools Ö Ian Copestake Software has produced TWO Ö
Task and Window Organiser which consists of various utilities to help
you keep your desktop tidy and to set up various tasks more quickly and
easily plus a number of other bits and pieces of applications. This is
especially aimed at schools. ú19 + VAT or ú60 +VAT for a site licence.
4.6
Review software received...
4.6
We have received review copies of the following software: Carewares 4
and 6, !Voice-Builder from MJD Software, ASTE Syracuse disc mag-azine.
A
4.6

4.6
Å    Archimedes vs BBC variable formats Ö There are some differences
between the way that string and real variables are held on the BBC
computer under BASIC 1 and 2, and on the Archimedes under BASIC 5.
4.6
String Variables Ö On the BBC using BASIC 1 or 2, string variables are
pointed to by a Éstring information blockæ which consists of :
4.6
+0 for 4 bytes : address of start of string
4.6
+4 for 1 byte : space allocated
4.6
+5 for 1 byte : current length of string
4.6
When a string is allocated, if the length is under 8 bytes, then the
space allocated is the same as the length of the string. If over 8
bytes, then an extra 8 bytes is allocated to allow the string to grow by
that amount before it has to be moved. When the string changes length to
more than its allocation, it has to be moved to the end of the HEAP.
Unfortunately, BBC BASIC has no Égarbage collectionæ routines, so the
previous space is unusable. This was why it was recommended that, when
allocating strings which would grow in length, it is better to allocate
them first with the largest length needed.
4.6
On the Archimedes using BASIC 5, the string information block consists
of just:
4.6
+0 for 4 bytes : address of start of string
4.6
+4 for 1 byte : current length of string
4.6
without the space allocated. The space allocated seems to be up to the
next 4-byte boundary. When strings grow over a 4-byte boundary, they are
liable to be moved to the top of the HEAP Ö indeed they seem to move
sometimes when they shrink as well! I have not seen any Égarbage
collectionæ in BASIC 5, but I have seen instances where a string has
been moved to a free area within the existing HEAP, so there is some re-
use of storage.
4.6
Real Variables Ö On the BBC using BASIC 1 or 2, a real number is held in
a 5 byte field as follows:
4.6
+0 for 1 byte : Exponent plus &80 Ö i.e. &79 = Ö1, &80 = 0, &81 = +1
4.6
+1 for 4 bytes : Mantissa with MSB first, LSB last (opposite to
Integers). The first bit of the first byte is the mantissa sign bit.
Normalised, with an assumed 0.1 (binary) before mantissa. Positive
number with sign (ie NOT 2æs complement).
4.6
On the Archimedes using BASIC 5, a real number is held in a 5 byte field
as follows:
4.6
+0 for 4 bytes : Mantissa with LSB first, MSB last (same as Integers).
The first bit of the fourth byte is the mantissa sign bit. Normalised,
with an assumed 0.1 (binary) before mantissa. Positive number with sign
(ie NOT 2æs complement).
4.6
+4 for 1 byte : Exponent plus &80 Ö i.e. &79 = Ö1, &80 = 0, &81 = +1
4.6
Zero is a special case, and is stored as 5 zero bytes in both cases.
4.6
Thus the 5 bytes are stored in the opposite order on the BBC and
Archimedes, but the values of exponent and mantissa are the same.
4.6
These are minor changes, but are vital when either dumping storage, or
writing machine code routines to access variables.
4.6
Martin Avison
4.6
Å    ARM speed tests surprise Ö I have, from long experience, found that,
in general, the more instructions a program executes, the longer it
takes. The corollary of this is that the fewer instructions, the less
time it should take. However, while timing some very processor-intensive
ARM code I was puzzled when on occasion I removed one instruction, and
the program took longer! Also, using the program from Archive 2.6 p55 in
March 1989 by Gerald Fitton for testing the ARM speed, I had run tests
which, when repeated, gave different times! After much trial and error,
I eventually modified Geraldæs speed test program to illustrate the
strange effect I had found.
4.6
The program ArmLoop is a simple piece of code which loops a set number
of times. First, care is taken to ensure that the alignment of the code
is to a 256-byte boundary. Then it repeatedly assembles and calls a
piece of machine code which does 16 no-operation instructions (i.e.
MOVNV), loops one million times, then does 16 more no-ops. It also has a
variable number of 4-byte offsets before the start of the code and a
variable number of no-operation instructions in the loop. The times are
displayed for each test for up to 10 4-byte offsets and up to 10 no-ops
in the loop. When complete, a summary of the times is displayed.
4.6
The times show an expected increase in the time taken as the loop gets
larger, but not always the expected increment for one extra instruction
in the loop. As the offsets change of the start of the executed code, it
would be expected that the times for the same loop size would remain
constant. However, this is NOT true! There is a pattern which repeats
itself every 16 bytes, or 4 word offsets, and the summary highlights
with a red background the unusually long times.
4.6
Thus it can be seen that in some cases, removing an instruction from
before such a loop can increase the time taken for the loop!
4.6
The conclusions reached after these tests were that for a branch
instruction, every 16-byte boundary crossed by the Program Counter
(which is 8 bytes ahead of the branch instruction) to its target, adds
an extra 0.15 microseconds to the time taken Ö about the same time as a
no-op instruction.
4.6
Making use of this to optimise program speed is difficult in a program
with many branches, but the demonstration program includes at line 110
speed = FALSE : if this is changed to speed = TRUE, code is invoked in
FNspeedup to ADD no-operations in before the loop to reduce the number
of 16-byte boundaries crossed if possible. The execution times are
reduced in 37% of the cases!
4.6
This is one little mystery demonstrated, but can anyone explain it? It
surely makes the effects of relocating programs slightly unpredictable.
Are there similar effects at any other memory boundaries? Has anyone got
a comprehensive understanding of how long the ARM takes for various
instructions Ö although it is supposed to execute one instruction per
clock cycle, there are other effects on speed, like the size of operands
for the MULtiply instruction, conditional execution etc.
4.6
 10 REM > ArmLoop
4.6
 20 MODE 12
4.6
 30 PRINT öArmLoop : Arm Loop Speed Testing Program      v5    Martin
Avisonò
4.6
 50 DIM code% 2000
4.6
 60 REM align to page (256) boundary
4.6
 70 code% = (code% OR &FF) +1
4.6
 80 @% = &90A
4.6
 90 PRINT öBase for code is at &ò ~code%
4.6
110 speed = FALSE :REM <<<< change to TRUE to see speedup <<<<
4.6
120 loops% = 1000000 : REM number of loops
4.6
130 maxoff% = 10 :REM maximum offset applied
4.6
140 maxnop% = 10 :REM maximum no-ops in the loop
4.6
150 DIM time%(maxoff%,maxnop%)
4.6
160 PRINT öNumber of loops = òloops%
4.6
170 PRINTÉöDetailed timings Ö Summary will follow at endò
4.6
180 PRINTÉö  Offset   Loop    Extra   Start    Loop   Branch  Total ò
4.6
190 PRINT ö           noops   noops    addr    addr    addr    time ò
4.6
200 FOR noops% = 0 TO maxnop%
4.6
210   FOR off%   = 0 TO maxoff%
4.6
220     PROCcall(code%+off%*4)
4.6
230   NEXT
4.6
240   PRINT
4.6
250 NEXT
4.6
270 PRINTÉöSummary of Total Times in Seconds ò;
4.6
280 IF speed PRINT öwith speedupò ELSE PRINT öwithout speedupò
4.6
290 PRINT öNoopsò;
4.6
300 @% = 5
4.6
310 FOR noops% = 0 TO maxnop%
4.6
320   PRINT noops%;
4.6
330 NEXT
4.6
350 PRINTÉöOffsetò
4.6
360 FOR off%   = 0 TO maxoff%
4.6
370   @% = &00005
4.6
380   COLOUR 128
4.6
390   PRINT off%;
4.6
400   @% = &20205
4.6
410   FOR noops% = 0 TO maxnop%
4.6
420     IF off% > 0 AND time%(off%, noops%) > time%(0,noops%)+2
4.6
 COLOUR 129 ELSE COLOUR 128
4.6
430    PRINT time%(off%,noops%)/100;
4.6
440   NEXT
4.6
450   COLOUR 128
4.6
460   PRINT
4.6
470 NEXT
4.6
480 END
4.6
490 ================================
4.6
500 DEF PROCcall(code%)
4.6
510 PROCassemble(code%)
4.6
520 A% = loops%
4.6
530 TIME=0
4.6
540 CALL code%
4.6
550 time%=TIME
4.6
560 @% = &00008
4.6
570 PRINT off%,noops%,extra%,~code% ,~loop , ~branch;
4.6
580 @% = &20208
4.6
590 PRINT time% /100
4.6
600 time%(off%,noops%) = time%
4.6
610 ENDPROC
4.6
630 DEF PROCassemble(code%)
4.6
640 extra% = 0
4.6
650 FOR opt=0 TO 2 STEP 2
4.6
660 P%=code%
4.6
670 [OPT opt
4.6
680 FNnop(16)
4.6
690 FNnop(extra%)
4.6
700 .loop
4.6
710   FNnop(noops%)
4.6
720   SUBS  R0,R0,#1
4.6
730   FNspeedup(öloopò)
4.6
740 BGT  loop
4.6
750 FNnop(16)
4.6
760 MOV PC,R14
4.6
770 ]
4.6
780 NEXT
4.6
790 ENDPROC
4.6
810 DEF FNnop(n%)
4.6
820 IF n% > 0 THEN
4.6
830   LOCAL I%
4.6
840   FOR I% = 1 TO n%
4.6
850   [OPT opt:MOVNV  R0,R0:]
4.6
860   NEXT
4.6
870 ENDIF
4.6
880 =0
4.6
900 DEF FNspeedup(label$)
4.6
910 LOCAL label,l%,b%
4.6
920 branch = P%
4.6
930 label  = EVAL(label$)
4.6
940 IF speed AND (opt AND 2) = 0 AND label < branch THEN
4.6
950   l% = (label)    MOD 16/4
4.6
960   b% = (branch+8) MOD 16/4
4.6
970   IF l% > b% THEN extra%=4 ATNl%
4.6
980 ENDIF
4.6
990 =0
4.6
Martin Avison
4.6
Å    Cheat (revised) for Man-At-Arms Ö Gets rid of the bug in the last
cheat! This one gives you infinite lives and punches!
4.6
10 *LOAD $.!MANATARMS.CASTLE2 10000
4.6
20 *LOAD $.!MANATARMS.CASTLE3 52000
4.6
30 ?&19198=0:?&521F4=0
4.6
40 *SAVE $.!MANATARMS.CASTLE2 10000 [phone]
4.6
50 *SAVE $.!MANATARMS.CASTLE3 52000 [phone]
4.6
If you want to turn the game back into its original form change the two
variables in line 30 to the value of 1. Mark Faulkner
4.6
Å    Cheat for Pysanki Ö This cheat gives you Infinite lives and missiles.
4.6
10 *LOAD $.!PYSANKI.PYSANKI2 10000
4.6
20 *LOAD $.!PYSANKI.PYSANKI3 52000
4.6
30 ?&19178=0:?&52278=0
4.6
40 *SAVE $.!PYSANKI.PYSANKI2 10000 [phone]
4.6
50 *SAVE $.!PYSANKI.PYSANKI3 52000 [phone]
4.6
If you want to turn the game back into its original form, change the two
variables in line 30 to the value of 1. Mark Faulkner
4.6
Å    Cheat for Kaptain Konflikt Ö This cheat gives you 160 grenades and
infinite power!
4.6
*DIR !KONFLIKT
4.6
LOADöNEWVERTò
4.6
LIST 1120
4.6
1120.Var_grenades:EQUD 160 (160 Number of grenades!)
4.6
LIST 6940
4.6
6940 REPEAT:!Var_man_shot=0:
4.6
UNTIL !Var_lift_off=3
4.6
SAVE öNEWVERTò
4.6
Also, here are all the passwords (backwards Ed.) Ö ELBRAM, REKAEPS,
CITATS, TCAPMI, ELIBOM. Mark Faulkner
4.6
Å    Cheat for Alerion Ö This cheat gives you infinite lives!
4.6
10 *LOAD $.!ALERION.G 1E06C
4.6
20 ?&2749C=0
4.6
30 *SAVE $.!ALERION.G 1E06C +226A4 26ABC
4.6
To convert the game to its original form change the value of the
variable in line 20 the 1. Mark Faulkner
4.6
Å    Cheat for Mad Professor Mariarti Ö This cheat gives you infinite lives
and energy. Edit the !RUN file in the !MadProf Directory with !EDIT.
Then when you have it Edited look to see where it loads in the program
ÉProfprogæ. Then just delete the code after it and add this code below
:-
4.6
Load Profprog
4.6
Echo <21>
4.6
| Infinite energy
4.6
MemoryA 18F48 F0000000
4.6
MemoryA 1919C F0000000
4.6
MemoryA 1920C F0000000
4.6
MemoryA 19F00 F0000000
4.6
MemoryA 19F70 F0000000
4.6
MemoryA 186B4 F0000000
4.6
MemoryA 19B08 F0000000
4.6
MemoryA 1D260 F0000000
4.6
MemoryA 18D84 F0000000
4.6
| Infinite lives
4.6
MemoryA 196B4 F0000000
4.6
Echo <6>
4.6
Go
4.6
RMKILL Musicmodule
4.6
RMKill Joystick
4.6
RMKill Teqmodule
4.6
TequeRmMin
4.6
RMKill TequeMemory
4.6
FX 15 0
4.6
DIR ^
4.6
Echo Bye Bye professor!
4.6
Remember to keep a copy of the original !RUN file so you can return the
game to its original form again.
4.6
Å    Disc free space snag Ö The RISC-OS desktop filer COUNT menu option
provides a very useful way of checking the size of individual files,
applications and whole directories (and any nested sub directories).
However, it is somewhat economical with the truth.
4.6
You may well find that the *COUNT of a particular application or
directory structure indicates that it will fit comfortably onto a floppy
or RAM disc that you have already checked for *FREE space. However, when
you try and copy the files across you may get a ÉDisc fullæ error.
4.6
The reason is that *COUNT takes no account of the space occupied by the
catalogues of directories themselves; this is 2k per directory on an
ADFS or RAM disc. So a directory containing several applications, some
perhaps with further sub directories, will take up a lot more space than
the *COUNT option would have you believe.
4.6
Rick Sterry, Wakefield BBC Micro User Group
4.6
Å    Fortran bug Ö There is a bug in the DACOS (double precision arc-
cosine) function on Fortran release 2. The function does not work if it
is given a numeric, rather than algebraic, argument. Thus
PI=DACOS(Ö1.0D0) does not give a value of p as it should. To get p, you
have to use ANG=Ö1.0D0 followed by PI=DACOS(ANG) where ANG is any
variable name you like. Raymond Wright, Guildford.
4.6
Å    Keyboard cleaning Ö I recently tried this after reading about it in
Archive 3.9 p10. It was even easier than the magazine article suggested.
Whilst I had the keyboard apart, I pulled off the key tops and gave them
a gentle scrub with soap, warm water and a nail brush as they were
getting grubby. I now have a gleaming keyboard that anyone could be
proud of. David Livsey, Exeter.
4.6
Å    PrinterDM with the LC24-10 Ö Here is some thing any one using an LC24-
10 with new !PrinterDM (Ver 2.46) If you are getting banded graphics
dumps and squashed text then make a copy of the Text file PrDataScr file
found inside the application directory.
4.6
Load the copy in to !Edit and look at all the Epson LQ definitions for
the line below.
4.6
line_epilogue: ö<27>$<0><0><27>J <24>ò
4.6
Change all LQ definitions except the 60 by 60dpi to:-
4.6
line_epilogue: ö<27>$<0><0><27>J <28>ò
4.6
this having been done, save the file.
4.6
Delete the data file PrData. You can either rename the changed text file
to PrData and check all is OK before using the supplied compacting
program (PrSquasher) or, if you are confident there are no mistakes,
compact it first before trying it out.
4.6
If you still get banding or gaps appearing then adjust the value between
the < > symbols of the last parameter. This may possibly work for the
other drivers.
4.6
N.B. Remember to keep a copy of the original files.
4.6
Michael Overthrow
4.6
Å    Rhapsody Ö Before entering complex music, fill a dummy line with your
shortest notes. Now everything just lines up, even across five staves,
so you never have to Énudgeæ notes to and fro. But why does the Rhapsody
manual lack a tutorial? I had typed in many pages of sheet music before
guessing how to set the key and the automatic sharps! Nik Kelly,
Liverpool.
4.6
Å    System modules versions Ö I have heard of a number of applications
refusing to work because one of the modules contained in the !System
application folder was out of date. A quick way to check the version
numbers, even if the modules are not already loaded, is to open up the
É!System.Modulesæ directory (by double clicking on the É!Systemæ folder
icon while holding the <shift> key down), and then to load each module
into !Edit. Ignore all the [00][00], etc you should look for the text
below:
4.6
CLib Ö Shared C Library 3.50 (19 Jul 1989)
4.6
Colour Ö Colour Selector 0.52 (26 Apr 1989)
4.6
FPEmulator Ö FPEmulator 2.80 (22 Feb 1989)
4.6
These are the latest official version numbers. Acorn have stressed that
any other other releases are illegal copies and cannot be relied on.
4.6
Rick Sterry, Wakefield BBC Micro User Group
4.6
Å    Virus warning Ö In a recent message on the international UNIX-based
networks, in the eunet. micros.acorn section, a Liverpool-based
Archimedes owner announced the discovery of a virus. The virus resides
in the !Boot file of applications and consists of an extra line:
4.6
RMEnsure Extend 0 RMRun <Obey$Dir>.ModName
4.6
and is followed by a commented-out hex <FF> character.
4.6
The module name ModName varies between MonitorRM, CheckMod, ExtendRM,
OSextend, ColourRM, Fastmod, CodeRM, MemRM. The name of the module in
the *MODULES list is always ÉExtendæ and is thus referred to as ÉThe
Extend Virusæ. The module doesnæt do anything destructive but it is
always possible that someone will modify it. The only present problem is
that it takes 1k of RMA every time you double click on an application,
eventually filling it up and crashing the machine. Of course, it also
consumes sections of disc space, as it puts copies of the module and
extended !Boot files on your discs, but this is pretty subtle and is
likely to go unnoticed, (at first).
4.6
If an application doesnæt have a !Boot file to start with, the virus
creates one. If all this makes hard disc owners a little nervous then
they should get hold of a copy of !Watchdog, which is on Risc Useræs
program disc Vol 3 no 7.
4.6
Wakefield BBC Micro User Group
4.6
Å    Wiping SCSI discs Ö Itæs not often that you want to remove all the
files from a hard disc but with the advent of removable hard drives, it
is becoming a more common requirement. To select all the files and
delete them can take a huge amount of time if there are a lot of small
files so it would probably be quicker to re-format the drive. If you are
using an Oak Solutionsæ SCSI interface then there is an even quicker way
of doing it. Use their SCSIForm program and choose the <M> option to
initialise the map and root of the disc. This simply re-writes the
catalogue of the root directory to say that there are no files left on
the disc. This is obviously very quick Ö but deadly Ö beware, thereæs no
way back.
4.6
Impression Hints and Tips
4.6
Here are a few more hints and tips mostly from the editoræs dabblings in
preparing the magazine...
4.6
Å    Dashes Ö If you, like me, donæt like to see hyphens used where dashes
should be used Ö i.e. in places like this Ö you will probably be sick
and fed up of typing <alt-153>. (Note that the character in öalt-153ò is
a hyphen, just in case you werenæt aware of the difference.) If you are
importing text into Impression, occurrences of Éhyphen hyphenæ will be
converted automatically by Impression into a long dash ÿ see what I
mean. Personally, I prefer the shorter one so what I have done is set up
the abbreviation dictionary with Éexpand as you typeæ and used an
underline character to be turned into a dash. The only drawback is that
itæs OK for things like the dashes earlier in this paragraph, but if,
for example, you use dashes in phone numbers, as 0603Ö766592, the
abbreviation technique does not work and you are back to  <alt-153>.
Anyone any other ideas?
4.6
Å    Find styles Ö If you want to find a style, get up the find/replace box
with <ctrl-f4> and then click in the menu box to the right of the Find
box and select the style you are looking for. This will come up as, say,
öò. Type an ö@ò after this Ö which stands for öany textò Ö and then
press <return>. This will highlight the whole of the first piece of text
with that style or effect. Unfortunately, the facility to replace that
style with another style is not yet working. If you do want to do any
search and replace on the style names, export the text, with styles, and
then use another WP such as !Edit to do the searching and replacing
before returning it to Impression.
4.6
Å    Rogue effects Ö Someone sent me a file in which they had used a
particular font which I did not have so when I loaded the file,
Impression told me it was changing it to Trinity.medium. I did an edit-
style and looked at all the style definitions to no avail. Eventually, I
realised that it must have been used as an effect, so how was I to find
it and eliminate it or change it to some font I did possess? Because the
font had been changed to Trinity.medium (i.e. the BaseStyle font) I
could not pick it out with a visual scan so the first idea was to change
the BaseStyle to, say, Zapf.Dingbats so that anything which was in a
different font was obviously an effect or a style. Unfortunately, this
didnæt reveal the offending effect. At this point, I became convinced
that I had a non-existent, un-removable effect, i.e. a bug in Impres
sion. So I sent the offending file to CC who informed me that the
particular effect WAS in the text and they also showed me how to locate
it... as follows...
4.6
(Actually, the reason that I couldnæt find the effect was that I had
already gone through the document adding extra styles and had covered
this rogue font-change effect with a font-change style of my own. In
other words, the style, because it was applied later than the effect,
took precedence.)
4.6
Å    Finding effects Ö In the same way that you can find styles (see above)
you can also find effects as long as you tell Impression that you want
effects to be shown on the style menu. To do this, locate the file öUKò
in the Impression öResourcesò directory. Load it into !Edit and find
öCnf1:ò and change it to öCnf1:Eò Ö thatæs a one, not a letter ölò. Save
the file and shut down and re-start Impression. You then will have
effects on your style menus and search on {öeffectnameò }@, as explained
above.
4.6
Å    Fast search and replace Ö There are a couple of very useful keyboard
short-cuts not documented in the manual which speed up the search and
replace. When the ötext foundò box is on screen, <ctrl-R> does a
öReplaceò and <ctrl-N> moves to the öNextò.
4.6
Å    Keyboard short-cuts Ö Apart from the ones listed on pages 119ff of the
Impression manual, here are a few more: (some are mentioned on the menu,
but not in manual)
4.6
<ctrl-shift-D> go to chapter
4.6
<ctrl-shift-H> produces a bullet i.e. a öÅò.
4.6
<ctrl-shift-I> also produces a bullet i.e. a öÅò!
4.6
<ctrl-shift-J> produces superscript
4.6
<ctrl-shift-K> produces subscript
4.6
<ctrl-shift-T> save text story
4.6
Å    Page number justification problems Ö Some of you may have had
difficulty getting correct centring or right justification of page
numbers on footers. This is corrected in version 2.09 Ö well, almost!
The footers on right hand pages were wrong last month, when I was using
version 2.05, (in fact I didnæt even notice!) and the footers on the
left hand pages would have been wrong this month (with 2.09) if I had
not found a way round it. If you try to have left aligned page number
with a right tabbed piece of text, the text suffers a left shift. Iæve
solved it for now by splitting the footer text into two separate frames,
one left aligned and the other right aligned. Itæs messy, but it works.
A
4.6

4.6

4.6
Hints and Tips
4.6

4.6

4.6
Oak
4.6
New
4.6

4.6
Colton
4.6
From 4.5 page 14
4.6

4.6
Comment Column
4.6
Å    öBuyer bewareò Ö Here is a salutary tale with a (relatively) happy
ending. Graham Collins, one of our subscribers, bought a 1M memory
upgrade for his A3000 from Norwich Computer Services. Some time later
(but less than a year) the computer started going wrong so he took it to
Beebug Ltd from whom he had bought the computer. They took it in, fixed
it for him and charged him ú45. The trouble was that when Graham looked
at the service report, he found they had öre-soldered loose connections
on the ram boardò. He felt that this was unfair because the ram board
was still under warranty. However, from Beebugæs point of view, they had
taken in a computer and repaired it in good faith and, indeed, had only
charged ú45 which is their minimum charge for repairing a computer. In
one sense, because it was a fault on the ram board, it was Morleyæs
responsibility, but why should they pay ú45 since they could have
repaired the board at very little cost to themselves. Should N.C.S. be
responsible for the ú45? Hardly, because all we did was supply a product
from a third party. We do not feel that it is our responsibility to test
the items that go through our hands.
4.6
So, who paid the ú45? Well, no one, but Morley are going to upgrade the
1M to 3M and not charge Graham the full upgrade charge Ö well done,
Morley.
4.6
What is the moral of this story? Should Beebug have informed Graham as
soon as they found it was the memory upgrade that was at fault? Even if
they had, they would presumably still have had to charge him their ú45
minimum charge. I donæt really think anyone is to blame but it does
suggest that you need to be careful when combining hardware bought from
different sources. The problem could have been avoided if Graham had
taken the memory board out when the computer went wrong so he could see
where the problem lay. Mind you, having said that, we have had memory
boards returned to us apparently not working and then found that they
worked OK on other computers. The problem lay with a timing fault such
that the tolerance of the customeræs computer and the tolerance of the
memory board meant that the two were incompatible. Buyer beware!
4.6
Å    Canon BJ10e Ö Iæve recently bought a Canon BJ10e from EFF who gave me
very prompt service. The printer itself is quite petite, about the same
size as an A4 pad, but thicker, weighing in at a paltry 1.8 kg. I
ordered mine in the beige, there is also the option of having it in
black, I suppose to co-ordinate it with the black lap tops around. As a
result of the lightweight construction, the lid and some of the fixtures
appear to be flimsy and I doubt whether they would stand up to the
rigours of a commercial or educational environment.
4.6
The print quality is very good, the BJ10e uses a 36 x 48 dot matrix for
text and up to 360 dpi for bit-mapped graphics. I have yet to use any
proper Éinkjetæ paper, which gives much better results. The most
noticeable aspect of this printer, is that it is virtually silent! I
also bought the sheet feeder, which takes about 30 sheets of A4, with a
flap near the bottom for envelopes and thin card. The construction of it
is also very plasticky and the only problem that I have had with it, is
that it is has a thickness adjustment which needs to be set properly or
else it ejects an extra sheet of blank paper after every printed sheet.
4.6
The printer manual does not give the full details of the control and
escape codes, which are useful if you need to customise the First Word
Plus driver for instance. It took me a long time to get it to work
properly with the printer driver and First Word Plus. In my opinion the
documentation sent out with the printer driver is inadequate. I have
detailed my findings in the hope that it may help others.
4.6
BJ10e d.i.p. switch setup
4.6
    1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8
9    10
4.6
    on*    off    off    off    off    on
off    off    on     on
4.6
*only with an sheet feeder
4.6
*ignore is set to 0 on the Archimedes
4.6
This set up works equally well with First Word Plus and the printer
driver. The RISC-OS printer driver should be installed for all printing,
including First Word Plus. Iæve also found that the margins need to be
set, to show the correct printable area, for programs such as !Draw and
these are:     Top: 0.2 mm     Bottom:
12.6 mm
4.6
        Left: 0.0 mm     Right: 6.9
mm
4.6
Note that these values (should) hold true for all paper sizes, as they
define the margin.
4.6
Even with the correct adjustment of the thickness control, I found the
printer ejected an extra (blank) sheet after a graphics dump from !Draw
and !Paint. It is more annoying than serious, however.
4.6
The running cost of the printer is dependent mainly on the type of paper
you intend to use and the frequency of screendumps and the like. I am
using standard 80 g/m photocopier paper, which costs about ú7.00 for 500
sheets (ream). The ink cartridge/ head costs ú20; I have printed about
600 sheets of mixed DTP and standard printer font outputs, where I have
found the results beginning to Ébandæ, noticeable with large expanses of
black, although this hasnæt seemed to affect normal or outline font
print-outs. I estimate the cost per page to be about 4.5p, not too bad,
if you canæt afford or justify a laser printer.
4.6
Newsflash Ö Canon have decided to drop the price and include the
sheetfeeder for free. I have seen prices as low as ú320 inclusive; check
out the computer magazines for up-to-date prices. I paid ú420 for mine,
so at ú320, itæs very good value in my opinion. Chun Wong, Sheffield.
4.6
Å    Dealer Problems Ö I was interested to read David Hazelæs letter, in
the November issue, regarding dealer problems and Acorn computers. Now
that Acorn have ösold onò the development of their RISC technology to
the newly formed ARM company, their dependence on the sales and
marketing of high quality products is even more significant for all
users.
4.6
As a representative of one of Acornæs biggest single group of customers,
I can suggest several issues which they might like to consider.
4.6
Generally, we are satisfied with the service that our dealers offer.
Equally, we are delighted with the performance of the machines them
selves and we are confident that we have made the right decision in
encouraging our schools to buy RISC technology. However, there are
difficulties with the öperipheralsò supplied with the machine which
create a lot of extra work for dealers and other support agencies, such
as our Microtechnology Centre, which are often unnecessary and reflect
Acornæs inability to perceive the problems of ordinary end users no
matter how trivial they may be to more technically proficient users.
4.6
For example, the Applications Discs do not contain the latest printer
drivers (which makes programs such as Draw or Folio much slower to print
and therefore much less attractive) and contain no copies of the
Integrex or Laserjet drivers. In addition, they are structured in a such
a way that it is impossible to just öswitch on and goò. Problems arise
with incomprehensible messages about !System and modules (whatever they
may be), an apparent lack of memory (e.g. copies of First Word Plus with
no maximum wimpslot size), a small or non existent font cache, an
obsolete font system, apparently endless disc swops when saving or
copying files (even from a RAM disc) or loading programs from a new disc
which has not had the necessary extras, such as !System and !Fonts added
to it (and sometimes even when they have been) and printers which print
gobbledegook because the drivers are not configured correctly. Whilst
answers to some of these problems may be found in the guides, there is
no starter booklet which provides immediate help with these sort of
problems. They are the ones which arise as soon as the user is familiar
with the environment itself. In addition, having run an educational
hotline, Acorn now refuse to answer (as in öwe know but we wonæt tell
youò) schoolsæ questions when contacted. You can imagine the reaction to
that from schools which have bought anything up to 120 Archimedes!
4.6
Whilst we offer a very full support service for our schools which will
help them solve these and, hopefully, all the other problems which may
arise, Acorn themselves could make life a lot easier for us and our
dealers and give greater customer satisfaction for all users if thought
more carefully about these potential user difficulties. For example,
they could provide much more carefully structured Applications discs and
produced a Beginnersæ Guide with the machine, dealing with just these
sort of issues. I suspect the source material exists in many LEAs
already. Another useful addition might be fact sheets with answers to
the other more commonly asked questions, from the days when they did run
an educational hotline for schools, which could be supplied on request
and made available to support agencies for duplication and distribution.
4.6
With regard to the outline font manager, it should be made available
with the machine or, at least, Acorn should supply more information with
the machine about this most essential upgrade. At present, end users are
paying for it over and over again within the cost of each program they
buy which provides it; something that is also unfair on the software
houses themselves.
4.6
Acorn may claim that they are now listening to customers but the fact is
that we and many others have been saying these sort of things for what
seems a very long time.
4.6
I suspect that a major new market which is opening up, consists of those
potential customers (usually computer illiterate from a non games
playing background) who have never bothered with computers before but
are now encouraged to the view that, maybe, they are worth considering
after all. The critical factor for the users is not the the speed of the
machine, the quality of the graphics, the relative merits of different
items of software or even small price differences. It is the simplicity
with which they can get started on useful tasks such as word processing
and drawing. At present, on Acorn computers, it is not as simple as it
could be for reasons that are nothing to do with the machine itself but
everything to do with a lack of consideration for the requirements of
this sort of end user.
4.6
Finally, if Acorn want a suggestion for a technical development, useful
for the (majority of) users who do not have a hard-disc, they should
look at ways of increasing the storage capacity of their floppy drives
to 1.2mb.
4.6
Martyn Wilson, Inspector for Technology, Hampshire LEA
4.6
Å    Joystick interfaces Ö RTFM kindly rang from Jersey to say that
although their Joystick interface voids the A3000æs warranty, it does
not void the warranty on the A400/1 series. I dislike internal
Édonglesæ, so I admitted Iæd already bought one from for their rival.
4.6
The Serial Portæs gadget is packed into a neat breakout box with
Archimedes and printer sockets at the ends, two joystick 9-pin D-types
and a printer / games switch on top. My stiff printer cable pulled it
off the Archimedes, so I made a half-metre ribbon cable to bring it to
my desk at front-left.
4.6
Their Tutor program prompted for stick actions and each matching
keystroke and made a command file for the joystick Rmodule. Their
compiler took text-files with simple keywords for stick actions, flags
and logic. Examples ranged from Alerion to Zarch.
4.6
The Rmodule stayed active through games, BASIC and Rhapsody. My early
version lacks <shift-Fn>, <ctrl-Fn> and <shift-ctrl-Fn>, as used in
View, Edit or Rhapsody, but took all the regular keys.
4.6
Itæs fun. Itæs also given me 10 switches without fuss or I/O podule. Iæm
building a low-tech ÉKnob-boxæ for it, with <x>, <y>, <z> look_> _shift
and 3 bits to select Eye or 1-6 objects. (I reproduce this last sentence
in the hope that it means something to someone! Ed.) Nik Kelly,
Liverpool.
4.6
Å    Schema Ö Just a brief note on this acclaimed spreadsheet. A friend,
who has just bought Schema, invited me to try it on his A440. My first
reaction to its speed, presentation and the facilities, such as
functions and macros, was that it was an excellent program. However, I
very quickly found a glaring bug:
4.6
Inserting extra rows and/or columns in the middle of an existing sheet
results in replicated formulae having Éholesæ in the new parts and
incorrect references after the insertions.
4.6
I then found that changing a column of figures on a Éwhat ifæ basis
resulted in formulae being changed into text and hence failing to
recalculate. My trial run was done on a very simple sheet so changing
the text back was very easy but it should not be necessary. The person
whose machine and program I was using has to work with real and
sometimes very large spreadsheets Ö correcting formulae is not on for
him!
4.6
I have used PC packages such as Lotus 1-2-3 and Symphony, to name but
half a dozen, so I have a fair idea what these things should do. I know
that the above named products cost about three times as much as Schema
but there are some which cost only half, such as Quattro, which can at
least give a guide to the standards expected.
4.6
Having said all that, I did like Schema and will consider buying it when
the above mentioned faults have been corrected. I would also ask the
writer(s) of the program if they can arrange for only the marked block
to be printed without the column letters and row numbers. One thing I
would like to see in a spreadsheet is the ability to select only a few,
non adjacent, rows for printing (or perhaps I missed how to do that in
the short time I had for play!). Dave Livsey, Exeter.
4.6
I passed these comments on to Dave Clare who told us they were aware of
the problems and that they will be cured in the next release of Schema
which will be supplied to all registered users free of charge (Minerva,
are you listening?). Also, they only occur after inserting new rows or
columns and copying into that area, not if you copy or move a block of
data or formulae. The point about printing labels is already catered for
Ö <shift-f7> turns off labels and <shift-f6> turns off the grid as
explained in the manual and shown on the Default menu of the main Schema
Sheet menu. Dave Livseyæs last point is being taken into account for
future releases of Schema. For the moment, the only way is to copy the
relevant areas to a blank part of the sheet and print the marked block.
Ed.
4.6
Å    Musical Macs Ö I would like to pick up on a point raised by Brian
Cowan in his Hardware Column (Issue 4.5 p22) where he states that, in
his view, since the advent of Impression 2, there is no need for
Archimedes owners to feel envious of Mac owners. This may be true of DTP
but, unlike the Archimedes, the Mac has excellent support for musical
applications, particularly professional Midi sequencing and direct to
hard disc audio recording.
4.6
With the release (at last) of Inspiration, Pandoraæs excellent Midi
sequencer, (I disagreed with the poor review it got in Risc User Ö and
with the fact that they thought Studio 24 Plus was good.) we now have a
sequencer which competes with the best on the Mac. There are still a few
features missing, though those it has are well implemented. It has very
powerful editing facilities, though it has no scorewriting abilities.
However, because it saves its files in the Midi Files Standard, as does
Rhapsody, it should, in theory, be possible to use Rhapsody and
Inspiration together.
4.6
However, it is the hardware support that puts the Mac far ahead of the
current Archimedes situation. For example, Digidesignæs ÉSoundToolsæ
expansion card for the Mac provides CD quality sampling and playback
(much like Armadilloæs A616). However, SoundTools has on-board memory
and intelligence enabling it to get on with the business of sampling/
playback whilst the host Mac can be running a Midi Sequencer, which in
turn can instruct SoundTools as to which samples to play, and when. The
multi-tasking Archimedes cannot do this Ö the A616 takes over the
Archimedes as a single task, preoccupying the processor and using the
main memory.
4.6
Then there are DSP cards. A Digital Signal Processing chip is a very
fast number cruncher (some are rated as high as 80 MIPs) dedicated to...
processing signals. They can do all sorts of things to digitised sound
(time delays, pitch changing, dynamic control, digital filtering, etc),
all in real time.
4.6
For people who still think that 4 MIPs is fast, Symetrix claim that
their recently launched DPR44 4-track digital recording and editing
system uses a processor running at 400 MIPs! It wonæt be cheap, though.
4.6
(Incidentally, for those of you still wary of dongles, I have two
dongles dangling off the back of my 410 Ö Impression and Inspiration Ö
and have not experienced any problems so far.)
4.6
The prospect of a Mac emulator sounds interesting, though youæd need a
pretty hefty ARM to emulate a 25MHz 68030 Mac 2. However, if you could
also hook up Mac Nubus expansion cards...
4.6
I am not particularly impressed with emulators in general. You get
accustomed to the native speed of any machine and emulation of other
environments will always be slower than native mode operation.
4.6
Iæve had an Archimedes now for three years and, as a programmeræs
machine, I still think itæs the beeæs knees but Iæd like to see the
Archimedes take on the Mac market in the music field the way that it has
in the DTP field.  David Lenthal.
4.6
Å    Starfleet encounter Ö Alan Highet gave a very unfavourable impression
of the program which was, I think, a bit unfair. (The author of the
program writes.)
4.6
Alan criticises the lack of a Éone player versus the computeræ option.
It results from the complexity of the gameplay which makes it quite
difficult (impossible?) to implement a good computer opponent. In any
case, isnæt it nicer to play with a fellow human being? Starfleet
Encounter has been designed to administrate the gameplay; you can regard
it as a kind of board game with a computerized referee and thatæs how
you have to judge it Ö even if there is an arcade action part.
4.6
Alanæs next point of criticism is that the players canæt hide their
plans from the opponent. This is not really true. The facility to
execute pre-programmed command macros is one mechanism to do so (these
sequences can be written before the players meet and can then be loaded
in). Secondly, who can deny that chess-players, for example, can hide
their plans from each other?
4.6
That Alan doesnæt like the method of programming the ships, is no
surprise to me. It really is somewhat difficult! This may be true if you
make use of all the programming features (functions, if-else-endif,
variables) but restrict yourself to the basic facilities and itæs
absolutely simple.
4.6
Finally, it is obvious that the simultaneous use of the keyboard by two
persons is not ideal, but how can Alan say it doesnæt work? I play
Starfleet Encounter quite often and I can assure you: it works!
4.6
Starfleet Encounter is available for ú10, sent in by cheque to Daniel
Tamberg Software, Landgrafenstr. 9, 1000 Berlin 30, Germany. This
includes a 28K on-disc manual and several example sequ-ences.  Daniel
Tamberg, Berlin.  A
4.6

4.6
Design Concept
4.6
New
4.6

4.6
Atomwide
4.6
From 4.5 page 26
4.6
But please can you strip in a change? The ú275 at the end of the first
paragraph should be changed to ú199. OK?
4.6

4.6
Computer Concepts
4.6
New
4.6

4.6
Computer Concepts
4.6
New
4.6

4.6
PipeLine
4.6
Gerald Fitton
4.6
Thanks once again to all who have written to me. As I write, I have half
a dozen discs which I have not yet returned; they will be returned as
soon as possible. You are getting more ambitious in your uses of
PipeDream and the quality of the applications which you send me are
excellent. This increased complexity means that it takes me a bit longer
to understand exactly what you have done and, consequently, there is a
delay in returning your disc to you Ö especially since I give priority
to letters asking for help.
4.6
Schema vs PipeDream
4.6
I have been sent spreadsheet benchmark comparisons between V 3.14 of
PipeDream and V 1.03 of Schema. I donæt have Schema myself so I am
unable to test out the claims but they come from a source I believe to
be honest. Possibly a new version of Schema has been issued since the
tests were done so these figures may be out of date, however, here are
some of the results.
4.6
Pipedream is about five time faster at manual recalculation. PipeDream
loads its own format files in about two thirds of the time Schema takes
for its internal format files. Both will load the universal CSV files
but Schema takes about 20 to 30 times longer to do so. PipeDream is
about four times faster than Schema when scrolling around the spread
sheet. Printing from PipeDream is 2 to 3 times faster than Schema.
PipeDream uses about half the memory that Schema does and PipeDream uses
memory dynamically (it gives up what it doesnæt need). Schema sorts in
about the same time as PipeDream but PipeDream updates cell references
whilst sorting. The version of Schema tested has a bug in the ÉInsert
rowæ; this bug causes cell references to be upgraded incorrectly.
4.6
Of course, Iæm sure that Schema will be upgraded and will improve its
performance. It does have some facilities such as built in charts that
PipeDream handles another way (e.g. by exporting data as CSV files to,
say, Presenter or GraphBox). Against that, PipeDream is more than just a
spreadsheet and has many facilities that Schema doesnæt. I think it
unlikely that anyone with PipeDream will want to add Schema to their
range of packages. If you have a different opinion or if you have
benchmarks which contradict the figures I have quoted then please write
to me so that I can present the other side of the story.
4.6
PipeDream on the Z88
4.6
Since I mentioned that I have a Z88, I have received half a dozen
letters specifically about linking the Archimedes to the Z88. Perhaps
the forum for such comment is through the PipeDream User Group. The
Pipedream User Group has a Newsletter and provides some technical
support. Write to me (at Abacus Training Ö address on the back inside
cover) if youære interested in joining.
4.6
Transferring files
4.6
PipeDream 1 was View Professional on the BBC Micro and was called
PipeDream on the Z88. View Professional came first and was written by
Mark Colton in 6502 code (the CPU of the BBC Micro). Mark translated
this program into Z80 code for the Cambridge Z88. Robert Macmillan (with
others) re-wrote the code in the high level C language and compiled it
for use under MS-DOS (for the PC range) and Arthur; this version became
known as PipeDream 2. PipeDream 3 is the multitasking, RISC-OS version
and was released at the Acorn User show on 21st August 1989; I am told
that the master disc was Émintedæ at 6 am that day! All versions of
PipeDream are upgrade compatible, so you can safely create a PipeDream
file on a Z88 or in View Professional knowing that it will run on a PC
under MS-DOS or on the Archimedes. PipeDream files created on a PC under
MS-DOS will run on the Archimedes under RISC-OS.
4.6
You have to be a bit more careful working backwards from the Archimedes
to the Z88 or to a PC because there are some features available in
PipeDream 3 on the Archimedes that are absent from PipeDream 1 or 2 but,
so long as you are careful, your formulae will work. Of course, text
files in the system font have no downward compatibility problems.
4.6
Manual recalculation
4.6
Some sheets or databases with many functions littering the document are
of the type where you need a lot of data entry before you need the
result of a recalculation. As an example, I add about a dozen names and
addresses to the PipeLine database at a time before printing labels etc.
If you use <ctrl-FO> and change the recalculation from auto to manual,
you will find that this speeds up data entry. Of course, you can change
it back or use <ctrl-A> to force a recalculation when youæve finished.
4.6
Mode 0
4.6
If you drop into mode 0 before doing a massive sort operation then you
will save about 20% of the sort time.
4.6
Default colours
4.6
The bug, ÉIncorrect number of output bits Ö printing cancelledæ will
materialise if you use a different colour scheme from the PipeDream
default. I have now been asked what the default colours are by some of
you who have lost the original somewhere! Use <ctrl-FR> and then, from
the top, the colours are 7, 0, 2, 11, 14, 11, 4. It seems that it is the
background colour which causes the problem rather than the other colours
(but you might know better!) so make sure you use the default.
4.6
Printing sprites
4.6
An earlier bug was that PipeDream would not print sprites correctly from
non square pixel modes (see Maurice Edmundsonæs article in the May 1990
Archive). This has been fixed sometime around version 3.1. I am still
getting letters from people with this problem who have not yet upgraded.
If you have a version earlier than 3.10, you should upgrade. If you have
3.10 or later then there is no urgency about upgrading; the latest
version is 3.14.
4.6
StartUp
4.6
PipeDream is a wonderfully integrated package which can be used as a
wordprocessor, spreadsheet and database all within the same document.
Because it can do all these things at once, its versatility makes
setting up a document seem more complicated than it really is.
4.6
If what you want to do in one document is mainly word-processing with a
few of the spreadsheet facilities included, it is better to set the
file-options differently from one which is to be used mainly as a
spreadsheet. In particular, unnecessary difficulties about such things
as whether cells expect their first entry to be left aligned text or
right aligned numerical values arise because the file-options have been
inappropriately set.
4.6
Almost any set of options can be preset by using a macro Ö but it is
unfortunate for the beginner that macros are a PipeDream facility best
tackled later rather than earlier in the learning process. Robert
Macmillan has provided a couple of macros for the Archive monthly disc
(also on the April 1991 PipeLine disc), one where the options are more
suited to a Spreadsheet (called new_ sheet) and one more suited to a
wordprocessor (called new_word). To run a macro, all you need to do is
double click <select> on the macro and it will run, carrying out all its
functions. Try the new_word macro and you will have a Édefaultæ word
processor document. Double click on new_ sheet and you will have a
default spreadsheet. You may then change the options further if you wish
but you will not be able to save your new option set as a changed
new_word or new_sheet macro. To change the macro you need to learn a
range of ÉEditing macroæ skills.
4.6
You may have a particular requirement for a Éstartup macroæ which uses a
set of file-options that you like but, as yet, you havenæt the skill to
write it. If so, send me a formatted disc (plus return postage and a
self addressed sticky label) with an example file, set up as you want
it, and Iæll send you back the disc with a macro that will do the job
for you.
4.6
Iteration
4.6
Malcolm Brown has sent me an interesting example of iteration which he
has used to solve a financial problem. The problem is to calculate the
size of loan repayments (e.g. hire purchase payments) knowing the size
of the loan, the interest rate and the repayment period. It is on the
Archive monthly disc and will be on the April 1991 PipeLine disc.
PipeDream does have financial functions (have a look at pages 157 to 160
of the User Guide) which could have been used to solve Malcolmæs problem
more elegantly. However, I like his solution because I believe it to be
an example of the use of PipeDreamæs iteration facility which is neither
too simple to be useful nor too difficult to understand what is
happening.
4.6
Generally, mathematicians use iteration only if a formula contains the
wanted variable Éimplicitlyæ in such a way that the formula can not be
Éinvertedæ (solved) to obtain an Éexplicitæ solution for the wanted
variable. Quadratic equations can be solved Éexplicitlyæ but quintics
(fifth power equations) and many Éreal lifeæ mathematical problems can
not. If you send me a solution to Malcolmæs ÉAmortisation Annuityæ
problem using PipeDreamæs built in financial functions, I will include
it on one of the quarterly PipeLine discs (and you will get a free
PipeLine disc or a refund if youæve paid already). The financial
functions of PipeDream will allow you to create a Érepayment scheduleæ
(showing just how much is still owed at any time).
4.6
Overseas PipeLine charges
4.6
Many of you have an annual subscription to the quarterly PipeLine series
which Éruns outæ with the April 1991 disc. The UK renewal is ú18 and, to
make it easy to calculate, Iæve decided that all overseas renewals will
be ú20. The extra ú2 covers postage to the EC and, since I enjoy
communicating with distant lands, I think Iæll subsidise subscribers
that are further away.
4.6
April 1991 PipeLine disc
4.6
Many of you have written in approving of the review on the January 1991
PipeLine disc which demonstrated how !FontFX could be used with !Draw to
illustrate a PipeDream document. Recently, I have been having trouble
using Acornæs !Draw to create my illustrations because I added a lot
more fonts to my !Fonts directory. Now I have an answer to the problem Ö
!Draw1╜. This is available on Shareware 34 and on the April 1991
PipeLine disc. !Draw1╜ has all the features of !Draw and many more. An
explanation of how it works, illustrations of some of its features and
how well it integrates with PipeDream will be included. !Draw1╜, unlike
Acornæs !Draw and the current version of Poster, will accept more than
100 fonts.
4.6
Puzzles
4.6
Another item on the January 1991 PipeLine disc which has been well
received is the Puzzles. If you have one which you would like to
contribute then, if it is suitable, I shall be most pleased to include
it on a PipeLine disc.
4.6
Interword files
4.6
Help! Does anyone know the best way or have any advise about importing
Interword files into PipeDream?
4.6
Amstrad CPC and PCW
4.6
Help! Has anyone any advice on serial port transfer of ASCII text from
Locoscript on an Amstrad to PipeDream?
4.6
In conclusion
4.6
Thank you for all your contributions. Please be patient if you donæt get
an instant reply. Abacus Training is not my full-time job (even though
my wife might say differently!); I teach a whole range of different
subjects at the local College of Further Education. So you see, I have
to fit PipeLine enquiries into the cracks between my College duties!   A
4.6

4.6
Contact Box
4.6
Å    Austrian Archimedes User Group will they hold their next meeting in
Vienna on March 22nd. For details, contact Mr T Halbritter, Laa 1, A-
3040 Neulengbach. Phone 02772Ö4654 (home) or 0222Ö80125Ö232 (office).
4.6
Å    Glossop Computer Club meets every Monday at Oddfellows Hall, 69 High
Street West and has a very strong Archimedes contingent. For details,
contact John Dearn on 0457Ö862743 or Alan Crofton on 061Ö436Ö4658.
4.6
Å    Wakefield BBC User Group has meetings which are relevant to Archimedes
on 3rd April, 1st May and 3rd July at Holmfield House, Thornes Park,
Wakefield. Details from Chris Hughes on 0924Ö379778 or Rick Sterry on
0924Ö255515.
4.6
Å    Warrington Ö Any Archimedes users or user groups, please contact Robin
Melling, 80 Severn Road, Culcheth, Warrington WA3 5EB.  A
4.6

4.6
Apricote
4.6
From 4.5 page 6
4.6

4.6
Coroutines in C
4.6
David McQuillan
4.6
Coroutines can be a powerful programming technique and I shall show how
to implement them in Acorn ANSI C.
4.6
öHmm, yes it seems like itæll be OK. It would be much better if it had
nested include files and macros in the input. Could you put a header
with a page number on each page output?ò
4.6
If you have done any amount of programming you know the problem. It
would be easy to write the input if it called the main program passing
each new line. The output would be easy if it called the main program to
get each line. However, they both have to be subroutines of the main
program Ö it seems like it is time for a whole raft of extra static
variables or structures containing state variables to be held between
calls. As more facilities go in, it all becomes more and more rickety,
unintelligible and error prone.
4.6
Coroutines to the rescue
4.6
Coroutines enable you to write a subroutine as if it were the main
routine. The implementation here works only with Acorn ANSI C release 3,
not release 2. I donæt know what changes Beebug ISO C would need. I do
know of one machine on which coroutines are quite impossible without
rewriting the operating system but, normally, the concept can be
implemented fairly easily using assembler.
4.6
Another major use for coroutines is to implement simulations. There is a
famous example by Knuth in his book ÉFundamental Algorithmsæ, in which
he simulates the elevator system in the California Institute of
Technology.
4.6
Coroutines are built into Simula and BCPL and, implicitly, into
Smalltalk and Lisp Ö especially the Scheme dialect.
4.6
Program description
4.6
The program has two coroutines, input and output, which call each other.
The main line does nothing except set it all in motion. The input
coroutine generates the fibonacci numbers and the output coroutine
prints each number and how much more it is than the last number. It is
all fairly simple to do otherwise, coroutines only prove themselves when
the going gets rough.
4.6
A coroutine is called by calling co_resume passing a pointer to a
coroutine structure and a value. The coroutine called will return from a
co_resume call it has made previously and the value will be the return
value. Each coroutine executes on it own stack. The implementation here
has void * type values so structures can be passed from coroutine to
coroutine.
4.6
There is a little question as to which coroutine it is best to start
first. I prefer a demand driven approach starting the output and then
requesting data with NULL indicating the end of data. However, it is
just as reasonable to follow a data driven approach, starting the input
and pushing the data to the output. This is just an example of how
democratic coroutines can be.
4.6
The main program does all the setup. co_initialise must be called once
at the beginning so the main program can be thought of as a coroutine.
co_ create must be called for every other coroutine. The stack size
should be set to some reasonable figure that I canæt advise on easily,
560 bytes are added by co_create for a chunk at the base of each stack.
4.6
The first call to co_resume for a coroutine passes the parameter as a
straightforward parameter to the associated procedure. Every subsequent
call returns from a co_resume call within the coroutine. An error is
generated if any coroutine tries to do a straightforward return.
4.6
So there you are, E=mc2 and donæt blame me if it all blows up.
4.6
/*  > coroutine
4.6
 *
4.6
 *  An example of coroutines.
4.6
 *
4.6
 *  Works on Acorn ANSI C version 3.
4.6
 *  Does not work with ANSI C version 2 Ö tried and
4.6
 *  it looks hard without using assembler.
4.6
 *  Donæt know whatæs needed for Beebug ISO C.
4.6
 *
4.6
 *  Code is very non-portable.
4.6
 *
4.6
 *  No responsibility accepted if you come a cropper using
4.6
 *  the code. In particular I have not tried stack extension
4.6
 *  and interrupts with it.
4.6
 *
4.6
 *  (c) put in Public Domain by David McQuillan Jan 1991
4.6
 */
4.6

4.6
#include <setjmp.h>
4.6
#include <stdio.h>
4.6
#include <stdlib.h>
4.6
#include <string.h>
4.6

4.6
/*  coroutine header  */
4.6

4.6
typedef struct {env ;
4.6
   int      *stack;
4.6
   }  coroutine_t;
4.6

4.6
typedef void co_procedure_t(void *parameter);
4.6

4.6
void co_initialise(coroutine_t *coroutine);
4.6
void co_create(coroutine_t *coroutine, size_t stack_size,co_procedure_t
*proc);
4.6
void *co_resume(coroutine_t *coroutine, void *parameter);
4.6

4.6
/******************************/
4.6
/*  start of example program  */
4.6

4.6
static coroutine_t main_coroutine,input_coroutine,output_coroutine;
4.6
static co_procedure_t input, output;
4.6

4.6
/*  main routine creating + controlling */
4.6
int main(void)
4.6
{printf(ömain\nò) ;
4.6
   co_initialise(&main_coroutine);
4.6
   co_create(&input_coroutine, 2000, &input);
4.6
   co_create(&output_coroutine, 2000, &output);
4.6
   co_resume(&output_coroutine, NULL);
4.6
   printf(öend main\nò);
4.6

4.6
   return 0;
4.6
}
4.6

4.6
/*  input coroutine  */
4.6
static void input(void *parameter)
4.6
{i0 , i1, i2;
4.6

4.6
   printf(öinput generates fibonacci < 100\nò);
4.6

4.6
   i1 = 0;
4.6
   printf(öinput initial %d\nò,i1);
4.6
   co_resume(&output_coroutine, &i1);
4.6
   for (i2 = 1; i2 < 100; i0=i1, i1=i2, i2=i0+i1)
4.6
   {%d\nö , i2);
4.6
      co_resume(&output_coroutine, &i2);
4.6
   }
4.6

4.6
   co_resume(&output_coroutine, NULL);
4.6
}
4.6

4.6
/*  output coroutine  */
4.6

4.6
static void output(void *parameter)
4.6
{*value ;
4.6

4.6
   printf(öoutput number, difference from last\nò);
4.6

4.6
   if ((value = co_resume(&input_ coroutine, NULL)) != NULL)
4.6
   {*value ;
4.6
      int this;
4.6

4.6
      printf(öoutput initial %d\nò, last);
4.6

4.6
      while ((value = co_resume (&input_coroutine,NULL)) != NULL)
4.6
      {*value ;
4.6

4.6
          printf(öoutput %d %d\nò, this, this-last);
4.6
          last = this;
4.6
      }
4.6
   }
4.6
   co_resume(&main_coroutine, NULL);
4.6
}
4.6

4.6
/*  end of example program  */
4.6
/****************************/
4.6

4.6
/*
4.6
 *  Library routines for coroutine_t objects.
4.6
 */
4.6

4.6
/*  _kernel stuff  */
4.6

4.6
#define STACK_DISP 0x230
4.6
#define JMP_SL  8
4.6
#define JMP_FP  6
4.6
#define JMP_SP  7
4.6
#define JMP_LR  9
4.6

4.6
#define V3_FP_MASK 0x80000000
4.6
#define SC_NEXT 1
4.6
#define SC_PREV 2
4.6
#define SC_SIZE 3
4.6

4.6
/*  Resume a coroutine.  */
4.6
/* coroutine may be current coroutine */
4.6

4.6
static coroutine_t *co_current = NULL;
4.6
static void *co_parameter = NULL;
4.6

4.6
void *co_resume(coroutine_t *coroutine, void *parameter)
4.6
{0 )
4.6
   {coroutine ;
4.6
      co_parameter = parameter;
4.6
      longjmp(coroutine->env, 1);
4.6
   }
4.6
   return co_parameter;
4.6
}
4.6

4.6
/* Initialise coroutine handling  */
4.6
/*  Establish the Émainlineæ coroutine  */
4.6

4.6
void co_initialise(coroutine_t *coroutine)
4.6
{setjmp(coroutine->env) ;
4.6
   coroutine->stack = (int *) (coroutine->env[JMP_SL]-STACK_DISP);
4.6
   co_current = coroutine;
4.6
}
4.6

4.6
/*  coroutine starter for co_create  */
4.6
static coroutine_t *co_starter;
4.6
static co_procedure_t *co_start _proc;
4.6

4.6
static void co_start(void)
4.6
{co_start_proc ;
4.6
   (*proc)(co_resume(co_starter, NULL));
4.6
   fprintf(stderr, öExit from coroutine\nò);
4.6
   exit(1);
4.6
}
4.6

4.6
/*  Create coroutine and start executing.  */
4.6
void co_create(
4.6
   coroutine_t *coroutine,
4.6
   size_t stack_size,
4.6
   co_procedure_t *proc )
4.6
{*stack ;
4.6

4.6
   /*  Put STACK_DISP space at beginning of stack  */
4.6
   /*  Do some trial+error initialisation!  */
4.6

4.6
   if ((stack = (int *)malloc(STACK_DISP+stack_size)) == NULL)
4.6
   {fails\nö) ;
4.6
      exit(1);
4.6
   }
4.6

4.6
   memcpy(stack, co_current->stack, STACK_DISP);
4.6

4.6
   stack[SC_NEXT] = NULL;
4.6
   stack[SC_PREV] = NULL;
4.6
   stack[SC_SIZE] = (int)(STACK_ DISP+stack_size);
4.6

4.6
   setjmp(coroutine->env);
4.6
   coroutine->env[JMP_SL] = (int) stack+STACK_DISP;
4.6
   coroutine->env[JMP_SP] = (int) stack+STACK_DISP+stack_size;
4.6
   coroutine->env[JMP_LR] = (int)co_ start;
4.6
   coroutine->stack = stack;
4.6

4.6
   co_start_proc = proc;
4.6

4.6
   co_starter = co_current;
4.6
   co_resume(coroutine, NULL);
4.6
}  A
4.6

4.6
Language Column
4.6
David Wild
4.6
I was very interested to see the reports of new languages in the
February issue of Archive but rather disappointed to see that Acorn have
removed several from their list. While arguing about which language is
best is unlikely to be profitable, there can be no doubt that the
availability of a variety of languages helps to retain the interest of
the computer users and, eventually, lead to progress.
4.6
It isnæt always easy to see why anyone should want to use any particular
language against another. The drive to invent Forth, for instance, came
from the need to write programs to control the movements of a telescope.
The particular technology meant that concise programs were needed, but
most people didnæt want to learn machine code. It may be that the
decline in interest in Forth over the past few years has come because of
the easy availability of compilers on micro-computers.
4.6
Faced with a choice of BASIC, ÉCæ, Pascal and Fortran as a minimum, we
tend to forget just how recent this situation is. Five years ago, I was
working with a project planning program, on a PC, which turned out to
have been written in compiled BASIC. When I asked the people responsible
why they had chosen BASIC they said that, at the time the programs were
written, it was the only reliable compiler that was available. So far as
I know, the programs have now been rewritten using one of the more
modern compilers but it did emphasise that a language like BASIC, for
all its limitations in the Microsoft form (no procedures or multi-line
functions) could be used for programs which would sell, and sell
repeatedly, at prices in excess of ú1000 per copy.
4.6
I recently received, for review, a copy of a new language called
öCharmò. I shall have more to say about this in the next issue of this
column. The author has put a lot of work into it and it certainly seems
to have useful qualities but I did feel that, in the material he sent to
me, he didnæt put enough emphasis on telling me why I ought to be
interested in in another language. One thing I need to know is öwhatæs
in it for me?ò as a programmer. Now that so many programs and appli
cations are clamouring for attention, you need to show why a new one is
worth considering.
4.6
Before starting work on developing something that will involve you in a
great deal of work, you need to assess the size of the potential market.
Often, unfortunately, that will be much smaller than you would like Ö
and there may be nothing that you can do about it. The number of
Archimedes machines in existence gives an upper bound on the number of
copies that you can sell but you will also need to remember that some of
the users wonæt buy anything else anyway, some will not have any
interest in your part of the forest and quite a lot of them will already
have some software that they will use in preference to yours.
4.6
I, for instance, am unlikely to buy Schema Ö not because there is
anything wrong with it, but because I donæt have much need for a
spreadsheet and Pipedream will do all that is necessary. The problem
isnæt just money; with many of the programs I use regularly, I donæt
need to think about the technicalities while I am working and can save
my energy for the work I am doing. A new piece of software needs a lot
more thought at first and for some applications itæs just not worth the
effort.
4.6
To get your message to the maximum number of potential buyers you need
to set out the benefits of your program, and this applies to all
programs, showing why it would be worth having. Set them out in a way
that would help a potential user explain to his boss why the purchase
price would be worth spending. At the same time you must not oversell it
in the way of the advertisements for Microsoftæs latest spreadsheet
which claimed more time savings in a week for the öaverage spreadsheet
userò than the real average user spent using his or her spreadsheet.
4.6
At one time APL was sold in this way, with claims that you could write
an APL program in half an hour while a COBOL programmer would take four
weeks to achieve the same result. I donæt doubt that this was true for
some carefully selected programs, but I wouldnæt have tried to write
them in COBOL anyway.
4.6
If you are trying to sell the idea of a new language it is probably best
to start off, at least to yourself, by explaining in what way it is
better than BASIC. This is not because of the superiority of that
language, but because it is the one which is certainly available to
every Archimedes owner. From then you can go on to explain how it
improves on the other standard languages. In some cases, of course, this
will be by restricting the features while making them easier to use. The
dBase language is a lot less powerful than Pascal or ÉCæ, but you need
much less programming skill to achieve significant results in a limited
field.
4.6
Pascal compilation
4.6
Iæm sorry, but there was a mistake in my article last month. The program
from David Pilling does not multi-task while compiling. However, it is
still well worth buying as it makes the work of developing programs very
much easier. You can do multi-tasking compilations by creating an obey
file with all the necessary instructions in it and then executing it
from within an !Edit task window.
4.6
A decision which affects Pascal programmers is when to use É$includeæ
and when to use Éimportæ to bring in pre-written sections of program. If
the particular routine is only used once in the whole program, there is
probably nothing to choose between them, except that the import method
will lead to a slight reduction in compilation time.
4.6
The big argument for using Éimportæ in your own programs, is when you
need to include similar routines in various parts of your program. I
have a number of string handling routines which have their own routines
on which they call. If you use a simple É$includeæ method you may end up
with including the same routines several times in the same program. To
avoid this, you may need to include all these Épre-routinesæ at the
start of the main program, which then means that one simple include
statement wonæt do the job. This is one place where the Éimportæ method
really scores as, no matter how many times a routine is imported by your
program, only one copy of the Éaofæ file will be appended when the final
program is linked.  A
4.6

4.6
EFF
4.6
New
4.6

4.6
Multi-media Column
4.6
Ian Lynch
4.6
Last month, I finished by saying that I would go through the authoring
of a simple Genesis 2 application, but first a couple of points about
distribution. The application can be made available to other people by
supplying it with a copy of the Genesis Browser Ö as long as it is not
for gain. (The Browser allows other users to look through your appli
cation, but not to alter it.) In other words, Oak Solutions will allow
the Browser to be distributed as long as you are not selling the
application commercially. If you do want to sell commercial applications
authored in Genesis, it will be necessary to pay Oak Solutions a small
royalty for the Browser.
4.6
Authoring a Genesis 2 application
4.6
The application I am going to produce will provide some support for AT
14 (Sound and music) of the Science National Curriculum at level 5. If
this doesnæt mean anything to non-education readers, donæt worry, it
confuses most people in education too! The point is just that I need a
focus and this gives me an excuse to put text, graphics and sound into
the application.
4.6
Planning
4.6
To author any application, it is necessary to have a topic, and an idea
of what you are aiming at. This can be planned out in great detail with
story boards, flow charts etc or it can be done on the hoof, so to
speak. Your preferred method will depend on several factors, not least
the complexity of the task, but it is easy to modify your work, so a
flexible approach is always possible. This rather reminds me of the
conventional wisdom of producing flow charts before writing a program.
Some do, but many donæt and many do their planning in a different way.
The only time I tried to use a flow chart for a piece of assembler I was
writing on the BBC B, before writing it, I got in such a tangle I
started again. My only useful flowcharts have been the ones I did to
pass computational Mathematics examinations at University Ö well at
least I got a certificate for them! I do intend to encourage planning
but not with very rigid rules or giving the idea that there is one
universal öright answerò to planning methods.
4.6
Our application needs to address the following information supplied by
the National Curriculum.
4.6
Å    understand that the frequency of a vibrating source affects the pitch
of the sound it produces.
4.6
Å    understand the relationship between the loudness of a sound and the
amplitude of vibration of the source.
4.6
Å    understand the importance of noise control in the environment.
4.6
öPupils should explore sound in terms of wave motion and its frequency.
They should have opportunities to develop their understanding of the
properties and behaviour of sound by developing a wave model, for
example, through observation... This should be related to pupilsæ
experience of sounds and musical instruments, acoustic and electronic
instruments and recording and synthesis.ò
4.6
The first thing we must decide is how comprehensive the application is
to be, what resources are available and so on. One good point to note is
that, if you own the Genesis 2 editor, you can take someone elseæs work
and add refinements quite easily. In fact, a teaching application about
sound could well employ other RISC-OS applications such as Armadeus but
we will keep things simple since it canæt be guaranteed that you all
have any particular application.
4.6
What we will set out to do is to reinforce the main physical parameters
of waves, (wavelength, amplitude and frequency) and also how wavelength
and frequency are related to speed. Our application needs a title page
and then some linked pages which interactively explain the words and
concepts involved. We should try to make the presentation of the
information attractive and outline fonts make a big difference here, as
does a multi-sync monitor in a 256 colour mode! However, before I get
too carried away, for this exercise I will only use the system font,
Trinity and Homerton and try to make the application suitable for a
basic set up. I would like to know whether or not this approach should
be general.
4.6
Finally, interaction is known to hold the attention better than simple
presentation, so it helps if we force the user to answer questions and
make decisions when using the application.
4.6
Getting started
4.6
Starting the Genesis Editor is done by double-clicking on it in the
usual way. When it is installed on the icon bar, <menu> produces the
option NEW, from which you give the application a name, in this case
Sound and then drag the icon into a suitable viewer directory. A blank
page appears which just looks like an empty RISC-OS window. The size and
shape of the window can be altered in the usual RISC-OS way. In order to
get information to display in the window, frames are used in a similar
way to a desktop publisher. A frame is created by simply dragging the
mouse holding down <select>. Once a frame exists, you can put a variety
of things into it. First you can type text, which can be edited etc like
in a DTP. Next, you can drop Draw files or sprites into the frame which
can be scaled and dragged about. Then there are Euclid films and 3-D
pictures, Maestro files and Armadeus sound samples. Finally, you can
drop applications into frames and these can then be launched from
Genesis and run as if part of it.
4.6
The title page
4.6
First drag out a box (simply drag the mouse with <select> held down) the
width of the window and type in the text öAn example of an approach to
Science AT14ò. Then MENU Ö INFO Ö FONT Ö Trinity.Bold and Size 20. This
gives us a title. Now to centre the title MENU Ö FORMAT Ö CENTRE. Note
that you must click in the frame you want to apply something to before
you request the style or format from the menu, otherwise, if you had
several frames, Genesis would not know which you wanted to alter. Next,
we make a larger box underneath in order to type in the text. The text
is entered at 13 point in Trinity.Medium font. In order to make the page
look attractive I have used a grey background for the whole page and a
white background for the frame.
4.6
The picture below shows what it should look like. Note there are no
scroll bars on this window. This is to prevent adjustment since it is
not required in this application. To alter the window settings, you need
to go PAGE Ö INFO Ö WINDOW and call up a dialogue which allows you to
specify which of the window adjustments is available.
4.6
Buttons
4.6
The last thing to do is to make a way of moving from this page to the
next. Buttons are small objects which cause something to happen when the
user double clicks on them. Several of the ones more commonly needed are
provided in GenLib, a genesis resources library, but you can also design
ones of your own quite easily. I have used a öNextò button on my page so
that the next page I design will be displayed automatically when the
user double clicks on this button.
4.6
Well, perhaps a little long winded, but we have our first page. Next
time, I will build on from here some more pages describing how they can
be linked. I will pass on the application and the Browser to Paul so
that, if you get the Archive monthly program disc, you will be able to
see how the application is built up during the next few issues.  A
4.6

4.6

4.6

4.6
Lindis International
4.6
From 4.4 page 26
4.6

4.6
The Serial Port
4.6
New
4.6

4.6
Using the PC emulator Ö Part 8
4.6
Richard Forster
4.6
If you have followed the series thus far, you should be able to write
powerful and graceful batch files with ease, aided only with a humble
copy of edlin. This month it should become even easier, as we take a
look at a few of the more advanced features of edlin. Of course, the
information is applicable to any file created by edlin, from batch files
to simple text files.
4.6
The first command of interest is öcò which allows you to copy a block of
text from a to b. To demonstrate the various abilities of this command
first create a text file of ten lines. There are no restrictions on the
contents but if you keep each line less than one screen line in length
and with different text on each line, you should find what follows
easier to understand.
4.6
The copy command is one of the more informative commands which edlin
offers. If you forget to mention where you want to place the text it
will actually tell you this, as opposed to giving a cryptic response,
more typical of other commands. This is useful, not least because there
are a lot of available options for the command. The basic command syntax
is:
4.6
<range-start>,<range-end>,<line> ,<number>c
4.6
The most important parts of the command are the commas. If you exclude
one of the other details (as we shall do below), it is still vital to
include the comma or the computer will be unable to work out which bit
of data has been left out. The only exception to this is the comma after
<line>. The most likely copy you will want to do, is to copy a block of
lines a single time. To demonstrate, we shall copy lines 3-5 into the
gap between lines 8 and 9. Type in:
4.6
3,5,9c
4.6
If you now do a listing of your file, you will see that there are now
thirteen lines, with line 3-5 identical to lines 9-11. From this, you
can see that the third item in the command shows the line just after
which you want your text to be inserted. You will notice that we have
not used the final comma or number. We could use these if we wanted more
than one copy of the line. So, to have four copies of line 1 placed
after line 4 type:
4.6
1,1,5,4c
4.6
A listing of the file will now reveal four copies of line 1, starting
from line 4 as required. You should also notice that the asterisk which
marks the current line has moved to line 4. Whenever we do any copy
command, you will find that it moves to the beginning of the new version
of the copied text. This asterisk is actually very useful, as it allows
us a couple of short cuts with the copy command.
4.6
If you omit the starting number for the range, the copied lines with
start from the current line and continue to the ending range. If you
omit the second number, the block copied will end with the current line.
You can also omit both numbers which will cause only the current line to
be copied. To copy lines 2-4 with our present situation we could
therefore type:
4.6
2,,8c
4.6
and if we then wanted line 8 to be copied twice so it occupied lines 14
and 15
4.6
,,14,2c
4.6
If you want to copy something to the end of your text, you do not need
to specify the exact number. If you had a 50 line long document and you
required a line of text to be copied to line 51 (the next free line),
then the third number can be set to anything above 50. The only
difference between the copies is that the current line is set to the
value given. Putting a 75 would therefore append the required text and
then place the asterisk on line 75. When you list text, the listing is
centred around the asterisk line and so you may find the text apparently
has övanishedò after trying such a command.
4.6
It may happen that you wish to move a block of text. You could of course
do this by using the copy command and then using the delete command on
the original block of text but edlin supplies an extra command with all
of this rolled into one, ömò, which, not surprisingly, stands for move.
The syntax of the command is very similar to that of copy, except that
there is no provision for making more than one copy.
4.6
As with the copy command, move allows you to miss out the starting
number, ending number or both, and will take the missing digits to be
the current line. You can also specify the number of lines you want to
move by putting a + followed by the requisite number of line instead of
the ending number. Create a new text file of ten lines and then type in:
4.6
3,+2,10m
4.6
If you list the text you will see that lines 3-5 have been moved to
before line 10. This may be hard to see at first, because lines 3-5 have
now been deleted and so everything from 6 onwards has been moved back 3
places. The lines we have just moved should now be occupying the space
from 7-10, as you would expect. Move has the same restrictions as copy,
namely that the commas must always be included in the command and also
that the range being copied, and the place being copied too, must not
overlap.
4.6
There are two other facilities available to us which you would expect to
find in any editing program - namely a search command and a replace
command. The first part of both commands is the range, and it is the
same for the two of them. As with the copy and move range, it consists
of two numbers separated by a comma, although there is no comma after
the second number.
4.6
Omitting the first number will start the search from the line after the
current line and omitting the second number of the range will continue
the search to the end of the file. You can of course omit both but
whatever you do, you must still include the comma in your command line.
4.6
Directly after the range, you also have the option of placing a question
mark. If you place one in the search command, you will be prompted for
confirmation after each occurrence of the string and pressing <N> will
get edlin to continue with the search. A question mark with the replace
command will get the computer to ask you for confirmation at each change
that occurs.
4.6
The syntax for the two commands is as follows
4.6
<range-start>,<range-end>[?]r <string1><CTRL-Z><string2>
4.6
<range-start>,<range-end>[?]s <string1>
4.6
The name of the command (either r or s) occurs after the range and
before the text. String1 is the text that the computer searches for and
it begins directly after the command letter. If, for example, you type a
space after the s, then that will be considered to be part of the
command. If you are using search, this is where the command ends and
edlin will name the line containing string the current line.
4.6
Replace obviously requires a second string parameter so that the program
knows what to change the old string to. You can omit this second string
by simply pressing <return> after the first string and any occurrences
of the first string will be deleted. If you want a replacement string,
you have to indicate the separation between the two strings to the
program. Spaces and commas are allowed as part of the strings and so is
the end of file marker, if used. You should therefore press <f6> or
<ctrl-<ctrl-Z> in between the two strings.
4.6
If I wanted to go through my 500 line program, selectively changing the
occurrences of öthe pc emulatorò to öthe emulatorò between lines 300 and
500 I would type in:
4.6
300,?rthe pc emulator^Zthe emulator
4.6
Whenever the string öthe pc emulatorò turned up, edlin would print to
the screen what the line would look like with it replaced with öthe
emulatorò ask the awe inspiring question öOK?ò. A response of anything
except a öyò would have edlin continuing its search for another
occurrence of the string without changing anything. When the task
finally comes to an end I would find that the current line was the one
containing the last replaced string. If, in the above example, I had
wanted all the changes to happen automatically without prompting, I
would have left out the ?, and if I had only wanted it from the current
line onwards, I would have left out the 300.
4.6
There is one last edlin command for us to look at: ötò for transfer Ö
this allows us to merge another file with the file we are editing. The
syntax of t is:
4.6
<line>t<filename>
4.6
Line is simply the number of the line before which you want to place the
other text. Not surprisingly, it you omit a number in this place, edlin
will take line to be the current line. After the t, you simply put your
filename, including path if necessary, and it will be loaded in and
placed inside your program. So, if I was writing my letters on edlin and
I had a file called ömiddle.txtò which contained a paragraph I always
placed in the middle of my letters, to place it in the middle of the 150
line letter I had in memory, I would type:
4.6
150tmiddle.txt
4.6
Why I would be writing my letters on edlin is left as an exercise for
the reader. Next time, we shall head back to the boot disc and dissect
some of the programs on it so far unscathed.  A
4.6

4.6
Matters Arising
4.6
Å    ARM3 Software Ö CJE Micros have admitted that a number of their ARM3
boards have been supplied with control software written by Aleph One.
CJE Micros have apologised to Aleph One and agreed to make a payment in
compensation. CJE Micros now have a new version of their ARM3 control
software which includes a number of new facilities. Updates are
available free for all CJE ARM3 users.
4.6
Aleph One have received payment from CJE Micros and have immediately
(and very generously) donated 30% of the compensation money to interna
tional relief through Archiveæs charity appeal. Many thanks to Aleph
One. Ed.
4.6
Å     Removable Drive problems Ö By now, we have had enough experience of
the MR45 drives to spot a couple of weaknesses.
4.6
First of all, it looks as if, because the unit is so compact, there can
be problems caused by overheating. (Actually, we were given this tip-off
by someone using them with Macs Ö MR45æs are usually placed underneath a
Mac Plus or SE.) The cooling fan is underneath the case so, firstly, you
must never put the drives on a soft surface where the feet might sink in
and allow the openings around the fan to become obscured. Secondly,
given that the drive is on a hard surface, donæt pack other things too
closely around it, especially at the rear left which is where the fan
is, because this again could inhibit the air flow. (This does not apply
to the original metal-cased MR45æs because they have fans facing out of
the back of the box.) Putting things on top of the drive seems to be
less critical unless it is something that itself generates heat. I
discovered this the hard way Ö I had my WS3000 modem on top of it which
itself runs quite hot, especially when you also put a pile of papers on
top of it as I did. When I suffered a disc error and lost a couple of
articles, I moved the drive to a position where I wouldnæt be tempted to
cover it with paperwork.
4.6
The second weakness is that it looks as if the auto-parking of the heads
is not infallible. In other words, if you regularly switch the power off
without pressing the release button or dismounting the drive, it is
possible that you may get a head crash eventually. So, you have been
warned Ö always remove the disc before switching off the power. The
problem is, of course, that you cannot allow for power failures. What we
are therefore saying is that the drives are not 100% reliable. In fact,
Oak Computers have now decided not to supply these 45M removable drives
because they donæt feel that the drives fit in with their özero defectò
policy.
4.6
Never-the-less, I am using MR45æs all day, every day and I am prepared
to take the risk because they are just SO convenient for me. All the
material for the magazine is held on one of these discs and I can take
it backwards and forwards between home and the office. Before I had the
MR45æs, I had to use floppies to carry the text back and forth, copying
it to and from the hard drives at each end which was a real pain. If I
wanted to do some work at home, I had to remember to copy the files to
floppy and then remember to copy them back onto the hard drive in the
office. As it is, I know that I will always have access to the most up-
to-date information and all I have to remember to do is bring the MR45
cartridge home with me. I am aware that there is always the possibility
of data corruption, so I back up all the current files onto the fixed
hard discs fairly regularly.  A
4.6

4.6
Small Ads
4.6
Å    18-pin heavy-duty Hermes printer, 100 cps, hardly used ú950 offers?
PipeDream 3 ú55, Terramex ú5. Phone 0483Ö62586
4.6
Å    30 colour pallettes Ö send ú4 or ú3, S.A.E. and formatted disc to R C
Melling, 80 Severn Road, Culcheth, Warrington, Cheshire, WA3 5EB.
4.6
Å    A310æs for sale Ö several of different configurations. For details,
phone 0272Ö342180.
4.6
Å    A310M colour + backplane, 40M hard drive ú950. (Will split.) A440/1
with 8M ram ú1700, Geniscan A5 scanner ú95, Panasonic KXP1124 ú140,
Cumana 40/80 drive ú70, Acorn DTP ú40, Rhapsody ú35, Knowledge Organiser
ú30, Interdictor 1 ú10, ArcDFS ú20. Phone Geoff on 0487Ö80632.
4.6
Å    A3000 1 M ram board upgradable to 4M ú50. Phone 0332Ö701969.
4.6
Å    A3000 colour ú700, Chromalock 235 ú175, Atelier ú70, Splice ú15, Tween
ú15, Render Bender ú45, five graphics discs ú15. All ono, ú950 the lot.
Phone 081Ö670Ö8055.
4.6
Å    Acorn Colour Monitor reasonable condition úoffers Ö buyer collects
(Sheffield). Phone 0742Ö750619 evenings or mbox on Archive (#419) or
Arcade BBS (#274).
4.6
Å    Acorn DTP ú60, Genesis ú40, FWPlus 2 ú40, BBC Elite ú12. Wanted:
Poster, Atelier, Pipedream 3, ROM board, 5╝ö 800k disc drive, Scanlight
Plus. Phone 0752Ö783663.
4.6
Å    Acorn Prolog X,áas new, ú70. Phone Donald Prest on 031Ö336Ö4491.
4.6
Å    Miniscribe 20Mb 3╜ö hard disc, Acorn podule and Computerware 4 slot, 2
layer backplane and fan, ú150. Phone 0742Ö750619 evenings or mbox
Archive BBS (#419) or Arcade BBS (#274).
4.6
Å    Nightingale modem ú20, Commstar II (BBC) rom ú5, Hearsay ú28,
Knowledge Organiser ú26, Artisan II ú26, French Correspondence ú12, Fads
ú15. Des Woon 0255Ö880257.
4.6
Å    Ovation ú65, Apocalypse ú10. Colin Thompson on 069Ö76530.
4.6
Å    Risc BASIC Compiler ú50, also many games including Interdictor 1 ú14
and E-Type ú8. Phone 0843Ö603177.
4.6
Å    Risc User magazines first 31 copies plus binders ú15. Voltmace
joystick ú12.50. Phone 021Ö705Ö1309.
4.6
Å    System Delta Plus (1.09) ú30, SigmaSheet (2.01) ú30. ú50 both. All
o.n.o. Phone Stuart Bell on 0273Ö304825.
4.6
Å    Wanted Ö RISC-OS / ANSI C Programmer with spare time to translate
exciting educational program. Phone 0203Ö616Ö325.
4.6
Charity Sales
4.6
The following items are available for sale in aid of charity. PLEASE do
not just send money Ö ring us on 0603Ö766592 to check if the items are
still available. Thank you.
4.6
(If you have unwanted software or hardware for Archimedes computers,
please send it in to the Archive office. If you have larger items where
post would be expensive, just send us details of the item(s) and how the
purchaser can get hold of them.)
4.6
User Guides ú2 + ú3 postage,   Used discs 50p each, 10 for ú4, 50 for
ú15,   Acorn ROM/RAM podule ú18,   Family History ú9,   Global View ú4,
Personal Investor ú9,   I/O podule ú50, StarTrader ú5,   Twin ú10,
Quazer ú3,   Integrex colour dump ú10,   Interdictor 1 ú6,   Holed Out
ú8,   Superior Golf ú9,   Trivial Pursuit ú9, Artisan Support Disc ú2.
A
4.6

4.6

4.6

4.6
Competition Corner
4.6
Colin Singleton
4.6
Two players in a game of Snap each have the thirteen cards of one suit,
shuffled and stacked face down in front of them. They turn up their
cards one at a time, simultaneously, and shout Snap! whenever the two
cards presented at one turn have the same value. We are not concerned
with who is quicker, but with the number of snaps there might be in the
course of the game.
4.6
Considering one hand as a standard sequence, there are 13! (thirteen
factorial = 6227020800) different possible sequences for the other.
4.6
How many of these will produce no snaps in the course of 13 turns? How
many will produce exactly one snap (not more)? Two snaps? Three
snaps?... Thirteen snaps?
4.6
If you find that too easy, then consider the game played with a full
pack of 52 cards each. In this case cards must match exactly i.e. value
and suit. You will, of course, need multi-length arithmetic for this
one.
4.6
Entries and comments either to Paul at N.C.S. or to me at 41 St Quentin
Drive, Sheffield S17 4PN.
4.6
The solution to the November (Seven Dwarfs) Competition is that there
are 42 groups of possible seating positions. 14 groups contain just one
position each, 14 contain 57 each and 14 contain 302 each.
4.6
The prize is shared between Graham Jones of Durness and Dr W O Riha of
Leeds. Graham found that the numbers are the Eulerian Numbers, for which
there is a published algorithm. Dr Riha discovered a recurrence relation
which enables you to calculate the numbers for N dwarfs from those you
have already calculated for N-1 dwarfs. The calculation then becomes
trivial.
4.6
The winner for December, Cyclic Numbers, will be given next month. Any
more entries for January, Calculation of e, or February, Mastermind?  A
4.6

4.6
IFEL
4.6
new
4.6

4.6
BASIC Plots Converted to Draw Files
4.6
Steve Kirkby & Dr G Toulmin
4.6
The clever part (the program) was devised by Dr George Toulmin while
Steve Kirkby wrote this article.
4.6
What the program does
4.6
This program will convert the coordinates of a set of points produced by
a BASIC procedure into a Draw file. When this file is loaded into !Draw
or !Draw1╜ (Shareware 34) or Poster or a DTP package, it will behave
exactly as a normal Draw file consisting of a single object. The Draw
object produced consists entirely of straight line segments, i.e. no
Bezier curves, and since the x and y coordinates of all points must be
individually specified, circles, squares etc. must be so specified in
the program rather than by the use of PLOT, CIRCLE, RECTANGLE etc.
4.6
The technique would be useful to anyone in science, mathematics, arts or
craft/design (e.g. textile design or a Greek Key border or the curve of
a table top?) wanting to create Draw designs based on mathematical
expressions or geometrical procedures. These could be lines or trigonom
etrical or exponential curves and spirals which are impracticable to
draw accurately by hand, and polygons and circles etc. whose position,
size, distortion or orientation must follow a mathematical expression.
Also, a Draw image has a number advantages over a sprite: it is printed
to the higher resolution of the printer rather than of the screen, it
can be manipulated in a host of ways and often it uses less memory than
a sprite.
4.6
How it works
4.6
The demonstration program, which is sprinkled with REMs, essentially
does three things. Firstly, it assigns values to the x and y coordinates
of a set of points and stores them in an array with PROC_CreatePoints.
(To create your own set of points, alter this procedure accordingly,
including the value assigned to the variable NoOfPoints% if necessary.)
Secondly, it converts them into Draw format using PROC_CreateDrawFormat.
Thirdly, it saves the pairs of coordinates to disc in the form of a Draw
file under your chosen name, as a single object Ö PROC_Save.
4.6
You may also be interested to refer to Risc Useræs article in Vol. 3.5
and 3.6 on displaying Draw files from within a BASIC program (i.e. the
opposite to the program in this article).
4.6
 10 REM>BAS_Draw
4.6
 20 REM By Dr G H Toulmin.
4.6
 30 REM PROCsetup initializes.
4.6
 40 REM Coords should be >0 and in mm.
4.6
 50 REM PROC_CreateDrawFile(array,n) adds the n+1 points (array(0,0),
array(0,1)) to the file called outfile$.
4.6
 60 REM PROCsave writes data to file outfile$ and sets filetype
4.6
 to DrawFile.
4.6
 70
4.6
 80 PROCsetup
4.6
 90 PROC_CreatePoints
4.6
100 PROC_CreateDrawFormat(coord(), NoOfPoints%)
4.6
110 PROCsave
4.6
120 END
4.6
130
4.6
140 DEF PROCsetup
4.6
150 REM Inserts 10 words of preamble into block plot%, eventually
4.6
 to be copied to outfile$.
4.6
160 DIM plot% 1023:plotc%=plot%:REM Initial allowance for output
4.6
 file: plot% remains unchanged
4.6
 but plotc% is redefined as required, by PROCadd.
4.6
170 DIM preamble%(10)
4.6
180 preamble%()=&77617244,&C9,0, &5F534142,&77617244,&20202020,
&7FFFFFFF,&7FFFFFFF,&80000000 ,&80000000 : REM 4th & 5th
4.6
 words are the name of the
4.6
 prog. producing the file
4.6
 (ie., BAS_Draw)
4.6
190 minx%=&7FFFFFFF:miny%=&7FFFFFFF :maxx%=&80000000:maxy%=&80000000
4.6
200 FOR ptr%=0 TO 36 STEP 4: plot%!ptr%=preamble%(ptr%/4)
4.6
:NEXT ptr%
4.6
210 ptr%=40
4.6
220 INPUT ÉöType the name for the DrawFile to be created (with pathname
if necessary)ò
4.6
æÉöEg.,   :Floppy.$.DrawFiles. Spiral1 ò,outfile$
4.6
230 scale=180*256*.039375:REM One mm in internal Draw units (PRM
4.6
 p.1489). The unconventional conversion is implied by
4.6
 Draw Edit box.
4.6
240 ENDPROC
4.6
250
4.6
260 DEF PROC_CreatePoints
4.6
270 REM Arithmetic spiral.
4.6
280 NoOfPoints%=500
4.6
290 DIM coord(NoOfPoints%,1)
4.6
300 FOR N%=0 TO NoOfPoints%
4.6
310   th=.1*N%:r=12.7*th/(2*PI)
4.6
320   coord(N%,0)=105+r*COS(th) :coord(N%,1)=150+r*SIN(th)
4.6
330 NEXT N%
4.6
340 ENDPROC
4.6
350
4.6
360 DEF PROC_CreateDrawFormat (array(),npts%)
4.6
370 REM Inserts points from array as one Draw öpathò.
4.6
380 LOCAL n%
4.6
390 bytes%=12*npts%+56
4.6
400 PROCpreamble
4.6
410 PROCadd(-1):REM No fill.
4.6
420 PROCadd(0):REM Line colour=black
4.6
430 PROCadd(0):REM Line width is minimum.
4.6
440 PROCadd(&20100042):REM Bevelled joins, butt caps, even/odd
4.6
 winding, triangle cap width
4.6
 =line width, cap length double
4.6
 line width. (PRM pp1794-1795)
4.6
450 FOR n%=0 TO npts%
4.6
460   IF n%>0 THEN PROCadd(8) ELSE PROCadd(2)
4.6
470   PROCstep(array(n%,0),
4.6
array(n%,1))
4.6
480 NEXT n%
4.6
490 PROCpostamble
4.6
500 ENDPROC
4.6
510
4.6
520 DEF PROCpreamble
4.6
530 REM Writes heading for path.
4.6
540 pminx%=&7FFFFFFF:REM Min. values for box coords. initially set to
4.6
550 pminy%=&7FFFFFFF:REM largest possible pos. integer, and
4.6
 max. values
4.6
560 pmaxx%=&80000000:REM to largest neg. integer, to ENSURE they
4.6
 are reset
4.6
570 pmaxy%=&80000000:REM at lines 680 and 720 when first path
4.6
 point written.
4.6
580 PROCadd(2):PROCadd(bytes%)
4.6
590 keep1%=plotc%+ptr%:PROCadd(0)
4.6
600 keep2%=plotc%+ptr%:PROCadd(0)
4.6
610 keep3%=plotc%+ptr%:PROCadd(0)
4.6
620 keep4%=plotc%+ptr%:PROCadd(0)
4.6
630 ENDPROC
4.6
640
4.6
650 DEF PROCstep(xx,yy)
4.6
660 REM Writes one pair of co-ords. and updates bounds.
4.6
670 v%=scale*xx:PROCadd(v%)
4.6
680 IF pminx%>v% THEN pminx%=v%
4.6
690 IF pmaxx%<v% THEN pmaxx%=v%
4.6
700 v%=scale*yy:PROCadd(v%)
4.6
710 IF pminy%>v% THEN pminy%=v%
4.6
720 IF pmaxy%<v% THEN pmaxy%=v%
4.6
730 ENDPROC
4.6
740
4.6
750 DEF PROCpostamble
4.6
760 REM Closes path and writes bounds in preamble.
4.6
770 !keep1%=pminx%:!keep2%=pminy% :!keep3%=pmaxx%:!keep4%=pmaxy%
4.6
780 IF minx%>pminx% THEN minx%= pminx%
4.6
790 IF maxx%<pmaxx% THEN maxx%= pmaxx%
4.6
800 IF miny%>pminy% THEN miny%= pminy%
4.6
810 IF maxy%<pmaxy% THEN maxy%= pmaxy%
4.6
820 PROCadd(0)
4.6
830 ENDPROC
4.6
840
4.6
850 DEF PROCadd(v%)
4.6
860 REM Adds the value v% to the output buffer.
4.6
870 plotc%!ptr%=v%
4.6
880 ptr%+=4
4.6
890 IF ptr%>1016 THEN
4.6
 900   DIM new% 1023
4.6
 910   plotc%!1020=new%
4.6
 920   plotc%=new%
4.6
 930   ptr%=0
4.6
 940 ENDIF
4.6
 950 ENDPROC
4.6
 960
4.6
 970 DEF PROCsave
4.6
 980 REM Insert overall min and max values first.
4.6
 990 plot%!24=minx%:plot%!28=miny% :plot%!32=maxx%:plot%!36=maxy%
4.6
1000 handle%=OPENOUT outfile$
4.6
1010 WHILE plotc%>plot%
4.6
1020   SYS öOS_GBPBò,2,handle%,plot% ,1020
4.6
1030   REM Unlike *Save, can continue (update) open file.
4.6
 PRM p.872.
4.6
1040   new%=plot%!1020:plot%=new%
4.6
1050 ENDWHILE
4.6
1060 SYS öOS_GBPBò,2,handle%,plot%, ptr%
4.6
1070 *CLOSE
4.6
1080 OSCLI öSetType ò+outfile$+
4.6
ö DrawFileò
4.6
1090 ENDPROC  A
4.6

4.6
Shareware Disks N║s 25 & 30
4.6
John Brooks
4.6
Shareware N║ 25 is a compilation of mathematics programs/functions and
procedures. Most are written in BASIC though there are some which use
assembler. There are far too many items to mention individually as it
would take up far too much space. However, here is a list of the type of
programs included:
4.6
Numerical integration: Simpsonæs rule
4.6
Solution of polynomial equations
4.6
Solution of simultaneous linear equations
4.6
Generation of equations from roots
4.6
Cubic splines and interpolation
4.6
Primes
4.6
Series
4.6
Puzzles
4.6
Fourier transformations
4.6
Function plotter
4.6
Extended precision calculator
4.6
Recurring decimals
4.6
3-d surface plotter
4.6
Frequency and time response of linear circuits
4.6
Pole zero plots
4.6
Also included are various functions and procedures in these areas:
4.6
Beta function
4.6
Binomial coefficients
4.6
Permutations
4.6
Elliptic integrals
4.6
Error functions
4.6
Factorials
4.6
Gamma functions
4.6
Polynomial interpolation
4.6
Integration
4.6
Write# in ASCII form
4.6
Hyperbolic functions and inverses
4.6
Complex arithmetic and functions
4.6
Polar to rectangular conversion
4.6
Various matrix operations
4.6
Now some of this may seem very esoteric (Iæm not a complete dummy at
maths but some of this stuff I have never heard of) and the question is,
öIs this disc worth ú3ò?
4.6
Well, that depends on what you want. To my mind, this disk is essen
tially a library of code for performing various mathematical tasks. If
you ever need any of these procedures then you have these tried-and-
tested versions to get you going. It saves a lot of work that way.
4.6
I also find that this type of disk is useful for looking at other
peopleæs code to see how they tackle things, I might pick up a tip or
two to improve my own code (or indeed see some things to avoid), and
there are plenty of examples to look up in here.
4.6
Shareware N║30 is a ösound/musicò collection consisting essentially of
one application (!STracker) and a directory (Modules) containing some
sample data for the application.
4.6
For anyone who has not yet heard of !STracker, more commonly called
soundtracker, it is a utility that plays ömusicò in the background
whilst other work can carry on in the foreground. Four pieces are
included in the modules directory:-
4.6
AxelF Ö theme music from Beverley Hillæs cop
4.6
Dream Ö short, but nice
4.6
ProgFunk Ö err??
4.6
VivBeat Ö with some very convincing thunder
4.6
If you have access to any bulletin boards or public domain software,
there are loads of soundtracker modules around that you can acquire.
4.6
For those who have ever only heard !Maestro tunes, the quality and range
of voices in soundtracker modules is quite remarkable, especially if you
have an external amplifier and speakers. Also included on the disk is a
utility called !RunThis which plays yet another soundtracker module
called TESTMOD (Iæm not sure that this would be called music though) and
displays which voice is being used and which particular pattern is being
played at the time. Finally, there is an !Edit file with some of the
history and background information about soundtracker.
4.6
As one who likes messing around with computer music, I quite like this
piece of software. It is not actually very useful by itself but is an
impressive demonstration of the Archimedesæ abilities. It could also be
useful if you are writing some software which requires background music.
 A
4.6

4.6
Econet Column
4.6
Neil Berry
4.6
I have received a number of letters this month from network managers who
are worried about the possible consequences of this series of articles,
with regard to the security of their own networks. It would be nice to
think that all network users were responsible people and that there was
no such thing as hacking but, of course, this is a nieve view. There are
people who are not content with using the network as a normal user, but
seem to want to just have a general fiddle. Whether the intention is
destructive or not, this can cause real problems for network managers
and so, in an attempt to keep the sanity of managers who read this
column, I will restrict my comments and reviews to those of a rather non
technical nature. I know this will disappoint those of you who have
written to me asking for technical details but, to keep the peace, I
will not be able to print system-privileged information.
4.6
Over the next few months, I will be writing about various types of
connectivity from Econet brands and hard disc sharing systems, to
external connectivity with IBM / DEC machines over Ethernet and Unix. To
begin with, I will be starting with shared hard disc systems, in
particular Nexus and the Software Solutions server.
4.6
A new concept from S.J.Research
4.6
The Nexus system consists of a hard disc shared between a number of
Archimedes machines and allows the formation of a common resource area
where applications may be stored and as a temporary store for private
files and data. The Nexus system uses a stared network topology, unlike
Econet which uses a BUS system and, for this reason, is not dependent
upon all of the machines functioning correctly. It comes in a large box,
about the size of a 400 series Archimedes, containing a hard disc, and
is intelligent enough to communicate with up to 8 RISC-OS machines
simultaneously. The system uses twisted pair cabling and each system arm
may be up to 100m in length, even without using line drivers, although
these are available.
4.6
One of the main problems with older Econet systems is their slow data
transfer rates, around 200 to 300 kilobits per second. S.J. with their
new system have made a point of trying to maintain Nexus speeds close to
that of a local Acorn hard disc, approximately 10 to 20 megabits per
second. S.J. say that the systemæs response time, even with full
capacity use from eight machines, should not drop below that of a floppy
disc, which is obviously a great speed increase over Econet systems.
Each Archimedes needs to be fitted with its own communication card,
which would require a backplane to be fitted on an A310 but, other than
this, no networking hardware is required.
4.6
The Disc Sharer
4.6
The Disc Sharer from Software Solutions, is a multitasking utility that
allows Archimedes computers (and BBC micros) to access the local hard
disc of another Archimedes machine, by using the Econet. Unfortunately,
running the system down the Econet cables causes the same sorts of
problems encountered with using the ordinary Econet system. Relative to
the Nexus system, it is a lot slower and requires the presence of a hard
disc and Econet hardware, to be installed on at least two machines.
4.6
Using the systems
4.6
Both of the systems are multi-tasking utilities which install themselves
on the icon bar. The Nexus system installs itself as a dual icon on the
icon bar, one for a personal Éscratch-padæ area and the other for read-
only access to the shared application areas. The Nexus system is
primarily aimed at the sharing of common resources, with only a small
area for general read/write applications.
4.6
The Software Solutionsæ server, on the other hand, is more akin to an
actual fileserver and, as it may be used on a mixed network of Archi
medes and BBCæs, speeds have to be such that the BBCæs are able to cope
with sending and receiving files to the main server computer. The size
of work area of the Solutions server depends on the size of the hard
disc available on the machine that is being used. However, the Nexus
server is currently supplied as a standard 40Mb drive although S.J. are
willing to discuss units with higher capacity for anyone who thinks that
they really need more Mega-Bytes!
4.6
This limited capacity of 40Mb may seem to be a black mark against the
S.J. server but, when you think about exactly how much space your
frequently used applications actually take up, you might be quite
surprised at how little space they do take. Suppose that a system was
used by the full eight users and the server had a shared resource area
of 20Mb, which is a lot of space for a read-only sector, you would have
about 2Mb of Éuser areaæ for each of the users.
4.6
The Solutionsæ  server, on the other hand, is only restricted in space
by the size of the hard drive and will allow up to 32 users to be logged
on. When a user is logged on, he would usually be presented with a
normal view of the Archimedes hard disc. However, there are so-called
Éfixed usersæ who are not allowed to see the root directory or other
directories of the hard disc or to set the password or boot options etc.
In this way, some basic forms of access can be implemented. In compari
son to standard S.J. and Acorn file servers there is little or no user
protection, by way of specific user areas and different levels of
access, although the S.J. server does, in my mind, win through by having
separately accessible storage areas rather than one single user i.d., as
the Software Solutionsæ  server has.
4.6
Setting up the systems
4.6
To use the Nexus system, you will require the S.J. hard disc unit of
40Mb which, for four stations, costs ú1240. Each machine that uses the
disc will require an interface card which comes as a standard podule for
A300 and A400 machines and as an internal podule for A3000 machines.
Either of these is easily installed by the user. Standard or custom
length cables may be purchased to connect the machines in a star
arrangement. Each of the standard cables has a D-Type connector at the
disc end and a din plug at the podule end and can be between 1.5m and
30m, costing from ú10.75 to ú25.00, and ranging in speed from 20MHz to
10MHz for the longer cables. Therefore, to run a system of eight
Archimedes inside one room will cost in the region of ú2300 +VAT.
4.6
The Solutionsæ server, on the other hand, uses only the Econet system to
communicate with its hard disc and so, for those establishments that
already have Econet, no further hardware needs to be purchased. This
must clearly be seen as an advantage over the Nexus system. The
educational price for a network licence for the Disc sharing system is
ú126.50 inc VAT Ö much cheaper than Nexus. Of course, if you do not
already have an Econet system, minimally consisting of at least a clock
and connecting wires, then this of course would have to be added to the
costing.
4.6
To sum up, I would personally opt for the Nexus system, despite its
relatively high cost, mainly for its ease and speed of use. However, the
much, much cheaper Software Solutions Disc Sharer cannot be overlooked
mainly because of its price.
4.6
What next?
4.6
In the near future, I hope to be dedicating a series of articles to the
new Level IV fileserver from Acorn Ö when Iæve amassed enough
information.
4.6
As always I can be contacted at: 21 Pargeter Street, Stourbridge, West
Midlands, DY8 1AU (no phone calls please). If you have any comments
about this column or would like to offer up some ideas, please feel free
to write to me. If you have developed any new network software, no
matter how trivial it may seem, I would like to see it and give it a
review.   A
4.6

4.6
Writing Maths: Equasor
4.6
Brian Cowan
4.6
How do you decide which computer to buy? This may seem a strange
question with which to start a review of a software product but,
hopefully, the reason will become clear as you read on. The sensible
person would probably choose the computer which runs the software
packages which he/she requires. By this definition, the early Archimedes
owners would seem to have been somewhat lacking in sense! They purchased
a machine with virtually no software base, a turbo-charged BBC micro
with a desktop environment which was, thankfully, optional.
4.6
Foresight
4.6
What these ösenselessò people appreciated was the phenomenal power of
this new computer and its ARM chip set. Buying an Archimedes in those
early days was an investment, or a gamble, depending on how you viewed
it. With that sort of raw power available for the first time in a
microcomputer, and at a reasonable price, the software should follow.
When it did, there was the potential for some really earth-shattering
products Ö and so it has transpired.
4.6
Good impression
4.6
Computer Concepts seem to have adopted precisely this philosophy.
Readers will know of Impression, if not by experience, then by repute.
This is the DTP package by which others are judged. I have been using
Impression for the last few months and now I think I would be lost
without it. At work, I have arranged for the purchase of a site licence
so that my colleagues can also have the benefit, such is my regard for
this product.
4.6
More goodies
4.6
In other areas also, Archimedes owners are finding new software which is
the equal of, or better than, that available for the more ötraditionalò
machines. For example Schema for spreadsheets, Pipedream for övirtually
everythingò, Reduce for computer algebra, WorraCad for drafting, and new
products on the horizon. Soon, we should have the last word in database
programs, and new PC emulation which will eclipse even an IBM. There are
certainly exciting times ahead.
4.6
Writing maths
4.6
But back to the subject of this review. I have mentioned in the past my
particular need for producing mathematical equations within documents,
as most of my writing is of a scientific or mathematical nature. In the
past, I have been using First Word Plus together with a special maths
font which I designed years ago, and which is sold by Ian Copestake
Software as a öFirst Fontò. This has served me well and I have been
reluctant to change until something much better came along. Perhaps it
finally has.
4.6
First Fonts
4.6
I must, however, first extol the virtues of the First Font option. The
advantage of this is that it is an integrated system. Text and the
equations are all written together and the production of documents is a
beautifully simple process. However, simplicity comes at the expense of
flexibility. One has only the standard First Font font, and slightly
different font sets are used with different printer drivers. For
increased versatility in the production of scientific (and other)
documents one must graduate to a more sophisticated system.
4.6
Next steps
4.6
There are two types of solution to this problem. There is a remarkable
software package called TEX. The Pascal program for this is in the
public domain and there are implementations of this available for the
Archimedes, both a PD version and also a commercial product. TEX is
essentially a type-setting language. To produce a document, one writes a
file of text and strange codes. This file is then processed by the TEX
program, to drive a printer or possibly a screen previewer. So to write
a document one actually types in what seems to be a load of gobblede
gook. I think you have to have a certain kind of brain to do this sort
of thing well. I have used TEX both on mainframe computers and on the
Archimedes and I find it rather tough going. This is no criticism of
TEX; it is my problem. The Archimedes PD version I used is quite superb,
with a really good screen previewer. Notwithstanding the excellence of
the product, I prefer the other approach. I find it much easier to use a
öwhat you see is what you getò system. So, I prefer to produce documents
using a DTP type of program; I really need to see what is going on. The
disadvantage (with existing systems) is that the production of text and
the creation of equations are no longer entirely integrated.
4.6
Equasor
4.6
Equasor is an equation generator. It is not a scientific DTP program; it
would usually be used in conjunction with a separate DTP package.
Equasor is produced by Computer Concepts and so, in style, many aspects
are similar to Impression. The two products, not surprisingly go
together very well but Equasor can be used in conjunction with any DTP
product, or it can be used alone, simply to produce equations. Part of
the versatility of Equasor is due to the fact that it produces its
equations in Draw format. Thus, an equation may be imported into any
document which supports Draw objects or it may be sent to a printer
driver. Using Impressionæs embedded frame facility, an equation may be
incorporated into a line of text. In fact, embedded frames almost
completely integrate the equation and text creation processes; this is a
powerful feature of Impression.
4.6
Intelligent behaviour
4.6
In conception, Equasor is rather like the utilities FontDraw and FontFX
in that it facilitates the creation of öfancy effectsò from the
available font sets but here, the fancy creations are mathematical
equations. As a matter of course, all the usual mathematical features
are provided, such as superscripts and subscripts, a variety of
brackets, integrals, sums and products, roots and fractions, etc.
However, the remarkable feature of Equasor is that it appears to be
intelligent. Thus subscripts, superscripts and limits are automatically
scaled to 75% of the preceding text. This applies recursively although
any of these things can be overridden if required. The other aspect of
intelligence in the program is that the cursor always seems to go to the
right place at the right time while creating a complex expression. Thus,
for instance, in producing a character which has subscripts and
superscripts, having selected the character, the cursor moves to the
subscript position. When these have been entered, on pressing the öarrow
rightò key, the cursor moves to the superscript position and when these
have been entered, a further öarrow rightò press moves the cursor to the
normal position for the next full character.
4.6
EFF MathGreek font
4.6
It is an unfortunate fact of life (or so the mathematicians would have
us believe) that our alphabet contains only twenty six letters.
Mathematics thus makes frequent use of Greek characters. It also uses a
variety of special symbols as well as the odd Hebrew character. Equasor
is supplied with the MathGreek font set from the Electronic Font
Foundry. In use, these symbol fonts are available from a symbol window
rather like the !Chars application; öclickingò on a character in the
window enters it into the equation at the cursor position. In general,
the EFF font set is a good compilation of symbols and characters needed
by the mathematician. There are a few extras that I would like to see,
such as the second Planckæs constant h_ and the mathematical symbols >~
(of the order of or greater than), <~ (of the order of or less than) and
[__] , (as well as I can produce them using existing characters together
with Impressionæs kerning facility). I have one serious criticism
concerning the existing MathGreek font set, however. At present, EFF
provide an upright and an italic set. However there is a serious need
for bold versions of these, particularly for the Greek characters.
Vectors are conventionally denoted by bold characters and one does use
Greek vectors. I hope EFF will rectify this omission.
4.6
Proof of the pudding
4.6
The best way to understand Equasor is to use it. In fact, I extensively
used beta test versions of the product for some time before I even had a
manual. The fact that I was able to produce some quite complex equations
is an indication of how intuitive the program is to use. Here are some
examples:
4.6

4.6

4.6
This sort of expression is called a continued fraction. It does not look
too complicated, but the important point to note is the ease with which
this was produced using Equasor. The lines all adjusted themselves to
just the required length and everything aligned automatically. It would
have been quite a nightmare (for me) to produce such an expression using
TEX, calculating where to put the lines and characters. Now for an
equation involving solid angles.
4.6

4.6
This equation was quite straightforward to produce. I had a little
difficulty in creating the vertical line of the right size; that was not
done automatically. The next three equations were trivial to produce
using Equasor. They really demonstrate the power of the program. Here is
an expression concerning the refraction of the electric part of an
electromagnetic wave.
4.6

4.6
Next we have the azimuthal component of an electric field expressed in
terms of spherical harmonics. This involves subscripts and superscripts:
4.6

4.6
Now, in a different area of physics, comes a formula from what is called
Fermi Liquid theory (one of my current projects). This involves all
manner of subscripts, superscripts, primes, arrows and goodness knows
what.
4.6
   Looking at these equations, you see that the Latin symbols are all
printed in italic form, This is the conventional way and it occurs
automatically (although this can be overridden). Greek symbols can be
configured to appear italic if desired; convention is a little hazy
here. Operators such as cos and sin are printed upright and these may be
selected from a menu. Also, the menu allows one to create new forms,
which can be stored for future usage.
4.6
Limitations and bugs
4.6
There is a class of mathematical objects which the present version of
Equasor can not produce. These are things like matrices, that is, tables
of symbols separated horizontally or vertically with no operator between
them. Thus, as well as matrices, one can not create binomial coeffi
cients, nor the Christoffel symbols of general relativity. In this last
case, however, we can have a jolly good try. Here is the definition of a
Christoffel symbol:
4.6

4.6
The symbol is correct except that there should not be the horizontal bar
under the i and j. I was surprised to discover a very strange bug in my
version of Equasor: if you place two summation signs or two integral
symbols adjacent to each other, then one of them blows up! I am sure
this will be fixed on the release version. Finally, letæs finish with a
simple one: another equation from electromagnetism.
4.6

4.6
As you can see, this is perfect.
4.6
Unfair?
4.6
You might think that I have been unfair in my review of this product as
I have tended to concentrate on its limitations. Of course, the points
about the MathGreek font relate to EFF and not to Equasor itself. Many
of the examples I have given here demonstrate some of the very minor
limitations in the program. This should be taken as an indication that I
have performed an intensive test of Equasor and that most things I tried
were a complete success. Also, as you will realise, Computer Concepts
take the feedback from their customers very seriously: witness the
evolution of Impression. So I am convinced that future versions of
Equasor will address the few points I have made, to produce an even
better product.
4.6
Some technical details
4.6
I mentioned above that Equasor produces its output in Draw format. This
point must be clarified a little. Having produced an equation using
Equasor, the next step is to save it. One has the choice of saving the
object either in öEquasorò format or in Draw format. Both types of file
may be dropped into Impression frames. In fact, the Equasor format file
contains the same Draw code and it is this which produces the image in
the frame but the Equasor format file contains more. It incorporates the
specification of the equation. Thus this file may be loaded back into
Equasor to be edited; this can not be done with the Draw file. The
Equasor file can not, however, be loaded into the current version of
Draw. The extraneous information confuses the program. For this reason
both file formats are required.
4.6
In conformity with Computer Concepts policy, the Equasor program is all
written in ARM code. This leads to increased speed and efficiency and so
must be rated as a plus point; it also discourages hackers!
4.6
In use
4.6
For those tricky parts of equations, you can zoom in to a magnification
of up to 999% and you can pan out to 1%. Fine control over parts of
equations is facilitated by effects, as in Impression. Also, there is
full implementation of leading, spacing and kerning. So, equations can
be laid out precisely as required. For those difficult times, there is
an eighty page manual containing most information that should be
required. In fact, as I said above, I have made very little use of the
manual Ö the program is remarkably intuitive. However, whenever I needed
to find something out, I generally managed to do so.
4.6
Included on the Equasor disc is a directory of sample equations. These
are quite impressive and they really show off the programæs extensive
range of features. Funnily enough, I found errors in some of these
equations but I think these should have been corrected in the release
version.
4.6
Conclusion
4.6
It is always a joy to review a really good product. This is one such
occasion. I have been wanting a program which would do this sort of
thing, as I have mentioned in Archive from time to time, and here it is.
The only serious limitation of Equasor is that you canæt produce
matrices (or at least I canæt!). Apart from that, I am happy to say that
I unhesitatingly recommend Equasor to all those who need to produce
equations and/or incorporate them into DTP documents. It is certainly as
good as anything I have seen on any other computer.
4.6
Equasor comes from Computer Concepts and the complete package costs ú49
plus VAT. This includes the EFF MathGreek font. The Archive price is
ú52.  A
4.6

4.6
The Serial Port
4.6
New
4.6

4.6
BASE 5
4.6
New
4.6

4.6
Ten Tips for those with Bigger Memories
4.6
Stuart Bell
4.6
The old clichΘ about most human beings being creatures of habit is
probably as true in the world of personal computing as in most other
spheres of human activity. In other words, once weæve developed a way of
working, we tend to stick to that way, whatever happens.
4.6
In this case, the Éwhatever happensæ is the upgrade from 1Mb memory to
4Mb and an awareness, after a few weeks with the upgrade, that I wasnæt
really taking full advantage of it. An Archimedes with 4Mb is really
quite a different machine from its smaller brother and it opens up new
practices that simply arenæt possible before the memory growth. So here
are ten tips for those who have also been bitten by the upgrade bug.
(Apologies to those lucky people who started with 4Mb, to whom all this
is probably so boringly obvious!)
4.6
Multi-task your applications
4.6
This is surely the main reason for upgrading in the first place. BU
(before upgrading), the power of RISC-OS simply canæt be realised
because you canæt multi-task significant applications. However, AU
(after upgrading) you can run, for example, both !Draw and Impression
and this makes things much easier. Another good idea is to have !FontFX,
a scientific calculator (PD versions widely available) and the RISC-OS
printer driver all loaded on the icon bar. !Patience can be there ready
for a quiet moment!
4.6
Auto-load your applications
4.6
Manually loading all the applications that you regularly use can be a
little tiresome. Assuming that you have a hard disc, they can all be
loaded onto the icon bar every time you reset or boot up the machine.
(The only thing that stops floppy users doing this is disc capacity).
You need a file called É!bootæ in the root directory and can use
*Configure Boot if you want to cause that file to be obeyed when the
power is switched on, at a reset or <ctrl-break>. (Use *Configure Noboot
to run a boot file on <shift-power on>, <shift-reset> or <shift-break>.)
You also need to do a *OPT 4 3 to tell the system to öexecò the boot
file.)
4.6
You can put all the commands to be obeyed in the !boot file, but itæs
simpler to put all commands to be obeyed once the desktop has been
entered in a separate file. The !boot file contains the line:
4.6
Desktop ÖFile scsi::winny.$ .StartList
4.6
when Startlist is the name of the file with the commands to be obeyed.
My Startlist looks like this:
4.6
Filer_Opendir scsi::winny.$
4.6
.Documents
4.6
Filer_Opendir scsi::winny.$
4.6
scsi::winny.$.!Fonts
4.6
scsi::winny.$.!System
4.6
scsi::winny.$.!Edit
4.6
scsi::winny.$.!Draw1╜
4.6
scsi::winny.$.!Impress
4.6
scsi::winny.$.!1stWord+
4.6
scsi::winny.$.!FontFX
4.6
scsi::winny.$.!PrinterLJ
4.6
scsi::winny.$.IconClock
4.6
The Filer_Opendir commands open directories on the desktop, ready for me
to select the file to be accessed. Strangely, it seems that those opened
second are displayed behind those opened first so, in my case,
$.Documents appears in front of the root directory.
4.6
!Fonts and !System are opened so that they have been seen before the
applications that require them. Adding the command DeskTop to the end of
the !Fonts.!Run file removes the need to press the space bar after the
Font Catalogue has been displayed. Finally, the seven applications that
I regularly use are loaded and will be shown on the icon-bar at the end
of the boot process.
4.6
Re-configure your machine
4.6
You can save and restore the configuration details held in CMOS RAM
during the upgrade process but itæs not very useful. Most of the memory
allocation values are set automatically, but others need revision. In
particular, if you are using outline fonts, do re-set FontSize. Whilst
you could keep a low FontSize and a higher FontMax, Iæve found that
Impression sometimes reduces the FontSize, with the consequence that
fonts that used to be in memory then have to be reloaded from disc.
Keeping FontSize high (I use 512K) prevents this from happening.
4.6
Consider new screen modes
4.6
With 1Mb, memory-hungry modes werenæt really viable with some appli
cations. I used mode 16 (132 columns) for DTP but then had to change
down when I wanted to load a printer driver. Now, any mode can be used.
In particular, for those with ordinary (not multi-sync) monitors, modes
like 66, which Computer Concepts supply with the !NewModes module,
giving 104 x 36 text resolution, are worth using. Multi-sync owners can
have a field-day! To make the machine auto-boot into your required mode,
the first line of my !Boot file is !NewModes. I then set the mode to 66
using the !Configure utility off the Applications disc.
4.6
Donæt kill modules
4.6
A common problem discussed in Archive has been the fact that many
applications load modules into memory when loaded, but donæt remove them
when the application is quit. This soon clutters up memory on smaller
machines, and the solution identified was to add RmKill commands at the
end of application !Boot files. However, if you are multi-tasking
applications, such a procedure could delete modules that other appli
cations are still using. Hence, delete all RmKill commands that you may
have added ÉBUæ. Also, if youæve added a -Max entry to the WimpSlot
command in the !Boot file for, for example, !1stWord+, you may wish to
remove the entry, or at least increase the value.
4.6
Gain (a little) speed with RMfaster
4.6
In all Archimedes (and A3000s), the ROM runs slower than the RAM. Hence,
modules built into RISC-OS run slower than those loaded off disc. One
possible solution discussed in the past in Archive is to make the MEMC
run the ROM at RAM speed. This may or may not work, depending on the
particular ROM chips. The *RMFaster command (see page 351 in the A400
user manual) copies modules in ROM into RAM to gain a speed increase of,
in theory, 33%. BU, there probably wasnæt enough memory to make this an
attractive option. A problem is that as you canæt *RMFaster modules that
are active Ö you canæt, for example, speed up the DeskTop once itæs been
loaded.
4.6
The way to get round this is to *RMFaster appropriate modules in the
boot-up process, in the same way that applications can be loaded
automatically. On power-up, all the required modules will be ready in
ROM. However, on a Reset or <ctrl-break>, they will be in RAM, with the
ROM versions unplugged, and hence not able to be *RMFasteræed.
4.6
Therefore, if the same automatic process is to be followed both on
power-on and on a Reset, all modules to be copied into RAM must first be
*RmKilled (to delete existing RAM versions) and then *RMReInited (to
Éde-unplugæ the ROM versions).
4.6
It is a matter of conjecture Ö or very difficult measurement Ö about
which modules will most improve the performance of your machine. Iæm
experimenting with three, but would be glad to hear of other ideas. So,
my complete !Boot file looks like this:
4.6
| Stuartæs !boot file, Feb 1991.
4.6
!NewModes
4.6
rmkill draw
4.6
rmreinit draw
4.6
rmfaster draw
4.6
rmkill desktop
4.6
rmreinit desktop
4.6
rmfaster desktop
4.6
rmkill windowmanager
4.6
rmreinit windowmanager
4.6
rmfaster windowmanager
4.6
Desktop -File scsi::winny.$ .StartList
4.6
Use a RamDisc
4.6
BU, RamDisc was a joke. With a hard disc, even AU, Iæm not convinced
that a RamDisc is of great value but some people may want to try it. For
floppy users, it will definitely be worthwhile, especially for holding
the !Fonts directory and giving very quick access. Be very careful if
you use RamDisc to hold files on which youære working. Set the size of
RamDisc using the *Configure RAMFsSize command. (In my experience,
Impression can still crash and therefore you can lose your document if
it is totally in RAM. Ed.)
4.6
Consider your application set-up
4.6
Both word-processors and DTP packages often include a spelling checker
and a dictionary. However, BU there may not have been sufficient memory
to run them sensibly. Itæs well worth checking the manual for each
package to check for facilities that you never used BU, and may have
forgotten exist. For example, Iæve now set up Impression II to load the
dictionary on start-up and check each word as I type. No excuses for
typographical errors any more!
4.6
Think about spooling your printing
4.6
RISC-OS lets you send the output from your application (assuming that it
uses the printer drivers) to a file for later printing. The theoretical
advantage is that when a file is being printed, you can continue to use
the application, whereas printing directly from, for example, Impres
sion, stops you doing anything else. A detailed explanation is in the
Nov-Dec issue of ÉArchimedeanæ sent out by Computer Concepts and in the
February Archimedes World. BU, it was more memory-efficient to load the
printer driver and then quit it, leaving the actual printing module
loaded. AU, background printing is possible. However, I find that, with
complex printing tasks using the !PrinterLJ, it takes almost as long to
write to disc (which hogs the whole machine) as it does to write
straight to the printer!
4.6
Think about a ÉSticky Backdropæ
4.6
An idea borrowed from the world of the Apple Mac, a sticky backdrop,
allows you to make directories or applications Éstickæ onto the desktop
surface and be accessed simply by clicking on them. If such items are
normally kept well down your directory structure, access can be much
quicker. Also, the dull plain desktop can be replaced by a customised
pretty picture, and a whole background drop, and automatically loaded on
boot-up. BU, the 80K that my !StickyBD application (available on
Careware 6) demanded made it non-viable. AU, I tried it for a while, but
decided in the end that I preferred to load my applications and open the
main document directory automatically in the ways described earlier in
the article. Itæs a matter of preference but itæs worth trying !StickyBD
if you can get a copy.
4.6
Well, thatæs it! A 4mb (or even 2mb) Archimedes is quite a different
machine. I hope that these tips will help you make the best use of your
expanded memory.  A
4.6

4.6

4.6
Pen Down Update
4.6
Dave Morrell (& Doug Weller)
4.6
Some time ago, I (Dave) did a review on the pre-release version of
PenDown (Archive 3.12 p48 + 4.1 p42). This is intended to update some of
the comments in that review after I have seen the final release version.
4.6
Most of the basics remain the same. Along the top of the page is an icon
menu from which various selections can be made. There are two new icons
along this menu. At the extreme left there is an icon to swap between
text and graphics. With the pen nib selected, text in the chosen font,
size and colour can be typed in from the keyboard. Sprite graphics, but
not draw files, can be dragged onto the page. With the pencil selected,
the sprite can be positioned, sized or deleted using the mouse.
4.6
The select button is used to position the sprite and the adjust button
is used to size it. If the wrong sprite is dragged onto the page double
clicking on it with select will give a query box asking if you wish to
delete it. Pictures can also be deleted by dragging them off the PenDown
page. Text can still be entered in this mode but the text caret will not
respond to the mouse.
4.6
Next to this icon there is another new icon which swaps between insert
and overwrite mode whilst typing. The icons for leading and justifi
cation have also been changed.
4.6
The main menu is still brought up by clicking <menu> over the document.
This has one addition to the pre-release menu. PenDown now has a
spelling checker. It does not have a check-as-you-type mode but will
check single words, parts of the document or the whole document. The
spell check window contains five öpush buttonò panels. ÉCancelæ is
obvious. ÉLearnæ gives the option of adding an unknown word to the
dictionary. ÉTry againæ allows the user to have another go at spelling
an incorrect word. ÉSuggestæ gives a list of words that may be the one
required. If the correct word is in the list, clicking on it will
automatically replace it in the text. ÉNextæ will move you along to the
next unrecognised word.
4.6
Also on the spell menu there is a ÉTo fileæ option. If this is clicked,
PenDown will search the document for any unrecognised words and produce
a list to be saved to disc. This could be used as a record of spelling
difficulties or as a basis for further work. With this option, the spell
check window does not appear on screen.
4.6
Clicking <menu> over the PenDown icon on the icon bar produces another
short menu. This has four entries. ÉInfoæ leads to a window giving
information about the program, name, purpose, author and version number.
Clicking on ÉFresh startæ will clear the document from memory for
somebody else to use the program. If the document has been altered since
the previous save, a check window appears before clearing the document.
ÉConfigureæ sets up a rather complicated looking window for changing the
start-up settings of PenDown. This is very comprehensive and governs
what will work on the icon menu and on the main menu. Non-working
options are blanked out. This is very useful for younger children as
they can be introduced to the various options gradually as they become
more familiar with the program.
4.6
The manual has also been changed. I found it a model of clarity. It is
easy to follow, explains all the functions of the program and is packed
with many ideas for use. As a basic guide to wordprocessor use in
education I can recommend the manual alone!
4.6
The two problem Éfeaturesæ I found in the pre-release version have not,
so far, materialised in this version, so screen refreshing seems to have
been improved.
4.6
Three new outline fonts came with the new release but one from the pre-
release version, Lineout, was missing. The new fonts are Futura, Gothic
and Script. Futura is a Éstencilæ type font, Script is a Écursiveæ type
font and Gothic is gothic. Unlike some other Égothicæ and Éolde englishæ
fonts I have seen, this one is readable for lengthy passages.
4.6
The program is now heavily protected against copying. A copy can be made
but the original key-disc must be used to get it running. Having worked
in schools for many years, I know how easily accidents can happen and if
something happens to the key-disc I hope Logotron would replace it
without charge. Nothing about this is mentioned in the manual although
an extra sheet of information states that protected discs can be bought
without documentation for ú20 by registered users.
4.6
The only minor niggle that I have so far found with the program is the
lack of borders as found on the old BBC version.
4.6
There are two other programs on the disc. !Cloze will produce cloze
procedure worksheets by dragging a text file to it. The frequency of the
missing words can be set by the user. I would like it to have saved the
missing words as a separate text file as well, but you cannot have
everything. The other program !WordList will decode the main dictionary
so that changes can be made to it.
4.6
I am still happy with the program and am confident that it will have a
future in schools.
4.6
Doug Weller adds...
4.6
Iæve been able to use this program with my class of 8-9 year olds, and
my 12 year old son has written a 6,000 word story on it. Its ability to
print on various sizes of paper Ö A3 to A6, portrait or landscape, as
well as fanfold (including fanfold rotated), is very useful. Pendown has
a very powerful Search and Replace facility, although a simplified menu
can be selected for younger children. It also allows a word count on
single words, which could be very useful in showing children how many
Éandsæ and Éthensæ they have used! Or, of course, one could use it to
make frequency counts of letters. Another feature it has that I wish my
Impression II had is a copy/delete to bin. This moves marked text to a
scratchpad. But, unlike most other Archimedes word processors, you can
view the scratchpad (the Pendown Ébinæ). Even more useful, the bin will
hold more than one block of text. As far as I can see, the binæs
capacity is only governed by the amount of memory in your computer. Once
it is open, you can choose which block of text you wish to copy back to
the original document. !Wordlist is a very nice freebie. Besides
allowing you to add words to the dictionary, it also does anagrams and
subgrams, searches through a list of words or your dictionary, does
frequency counts of all the words in a text and sorts them either
alphabetically or by frequency.  A
4.6

4.6
BookBinder
4.6
David Hart
4.6
To quote from the introduction to the User Guide: öBookBinder is an
application for the Acorn Archimedes computer that enables you to create
books which are multitasking interactive texts/graphics. They can be
used as multiple choice quizzes, programmed learning sessions, interac
tive fiction, interactive graphical display databases or presentation
software. This is achieved simply by dragging icons; there is no need
for any code. Despite this simplicity, BookBinder is a powerful
specialised programming language capable of producing a wide variety of
books. Once finished, the book may be copied to any disc and sold, or
freely distributed. In the true spirit of the desktop many books may be
opened at the same time.ò
4.6
How well does it meet these aims?
4.6
I certainly found it easy to create my first book. The tutorial section
of the User Guide is easy to follow and allows the first time user to
quickly get the hang of creating a book. One point I would make is that,
although the explanation of creating a book was clear, there were no
notes on how to edit a previously written book, so when I returned to a
book I had started previously, it took some time and thought as to how
to add extra pages.
4.6
What is a Book made up of?
4.6
BookBinder takes öpagesò that have been made up by using !Draw. Thus,
you need to be able to use !Draw before you can use BookBinder. As !Draw
files can be made up from sprites and text, you can use other packages
to help you create the !Draw files. BookBinder is supplied on a single
disc but, as it requires the a !Systems folder and as it is also useful
to have the !Draw and !Paint applications and the !Fonts directory
handy, you are asked to create two working discs Ö öDrawingò containing
!Binder, !System, !Paint, !Draw and !Edit and öBinderò containing your
!Fonts and !BookRead, Converter and the Examples folder from the master
disc. Musbury Consultants include two disc labels for these discs. (One
minor niggle Ö the User Guide asks you to name one of the discs öBinderò
but the label for that disc says öBindingò.)
4.6
Creating a book involves copying an application called !BookRead, and
giving it a new name and opening up the Pages folder within this
applicationæs directory. You then drag your pages into this folder and
create the links between the pages. This is done in two stages. First
you open up the plan of the book and drag the pages into the plan. The
plan then consists of a set of rectangular boxes with the page names and
a START and END box. By pressing <menu>, you can then establish links
between the pages. Once a link has been established between two pages
you can then decide which öbuttonò on the first page will call the
second page. A öbuttonò, as far as BookBinder is concerned, is an object
in the !Draw file. When you go to make a button a window is opened
showing the !Draw file and you can select the !Draw object to be made
into the button. Once you have finished creating the links, you then
bind your book together.
4.6
The User Guide also gives details as to how to change the !Sprites file
within your new application to give the application its own unique icon
on the icon bar and disc window.
4.6
How do I rate BookBinder?
4.6
Obviously, it does not have as many features as Genesis or Magpie. You
cannot have music from Maestro files or animation from Euclid and Film
Maker. It also lacks the page creation facilities of Genesis. Each page
of a BookBinder book has to be created in !Draw. However, I certainly
found it easier to use than Genesis and its books took up less room. I
would suggest therefore that if you wished to create books (hyperbooks?)
that do not use animation or sound, BookBinder (at ú50 through Archive)
represents good value for money. On the other hand if you require the
extra features offered by Genesis (at ú85 through Archive) or Magpie (at
ú57 through Archive) then, obviously, you would have to choose one of
those.
4.6
One last thought
4.6
As with all HyperMedia packages, the ease of use is only the first step.
It is the designing and planning of the öbookò that is the important
part. Remember that, with these packages, itæs a case of: öGarbage in
HyperGarbage out!ò  A
4.6

4.6
Help!!!!
4.6
Å    Exabyte tape streamers Ö I want to be able to run an Exabyte tape
streamer from an Oak SCSI interface. Does anyone have any software I can
use? These tapestreamers use small 8mm video tapes and are relatively
cheap. John Gibson, Grantham.
4.6
Å    Hardware project Ö After Alan Bryantæs comments in the Help Column
last month, weæve had one offer of a suitable project Ö a combined PAL
coder / VIDC enhancer / genlock. Iæve put the two of them in contact,
but if anyone else is interested, drop us a line. Ed.
4.6
Å    Keyboard compatibility Ö Is the A400/1 keyboard compatible with any PC
Clone format? Some use the same plug, and there are add-ons such as bar-
code readers, key-pads etc. Nik Kelly, Liverpool.
4.6
Help offered
4.6
Å    Epson MX80 driver Ö Many thanks are due to the wizard at Clares who
wrote a driver for my old Epson MX80 F/T III, circa 1982. Yes, folks, it
can be done! Nik Kelly, Liverpool.      A
4.6

4.6
Orrery Version 1.3
4.6
Maurice Dixon & Ruth del Tufo
4.6
Orrery is a computer model of the solar system. It shows the motion of
the planets from space-time co-ordinates which can be user-defined. The
planets are set against a background of stars which may be joined to
show the constellation figures.
4.6
The original Orrery was a clockwork model of the solar system made to
demonstrate planetary motion. It was made in the eighteenth century for
the 4th Earl of Orrery. Spacetech have implemented and generalised this
to include all the currently known planets. It is important to recognise
the scope that Spacetech set themselves; the Orrery is not concerned
with the wider astronomical issues of the formation of galaxies, stars
or the solar system. They are to be congratulated on providing such an
interesting scientific model as the Orrery for us to explore the solar
system.
4.6
The review testing was carried out by a team of three people; one an ARM
enthusiast, one an experienced many body modeller and one a seven year
old school girl. None of us was either a professional astronomer or a
science teacher. The testing was carried out using an ARM-2, a single
floppy drive, a standard Acorn RGB colour monitor and a Panasonic KX-
P1124 printer; this would fairly replicate the A3000 environment.
4.6
Planets
4.6
The main Orrery allows the user to select a date and time for which the
position of the planets are derived. The user can select the rate at
which the model will then progress into the future. Each planet is
represented by a distinct icon; Spacetech have taken a practical
approach to allowing the user to Étuneæ the screen to the current
requirements. You can choose to allow the orbits to be displayed with
full or partial orbital arcs available. For clarity, you can choose to
display the initial letter of the planet or to omit a planet icon
altogether. Basic planet and orbital information such as size, eccentri
city, angle to plane, planet radius, distance from earth, mean and
actual distance from the sun and perihelion is given by selecting the
planet in its orbit. For the geocentric viewpoint, the angle with
respect to the celestial equator and azimuth are given. It is often
necessary to freeze the motion before selecting the planet. The model
makes heavy demands on the ARM-2 so response to selection or menu
choices can appear sluggish. The motion in the orbits can be jumpy and
the orbits themselves are shown as a series of straight lines which
looks a little untidy.
4.6
The power of Spacetechæs Orrery is seen in the way that different frames
of reference may be defined. A view may be chosen which is centred on
the sun and a selected planet locked onto. A user can consider themself
to be looking in any direction at the sky from anywhere on the earth at
any time. It is a delight to watch the sun rising with a group of
planets moving close to the ecliptic. Spacetech have provided a lighting
background to show the black of night, the dark blue of twilight, and
the brighter blue of daylight. The user can choose to have the direc
tions displayed on the horizon and change direction as the planets move.
The configuration may be printed as a sprite picture using !Paint;
surprisingly, the new moon which was not visible on the screen can be
clearly identified in the picture and then confirmed using the mouse
pointer. It is this earth based view of the sky which desktop astron
omers will find so attractive.
4.6
There is a very simple line graph of the planets with a distance scale
normalised to the size of the earthæs orbit. Not all the planets can be
seen together but the search out along the axis emphasises the enormous
distances to the further planets compared to the inner ones. Surpris
ingly, the planet data is not available off the line graph.
4.6
The model does not appear to incorporate the Asteroid belt or Comets.
4.6
The Orrery also includes the facility to display as a graph the angular
displacement of the planets from the sun for a user-chosen year. The
colour screen display was not easy to read and the black and white !Draw
printout effectively lacked the contrast to make all the planets
visible.
4.6
Stars
4.6
It is possible to display a large number of stars as a background to the
planetary display. The stars are grouped in constellations and it is
possible to use the mouse pointer to select a star for identification.
The star identity and constellation are displayed as a superimposed
window while the actual star is marked with a cross on the Orrery
window. The user can select to have the stars joined to give the
familiar constellation figures and this immediately attracts interest.
The shape of the sectoring of the sky into the 88 constellation sectors
is not displayed.
4.6
Using the earth as a reference frame, the motion of the stars can be
tracked. When a heliocentric view is chosen, the sun is treated as
another star, is barely detectable and has surprisingly little data
associated with it. The star data is displayed even when the model has
star displays suppressed. Using the geocentric viewpoint, it is possible
to display the track of the sun when the grid is chosen.
4.6
Moon
4.6
The earthæs Moon is included in the model but not the moons of other
planets. Detailed positional information and a phase description for the
Moon is available via the mouse pointer.
4.6
Glossary
4.6
There is a set of demonstration configurations which can be used to
illustrate some of the astronomical terms. Some of these work very well
for illustrative purposes but others, Conjunction and Opposition, sent
us scurrying away to the encyclopaedia to check both the meaning of the
term and what would be expected. The difficulty arose because the terms
apply to an earth-based reference frame for which the user can alter the
control panel. A glossary should explain and illustrate in an
immediately accessible way the chosen item. In contrast, the illustra
tion of circum-polar stars and planetary retrograde motion was
immediately understandable. The display of twilight, sun rise, noon and
sunset were all OK.
4.6
Dates
4.6
The date range for the Orrery was from the year Ö9999 to at least 9999;
the only significant bug in the system that we found related to putting
in too big a year number and not being able to back out of the warning;
a similar error occurred with the control panel for accelerated time
increments. We do not consider these to be serious difficulties. For the
Ephemirides the date range was 0 to 99999.
4.6
Data access
4.6
The primary access to the data is via the mouse pointer with display on
the screen. It would be nice to be able to extract the fixed data and
dynamic data for the planets into a printable text file. It would also
be attractive to be able to invert the presentation so that having given
a planet and a date it would be possible to use the Ephemirides data to
display the planet.
4.6
Many body problem
4.6
The calculation and display of the positions of the planets and stars by
Spacetechæs Orrery makes heavy demands on the processing power of the
ARM-2 but they are met in an acceptable way. No indication is given of
the calculation method used or the accuracy of the data. Questions about
Planet ÉXæ or É10æ are currently being discussed and users should be
aware of how orbital irregularities are incorporated.
4.6
Perspective issues
4.6
There are enormous variations in distances, light intensities and
relative sizes in the solar system so any representation has to reflect
a compromise based upon the primary area of interest.
4.6
The control panel window allows the user to select a time granularity
from 1 minute to one of many years; the screen can also be frozen for
detailed inspection. This enables the detailed study of such different
phenomena as sunrise and the out of plane orbital motion of Pluto. This
is an excellent facility and can be run forwards and backwards in time.
A small quibble is that it would be nice to be able to freeze/unfreeze a
screen on a toggle key without having the control panel window
displayed.
4.6
The control panel can also be used to display the orbital motions of all
the planets or gradually to focus on the inner planets. A similar
magnification facility would benefit the simple linear graph.
4.6
Documentation
4.6
The manual was helpful as far as the introduction and installation were
concerned. The layout of the section on menu selections should be
improved and made more systematic but it was adequate for an introduc
tion. There is a useful glossary provided of astronomical terms although
we feel that the explanations could have been fuller and easier. Also,
it would have been useful to know the basis of selection for the set of
stars displayed and whether they are fixed or moving.
4.6
Installation
4.6
The installation instructions were straight forward and worked. The
installation procedure assumes the user is familiar with the desktop
environment. It is good that the product is capable of simple backup.
The disks are magnetically version marked but not in text on the outside
of the disk. The files supplied are different from those given in the
text; Glossary is omitted from the text while Or_Setup is used in the
text whereas Now and Intro are on the disk. These in no way affected the
installation but perhaps could be misleading to someone not familiar
with the desktop environment and seeking to proceed systematically. The
manual claims that Orrery is RISC-OS compliant and certainly we have
been able to run it at the same time as Impression Junior.
4.6
Summary
4.6
In Orrery, Spacetech have produced an excellent model of the solar
system which will be used by many would-be astronomers with great
pleasure and interest. The underlying scientific model should be made
available. The software is robust and covers the scope stated in the
documentation. It can be installed quickly and easily. Orrery makes
heavy demands on the ARM-2 and can appear sluggish.  A
4.6

4.6
Honeypot Lane
4.6
Peter Thomson
4.6
This is a well presented package of story books and computer programs
aimed at the primary school. Resource, who produce the package, suggest
that it should form the basis of an approach to primary technology.
4.6
The elements of the package are linked by an imaginary village. One
large format book is well illustrated, perhaps suitable for the class
teacher to read to a class of infants. The other three stories seem to
be aimed at an older age group, with each page of text facing a picture.
4.6
The first program displays a very long sprite, a picture of the village
and its surroundings. The user can scroll this picture horizontally.
Clicking the mouse pointer on the screen displays the name of the object
or a line of story about that scene. Clicking on the front door of the
castle lets you in to explore the castle. On certain house doors you can
also move inside but the number of rooms is very limited.
4.6
A group of young girls who worked with the program found this great fun
until they had explored the whole area, but then complained that there
was nothing more to do. A picture of Albert the mouse can be hidden in
the various rooms for others to find and this provided more stimulus for
a short time. The girls would have liked to add their own story and more
details to the picture, but the program does not allow this.
4.6
I looked at the programming to see what could be done. The long sprite
of the village can be loaded into !Paint so that changes can easy be
made to that, but the messages in the program are all in the form of
data statements and changes would require a lot of programming experi
ence. This is a pity, because the idea for this program is a good one,
and the messages could easily have been included as a file so that new
stories could have been written.
4.6
When I looked at the second program, I hoped to find that this would let
the children produce their own story in the same format as the first but
this is not the case. It is designed to produce a story made of single
pages of text and graphics, displayed one page at a time. The picture
can be built up from a library of simple shapes or from a large number
of well drawn sprites. I found the procedure to select sprites from a
file on one disc, transfer them to a second disc and then place them on
the screen to be very messy ÿ too complex for young children. The text
editing facilities are also very limited. When a story is being
displayed on the screen, much time is wasted as whole files of sprites
are read from disc for each page.
4.6
The sprites themselves are excellent. The children already know how to
use !Draw and !Paint. They were very excited by being able to add these
to their own drawings. (You need to rename the main program from BASIC
in order to display the files).
4.6
Neither program is RISC-OS compliant or compatible and I couldnæt use
them with my Taxan monitor because they deleted VIDC utilities and then
adopted a non-compatible mode.
4.6
Also included with this package is a very expensively produced file
entitled öA teachers guide to Primary Technologyò. It is a comprehensive
list of possible ideas for using honey-pot as a stimulus for technology,
but with little practical guidance for those new to this area. Also,
some of the links to the package are a bit tenuous.
4.6
Conclusion
4.6
If the first program with its long village sprite and captions was
available separately, I would recommend it. Overall, this package has
limited value as a stimulus for primary school technology. There are
much better practical guides for teachers available elsewhere.  A
4.6

4.6

4.6
Norwich Computer Services  96a Vauxhall Street, Norwich, NR2 2SD.
0603Ö766592 (Ö764011)
4.6

4.6
Aleph One Ltd    The Old Courthouse, Bottisham, Cambridge, CB5 9BA.
(0223Ö811679) (Ö812713)
4.6
Apricote Studios (p22)    2 Purls
Bridge Farm, Manea, Cambridgeshire, PE15 0ND. (035Ö478Ö432)
4.6
A.S.T.E. Syracuse    10 Alastair Crescent, Prenton, Wirral, L43 0UR.
(051Ö608Ö5469)
4.6
Atomwide Ltd (p18)    23 The
Greenway, Orpington, Kent, BR5 2AY. (0689Ö838852) (Ö896088)
4.6
Base5   (p51)    PO Box 378, Woking, Surrey GU21 4DF.
4.6
Beebug Ltd    117 Hatfield Road, St Albans, Herts, AL1 4JS. (0727Ö40303)
(Ö60263)
4.6
CJE Micros    78 Brighton Road, Worthing, W Sussex, BN11 2EN.
(0903Ö213361) (Ö213901)
4.6
Clares Micro Supplies    98 Mid
dlewich Road, Rudheath, Northwich, Cheshire, CW9 7DA. (0606Ö48511)
(Ö48512)
4.6
Chalksoft    P.O. Box 49, Spalding, Lincs, PE11 1NZ. (0775Ö769518)
4.6
Cogent Software    30 Norton Way North, Letchworth, Herts, SG6 1BX.
(0462Ö673017)
4.6
Colton Software (p12)    149Ö151 St
Neots Road, Hardwick, Cambridge, CB3 7QJ. (0954Ö211472) (Ö211607)
4.6
Computer Concepts (p30/31)    Gaddesden
Place, Hemel Hempstead, Herts, HP2 6EX. (0442Ö63933) (Ö231632)
4.6
Dabhand Computing    5 Victoria Lane, Whitefield, Manchester, M25 6AL.
(061Ö766Ö8423) (Ö8425)
4.6
Data Store    6 Chatterton Road, Bromley, Kent. (081Ö460Ö8991)
(Ö313Ö0400)
4.6
Design Concept (p 17)    30 South
Oswald Road, Edinburgh, EH9 2HG.
4.6
Electronic Font Foundry (p32)    Bridge
House, 18 Brockenhurst Road, Ascot, SL5 9DL. (0344Ö28698)
4.6
HS Software    56, Hendrefolian Avenue, Sketty, Swansea, SA2 7NB.
(0792Ö204519)
4.6
Ian Copestake Software    10 Frost
Drive, Wirral, L61 4XL. (051Ö648Ö6287)
4.6
IFEL (p41)    36 Upland Drive, Plymouth, Devon, PL6 6BD. (0752Ö847286)
4.6
Lingenuity (Lindis) (p36)    P.O.Box 10,
Halesworth, Suffolk, IP19 0DX. (0986Ö85Ö476) (Ö460)
4.6
LongmanÖLogotron    Dales Brewery, Gwydir Street, Cambridge, CB1 2LJ.
(0223Ö323656) (Ö460208)
4.6
Minerva Systems    Minerva House, Baring Crescent, Exeter, EX1 1TL.
(0392Ö437756) (Ö421762)
4.6
Musbury Consultants    8 Fairhill,
Helmshore, Rossendale, Lancs, BB4 4JX. (0706Ö216701)
4.6
Oak Solutions (p11)    Cross Park
House, Low Green, Rawdon, Leeds, LS19 6HA. (0532Ö502615) (Ö506868)
4.6
Pandora Technology Ltd    9 St Marks
Place, London, W11 1NS. (071Ö221Ö9653) (Ö9654)
4.6
Ray Maidstone (p4)    421
Sprowston Road, Norwich, NR3 4EH. (0603Ö407060) (Ö417447)
4.6
RESOURCE    Exeter Road, Doncaster, DN2 4PY. (0302Ö340331)
4.6
RTFM Software    43 Hill Street, St Hellier, Jersey JE2 4UA. (0534Ö67870)
(Ö68996)
4.6
Silicon Vision Ltd    Signal
House, Lyon Road, Harrow, Middlesex, HA1 2AG. (081Ö422Ö2274) (Ö427Ö5169)
4.6
Simtron Ltd (insert)    4 Clarence
Drive, East Grinstead, W. Sussex, RH19 4RZ. (0342Ö328188)
4.6
Storm Software$$    Beth House, Poyntington, Sherbourne, Dorset.
(0963Ö22469)
4.6
The Serial Port (pp27 & 35)    Burcott
Manor, Wells, Somerset, BA5 1NH. (0243Ö531194) (Ö531196)
4.6
VisionSix Ltd (p29)    13 Paddock
Wood, Prudhoe, Northumberland, NE42 5BJ. (0661Ö33017) (Ö36163)7
4.6

4.6
Government Health Warning Ö Reading this could seriously affect your
spiritual health.
4.6
We have continued to pray for all who have been caught up in the Gulf
conflict and are grateful to God that the fighting is now over. Even so,
we must continue to pray for the leaders of the nations involved, that
they might bring about a just and lasting peace in the region.
4.6
The ending of the Gulf War is also particularly important for the people
of sub-Saharan Africa. This is because the Gulf War has diverted the
worldæs attention away from the terrible plight of those suffering from,
or heading rapidly towards, famine in Africa. So, letæs hope and pray
that some of the suffering in Africa can now be averted. We will shortly
be sending a donation to TEAR Fund to help with African famine relief
and we would urge you to join with us, either by sending money direct to
a relief agency, or by sending it to us and we will direct it through
TEAR Fund. Thank you.
4.6

The VATman strikes again
4.7
The main reason that this issue has followed the previous one so rapidly
is that our beloved Chancellor of the Exchequer has increased the VAT
rate from 15% to 17.5%. As a result, everyone like us, who quotes VAT
inclusive prices, will have to change their adverts, price lists etc,
etc!! This will also mean that some of the prices quoted in reviews and
Products Available may not be correct. Weæll try to check them if
possible, but I hope youæll forgive us if we miss any.
4.7
Also, if you are ordering anything from us, please use the new Price
List, not the old one, because the prices have increased by the extra
VAT element. If you send a cheque which is too small to cover the cost
of the goods you order, it will cause complications and delay, so
PLEASE  DESTROY  ALL  OLD  PRICE  LISTS. Thank you.
4.7
Another Éone-upæ for Impression II
4.7
The very fact that I have been able to get this magazine out so soon
after the previous one is another accolade for Impression. It just would
not have been possible with PageMaker on the Mac. (By the way, Iæve not
had any response yet from Beebug about whether they are going to use
Ovation to prepare Risc User.)
4.7
All the Archive staff wish you a Very Happy Easter!
4.7

4.7
Products Available
4.7
Å    A540 fan quieteners Ö Ray Maidstone has now designed fan quieteners
for the A540 but they are unfortunately not user-fit devices. Contact
Ray on 0603-407060 for more details.
4.7
Å    ALPS Compression Disc Ö Alpine Software have released a sprite
compression utility which can compress mode 12 sprite down to something
like 30% of their original size. Mode 15 sprites are compressed even
more Ö some down to as low as 6% of their full size but, on average,
around 25%. The application which is only available from Alpine Software
is ú19.95 inclusive (post free).
4.7
Å    Atomwide high speed drives Ö Atomwide are doing some new SCSI drives.
The first is a high speed (17 ms) 48M Quantum Pro drive. The prices are
ú540 for an internal drive and ú620 for an external drive. The other
drive is the Connor 100M drive as supplied in the Acorn A540. These are
also, we think, 17ms drives and are available for ú740 (internal) or
ú840 (external). (More details in the SCSI Column on page 9.)
4.7
Å    Atomwide removable drives Ö Atomwide are also doing some 42M removable
SCSI drives. They use exactly the same drive mechanism as the MicroNet
drives and they work out a little cheaper. (But with the extra VAT,
youære back to the number you first thought of!!) The prices are now
ú795 and ú595 with and without Oak podule respectively, or ú775 with
Lingenuity podule. (More details in the SCSI Column on page 9.)
4.7
Å    Childrenæs pictures Ö Micro Studio have produced a new library pack of
draw and paint files Ö over 150 in all Ö aimed at children. The new
pack, at ú19.95 inclusive, has pictures of animals, toys, people, shapes
and objects and signs.
4.7
Å    Colour screen conversion Ö Human Computer Interface Ltd have produced
a piece of software called Colour Screen╗Mac which will convert colour &
monochrome images between the Macintosh and the Archimedes or Windows
3.0 on the IBM PC. The cost is ú95 plus ú2.50 p&p +VAT. They also do an
Archimedes to Mac connecting cable for ú20 +VAT.
4.7
Å    Concept Designer from Longman Logotron enables the user to create and
use overlays on a Concept Keyboard and even has an emulator so that you
can develop software for use with a CK without having one attached to
the computer. The price is ú24 +VAT from Longman Logotron or ú26 through
Archive.
4.7
Å    Diet Manager Ö Yes, for the weight-conscious Archimedes owners, here
is a multi-tasking application that will allow you to keep track of all
those calories (and proteins and fats). This program from MEWsoft,
priced ú27.90 inclusive would also be useful in schools for health
education.
4.7
Å    Draw format lineart Ö Southern Printers have produced the first of
their lineart discs. The price of this first disc is just ú5.50
inclusive. They are aiming to keep the price down to a level which
should deter copying since lineart does tend to Émigrateæ very easily
from computer to computer! For more details, see the review on page 41.
4.7
Å    !Draw Help Ö After the success of Sherston Softwareæs !Help companion
to the Archimedes, they have now produced one for !Draw. This package
consists of a 96 page tutorial book plus a disc full of clip art plus a
!Draw quick reference card. The package is available for ú15.95 (no
VAT).
4.7
Å    Fast array sorting routines Ö Avisoft have produced a set of fast ARM
code shell sort routines. Contact Martin Avison for more details.
Address in Factfile.
4.7
Å    First enhancement Ö Serious Statistical Software have announced a new
context sensitive online help system for their ÉFirstæ statistical
software package. This upgrade is just ú25 (no VAT). The cost of the
full ÉFirstæ package is still ú150.
4.7
Å    Hawk V12 video framestore is the latest product from Wild Vision. At
ú1990 +VAT (+ú5 carriage) it provides a very powerful image processing
and analysis system for the Archimedes. This double width podule can
store up to four images, 512 x 512 in 256 grey levels.
4.7
Å    PD library Ö Westbourne Services have just started a PD library for
the Archimedes. The discs are ú1.50 each. Westbourne Services will
supply a sample disc and catalogue for ú1. (We mentioned this last month
but lost the address. Sorry!)
4.7
Å    Midnight Graphics Draw Clip Art Ö Set one, six discs full for just
ú29.95 +VAT.
4.7
Å    Taipei 2 Ö The first offering from Black Sheep Software is an updated
version of the Mah Jong patience game, Taipei, released originally on
Shareware N║ 31. Black Sheep have responded to criticisms of the
original version voiced in Micro User and Archimedes World and have
added some extra features. The price is ú9.95 inclusive from Black
Sheep.
4.7
Å    Viewpoints Ö an interactive environment for the Archimedes from
Sherston Software. Aimed at school children, it allows them to use a map
and explore the village, seaside, surrounding countryside and even under
water. As they wander, they can stop and see if there is anything of
interest and can take snapshots of what they see. They can also zoom in
and take a better look at things. Viewpoints contains all sorts of
starting points for various types of written and oral work and includes
geography and mapping skills as well as information storage and
retrieval skills. The Viewpoints Database is ú35 +VAT from Sherston
Software.
4.7
Å    !VoiceBuilder Ö MJD Softwareæs multi-tasking RISC-OS application
designed to work alongside Maestro, Rhapsody etc to create new voices.
Libraries of waveforms and envelopes are provided and can be manipulated
freely. The software, which is MIDI compatible, allows control of
attack, looping, release phases etc. After creation, the modules can be
immediately accessed from BASIC or other languages or from other
applications.
4.7
Review software received...
4.7
We have received review copies of the following software and hardware:
Carewares 4 and 6, !Voice-Builder from MJD Software, Longman Concept
Designer, Design Conceptsæ Outline Fonts and Software disc, Taipei 2,
Avisoft Fast Array Sorts, ASTE Syracuse disc magazine, PRES A3000 5╝ö
interface & software, Morley Teletext adaptor front end software.  A
4.7

4.7
Government Health Warning Ö Reading this could seriously affect your
spiritual health.
4.7
Although this is likely to reach you after Easter, (I am writing before
Easter) I would just like to ask you to find a little time over the next
few days to think about the significance of the death and resurrection
of Jeus.
4.7
To the outsider, Jesusæ death looks like the defeat of a well-meaning
teacher who upset the Épowers that beæ and his resurrection looks like a
blatant act of wishful thinking.
4.7
However, if you study it more deeply, you will find that the cross is
the most wonderful point of triumph Ö not defeat. The powers of evil
were smashed by that one loving act of self-sacrifice Ö and itæs not
just öan example for us to followò. It would be pretty pointless if
thatæs all it was. No, there is a deep spiritual truth about the
cross... which I havenæt time to go into now, but itæs described in,
öThe Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobeò by C.S.Lewis. On one level, itæs
a childrenæs story, but at a deeper level, itæs a very powerful allegory
of the death and resurrection of Jesus. Read it and see what you think.
4.7

4.7
Small Ads
4.7
Å    A3000 1Mb upgrade (Morley expandable) ú50, CC ROM/RAM podule ú25,
Archimedes SpellMaster ROM ú30. Phone Mr H McDonald on 04243-4500.
4.7
Å    A3000 Midi/user interface ú30, Acorn DTP ú80, Rhapsody ú30, Arcwriter
ú10, Acorn Umbrella ú20, A3000 Carry-case ú25. Contact Geoff Bailey on
04867-80632.
4.7
Å    Armadillo Sound Sampler + MIDI, 8 bit stereo, with HighNote control
software, ú115. Phone Rob Browning on 0242-231540.
4.7
Å    Original software Ö Lot 1, ú15 = The Pawn, UIM, Presenter II,
Startrader, Minotaur, Quazer. Lot 2, ú25 = Interdictor II, Terramex,
Repton 3, Arcade 3, Talisman, Zarch. Lot 3, ú10 = EFF fonts Albert,
Sophie and Tamsin. Phone John Crabtree on 0803-832505
4.7
Å    Second Internal 3╜ö disc drive, previously installed in an A310, ú75
ono. Phone Mr C Dawson on 0253-700578 or 0283-36044.
4.7
Å    Wanted single drive fascia for A310, also MEMC1a chip. Phone Mr C
Dawson on 0253-700578 or 0283-36044.
4.7
Å    Wanted single drive fascia for A310. Phone Bill Foyster on 0769-60289.
Also 2nd 3╜ö drive for 310 ú50.
4.7
Charity Sales Ö The following items are available for sale in aid of
charity. PLEASE do not just send money Ö ring us on 0603-766592 to check
if the items are still available. Thank you.
4.7
(If you have unwanted software or hardware for Archimedes computers,
please send it in to us. If you have larger items where post would be
expensive, just send us details of the item(s) and how the purchaser can
get hold of them.)
4.7
User Guides ú2 + ú3 postage, Acorn 2-slot BP ú15, Euclid ú25, Arcwriter
ú5, Acorn ROM/RAM podule ú18, CC ROM/RAM +128 RAM ú40, Global View ú4,
Twin ú10, Interdictor 1 ú6, Superior Golf ú9, Trivial Pursuit ú9.  A
4.7

4.7
Base 5
4.7
From 4.6 page 51
4.7

4.7

4.7
CC
4.7
From 4.6 page 30
4.7

4.7
CC
4.7
From 4.6 page 31
4.7

4.7
Hints and Tips
4.7
Å    Ballarena Ö I would advise using the mouse to control your Ébatæ
because the keyboard is not very responsive. Also, note that the ÉAutoæ
bat does not always respond fast enough to catch the ball, and there is
nothing you can do about it! I was very disappointed in the final
message which just congratulates you, and ends your game. The passwords
are: PUNKANDJUMP, MONTPELLIER, SEA SEX SUN, VL 86 C 010, MOUNTAINEERS,
GRENOUILLE, BLUBEDILOMAR, BRAIN KILLER, RHYTHM BOX, BOUBOULOID, MENFOU,
32 BIT POWER, MARTINI, SEE YOU SOON, ETERNA. Mike Gregory (& Russell
Lamb).
4.7
Å    Changing !Editæs default file types Ö Answering my own Help!!! plea in
Archive hereæs how to change the default filetypes for !Edit:
4.7
*DIR ADFS::4.$.RISC-OS.!Edit
4.7
 (or your path here)
4.7
*GOS
4.7
*L. !RUNIMAGE 8000
4.7
*BREAKSET 8004
4.7
*GO 8000
4.7
*SAVE ö!RUNIMAGEò 8000+1F2C0
4.7
 8008 8000
4.7
*BASIC
4.7
*L. !RUNIMAGE 8F00
4.7
$&1B208=öReadMeò These can be changed
4.7
$&1B214=öDataFileò to suit your needs
4.7
$&1B220=öExecFileò with any string up
4.7
$&1B22C=öEditFileò to 10chars in
4.7
$&1B238=ö!Runò        length.
4.7
*SAVE !RUNIMAGE 8F00+1F2C0 8008 8000
4.7
Rob Davison, Southland, New Zealand
4.7
Å    ÉCheapoæ dialog boxes Ö You can make use of Wimp_ReportError instead
of writing code for a dialog box when programming wimps. The following
code fragment is an example:
4.7
DEFPROCsave_file(name$)
4.7
IF FNfile_there(name$) THEN IF
4.7
 FNdialog(öA file of that
4.7
name exists. Overwrite it?ö)=FALSE THEN ENDPROC
4.7
REM save file
4.7
ENDPROC
4.7

4.7
DEFFNdialog(str1$):!block%=1
4.7
:$(block%+4)=str1$
4.7
SYSöWimp_ReportErrorò,block%,
4.7
19,öMessage from
4.7
applicö TO ,resp%
4.7
=resp%=1
4.7
where the string öMessage From Applicationò is <20 characters in length.
4.7
The only disadvantages are that all other desktop activity is suspended,
the machine beeps (if wimpflags bit 4 is not set) and that the user has
to answer öOKò or öCANCELò instead of the more logical öYESò or öNOò.
However, this saves a great deal of programming and can be very useful
at times (This is why FWP2 stops printing Ö See Archive 3.10 p 25). Rob
Davison, New Zealand.
4.7
Å    Cleaning A310 keyboard contacts Ö I recently had a very nasty
intermittent fault on my A310. It began as a line of 222222222æs being
printed at the cursor, for no apparent reason. Also the É2æ key of the
numbers keypad wouldnæt function occasionally. This was accompanied by a
more worrying symptom where the screen display would suddenly go hay-
wire and only occasionally would right itself after switching the
machine off and then on.
4.7
Eventually, it was cured by cleaning the key-contact of the É2æ (keypad)
and on the basis of öIf it works, donæt fix itò, I didnæt clean any
other keys. After having the machine checked at a local dealer (ú17.50)
and some discussion with Archivesæ Technical Help, it was assumed that
the screen break-up was due to CMOS *Configuration settings somehow
being changed to Monitor-Multisync, by the spurious keyboard input. The
problem has not occurred since.
4.7
For anyone else with keyboard problems, hereæs how I cleaned mine: Lay
the keyboard upside-down and remove all 8 screws under the keyboard base
and gently lift off the base. Remove the 6 larger screws, securing the
PCB to the keyboard top-cover. Lift out the complete PCB and keys unit.
The keytops are all secured in a frame which is, in turn, secured by 20-
odd small screws from the PCB underside. Take them all out (and put them
somewhere safe) and, keeping the whole kaboodle together with a firm
grip, turn it over and set it down right-side up. The complete set of
keys can now be lifted slowly off the PCB, exposing the rubber contact/
covers. These are glued with a weak glue. I found that all the rubber
bits stayed stuck to the PCB. I gently peeled away the rubber contact/
cover at the offending key position and marvelled at how the dirt had
managed to penetrate so far, considering that the cover was stuck down.
The keyboard key contacts (A310) are just gold plated discs of PCB
copper, easily cleaned with switch cleaner and a non-hairy paper-towel
or cloth. If you have to blow away any bits, use a camera Épuffer
brushæ. If you have to use your mouth to blow away grit, crumbs etc,
wait for any teeny drops of condensation to evaporate. Spit doesnæt make
a good contact cleaner and some spirit-based cleaners may tend to
dissolve the pcb-surface varnish which will be smeared over the
contactsæ surface. Your local electronics hobby shop (e.g. Tandy) should
have cans of switch-cleaner at ú2 Ö ú3 (which is a lot cheaper than ú120
for a new keyboard(!) and well worth the extra effort of DIY).
4.7
D.P.Allen, Surrey
4.7
Å    Data cartridges for tape streamers revisited Ö Further to the hint in
3.6 p2, the metal variety of DAT can become unreliable after three or
four writes and so it is better to use the non-metal variety e.g.
Memorex tapes. Mr Chapman, London
4.7
Å    RISC-OS printing hints Ö Printing out with the RISC-OS printer drivers
is very easy. However I found several areas which are not well explained
and one or two things which are down right misleading!
4.7
Å    PRM pages 1526-1528 sprite plotting commands must be with reference to
the address of the sprite not the name, so if you use
4.7
SYS öOS_SpriteOpò,&122,
4.7
spriteaddr%,önameò,0
4.7
,xpos%,ypos%
4.7
then, when printing, the error öSprite Not knownò will be returned. The
solution is to use &222 and an address instead of the sprite name.
Addresses for a named sprite can be found with
4.7
SYSöOS_SpriteOpò,&118
4.7
addr is in R2 on exit Ö see PRM page 406.
4.7
Å    PRM page 1532. Always use Ö1 (for current) as the destination mode
with öColourTrans_Select-Tableò if you specify a mode (even the current
one) ColourTrans will not set up the table correctly resulting in
strange looking sprites on printout.
4.7
Å    When rendering Draw objects remember to decrease Éflatnessæ to a lower
value. A useful way of calculating it is to divide the default (512) by
the print resolution divided by 90 eg. flat= 512/(printxres%/90) where
printxres% might be 300 Ö as read from
4.7
SYS öPDriver_Infoò TO,printxres%
4.7
printyres% the 90 comes from a normal approximately 90 dots per inch on
screen. Rob Davison, Southland, New Zealand
4.7
Å    Saving the CMOS RAM settings Ö In recent editions of Archive (e.g.
4.3, p.10 and 4.5, p. 21) there have been repeated mentions of the
problem which arises when a battery failure deletes all the information
in the CMOS RAM.
4.7
There is one very simple way of solving this problem: On Careware N║ 6
you will find the application !SysUtil by Jon Marten; one of the choices
it offers is öSave Configurationò!
4.7
All you have to do is copy the Utility and the öConfigFileò it produces
to some disc where they are easily accessible Ö not the hard disk!
4.7
After the dreaded memory loss you simply load !SysUtil and drag the
ConfigFile icon onto the !SysUtil icon and confirm that you want to
change the configuration. Jochen Konietzko, Koeln, Germany
4.7
Å    Shutdown of hard drives Ö During the recent experience I have had due
to the volume of hardware Iæve been setting up and testing, the
following items have come to light.
4.7
MR45æs seemed to be suffering from corruption but, when reformatted, the
problem went away, so where did the corruption come from?
4.7
A little further investigation revealed that a verify scan caused the
Closedown procedure of the drive not to occur.
4.7
It was found that, in order to close the drive down properly, a *bye and
two ¬Shutdowns were required! At first, this was thought to only relate
to MR45æs but, in fact, it has been found that this is not so, and even
my own machine (A440/1 with standard Acorn hardware) does similar
things.
4.7
So, how do you know whether your hard drive is shut down properly? If an
<f12> is followed by a *bye, a staccato blip from the drive LED should
occur and a short sharp click noise should emit from the drive itself.
This is not the closedown condition.
4.7
A *shutdown will now give a flickering performance from the drive LED
and a multiple clicking from the drive lasting about half a second.This
is the shutdown condition with the heads parked and isolated from the
discs and closedown of the system can now occur. Ray Maidstone, Norwich.
4.7
Å    !UIM_Hack update (cf Archive 3.10 p 9) Ö This utility allows you to
edit characters in The 4th Dimensionæs U.I.M. game. It has now been
updated and improved by the author, David Sheperdson, and has been put
on this monthæs program disc.
4.7
Impression Hints and Tips
4.7
Å    Beware thin lines Ö It seems that Impression canæt cope with the very
thinnest lines that Draw can produce. It does not display them properly
on the screen and sometimes doesnæt print them properly. The answer is
to use 1 mm lines instead. This came to light when Brian Cowan was using
graphs generated by the graph plotting utility (on Shareware N║ 31)
which apparently uses these thin lines. (This has only been tested in
version 2.05.)
4.7
Å    Double-clicking on a graphic opens the öalter graphicò window, (For
those who donæt read manuals.)
4.7
Å    Help! Ö Does anyone know how to create a new Master Page based on an
existing master page? Itæs a real pain to have to change the margins
every time you create a new master page. Why canæt you have a new master
page just slightly different from an existing one? The particular
application was where I wanted to try two, three, four, five columns
etc. for a document and every time I wanted to change the number of
columns, I had to create a new master page, changing the margins from to
the 5 mm I wanted before changing the number of columns and the inter-
column gap. (Mind you, I did find one short-cut as a result of having to
do this over and over again. If you click in the first margin box, you
can use <ctrl-U> to remove the ö12.7mmò, then press <5> and then <down>
will move you to the next box and you can repeat the <ctrl-U>, <5>,
<down> for each box. This applies to most of the dialogue boxes Ö <down>
moves you to the next box requiring input. Yes, I know it says this in
the manual, but I didnæt see it.)
4.7
Anyway, can I put my plea another way? Is there any way of editing a
master page other than sliding the boxes around? Can you edit, by
entering numbers, the sizes of the margins, for example?
4.7
Å    Search & replace again Ö We mentioned last month that, when doing a
find and replace, <ctrl-N> finds the Next occurrence, <ctrl-R> does a
Replace of the marked text. Be warned though that, if the find box is
on-screen, <ctrl-A> no longer deletes the character at the cursor (as
<copy> does) it forces All the replaces to occur from the cursor
downwards to the very end of the document. I found this the hard way
while attempting to do a selective search and replace at the top of a
large document. I was changing a column of words into a list by
replacing
4.7
 with a comma and a space. You can just imagine the havoc that the
öreplace allò command reeked on my (unsaved!!!) document. You have been
warned! By the way, <ctrl-E>, presumably relating to Every or End, has
exactly the same effect as <ctrl-A>. (This has only been tested on
2.09.)
4.7
Å    Transferring text between documents Ö In Archive 4.2 p.8, there was a
hint about the transfer of text between two documents. The implication
was that this was not possible with Impression. This is not true Ö it is
just done differently. You select the text in question, press <ctrl-C>,
move to the appropriate spot in the other document, click once and
insert the text with <ctrl-V>! Jochen Konietzko, Koeln, Germany  A
4.7

4.7
Atomwide
4.7
From 4.6 page 18
4.7

4.7
SCSI Column
4.7
Paul Beverley
4.7
There are some more developments on the SCSI front that make it worth
having a SCSI Column again this month.
4.7
New SCSI software from Oak
4.7
At long last, Oak Solutions have released the new software for their
SCSI podules along with a new SCSIForm program. (Anyone who has an order
outstanding for this new software should have received it by now, so if
you havenæt, do get in touch with us.)
4.7
So whatæs the difference? Well, not a lot for users of fixed hard
drives, but for those of us who are making use of MR45 removable drives,
life will be somewhat easier. If you want to change cartridges, all you
do is dismount the drive and it spins down to a stop; you put in the new
cartridge and mount it by clicking on the disc icon and it spins up and
opens the new filer window.
4.7
If you do what I did and put in the new ROM and try it out, you will
find that it doesnæt seem to work Ö you dismount the drive and it keeps
on spinning! However, if you then put in the new SCSIForm disc and read
the readme file (which you should have done first!) you will find what
you have to do.
4.7
You run the SCSIForm program and <R>emove the MR45 from the drive list
and then <A>dd it again answering <Y>es to the three questions about
STOP, START and PREVENT and then <N>o to EJECT. If you are using
partitions on your disc, consult the ReadMe file before going any
further Ö I donæt use PCemulator or Unix, so I havenæt sorted any of
that out.
4.7
One thing you will have to remember with removables is to quit your
wastebin before dismounting the drive otherwise it will spin down then
immediately spin up again as the multi-tasking wastebin tries to access
it again!
4.7
Moving drive icons
4.7
One thing that you will find which is slightly disconcerting is that the
hard drive icons move about on the icon bar! When you start up, the icon
bar just shows the hard drive(s) with SCSI4, SCSI5 etc but as soon as
you mount one of the drives, it reads the drive name and displays it on
the icon bar. The trouble is that, the way RISC-OS works, the SCSI
software has to remove the icon and then add it back again so it appears
at the far right of the set of icons on the left of the icon bar.
Dismounting a drive also moves the icon to the end of the line.
4.7
New ranges of Oak SCSI drives
4.7
Oak Solutions have rationalised their ranges of SCSI drives into three
basic types: WorraWinnie, High Speed and Elite.
4.7
WorraWinnie: These are roughly equivalent in performance to the original
SCSI drives which Oak produced although some of them may be slightly
slower than before. They are, however, rather cheaper than before and
the external drives are in slightly more compact cases. The internal 45M
drives, for example, are available at an Archive price of ú450 compared
with the previous price of ú525. They are guaranteed for 12 months. (One
other difference is the cabling Ö see below.)
4.7
High Speed: These are, as the name suggests, faster drives than the
WorraWinnies and they are in a rather more substantial metal case. The
40M, for example, runs at about 800 Kbytes/sec with an effective average
access time of between 11 and 16 ms (see the speed table) whereas the
45M WorraWinnie will be more like 600 Kbytes/sec and an access time of
24 ms. The internal 40M drive is ú530 which is roughly the same as the
original, slower, 45M drives. The High Speed drives are guaranteed for a
full two years.
4.7
Elite: These external drives are the same Quantum Pro drive mechanisms
as the High Speed drives but they are built in such a way that they will
come up to the stringent new r.f.i. standards that will come into force
in 1992. They are also guaranteed for the full two years.
4.7
Additional drives
4.7
An increasing number of people are ordering SCSI drives without podules.
(They are just ú100 less than the prices quoted on the Price List since
those prices include the SCSI podule.) If your intention is to use it as
a second drive with an existing drive, it is important to make this
clear when you place your order. We will then be able to change the
internal links on the drive before sending it to you. The link changes
are necessary because no two devices are allowed to have the same ID
number and drives are normally sent out as ID zero. It involves taking
the drive out of its case, so it is obviously preferable if you allow us
to do that for you.
4.7
The other very important point to note is that external WorraWinnies (to
keep the cost down) do not have spare connectors to allow daisy-
chaining. They just have a flying lead (with an IDC connector on the
end) coming out of the back of the drive. This cable plugs directly into
the back of the SCSI card. So, if you want to use any other external
device alongside a WorraWinnie, you will need to think about the
cabling. The best thing to do, therefore, is to contact us and we will
sort out your requirements for you before you place your order. We can
provide all the necessary cabling.
4.7
High speed SCSI drives
4.7
One of the advantages of SCSI is that, at the moment, öeverybodyæs doing
itò. SCSI drives are becoming available for all the more commonly used
computers whose names I will refrain from using. High volume production,
of course, means lower prices such as we have achieved by using
removable drives that were being sold into the Apple Mac market. (They
have gone down in price again and so, even with the increased VAT rate,
they are still the same price.)  In the same way, we have managed to
find some extremely cheap and extremely fast fixed 48M drives produced
by ZCL who are also selling them into the Atari and Commodore markets
and for PCæs Ö there, Iæve said it!
4.7
They are actually 52M Quantum Pro drives that format to about 48.6M;
they have an average access time of 17ms (or 11 to 16 ms Ö see the
table) and run at up to 1,000 Kbytes/sec (yes, 1Mbyte/sec) using an Oak
SCSI interface. The öalternative testò that we use (copying a large
directory with many files) takes under 7 secs. The table below shows
various comparisons. The Archive prices are ú530 for an internal 48M
drive with podule and ú620 for an external.
4.7
Atomwide high speed SCSI drives
4.7
Atomwide are also doing some new SCSI drives. The first is the same 48M
Quantum Pro drive as the one ZCL are using but mounted in their own
boxes (in the case of external ones) or mounting brackets (in the case
of internal ones). The prices are the same as the ZCL ones (ú530 and
ú620). The other drive they are doing is the Connor 100M drive as
supplied in the Acorn A540. These are 17ms (we think) drives Ö they are
very fast, anyway Ö and are available for ú740 (internal) or ú840
(external).
4.7
The following Archive price comparison may help you see if it is worth
considering any of these drives. The prices include Oak podule,
(increased!) VAT and carriage and the figures in brackets are the price
per Mbyte.
4.7

4.7
Internal drives
4.7
WorraWinnie 45M    ú450    (ú10.00)
4.7
High Speed 40M    ú530    (ú13.25)
4.7
Atomwide 48M    ú530    (ú11.04)
4.7
ZCL 48M    ú530    (ú11.04)
4.7
Atomwide 100M    ú740    (ú7.40)
4.7
External drives A300/400
4.7
WorraWinnie 45M    ú500    (ú11.11)
4.7
Removable 42M    ú795    (ú18.93)
4.7
High Speed 40M    ú740    (ú18.50)
4.7
Atomwide 48M    ú620    (ú12.92)
4.7
ZCL 48M    ú620    (ú12.92)
4.7
Atomwide 100M    ú840    (ú8.40)
4.7
External drives A3000
4.7
WorraWinnie 45M    ú500    (ú11.11)
4.7
Removable 42M    ú795    (ú18.93)
4.7
High Speed 40M    N/A
4.7
Atomwide 48M    ú620    (ú12.92)
4.7
ZCL 48M    ú620    (ú12.92)
4.7
Atomwide 100M    ú840    (ú8.40)
4.7
Speed Comparison
4.7
    Speed    File    Access
4.7
    Kb/s    Test (s)    Time (ms)
4.7
45M W-W    660    27.6    24
4.7
45M Removable    590    10.6    20
4.7
40M HS    810    8.5    17 (11-16)*
4.7
48M Atomwide    980    6.6    17 (11-16)*
4.7
48M ZCL    980    6.6    17 (11-16)*
4.7
100M Atomwide    800    9.3    17?
4.7
*Quantum say that although the average access time is 17 ms, because the
drives have such a large ölook aheadò buffer (64k), the effective access
times are more like 11 to 16 ms depending on the actual application.
4.7
Removable drive problems
4.7
To ensure that we donæt get accused of selling things under false
pretences we are repeating the warning we gave in Matters Arising last
month.
4.7
By now, we have had enough experience of the MR45 drives to spot a
couple of weaknesses.
4.7
First of all, it looks as if the Syquest mechanisms arenæt too happy if
they are allowed to run too hot Ö you can get data errors as a result.
The cooling fan is underneath the case so, firstly, you must never put
the drives on a soft surface where the feet might sink in and allow the
openings around the fan to become obscured. Secondly, given that the
drive is on a hard surface, donæt pack other things too closely around
it, especially at the rear left which is where the fan is, because this
again could inhibit the air flow.
4.7
The warning about susceptibility to heat came from someone using them in
a Mac environment but I also learned it myself the hard way. I had the
MR45 packed tightly between the computer and plastic filing tray and I
put my WS3000 modem on top of it, which itself runs quite hot, and
topped it off by putting a great pile of papers on top of the modem.
When I suffered a disc error and lost a couple of articles, I moved the
drive to a more open position away from the computer (the cables are
1.5m long, so thatæs no problem) where I wouldnæt be tempted to cover it
with paperwork.
4.7
The second weakness is that it looks as if the auto-parking of the heads
is not infallible. In other words, if you regularly switch the power off
without dismounting the drive (which is bad practice, anyway), it is
possible that you may get disc errors eventually. So, you have been
warned Ö always remove the disc before switching off the power. The
problem, of course, is that you cannot allow for power failures but
these occur a lot less frequently than switching the power on and off
yourself. What we are therefore saying is that these drives are not 100%
reliable. In fact, Oak Computers have now decided not to supply 45M
removable drives any more because they donæt feel that the drives fit in
with their özero defectò policy.
4.7
How then can we justify continuing to sell them? Well, as long as you
know what you are buying Ö and we are not making any secret of the
drivesæ limitations Ö it is up to the individual to decide if it is
worth the risk since we cannot, of course, guarantee you against any
data loss.
4.7
The main reason that we are continuing to sell them is that they are
just SO convenient and that there is nothing else that is currently
available, at a sensible price, that will do the same job. (Magneto-
optical drives are reliable, but at ú3,800, they are not realistically
priced for the average user.
4.7
I am using MR45æs all day, every day and I am prepared to take the risk
because, as I said, they are just so convenient for me. All the material
for the magazine, and a lot of other transient data, is held on one
cartridge which I take backwards and forwards between home and the
office. Before I had the MR45æs, I had to use floppies to carry the text
back and forth, copying it to and from the hard drives at each end which
was a real pain. I had to remember to copy files to floppy and then
remember to copy the modified versions back onto the hard drive in the
office. As it is, I know that I will always have access to the most up-
to-date information and all I have to remember to do is bring the MR45
cartridge home with me. Because I am aware that there is always the
possibility of data corruption, I back up all the current files onto the
fixed hard discs fairly regularly and, so far, I have not lost any data.
4.7
New removable drives (& prices)
4.7
Atomwide are also now producing removable drives for the Archimedes.
They are the same Syquest drive mechanisms that are used in the MicroNet
MR45æs. One noticeable difference, however, is the fan. Atomwide have
used the most powerful one they could find to try to make sure the
drives donæt over-heat. They have also placed it at the rear of the box
and not underneath. In terms of looks, I think this one tones in better
with the Archimedes than the MicroNet drive, so I would, personally, go
for the Atomwide drives. The prices are ú795 and ú595 with and without
Oak podule respectively (or ú775 with Lingenuity podule).
4.7
One good effect of the arrival of the Atomwide drives is that weæve been
able to force a further price drop on the MicroNet drives and weæve been
able to get them down to the same price as the Atomwide drives despite
the VAT increase.
4.7
SCSI connecting cables
4.7
There are a number of different connectors used for connecting SCSI
devices, so if you are mixing and matching different podules and drives,
you need to know what cables and connectors are needed. Basically, there
are three types: IDC, Amphenol and 25-way D-type.
4.7
The IDC connectors consist of two rows of 25 pins Ö the type used on the
drive mechanisms themselves and on the Oak SCSI podules.
4.7
The Amphenol connectors are the same style as the so-called Centronics
connectors used on most parallel printers except that they are 50-way
instead of 36-way. These are the type used on both the Acorn SCSI
podules and most external SCSI devices Thus, if you have one SCSI device
and want to daisy-chain another device, you will need to buy an Amphenol
to Amphenol cable.
4.7
The 25-way D-type connectors are the same style (and size, in fact) as
the printer connectors on the back of the Archimedes. These are the type
used by the newer Lingenuity podules.
4.7
(Personally, I donæt think that this is a good choice of connector
because, if someone non-technical is trying to connect a SCSI drive to
the computer, there is a choice of two identical sockets. I donæt know
whether a wrong choice of connector is likely to cause electrical
damage, but it would certainly cause confusion! OK, the Mac fraternity
have been using 25-way D-types for their SCSIæs since the early days,
but why follow a bad example?)
4.7
Four useful combinations of connector are now available through N.C.S.
at ú15 each Ö IDC to IDC, IDC to Amphenol, Amphenol to Amphenol and 25-
way D-type to Amphenol.  A
4.7

4.7
File Handling for All
4.7
Mike Allum
4.7
I was interested to review this book because my post-graduate project
requires some data file handling on an Archimedes. Since all my previous
experience was in function-strong systems (machine control) I had
created and used the odd data file but never on such a scale as now.
4.7
As a result, this review is from the point of view of someone who can
handle the technicalities but is (was!) unaware of the subtleties of the
subject.
4.7
This book is 143 pages long organised into nine chapters. A comprehen
sive index, bibliography and some appendices round it off.  Short
example programs are included in the text. These are written in BBC
BASIC and many of them are available, in augmented form, on the program
disk which is available separately.
4.7
How it works
4.7
The chapters progress from simple data storage/retrieval through to
basic database concepts. Each chapter has a definite theme and, if
followed through, will build the skills required for the following
chapter.
4.7
The earlier chapters account for most of the programs which are short
and easily typed in. The later chapters have the majority of the
diagrams and tables, most of which are clear and to the point.
4.7
Where a technique is introduced, it is often presented with a list of
its advantages and disadvantages. When the reader has been thoroughly
disenchanted with it, the next best method is then trotted out.
4.7
Conclusions
4.7
The first thing to stress is that the techniques learnt here are almost
all generic. With the exception of the odd Acorn-specific area and the
use of BBC BASIC, this book could be used by anyone wishing to learn
about file techniques.
4.7
The audience itself would be from the complete novice up to, say, a
first-year degree student requiring a quick insight into file handling.
4.7
Teaching method
4.7
The method of starting small and introducing new techniques one-by-one
is admirable and serves to make the book a model of clarity. I would
compare it with Ken Stroudæs superb mathematics books in its ability to
educate the reader.
4.7
The readability is further improved by the lack of ambiguity. So many of
my student texts (and, indeed, so many modern design methodologies) are
rendered nearly useless by the author öcasting his net too wideò. This
book may gloss over the occasional point or occasionally ignore a
öbetterò technique but you can be sure that it is in the interests of
clarity.
4.7
Due to the index, this is certainly a book which can be occasionally
ödippedò into within the constraints of the audience outlined.
4.7
Overall, a most readable primer.
4.7
Program disk
4.7
The program disk is documented in the book itself and my only criticism
would be that the programs themselves should be commented. The disk
itself was of limited use to me personally but would be useful to the
novice.
4.7
File Handling for All on the BBC Micro and Acorn Archimedes by D Spencer
& M Williams is published by Beebug Ltd. (ISBN: 1-85142-087-8). The book
is ú9.95 and the disc ú4.75 plus postage from Beebug.  A
4.7

4.7
Capsoft Disc N║ 1
4.7
John Schild
4.7
The other day someone handed me a copy of a home-grown Parish Magazine.
The merest glance was sufficient to reveal that it had been produced
using Impression II. The give-away? Ö those very familiar Impression
frame borders.
4.7
Thereæs nothing wrong with an identifiable house style but few of us
would want our own to be quite indistinguishable from all the others.
Which is why I suspect there will be a welcome for this first disc-full
of goodies being marketed privately by B. J. Thompson. It is crammed
(not a spare byte to be found!) with draw-fonts and frames for DTP,
including as a bonus for Impression users, 18 ready made Impression
frame borders. The draw fonts (upper case only) have been designed for
use as dropped capitals and for poster production.
4.7
Acorn Draw files and outline fonts, when used in conjunction with such
innovations as Laser Direct, have broken down the barrier between cheap
and cheerful home produced stuff and the high-tech output we expect of
the glossies. Consequently, anyone aspiring to sell artwork for the
Archimedes must be aware that they are pitching at an increasingly
discriminating market. Also, as the supply of Acorn public domain discs
multiplies, the asking price can only be modest.
4.7
I can only express my own view that this Capsoft offering meets any
reasonable criterion of quality and can be recommended. If there is a
criticism, it is that too much detail has been added to the corner
motifs of some of the Impression borders, such that, at the smaller
sizes at which they might be used, only an undifferentiated mass is
visible. To his credit, the programmer has acknowledged this problem by
offering a number of different versions of his borders. Illustrated are
Aston draw-font S, surrounded by IntSqu10. Eye-catching, but how do you
prevent black frames looking funerial?
4.7
Capsoft 1 is available on prepayment of ú6.00 from B.J. Thompson, at 8
Oldgate Avenue, Weston-on-Trent, Derbyshire, DE7 2BZ.  A
4.7

4.7
Colton
4.7
From 4.6 page 12
4.7

4.7
PipeLine
4.7
Gerald Fitton
4.7
Thanks again to all who have written to me. This month, the major part
of my column is devoted to a continuation of my description of how to
print labels; but ₧rst a couple of other matters.
4.7
Macros
4.7
Alan Highet asks about a macro for changing his printing quickly from
RISC-OS printer drivers to PipeDream printer drivers. The macro record
facility <Ctrl-FY> records mouse movements so itæs possible to record a
couple of macros, one called Parallel and the other RiscOs which will do
this for you. On the Archive monthly disc, you will ₧nd a couple of such
macros. You will probably have to change the ₧le name of the PipeDream
printer driver to match your own. Drag the ₧le Parallel over the
PipeDream icon, change the ₧le name and the path to that of your printer
driver and resave the ₧le. Whenever you want Pipedream printer drivers,
just double click on the macro and it will do the job. The macro RiscOs
will reverse the operation.
4.7
I use ligatures with RISC-OS drivers. A ligature is one character É₧æ
which replaces the two characters f and i (or ƒ for f l). The macro
Ligatures (on the Archive monthly disc) will Search and Replace all
occurrences of f i with ₧ and f l with ƒ. Again, just double click on
the macro and the job will be done.
4.7
When I started this PipeLine column, one of the things I expected to
happen was that there would be an abundance of macros (just like the
short programs which appeared for Wordwise). It did not happen at ₧rst
but now Iæm beginning to see signs that, whilst I was right in princi
ple, I was wrong on the time scale. Please do send me your (recorded)
macros on a disc.
4.7
PipeDream$Path (Macro)
4.7
If you know how to do it, please include this system variable (or the
<PipeDream$Dir> system variable) in your PipeDream macros so that others
can use them from their own directories without having to amend the path
names.
4.7
Periodic table
4.7
Dr Alan C Jarvis tells me that he has a database, in PipeDream format,
listing about 10 properties of about 103 elements. If you are inter
ested, write to me and I will pass your letters on to Dr Jarvis.
4.7
Interword ₧les
4.7
It seems that, to register a <Tab> or <CR>, Interword changes the
following character to a top bit set character. Has anyone unscrambled
this code? I suggest that the Interword ₧le be loaded directly into
Pipedream, a Search & Replace macro run, followed perhaps by saving and
reloading the ₧le to convert [&09] characters back to Tabs.
4.7
Printing labels
4.7
There are two ways of printing labels from database ₧les such as [Girls]
where each row is a record and each column a ₧eld. One method uses the
lookup function to ₧nd the names and addresses in a dependent document
held in memory; that is the method I described in the January 1991
PipeLine column. The second method uses data from a parameter ₧le held
on disc. In turn, this second method can be implemented in either of two
ways. The ₧rst is to use a roll of tractor feed labels and PipeDream
printer drivers and the second is to print onto sheets of A4 labels
using a page printer with RISC-OS printer drivers.
4.7
Tractor feed labels
4.7
Although you can buy rolls of tractor labels which are more than one
label wide, generally, the additional problems that this creates is not
worth the slight reduction in cost per label. I shall assume that you
are using single width labels but, if you arenæt, I suggest that you
have a look at the paragraphs below on using page printers because I
think they will help you.
4.7
For the example, I am going to use the database ₧le [Girls] which
appeared in the January 1991 PipeLine column but is shown here as ₧gure
1. This ₧le, together with all those referred to in this article, is
available on the Archive monthly disc and on the April PipeLine disc. In
addition to your PipeDream format database, [Girls], youæll need two
more ₧les; the ₧rst is a template for a single label which I shall call
[OneLabel], and the second is a Tab format parameter ₧le containing data
extracted from your database, [GirlsTab].
4.7
The template
4.7
Using this method, each label is treated as a single page. The ₧le
[OneLabel] is the template for this single page. Click on the installed
PipeDream icon to create a new blank document and save it under the name
OneLabel; <Ctrl-FS> is the short cut for renaming and saving a ₧le (at
the same time) if you donæt want to use the menus.
4.7
Most tractor feed labels are 1.5ö between labels; at 6 lines per inch
this gives a page length of 9 lines per label. Set your page length to
this number of lines. Click <menu> and run the pointer through Print Ö
Page layout and set the Page length to 9. I prefer to set all margins to
0 so that what I see on the screen is what will be printed (What You See
Is What You Get Ö WYSIWYG).
4.7
My label has three columns; for your own label you might prefer only one
or two. Figure 2 is a screen dump of the ₧le [OneLabel]. The ₧rst column
is used to set the left margin as 3 characters. In the second column,
from rows 3 to 7, I have Name, Character, Present, Eyes and Hair
corresponding to the ₧ve ₧elds of my database; I have changed the order
from that of [Girls] just to prove that you can print your label in a
different order from the order of the ₧elds in the database. In the
third column you will see I have the @ ₧elds @0@, @3@, @4@, @1@ and @2@.
Note that, although the girlsæ names appears in the database ₧le,
[Girls], in the second column, B, the parameter which ₧nds the name in
the label template ₧le [OneLabel] is @0@ (and not @2@) because the
girlsæ names will be stored in the ₧rst column, column number 0, of the
parameter ₧le [GirlsTab].
4.7
It is important that you use no more than the 9 lines allocated to your
label; the label will be printed exactly as you see it on the screen
(including the width of the columns) with a couple of blank lines at the
top of the label and a couple of blank lines below. Setting the page
length to 9 will ensure that the two lines, 8 and 9 are skipped over by
the printer before starting on the next label.
4.7
The parameter ₧le
4.7
This is the ₧le called [GirlsTab]. Load your database ₧le, [Girls], and
mark the block containing the data which you wish to use on the label.
From ₧gure 1, you will see that this is the block B8F15 containing the
details of the eight girls. Save this marked block to disc as [GirlsTab]
using the option Files Ö Save Ö Save only marked block and click in the
Format Tab box to turn it on (instead of using the default PipeDream
format). If you have a more complex database, you may wish to sort it
₧rst or save only a selection of rows (e.g. people who still owe you
money) so that only part of your database is saved as the Tab parameter
₧le.
4.7
Printing the labels
4.7
Having saved the parameter ₧le to disc, you can remove the database ₧le,
[Girls], from the screen leaving only the label template ₧le,
[OneLabel], on the screen.
4.7
Now invoke the Print command. Click on the option Print Ö Print Ö Use
TAB parameter ₧le and type the name of the parameter ₧le, [GirlsTab],
into the dialogue box. When you click in the OK box, all your labels
will be printed.
4.7
Problems
4.7
Two more points. Firstly, be careful to set the dip switches inside your
printer in such a way that things like Skip over perforations do not
confuse the printer into thinking that the page length is other than the
9 lines you have set from within PipeDream. Secondly, donæt try to use
proportional spacing.
4.7
If you have any problems then write to me enclosing, on disc, a copy of
part of your database, your label template and parameter ₧les. Also
send, on paper or better on a handwritten label, a copy of what you are
trying to achieve. Iæll see if I can help you.
4.7
Page printer labels
4.7
You can get A4 sheets of labels with one, two, three or even four
columns and four, ₧ve, six or eight rows but the one most used is three
labels wide and six labels deep. I shall concentrate on this layout but
the instructions are applicable to any format of label.
4.7
This time you need not two but four extra ₧les. The ₧rst two ₧les, the
template ₧le [OneLabel] and the parameter ₧le [GirlsTab] are created in
the same way as described for tractor feed labels.
4.7
The print list
4.7
The third ₧le, which I have called [GirlsList], is created by popping up
the Print Ö Print submenu and, instead of printing to the printer you
select the option Print to File. Enter the ₧le name [GirlsList] in the
₧le name dialogue box and click on OK.
4.7
A couple of things to look out for. Firstly, when printing to the ₧le
make, sure you have selected as your Print Ö Printer con₧guration Ö
Printer type the Parallel option. If you use the RISC-OS drivers, you
will send a graphics dump to your [GirlsList] ₧le. Secondly delete
completely the name of the Print Ö Printer con₧guration Ö (PipeDream)
printer driver so that the dialogue box is blank. If you donæt do this
then you may introduce unwanted printing codes into your [GirlsList]
₧le.
4.7
Changing one column to three
4.7
I ₧nd it best to create a blank label sheet, mine is called
[ManyLabels], put a few marks on the page and print a single page. I
then adjust the column widths and page lengths until I am sure that my
₧nal layout will match the labels. I have chosen my three columns each
to be 24 characters wide so that the whole set of three labels will ₧t
across a 72 column screen. Also, I have chosen the page length to be
that of six labels, namely 6 by 9 = 54 lines. Delete any registration
marks you have made, place the cursor in cell A1 (click in A1) and then
drag the ₧le [GirlsList] into the blank label sheet.
4.7
You should get something which looks like ₧gureá3. You have one column
of data with the data for a new label every ninth line. What you need is
a ₧le with three columns to match the labels. To do this you divide the
labels in column A into three and use <Ctrl-BM> (Block Move) to move one
third of the labels into column B and the last third into column C.
4.7
Printing
4.7
The above description works if you use a constant pitch font such as
Courier (Acornæs Corpus) on your labels or if you leave out the ₧eld
names (Hair, Eyes, etc). It is more dif₧cult, but not impossible, to use
a proportional font such as Helvetica (Acornæs Homerton) and include
₧eld names or graphics. Essentially, if you want the ₧eld names or a
graphic (eg a logo) on each label then you will need more columns in the
[ManyLabels] ₧le and you will need to load the graphics or data to each
column individually. Iæll get round to an explanation of how to do that
in a later article but, for now, either leave out the ₧eld names and
graphics or use a ₧xed spaced font.
4.7
Finally, make sure that you change the printer driver back to RISC-OS
before printing. You can use a print scale factor, adjust the margins or
adjust column widths retrospectively if you have gauged the label
positions incorrectly.
4.7
Problems
4.7
Send me a set of disc ₧les, an explanation of what you want to achieve
and a blank sheet of labels. Iæll see what I can do for you.
4.7
A different database format
4.7
From John Jordan comes the idea of using a multi-row record format as a
database. Essentially John has a key ₧eld (e.g. surname) in column A and
the multi-row name and address (ready for a 9 row label) in column B.
Other data can be stored away in columns C, D, etc. When he wants to
print a set of labels he marks column B and prints out the marked block.
I think this is simple and ingenious. Watch this space for further
details.
4.7
The (long awaited) PUI
4.7
In the June 1990 PipeLine column I gave a brief description of the way
that Colton Softwareæs mouse driven PUI add-on would work. I believe
that it is now available but only direct from Colton Software. For those
of you with the June 1990 edition of Archive I suggest that you go back
and have a look and see if it might be of interest to you. If you
havenæt got that edition or if you want to know more about it then drop
a line to Colton Software, Broadway House, 141-151 St Neots Road,
Hardwick, Cambridge, CB3 7QJ (preferably enclosing a self addressed
label and stamp) for full details. Please mention this column in your
letter to Judith or Robert (letters only, no æphone calls please).
4.7
Essentially, the PUI overcomes many of the problems associated with
unwanted text reformatting due to making a mistake when you have
selected an unsuitable set of options. The most annoying combination is
with Wrap, Insert on return and Justify, all selected when using a
multi-column layout. If you decide to delete a single character in one
column then that column reformats from that point downwards and your
carefully tabulated layout is destroyed.
4.7
The Z88
4.7
Thanks to those of you who have told me you have one of the wonderful
little machines. Jill now uses ours so much that I might have to get a
second one for my own use! Using the Z88 PipeDream she types up the
documents she wants printed, we then port them across to the Archimedes
and print them out on the laser printer. Iæve created a (tractor feed
type) ₧le of labels on the Archimedes, ported it across to the Z88,
connected a dot matrix printer to the RS232 port of the Z88 and printed
the labels. This has freed up the Archimedes for other laser printer
jobs. If you have any problems in linking these two machines then please
drop me a line. If you have any advise then drop me a line too.
4.7
In conclusion
4.7
Thanks for all the words of praise I keep getting from you about this
column. Now letæs have a few criticisms as to how it might be improved!
4.7
If you send anything substantial then please let me have it on a disc.
It makes it easier to understand and easier to deal with.  A
4.7

4.7
Oak
4.7
From 4.6 page 11
4.7

4.7
Techsoft
4.7
New
4.7

4.7
Improving your Archimedesæ Audio Quality
4.7
Jeremy Mears & D.P. Allen
4.7
Jeremy starts... With the latest release of the Serial Portæs ÉTrackeræ,
details were published of a small alteration that could be made to an
Archimedes to öphenomenallyò improve the quality of audio output. The
purpose of this article is to elaborate on that, giving exact details of
the operation for both Archimedes and A3000.
4.7
As it currently stands, the Archimedes is fitted with a low-pass audio
filter to compensate for the poor bass capacity of the internal speaker.
Unfortunately, the same filtered signal is fed to the headphone jack
socket at the back of the computer, now lacking most of the higher
frequencies and making all output taken from this socket sound pretty
deflated. It is possible, however, to bypass the filter and tap off the
complete audio spectrum to an amplifier or other device.
4.7
Depending on whether you have an A3000 or other Archimedes, the
operation is different. Inside the A300 / 400 (and presumably others)
there is a 10 way jumper plug located near to the headphone jack socket
at the back of the computer. This consists of two rows of 5 pins, the
top row numbered 1 and the bottom numbered 2. The left pin of row 1 is
the signal from the lefthand channel and the right pin is the right
channel. All the pins in row 2 are earthed. All that has to be done is
to take the output straight from each of the two channel pins and
connect the ground wire to any of the grounded pins. Because of the
jumper plug there is no need to do any soldering to the board Ö instead
leads can just be fixed to the relevant pins which can easily be removed
if necessary.
4.7
On the A3000, there is no jumper plug so you do have to solder directly
to the motherboard which would invalidate your warranty. Should you
choose to go ahead with the operation, you can tap off the left channel
from the keyboard side of resistor 86 and the right channel from the
keyboard side of resistor 99. The connection to ground is probably best
made to pin 1 of the expansion port, on the inside the computer.
4.7
Once these connections are made, you will notice a great improvement on
music and particularly samples at higher rates Ö in fact samples taken
directly from CD into my 8-bit sampler are now very comparable with CD
quality!
4.7
An added bonus is that the annoying buzz that the Archimedes normally
emanates all over the audio signal is completely gone! One drawback of
the modification is that with some games such as Interdictor II (5 KHz!)
and Manchester United, the poor quality sampling shows up as a few of
the samples sound Étinnyæ.
4.7
I made the modification several months ago and, on hearing the improve
ment, all of my friends have followed suit. Certainly, once youæve got
over the mental trauma of maybe invalidating your warranty and particu
larly if, like myself, you are a bit of a Soundtracker buff, this is a
simple modification that I would wholeheartedly recommend.  A
4.7
(By the way, itæs no good saying, öArchive told me to do itò Ö you will
still be invalidating your warranty. You have been warned. Ed.)
4.7
And here are a few extra comments lifted from a hint sent in by D.P.
Allen...
4.7
Improved audio output frequency range Ö The auxiliary audio connector
provides obtain unfiltered audio. This means you get increased top-end
frequency response, which is like comparing FM radio to medium-wave
quality. You can fit your machine with another audio output socket,
quite easily, without altering your machineæs case.
4.7
Lifting the lid on the Archimedes, you will see that the connector is a
group of ten pins, called an IDC PCB-mounted connector, near the
headphone socket at the rear right-hand edge of the PCB.
4.7
Our pins are: 1.unfiltered left-channel, 9.unfiltered right-channel and
2, 4, 6, 8, 10. screen/earth. Pins 1 & 2 are identified on the PCB, so
you will see that one row of pins is odd, one row even.
4.7
The connector is intended for a ribbon cable. There may be audio podules
which use it. (None that I know of. Ed.) This mod is just a couple of
plugs and a short lead, so is easily removed.
4.7
A ten-way IDC socket can be purchased from any electronics hobby shop,
(e.g. Tandy). As only three pins are used for this Éadd-onæ, ribbon
cable is not needed. The three wires will need to be about 6 inches
long. A 3.5mm stereo jack socket is also required. I suggest using the
type of 3.5mm socket that would fit on the end of a length of cable
(referred to as an in-line socket) rather than the type you would mount
on a front panel. Make sure itæs not the type that shorts its contacts
when you remove a plug from it. This wonæt blow up your Archimedes but
if you want to use the filtered audio output, the Éshorting-typeæ socket
will connect the two stereo channels together so that the unfiltered
socket will become mono and, in some cases, rather distorted.
4.7
The three (stranded) wires can be pressed into the IDC socketæs
wiregrips and the clamp-top closed with pliers or in a vice. This type
of connector makes contact by cutting through the wiresæ insulation as
the clamp is closed, so if youære new to wiring, you may find it easier
to use a piece of ribbon cable in which, because each wireæs insulation
is welded to the adjacent one, they are all in line for the connectoræs
pins.
4.7
From inside the case, pass the lead(s) through the same hole used by the
existing headphone socket and solder the three wires to the appropriate
tags on the 3.5mm socket. (after passing them through the jack socketæs
cover!) Plug in the IDC connector and away you go.
4.7
Surprisingly, I found no increase in background noise level. In fact
there was less. I can still plug into the existing socket, if necessary.
4.7
The two leads connecting the headphone socket to your stereo AUX sockets
should be screened. Long unscreened leads can act as an aerial. I found
that with a 3 metre unscreened lead to my stereo amplifier, I picked up
Radio Moscow at dusk!  A
4.7

4.7
The Serial Port
4.7
Archive 4.6 p 27
4.7

4.7
Comment Column
4.7
Å    Mike Beecher writes... about the Clares/EMR clash(?) in your Comment
Column (4.3 p16 & 4.5 p 15) Ö I should like to put your readers comments
into perspective! Mr Leslie Hay who wrote in February 1991, purchased an
EMR Midi 4 from us on the 20th April 1989. At that time, EMR were the
only company producing any Midi products for the Archimedes (as far as
we are aware, the Acorn music editor was yet to have Midi in its later
Maestro version) and it was quite likely therefore that some comment was
made on purchase that our EMR Midi 4 would work with the Midi software.
(However, we could never say that it is guaranteed to work with all Midi
software for obvious reasons.)
4.7
Secondly, at the time of developing the EMR Midi 4, there was no Acorn
specification of SWI calls for Midi available. Since then, we have
purchased, under licence from Acorn, the use of various Midi source code
to enable us to sell a software module on disc. Since this had to be
paid for at no little expense and required additional programming time
at EMR, we feel it quite fair to charge ú6.95 inc VAT for this disc Ö
especially as there has been no price increase in EMR Midi 4 boards.
There is little profit for any company in a price as low as this anyway.
4.7
Finally, we do not have a clash with Clares as you question in your
heading. In fact, Dave Clare, along with myself and several other major
software houses, spend a large part of our time travelling with Acorn
showing our various products each year.
4.7
To help readersæ knowledge and better understanding of Archimedes
computer music, we do offer free technical advice on the telephone most
days of the week and provide training courses for computer music on the
Archimedes at our Southend Computer Music Learning Centre. Information
on courses and a full brochure of over 28 products now produced by EMR
for making music, are available direct from EMR.
4.7
Å    Routines Library Ö In Archive 4.2 p 18, Elliot Hughes introduced the
idea of a column to collate routines, algorithms & programming ideas in
general. I have long thought that it would be incredibly useful to draw
on a large database of routines which are known to produce correct
results under given conditions. I believe the hallmark of good program
ming lies in the basic structure of the program. If you can develop
routines to do particular tasks very efficiently, you have the basis of
an expandable library.
4.7
Routines which would be of interest, range from the frequently used to
the unique solution to a complex problem. Once you have a routine which
performs a particular task then the next time the same problem arises,
as they invariably do, you have a ready made solution. Effort can then
be directed to solving the overall problem rather than öre-inventing the
wheelò.
4.7
Objectives
4.7
Å    Build a library of varied routines
4.7
Å    Provide solutions to problems in a particular language
4.7
Å    Optimise routines for maximum efficiency
4.7
Å    Answer common programming problems
4.7
Å    Provide a forum for discussing programming techniques
4.7
Å    Help prevent programmers from öre-inventing the wheelò
4.7
Types of routines
4.7
Å    sorting
4.7
Å    searching
4.7
Å    data input
4.7
Å    screen handling
4.7
Å    file handling
4.7
Å    lists, queues, stacks, trees etc
4.7
Å    solutions to a problem in a particular language
4.7
Å    that incredibly useful routine youære sure you once saw in an old
magazine, that you are now convinced would solve your current program
ming dilemma
4.7
Å    common everyday routines (e.g. make a string upper case)
4.7
Å    weird & wonderful
4.7
Å    miscellaneous
4.7
Alexander Bisset  A
4.7

4.7
Powerband
4.7
Leonard Melcer
4.7
Not being a great fan of all these mindless öShoot Éem upò games, I tend
to look for the more meaningful ways to pass my spare time. Powerband is
the new game by Gordon J Key from 4th Dimension, although it is more of
a simulator than a game. You are a Formula One racing driver, out for
the hell of it (Fun mode), competing on a track of your choice against
the best of the rest (Game mode) or making your bid to be the next world
champion (World Championship mode).
4.7
Playing the game
4.7
Loading the game is fully desktop compatible, unlike some earlier 4th
Dimension games, and presents an opening screen of the Powerband logo
and copyright information. A picture of a racing car then appears and
the theme tune of BBC2És motor racing program Ö öThe Chainò by Fleetwood
Mac Ö starts up. You then switch discs to the öTracksò disc and are
prompted to enter your name. Finally, the main menu appears and you may
begin to race.
4.7
The main menu allows you to select whichever mode you want. In Fun and
Game mode, you can choose the racing track you want to race on, via the
Airport, which shows you the track from above along with fastest times
recorded. Unlike some other games, new fastest times are recorded and
saved on the disc in your name, so you can prove to everyone that you
broke the lap record. In World Championship mode, ten of the sixteen
available circuits are randomly selected for you. You then compete over
a minimum number of laps, which differs according to the particular
track you are on, to gain points in the race to be the champ. In Game
and World Championship mode, you first have the opportunity to race
against the clock, to improve your position on the grid, by hopefully
recording a new fastest lap and getting pole position.
4.7
Before each race, you can visit the garage to modify the car to suit
your driving abilities, different engine sizes, gearboxes (4-speed
automatic, 5 or 6 or 7-speed manual, or 5 or 6 or 7-speed electronic),
steering ratio (the sensitivity of the mouse for steering), the tyre
compounds (soft, medium or hard), and the angles of the front and rear
aerofoils (controlling under-steer and over-steer).
4.7
You really have full control over the car you want to drive. No excuses
Ö you choose the configuration. Each option directly affects the way in
which the car handles in terms of its top speed, cornering abilities,
acceleration and braking abilities.
4.7
The car is controlled using the mouse, with <adjust> being the accelera
tor, <menu> the brakes and, with manual gearbox selected, <select> the
clutch. The automatic gearbox is the easiest to handle, but with only
four gears, is rather slow. The manual gearbox, with up to 7 gears
available, is the hardest to control, requiring the coordination of
accelerator, clutch and gear selection which, by the way, is selected by
the <up-arrow> and <down-arrow>. The electronic gearbox is the easiest
to control, you just press the <up-arrow> or <down-arrow> to move up or
down a gear Ö no clutch necessary.
4.7
Cornering too fast causes you to notice a number of things. Firstly,
squealing noises from the tyres. Both high-pitched and low-pitched,
indicating under-steer and over-steer respectively. This can be changed
by altering the angles of the aerofoil, although this does have the
disadvantage of slowing you down a little. Secondly, associated with
squealing, the tyres can wear too quickly and you may not be able to
finish the race. This can be remedied by using hard compound tyres,
which wear well but do not have the same grip as soft or even medium
compound tyres. Thirdly, and most obviously, you are driving too fast.
The cure? Ö slow down!
4.7
You can drive too fast and it will not actually help. This is not one of
those games where going flat out will help. You cannot drive with your
foot (or in this case, finger) pressed firmly down the whole time. A
little judgement and skill is required to be able to corner successfully
(incident free!) by finding the right line to take. I have had a little
Formula Ford racing experience and can say that this game really does
make me feel like I am back on the track. Of course, the consequences of
a 260 mph head on crash is where any similarity ends.
4.7
Unlike real racing driving, if you hit a wall or barrier, all is not
lost! You do get a number of ölivesò. A really severe crash, like going
into the side of a grandstand, would result in immediate öretirementò
but grazing the side of another car or skidding along a barrier, simply
reduces your resistance to further crashes. As with other similar
computer games, every time you get hit, you suffer a power drain.
4.7
One thing that bugs me is the competition. I do not mean, öWouldnæt it
be great not to have anyò. Itæs just that they do tend to play rather
dirty, by which I mean that they are very unpredictable. However careful
I am overtaking other cars, I always find myself hitting them, or
rather, they hit me, by slowing down and moving directly in front of me!
4.7
Conclusions
4.7
Problems with overtaking other cars does not mar my enjoyment of the
game, as it simply increases my awareness at the time I come up behind
another car. The laps are in real time, ranging between one minute and
two to complete. Imagine racing a seventy lap race! That is why, I
presume, you are only required to race a minimum of between six and
fourteen laps to qualify for championship points. Itæs enough, believe
me! An average championship would probably take a good two hours,
probably more. You can save a competition after any race and come back
to it.
4.7
Just to give you an indication of my driving abilities, I have broken
the lap records of all but two of the circuits, but have only finished
about five times out of X races (where X is a large number that I lost
count of a long time ago!), although I have finished first on three of
those five completed races. On winning a race, you are treated to a
picture of someone wearing a floral bouquet, spraying champagne
everywhere and the sound of a cheering crowd.
4.7
In my opinion, this is the best racing car driving game around. I think
it should be a compulsory upgrade from E-Type. Anyone who hasnæt yet
upgraded to version 2, should do so, because many of the small quirks of
version 1 have been remedied. At around ú19 + VAT from most regular
suppliers or ú23 from Archive, it provides endless hours of enjoyment
and thrills.  A
4.7

4.7
Pineapple Digitiser
4.7
Ned Abell
4.7
A digitiser is a very useful computing tool but it can also be expensive
and Pineapple have done a good job in producing a product thatæs of good
quality and yet reasonably affordable. The board comes as a full-width
podule for the 300 and 400 series and there is an optional add-on box
for the 3000 user to house the card.
4.7
Drop it!
4.7
Packed to survive being thrown from the roof of a multi-story block of
flats, the carton contains a hard ring binder manual with two discs and
a board which has a BNC video and 9 pin D socket on the back, together
with three rotary knobs to control the brightness, colour and contrast
of the input image. Internally, switches are used to provide video
termination if required. The software provides several programs to
capture an image that is fed into the podule, to treat it in a variety
of ways and to store it on disc, as well as examples of grabbed images.
4.7
Storing pictures
4.7
One of the reasons that digitisers arenæt cheap is that the boards
contain quite large RAM stores which to hold the video image. Pressing a
key grabs the video into this frame store and then it can then be
changed by the machineæs software. Herein lies the difference between
the two versions of the Pineapple digitiser Ö the standard version
digitises an image up to 512 pixels wide by 256 pixels high and with a
ödepthò of 12 bits whilst the extended version grabs to a ödepthò of 16
bits.
4.7
This depth is a function of how well the computer turns the actual
colour at a pixel point into a value of red, green or blue, using 4 bits
for each colour at 12 bits resolution and, at 16 bits, 5 for red and
green and 6 bits for blue. In practical terms, you arenæt going to
notice too much difference between depths but a higher resolution is
going to be noticeable when you start to manipulate those images. You
then need as much information as possible about each pixel point as you
can get, to improve the image processing. The ö565ò option is the one to
go for and the extended digitiser was used in this review.
4.7
Software commands
4.7
The software suite that comes with the podule provides a variety of
commands for programmers to ömeldò into their own routines through SWI
and  *calls.
4.7
*Average Ö produces a higher quality image on stationary pictures
4.7
*Bits Ö sets the depth for the displayed image
4.7
*Digitise Ö transfers the stored picture to a shadow screen
4.7
*Flip Ö flips the image horizontally or vertically or both
4.7
*Focus Ö de-focuses the screen
4.7
*Freeze Ö allows Égrabsæ of a single incoming frame
4.7
*Image Ö replaces, ANDæs or ORæs the new image with an existing one
4.7
*Loadsprite Ö loads a sprite to the screen
4.7
*Loadvideo Ö loads a picture saved as a video file
4.7
*Moving Ö provides a ömonitorò window showing the incoming video
4.7
*Negative Ö inverts any of the primary colours
4.7
*Noise Ö uses averaging techniques to remove noise lines
4.7
*Outline Ö a picture made from the video outlines
4.7
*Primary Ö can switch off incoming R, G or B or combinations thereof
4.7
*Savevideo Ö stores the image with specific sizes and bits
4.7
For those of us who want to get on with it, there are some programs
already written to provide the basics and to try out the new board but,
as you can see, the range of the commands is very impressive.
4.7
Demo discs
4.7
On the Pineapple demo discs, if you run the demonstration program called
!mainkeys, the screen gives an image in the centre which is updated by
the incoming video. There is a time lag between each update but this
provides a very basic check of what is connected to the digitiser
without the expense of another television ömonitorò. The controls on the
podule can then be adjusted.
4.7
The best way of doing this is detailed in the manual Ö adjust the
brightness until dark picture areas appear black and then to turn the
contrast fully up and then reduce it until white areas stop öburningò
and then adjust the colour to get good flesh tones. This set up is very
important to get good pictures and some time spent at this stage is very
worthwhile. Colour bars or a greyscale help.
4.7
Various key presses then access the software commands, for example <D>
digitises the incoming video and <shift-S> saves the contents of the RAM
as a sprite. There are other applications called !micci and !digitiser
on the disc. !micci is a non-WIMP application that allows fairly
comprehensive öpoint and dragò control of the digitiser and has details
of an upgrade path to a more comprehensive windowing version of the
software. My favourite, ö!digitiserò, works in the desktop to provide
multi tasking menu control with function key grabs and saves. There is
also control of image position and size and this is useful to video
makers like myself who want to create sprites of objects in front of a
camera to position on backgrounds of live video.
4.7
Video input
4.7
The BNC or 9 pin input means that you have to present video or RGB
levels to the digitiser. Thus, a video output socket from a camera or
tape machine is required. This often takes the form of a phono or RCA
type socket, so an adaptor lead to BNC could be needed.
4.7
If you use a video recorder, its tuner can bring broadcast signals into
the digitiser.
4.7
I tried both a professional VHS video recorder and a camera into the BNC
socket to check on both recorded images and live signals. Some of these
captions are on the monthly disc in sparked format. I grabbed the cover
of the November Archive so that you can compare the original with the
sprites created through the system in different ways. Iæve also grabbed
a couple of pictures to show how good the system can be in mode 24.
4.7
Verdict?
4.7
Whatæs the verdict?   Well, it just depends...  The results that you
will want will be different from those I have been looking for and so
judgements are likely to be rather subjective. I wanted to grab images
like logos in the highest possible quality, at the lowest cost, in
colour, for editing by paint packages and re-importing back into the
computer to be used in öPresenter Storyò as sprites in video production
captions. The Pineapple Digitiser does this and I feel that the quality
I get is very good for the price I paid.  Iæm impressed with a ö565ò
grab of printed material in mode 24 and I have printed digitised images
out through Impression and again the results are good but limited by my
dot matrix printer. As I have a good camera, the cost of a digitiser is
justified. This product does what I want it to do and it does it very
well.
4.7
The prices are ú285 +VAT for the standard version and ú315 +VAT for the
extended version.  A
4.7

4.7
Return To Doom
4.7
Richard Forster
4.7
It always interests me how much help is given in the packing with
adventure games. The two extremes, no help and comprehensive help, are
about equally balanced in popularity of use but, unfortunately, a
compromise between the two is rarely found. What I personally would like
to see is a set of coded hints which, upon deciphering, would reveal
cryptic advice. Failing this, I much prefer no hints at all because,
temptation being what it is, many a good puzzle can be ruined by öa
quick peepò.
4.7
öReturn to Doomò comes with two other adventure games, öCountdown to
Doomò and öPhilosophers Questò, and the first things I noticed upon
opening the plastic case were three sets of hints. With just under 200
hints for the three games, you are unlikely to find yourself having to
write to Topologika for help. To use the clues, you simply load in the
correct game, type HELP and enter the number indicated in the hint list.
Most of the clues are progressive, you get gentle nudging and are asked
if you want more, which the program will obligingly give, telling you
before it gives away the final solution.
4.7
I am sure this sort of help is actually welcomed by many people, and I
definitely do not criticise Topologika for including them with the
package. I would advise, however, hiding the help sheets (or better
still getting somebody else to hide them) before you start play.
4.7
As well as the hint sheets, there are several other bits of paper in the
box. The games have only recently been brought out for the Archimedes
and owners of other machines had to get the three adventures separately.
Background for the latter two games are therefore supplied on separate
pieces of card and there is also a separate Technical sheet on getting
the games running.
4.7
Actual playing instructions are given once, as are the standard notes
with adventure games. This was, surprisingly, the cause of my only
problem. In öPhilosopheræs Questò, the only way to extinguish the lamp
is the single word OFF. This was probably on the instruction sheet for
the game when it was supplied on its own, but was not on the one for
öReturn to Doomò and I spent several minutes trying things like öTURN
OFF LAMPò and even öOFF LAMPò before hitting on the correct phrase.
4.7
This was a shame, because the games have been written in such a way that
you are not normally spending eons trying to get the wording right. The
parser on all three is basically of the old verb-noun format, but
performed perfectly with the one exception already mentioned. One verb
curiously absent from the adventures was EXAMINE. The reason for this,
as explained by the insert card, is that the puzzles are not designed to
be solved by öhappening to discover things about the objectsò, but by
object manipulation. You get all the necessary information about an
objectæs appearance from its description when encountered, so it is not
so much absent as automatically given.
4.7
All three adventures are on the same disc, which is protected, and upon
loading, you are given a menu for selecting the three games. One curious
feature was that they had to continually load data from the disk. This
was surprising because the games have no graphics and, looking at the
size of the files, even allowing for text compression, I could see no
reason why it could not all be loaded at once. The game will run on all
the Archimedes range, even a 305 without RISC-OS, so perhaps this is
why.
4.7
The planet Doomawangara is the setting for two of the three adventures
and these two adventures make up the first two parts of a trilogy. Doom,
as it is affectionately known, is a strange place where you will find
all kinds of climates, from glacier to desert, within a stoneæs throw of
each other. The reason for this is not made clear until the next
adventure and, for now, I can only imagine they exist so as to give home
for the strange creatures and artifacts that litter the planet.
4.7
In öCountdown to Doomò, you find yourself for the first time on the
planet, having been shot down by Doomæs automatic defence system. You
have 400 moves to repair your ship and take off, before the corrosive
atmosphere leaves you stranded for life in the planetæs wilderness,
although there are plenty of ways to go before all your hopes literally
crumble away. The suicidal blob can still come as quite a shock, even to
an adventurer who has braved the decapods and crossed the swamp.
4.7
As far as difficulty goes, this is probably about the easiest of the
three games Ö it provides an accessible start and, while being full of
original and logical puzzles, it only has a couple of really devious
ones. The adventure, like the other two, contains several mazes, which
are obviously a favourite of Peter Killworth, the gameæs author.
Fortunately (or is it unfortunately?) they all require different methods
for solving and present intriguing, if difficult, obstacles.
4.7
öReturn to Doomò, the main adventure in the pack, puts you back on the
infamous planet after you respond to a distress call sent by a kidnapped
ambassador. If the first game was lonely, trekking about the planet in
search of equipment and treasure, the second game certainly is not.
4.7
A little way into the game, you should find a robotic dog, Bonzo, the
not-quite wonderdog in my case and, after that, things get a lot more
hectic. At least this time you do not have to worry about the atmos
phereæs effect on your ship, although the weather may still be the cause
of a scratched head or two.
4.7
The game is big, especially when you consider that almost every location
is part of a puzzle and nearly half the hints are for this part alone.
Several of the puzzles are solvable in different ways, although there is
only one way of finally completing the game. By allowing this multiple
choice, you should be able to explore the majority of the landscape even
if the best solutions for some puzzles elude you. Reading the text
carefully should help, as there are a lot of subtle clues hidden there.
4.7
öPhilosopheræs Questò is set in a network of caves and is basically in
the öfind the treasureò genre. What the game misses in terms of the plot
it more than adequately makes up for with the puzzles and it contains,
under one roof, some of the best ones ever devised for an adventure
game. It is also the hardest of the three games and it may take some
time to be able to start your quest in earnest.
4.7
Exploration is the key Ö searching around the caves, you should come up
with all manner of mysterious items and places; from a solicitoræs
office to a strong piece of gorgonzola, which could easily be the death
of you. Journeying south a bit reveals a long beach, near where you
should discover an old lady who has lost her dog, and a sunken wreck
with a depressed squid. If you explore a more easterly direction, you
can find the garden of Eden, the tower of Babel and you may be forced to
prove your very existence.
4.7
There is even an ancient mariner with a story to tell and, like the
wedding guest in Coleridgeæs poem, you will find yourself engrossed
until you are left in the dark.
4.7
Two of the games öPhilosopheræs Questò and öCountdown to Doomò were
originally brought out by Acornsoft in the early 80æs. The versions here
are expanded and are about 50% bigger than the originals. Some of the
puzzles are more complex and involved, and there are many new ones
scattered about the new locations. Even if you have played them on the
old BBC versions, they are still excellent adventures and the new
puzzles in them should keep you going for quite a while.
4.7
Overall, the compilation is excellent value for money, with not just one
but three excellent adventure games. They are, in my opinion, the best
adventure games available at the moment for the Archimedes. The fact
they are on a compilation disk might seem to indicate that individually
they are not strong enough. This is definitely not the case and the disk
is worth purchasing for öReturn to Doomò alone. The quality, and even
quantity, of the puzzles is superb, and I would recommend the adventures
to anybody. The only thing they lack is graphics, which some people may
miss, although this should not be cause to reject this trio of adven
tures.   A
4.7

4.7
Escape from Exeria
4.7
Richard Forster
4.7
When I first received a copy of öEscape from Exeriaò, it consisted
solely of a crude arcade game. Since then the game has improved slightly
and the disc also contains a follow-up game, öReturn to Exeriaò, and two
mini adventures, öThe Sacred Pyramidò and öThe Purple Crystal of the
Heavensò. The arcade games run directly from the desktop and contain
adequate instructions on the disc. The adventures run from the BBC
emulator and the least said about them the better. They both gave the
appearance of being unfinished, consisted of a couple of puzzles between
them and the most atmospheric part of the games was their titles.
4.7
öEscape from Exeriaò is simply a ÉPacmanæ like maze game. You move
öIlthò, the hero of the two arcade games, through the various levels of
Exeriaæs cavern system, trying to collect coloured crystals while
avoiding the guardians. After collecting all of the crystals of a
certain colour, access to previously inaccessible areas becomes possible
and, after gaining all four sets of crystals on a level, you can head
for the exit. As might be expected, contact with the afore-mentioned
guardians is deadly but, fortunately for the player, they follow set
paths.
4.7
The graphics in the game are simple and there is a small amount of sound
used when you collect items or pass onto the next level. The game can be
played a couple of times but after this, tedium sets in. There are 40
screens to try out (and you can skip by pressing I, L, T and H
simultaneously), but after seeing level 18, I had had enough.
4.7
öReturn to Exeriaò is slightly better because a problem solving element
has been added. Ilth is now able to move boulders along in an attempt to
plug holes and gain access to the crystals and there are various special
squares which force movement in various directions or act as teleports.
The guardians are back too, though not until several levels into the
game and you are now also up against the clock.
4.7
The game is far more playable than the first and, by the time the
guardians were appearing, the game was becoming quite challenging. The
graphics and sound are again simple but it mattered far less because the
game itself had more to offer. As a bonus, you also get a screen
designer with it which was easy to use.
4.7
Overall, neither of the games (Iæm trying to forget about the adven
tures) are up to the quality of most Archimedes software. The cost of
the package, however, is similar to most shareware and public domain
software and, as such, is quite reasonably priced.
4.7
Escape from Exeria is available from Soft Rock Software for ú3.45.  A
4.7

4.7
Two ARM Assembler Utilities
4.7
Martin Avison
4.7
When writing and testing any program it is very useful to be able to
follow the execution path through the program. This facility is provided
in BASIC by the TRACE facility, which will display the statement number
being executed. It is also easy in BASIC to insert extra PRINT state
ments so that the flow can be seen and variables displayed.
4.7
These problems exist also when you are writing assembler programs, with
the added difficulty that assembler programs can easily loop or
overwrite unintended bits of storage, often locking up the computer
completely with no clues where it is. In assembler, there is no TRACE
facility and although SWI calls can be inserted to display characters or
strings, the insertion can cause the program to change its behaviour due
to register corruption. Breakpoints can be inserted using *BreakSet but
these are limited and slow the program down.
4.7
BASIC function for assembler debugging
4.7
My solution to this was to write a BASIC function which generates
assembler code to enable trace entries to be easily inserted at any
point in an assembler program. All that is needed is to insert
4.7
FNdebug(öThis is a messageò) :
4.7
This will generate code to print the message from the parameter to
identify the location and then provide a full register list, plus the
flag values and then return to the program under test with all registers
and flags unchanged. The debug functions can be left in the source and
turned on and off for any assembly simply by setting debug to TRUE or
FALSE. The code will run in User mode and also in Supervisor mode.
4.7
There is obviously some storage overhead when running with debug, which
is about 300 bytes for code, which is included only once, and 13 bytes
plus the length of the message for each FNdebug included in the program.
It also slows the code down but you normally need to slow it down much
further with <ctrl-shift> to read the debug information!
4.7
The debug function is fully documented and it needs only 2 variables set
before it can be used: opt should be set to the assembler OPT value and
debug should be set to TRUE to generate debug code or FALSE to omit it.
Note that there must also be, included in the program,
4.7
FNdebug(öDebug_Initò) :
4.7
This will generate the common code if debug is TRUE. It should be placed
after the end of the executable code. After assembly, you can use CALL
showregs to obtain a register list at any time from BASIC.
4.7
The sample program DemoDebug includes the function as a LIBRARY, then
assembles a short routine either with or without the debug facility,
then CALLs the routine. Run the program first to see what the assembler
program does (donæt get too exited!) then change line 40 to debug = TRUE
and RUN the program again to see the debug function in action.
4.7
 10 REM > DemoDebug
4.7
 20 PRINT öDemoDebug : Demonstration
4.7
 of FNdebug    Version 4
4.7
   Martin Avisonò
4.7
 30
4.7
 40 debug   = FALSE    :REM <<<<
4.7
 change to TRUE to enable
4.7
 debug function
4.7
 50 asmprint= FALSE
4.7
 60 A%      = 6
4.7
 70 PROCassem
4.7
 80 CALL code%
4.7
 90 END
4.7
100
4.7
110 DEF PROCassem
4.7
120 LIBRARY öAsmDebugò
4.7
130 codelen% = 1000
4.7
140 DIM code% codelen%
4.7
150
4.7
160 FOR opt= %1000 TO %1010 + ABS (asmprint) STEP 2 + ABS(asmprint)
4.7
170
4.7
180 P% = code%
4.7
190 L% = P% + codelen%
4.7
200
4.7
210 [OPT opt
4.7
220    FNdebug(öStart of codeò)
4.7
230 STMFD R13!,{r0-r9 ,R14}
4.7
\ save registers
4.7
240    FNdebug(öafter register storeò)
4.7
250 MOV   R3,R0     \ store A% in r3
4.7
260 SWI   öOS_WriteSò   \ display message
4.7
270 EQUS  öDemoò:EQUB  0:ALIGN
4.7
280 SWI   öOS_NewLineò
4.7
290    FNdebug(öbefore loopò)
4.7
300 .loop
4.7
310 MOV   R0,R3  \ put counter in R0
4.7
320 ADR   R1,buffer \ address buffer
4.7
330 MOV   R2,#9  \ set buffer length
4.7
340    FNdebug(öbefore conversionò)
4.7
350 SWI   öOS_ConvertInteger1ò \ convert r0 and ..
4.7
360    FNdebug(öafter conversionò)
4.7
370 SWI   öOS_Write0ò  \ output counter
4.7
380 SWI   öOS_NewLineò
4.7
390 SUBS  R3,R3,#1   \ decrement counter
4.7
400    FNdebug(öend of loop?ò)
4.7
410 BNE   loop  \ go output next one
4.7
420
4.7
430 LDMFD R13!,{r0-r9 ,R14}
4.7
 \ restore registers
4.7
440    FNdebug(öAbout to return from codeò)
4.7
450 MOV   PC,R14   \ return to BASIC
4.7
460
4.7
470 .buffer EQUD 0:EQUD 0:EQUD 0    \ store for conversions
4.7
480 FNdebug(öDebug_Initò)           \ initialise debug
4.7
490 ]
4.7
500 NEXT
4.7
510 ENDPROC
4.7

4.7
 10 REM > AsmDebug                  Version 11   by Martin Avison
4.7
 20
4.7
 30 DEF FNdebug(message$)
4.7
 40 IF debug = FALSE THEN .=0
4.7
 50 IF message$=öDebug_Initò THEN
4.7
 60 REM create common code to display registers
4.7
 70 [OPT opt:ALIGN    \ assemble common routine
4.7
 80 .showregs         \ routine for CALL if required
4.7
 90 STMFD  R13!,{r0-r15 }  \ save all registers
4.7
100 SWI   öOS_WriteSò \ display message
4.7
110 EQUS  öRegister Listò:EQUB 0: ALIGN
4.7
120 BL    displayregs \ display registers
4.7
130 MOV   PC,R14      \ return
4.7
140 \ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ
4.7
150 .displayregs \ display registers subroutine
4.7
160 MOV   R9,R14 \ store return address
4.7
170 LDR   R0,[R13,#13*4]  \ get stored stack ptr R13 ..
4.7
180 ADD   R0,R0,#16*4 \ and subtract 16*4 to ..
4.7
190 STR   R0,[R13,#13*4]  \ put it back to original
4.7
200 SWI   öOS_NewLineò
4.7
210 MOV   R3,#0    \ r3 is register counter
4.7
220 .nextregister
4.7
230 CMP   R3,#10 \ if register < 10
4.7
240 SWILT 256+ASCö ò    \ output blank first
4.7
250 ADR   R1,buffer \ address buffer
4.7
260 MOV   R2,#9     \ set buffer length
4.7
270 MOV   R0,R3     \ put register no in R0
4.7
280 SWI   öOS_ConvertInteger1ò      \ convert and ..
4.7
290 SWI   öOS_Write0ò \ output register no.
4.7
300 SWI   256+ASCö=ò
4.7
310 ADR   R1,buffer \ address buffer
4.7
320 MOV   R2,#9  \ set buffer length
4.7
330 LDR   R0,[R13,R3,LSL#2]  \ get register value ..
4.7
340 SWI   öOS_ConvertHex8ò \ convert it ..
4.7
350 SWI   öOS_Write0ò  \ and output
4.7
360 CMP   R3,#5  \ if after reg 5 370 CMPNE R3,#11    \  or reg 11 ..
4.7
380 SWIEQ öOS_NewLineò\force newline
4.7
390 SWINE 256+ASCö ò \ else blank
4.7
400 ADD   R3,R3,#1   \ increment register number
4.7
410 CMP   R3,#16   \ if not yet end
4.7
420 BNE   nextregister \ go output next one
4.7
430
4.7
440 SWI   öOS_WriteSò   \ display PC
4.7
450 EQUS  öpc=ò:EQUB  0:ALIGN
4.7
460 LDR   R5,[R13,#15*4] \ get R15 into R5 and ..
4.7
470 BIC   R0,R5,#%11111100000000000 000000000000011 \ lose flags
4.7
480 SUB   R0,R0,#12 \ adjust pc back to start of debug
4.7
490 ADR   R1,buffer \ address buffer
4.7
500 MOV   R2,#9  \ set buffer length
4.7
510 SWI   öOS_ConvertHex8ò \ convert to hex
4.7
520 SWI   öOS_Write0ò  \ output pc
4.7
530
4.7
540 SWI   öOS_WriteSò  \ display status flags
4.7
550 EQUS  ö fl=ò:EQUB  0:ALIGN
4.7
560 TST   R5,#1<<31: SWIEQ 256+ ASCönò:SWINE 256+ASCöNò
4.7
570 TST   R5,#1<<30: SWIEQ 256+ ASCözò:SWINE 256+ASCöZò
4.7
580 TST   R5,#1<<29: SWIEQ 256+ ASCöcò:SWINE 256+ASCöCò
4.7
590 TST   R5,#1<<28: SWIEQ 256+ ASCövò:SWINE 256+ASCöVò
4.7
600 TST   R5,#1<<27: SWIEQ 256+ ASCöiò:SWINE 256+ASCöIò
4.7
610 TST   R5,#1<<26: SWIEQ 256+ ASCöfò:SWINE 256+ASCöFò
4.7
620 SWI   256+ASCö ò
4.7
630
4.7
640 AND   R0,R5,#%11  \ display Mode
4.7
650 CMP   R0,#%00 : SWIEQ 256+ASCöUò
4.7
660 CMP   R0,#%01 : SWIEQ 256+ASCöFò
4.7
670 CMP   R0,#%10 : SWIEQ 256+ASCöIò
4.7
680 CMP   R0,#%11 : SWIEQ 256+ASCöSò
4.7
690 SWI   öOS_NewLineò
4.7
700
4.7
710 \ now prepare to return without changing anything!
4.7
R5 = orig pc + flags
4.7
720 AND   R8,R5,#%11111100000000000 000000000000011  \ lose
4.7
 pc & keep flags
4.7
730 BIC   R9,R9,#%111111000000000000 00000000000011  \ lose
4.7
 flags from return
4.7
740 ORR   R9,R8,R9   \ get orig flags + return addr
4.7
750 STR   R9 ,[R13,#15*4]  \ & store in r15 for return
4.7
760
4.7
770 LDMFD R13!,{r0-r15 }^  \ restore all registers & return
4.7
780
4.7
790 .buffer EQUD 0:EQUD 0:EQUD 0    \ store for conversions
4.7
800 ]
4.7
810 ELSE
4.7
820 REM create inline code to call debug code
4.7
830 IF opt AND 1 PRINTöDebug message : ò;message$;ö <<<<<<<<<<<<<<ò
4.7
840 [OPT opt:ALIGN
4.7
850 STMFD  R13!,{r0-r15 } \ save all registers
4.7
860 ]
4.7
870 IF message$ <> öò THEN
4.7
880   [OPT opt
4.7
890   SWI   öOS_WriteSò  \ write message
4.7
900   EQUS  message$:EQUB  0:ALIGN
4.7
910   ]
4.7
920 ENDIF
4.7
930 [OPT opt
4.7
940 BL    displayregs   \ display registers then return here
4.7
950 ]
4.7
960 ENDIF
4.7
970 =0
4.7

4.7
BASIC function for assembler register using/drop
4.7
When writing assembler code, it is much better to use variable names
instead of register numbers. This is a great aid to documentation and
gives some chance of understanding the code when the inevitable time
comes to change it.
4.7
However, whether variable names or register numbers are used, it is
often very difficult to keep track of which registers are being used for
what. It seems to be a fundamental law of computing that, however many
registers you have, you always seem to need at least one more. This
inevitiably leads to using a register for several things, which in turn
leads to using a register for two things at the same time. This confuses
the computer and, more so, the programmer until the error is found! This
is a very common cause of strange errors in assembler code which can be
very difficult to find.
4.7
What is needed is for the assembler to keep track of register usage but,
unfortunately, it does not. However, due to the brilliant integration
with BASIC, it is fairly easy to add this facility.
4.7
Three functions have been written, for inclusion within assembler
source:
4.7
FNureg, has to be inserted into the source code before it is required to
use a particular register. The register number, the variable name
required and a description of its use are passed as parameters. If the
register is already in use, a warning message is given. The variable,
which can be either an Integer or a Real variable, can then subsequently
be used in the source code instead of the register number.
4.7
FNdreg, which is used to drop a register when its use for an item is
complete. The register number and its variable name are passed as
parameters and checked to ensure they are what is being used. If the
variable name is subsequently used, the assembler will error, as it will
be set to -1.
4.7
FNlreg, can be used at any time to display a list of registers in use,
with their variable names and descriptions.
4.7
Two PROCedures have been defined also:
4.7
PROCireg, which is for initialisation. It is for inclusion in the BASIC
source, but within the FOR..NEXT loop for the assembly after opt has
been set to the OPT value. This procedure on the first pass of the
assembler creates two arrays used to store the variable names and
description, and uses PROCasmfindvar to assemble a small machine code
routine. It then initialises the arrays with any common register uses of
your choice.
4.7
PROCasmfindvar assembles code to find the address and type of any BASIC
variable, which may be of use for other purposes. If the variable cannot
be found, one is created, unless it cannot be a variable name, when an
error is raised.
4.7
The sample program DemoUsing includes these facilities as a LIBRARY and
produces some warning messages when run.
4.7
 10 REM > DemoUsing
4.7
 20 PRINT öDemoUsing : Demonstration of Register Functions
4.7
   Version 4  Martin Avisonò
4.7
 30
4.7
 40 @% = &90A
4.7
 50 asmprint= FALSE
4.7
 60 A%      = 6
4.7
 70 PROCassem
4.7
 80 CALL code%
4.7
 90 END
4.7
100
4.7
110 DEF PROCassem
4.7
120 LIBRARY öAsmUsingò
4.7
130 codelen% = 1000
4.7
140 DIM code% codelen%
4.7
150
4.7
160 FOR opt= %1000 TO %1010+ ABS(asmprint) STEP 2+ABS(asmprint)
4.7
170
4.7
180 P% = code%
4.7
190 L% = P% + codelen%
4.7
200
4.7
210 PROCireg(opt)
4.7
220 [OPT opt
4.7
230   FNureg( 3,öcounterò,öholds value of countò)
4.7
240   FNureg( 0,öa%ò      ,öA% from CALLò)
4.7
250   FNureg( 6,öinteger%ò,ösome integerò)
4.7
260 \ FNureg( 4,ö%Qò      ,öinvalid variable errorò)
4.7
261 \ FNureg( 4,öa$ò      ,östring errorò)
4.7
270 STMFD (stack)!,{r0-r9 ,link}     \ save registers
4.7
280 MOV   counter,a% \ store A% in r3
4.7
290 SWI   öOS_WriteS   \ display message
4.7
300 EQUS  öDemoò:EQUB  0:ALIGN
4.7
310 SWI   öOS_NewLineò
4.7
320   FNdreg( 0,öa%ò)
4.7
330   FNureg( 0,önumò    ,önumberò)
4.7
340   FNureg( 1,öbufò    ,öbuffer addressò)
4.7
350   FNureg( 2,ölenò    ,öbuffer lengthò)
4.7
360 .loop
4.7
370 MOV   num,counter  \ put counter in R0
4.7
380 ADR   buf,buffer \address buffer
4.7
390 MOV   len,#9 \ set buffer length
4.7
400 SWI   öOS_ConvertInteger1ò       \ convert r0 and ..
4.7
410 SWI   öOS_Write0ò \ output counter
4.7
420 SWI   öOS_NewLineò
4.7
430 SUBS  counter,counter,#1
4.7
\ decrement counter
4.7
440 BNE   loop  \ go output next one
4.7
450   FNdreg( 3,önoneò )
4.7
460   FNdreg( 5,önoneò )
4.7
470   FNureg( 3,ölevelò,ösome other valueò)
4.7
480   FNureg(14,ötempò ,ötemp use of linkò)
4.7
490   FNlreg
4.7
500
4.7
510 LDMFD (stack)!,{r0-r9 ,link}     \ restore registers
4.7
520 MOV   PC,link  \ return to BASIC
4.7
530
4.7
540 .buffer EQUD 0:EQUD 0:EQUD 0    \ store for conversions
4.7
550 ]
4.7
560 NEXT
4.7
570 ENDPROC
4.7

4.7
 10 REM > AsmUsing    Version 12 by Martin Avison
4.7
 20
4.7
 30 DEF PROCireg(opt):REM Initialise registers etc
4.7
 40 IF opt AND 2 THEN
4.7
 50   regn$() = öò    :REM clear for second pass
4.7
 60   regd$() = öò
4.7
 70 ELSE
4.7
 80   PROCasmfindvar :REM first pass so initialise
4.7
 90   DIM regn$(15),regd$(15) :REM arrays for name and
4.7
description
4.7
100   DIM rnam% 30  :REM buffer for name
4.7
110 ENDIF
4.7
120 REM set up standard registers as required :
4.7
130 Z%=FNureg(13,östackò,öStack Pointerò)
4.7
140 Z%=FNureg(14,ölinkò ,öLink Registerò)
4.7
150 Z%=FNureg(15,öpcò   ,öProgram Counterò)
4.7
160 ENDPROC
4.7
170
4.7
180 DEF FNureg(regn%,regn$,regd$)      :REM Use Register
4.7
190 IF regn$(regn%) = öò THEN
4.7
200   regn$(regn%) = regn$
4.7
210   regd$(regn%) = regd$
4.7
220 ELSE
4.7
230   PROCereg(öUsingò,regn%,regn$, regd$)
4.7
240 ENDIF
4.7
250 PROCsreg(regn%,regn$,regd$)
4.7
260 =0
4.7
270
4.7
280 DEF FNdreg(regn%,regn$) :REM Drop Register Usage
4.7
290 IF regn$(regn%) = regn$ THEN
4.7
300   regn$(regn%) = öò
4.7
310   regd$(regn%) = öò
4.7
320 ELSE
4.7
330   PROCereg(öDrop ò,regn%,regn$, öò)
4.7
340 ENDIF
4.7
350 PROCsreg(-1,regn$,öò)
4.7
360 =0
4.7
370
4.7
380 DEF PROCsreg(regn%,regn$,regd$)    :REM Store Register Usage
4.7
390 LOCAL addr%,type%
4.7
400 $rnam% = regn$
4.7
410 CALL findvar,rnam%,addr%,type%
4.7
420 type% = type% AND &FF
4.7
430 CASE type% OF
4.7
440   WHEN 4 : !addr% = regn%
4.7
450   WHEN 5 : |addr% = regn%
4.7
460   OTHERWISE ERROR 999,regn$+
4.7
ö invalid type ò+STR$(type%)
4.7
470 ENDCASE
4.7
480 ENDPROC
4.7
490
4.7
500 DEF PROCereg(type$,regn%,regn$, regd$) :REM List Error on
4.7
 1st pass or list
4.7
510 IF (opt AND 2)=0 OR (opt AND 1) THEN
4.7
520   PRINTætype$ö Error for Rò; regn% TAB(20) ö: ò regn$ TAB(40)
4.7
ö: ò regd$ ÉöCurrently ò;
4.7
530   IF regn$(regn%) = öò PRINT öUnusedò ELSE PRINT öused byò TAB(20)ö:
ò regn$(regn%)
4.7
 TAB(40) ö: òregd$(regn%)
4.7
540 ENDIF
4.7
550 ENDPROC
4.7
560
4.7
570 DEF FNlreg   :REM List Register Usage on 2nd pass
4.7
580 LOCAL I%
4.7
590 IF opt AND 2 THEN
4.7
600   PRINTÉöCurrent register usage :ò
4.7
610   FOR I%=0 TO 15
4.7
620   IF regn$(I%) <> öò PRINT TAB(10)öRò;I% TAB(20)ö: ò regn$
4.7
(I%) TAB(40)ö: ò regd$(I%)
4.7
630   NEXT
4.7
640 ENDIF
4.7
650 =0
4.7
660
4.7
670 DEF PROCasmfindvar :REM assemble lvblnk routine
4.7
680 LOCAL code%, codesize%, P%, L%, opt, addr, ptr1, create,
4.7
 lvblnk, type, parms,
4.7
 ptr2, stack, link
4.7
690 codesize%= 180
4.7
700 DIM code% codesize%
4.7
710 addr   =  0
4.7
720 ptr1   =  6
4.7
730 create =  5
4.7
740 lvblnk =  7
4.7
750 type   =  9
4.7
760 parms  =  9
4.7
770 ptr2   = 11
4.7
780 stack  = 13
4.7
790 link   = 14
4.7
800
4.7
810 FOR opt=8 TO 10 STEP 2
4.7
820 P%=code%
4.7
830 L%=code%+codesize%
4.7
840 [OPT opt
4.7
850 .findvar
4.7
860 STMFD   (stack)!,{parms ,link}
4.7
 \ store registers
4.7
870
4.7
880 \ first try to find variable ..
4.7
 890 LDR    ptr2,[parms,#16]  \ get ptr to string info block
4.7
 900 LDR    ptr2,[ptr2]   \ get ptr to start of variable name
4.7
 910
4.7
 920 ADD    lvblnk,link,#&3C  \ get addr of BASIC lvblnk routine
4.7
 930
4.7
 940 MOV    link,PC    \ set return address
4.7
 950 MOV    PC,lvblnk \ call routine to find variable
4.7
 960 BCS    error     \ exit if illegal name
4.7
 970 BNE    exit      \ exit if variable found
4.7
 980
4.7
 990 \ otherwise need to create variable ..
4.7
1000 LDR    link,[stack,#4]
4.7
 \ retrieve link register
4.7
1010 ADD    create,link,#&40 \ get addr of BASIC create routine
4.7
1020 MOV    link,PC   \ set return address
4.7
1030 MOV    PC,create\ call routine to create variable
4.7
1040 ORR    type,type,#&1<<9
4.7
 \ indicate created
4.7
1050
4.7
1060 .exit
4.7
1070 LDMFD  (stack)!,{ptr1 }  \ get parm pointer
4.7
1080 LDR    ptr2,[ptr1,#00]    \ get addr of type%
4.7
1090 STR    type,[ptr2]  \ and store value
4.7
1100 LDR    ptr2,[ptr1,#08]    \ get addr of addr%
4.7
1110 STR    addr,[ptr2]  \ and store value
4.7
1120 LDMFD  (stack)!,{pc }   \ and return to BASIC
4.7
1130
4.7
1140 .error
4.7
1150 LDMFD  (stack)!,{ptr1 }  \ get parm pointer back
4.7
1160 LDR    ptr2,[ptr1,#16]    \ get ptr to string info block
4.7
1170 LDR    ptr2,[ptr2]    \ get ptr to start of variable name
4.7
1180 ADR    R1,errv    \ address output variable name
4.7
1190 .error1
4.7
1200 LDRB    R0,[ptr2],#1 \ get char of variable name
4.7
1210 CMP    R0,#&D    \ at end yet?
4.7
1220 MOVEQ   R0,#0    \ if at end, replace char with zero
4.7
1230 STRB    R0,[R1],#1 \ store char of variable name
4.7
1240 BNE    error1    \ if not end, go get next char
4.7
1250 ADR    R0,errmsg   \ address error message
4.7
1260 SWI    öOS_GenerateErrorò
4.7
\ and generate error
4.7
1270 .errmsg
4.7
1280 EQUD   999
4.7
1290 EQUS   öInvalid variable name ò
4.7
1300 .errv
4.7
1310 EQUS   STRING$(30,ö?ò)
4.7
1320 EQUB   0
4.7
1330 ]
4.7
1340 NEXT
4.7
1350 ENDPROC  A
4.7

4.7
ÉToolsæ Ö Graphics Library
4.7
Peter Clements
4.7
Having, myself, painted a mode 15 picture of some woodworking tools, I
was very interested to see what ÉMicro Studioæ had come up with in their
latest addition to their Graphics Library. Following in the footsteps of
ÉWorld Wildlifeæ, ÉPrehistoric Animalsæ, ÉHistoryæ and several other
titles, comes ÉToolsæ. The single disc is packaged in a sturdy plastic
library case which I feel is somewhat larger than necessary.
4.7
Donæt be put off by the misspelt quotation on the cover by Benjamin
Franklin which states that öMan is a TOOmaking animalò, the disc is
absolutely crammed full of the most intricate !Drawfile clip art that I
have ever seen. The quality of the drawing really has to be seen and my
congratulations go to the artist who must have spent an eternity in
compiling the set.
4.7
A total of nearly two hundred images are on the disc and range from
hammers and brushes to simple nuts and bolts and power tools. Clicking
on the Hammers file for example, reveals yet more varieties most of
which I have heard of but couldnæt positively identify until now.
4.7
An index is provided in the form of an !Edit file. This not only lists
the range of tools available but also gives a brief description of their
usage and purpose.
4.7
A novel feature included in the package is one which lets the user
choose from three different types of drawn hand. These are Éclenchedæ,
Éfistæ and Éhandæ. If one of these images is loaded into !Draw, the
fingers and thumb can be separated from the main outline. A tool can
then be loaded, positioned against the outline of the hand and the
fingers moved back into position. This all works rather well and is a
useful addition to the package. If the scale looks a little wrong then
either the hand or the tool can be enlarged, reduced or rotated to fit.
4.7
The images reproduced superbly on my nine pin dot matrix printer even
when I attempted to scale them down to a really minute size.
4.7
I think this package will find itself being used mainly in schools and
colleges and maybe some small businesses perhaps for letterhead design.
Whatever the case, itæs a well thought out and expertly drawn library of
clip art and is well worth the asking price.
4.7
Graphics Library Pack from Micro Studio, price ú19.95 or ú18 through
Archive.  A
4.7

4.7
Draw Format Clip Art
4.7
Charles Constantine
4.7
Clip art is a useful source of illustrations, especially for use with
desk top publishing. There are several Public Domain sources (including
Shareware/Careware), but many are in Sprite format. The big advantage of
Draw format is that the images can be reproduced at the maximum
resolution of the output device and they occupy much less file and
memory space than equivalent sprites.
4.7
Draw Format Clip Art, Set one, from Midnight Graphics consists of five
full discs of Draw images and a sixth disc containing an application
!Viewer. The cost is ú29.95 plus VAT.
4.7
!Viewer operates in a similar way to !Display on Shareware 26, but
installs itself on the icon bar. Draw files can be rapidly viewed in a
small window by dragging them from a directory viewer. Up to 255 images
can be held in memory and instantly re-displayed by clicking in the
!Viewer directory window.
4.7
The five clip art discs hold 466 Draw files in 21 directories. There is
some repetition of similar subjects (e.g. Arrows and Phones) and two
drawn fonts have a separate file for every character. However, the total
collection is very comprehensive with directories covering Animals,
Borders, Food, Maps, People and Shapes together with six ÉMiscellaneousæ
directories.  A
4.7

4.7
Graphics Libraries
4.7
Doug Weller
4.7
Now that DTP has become firmly established as a major use for the
Archimedes, software houses are producing packs of sprites and !Draw
files with particular themes.
4.7
MicroStudio
4.7
MicroStudio was a major producer of graphics for the BBC, so it is not
surprising to find it in the forefront of graphics library suppliers for
the Archimedes. Starting with some general graphics packs in both Draw
and sprite format and some excellent !Draw maps, its catalogue now
includes a wide variety of packages covering various themes in a mixture
of Draw and sprite files. Its catalogue includes a decorated alphabet,
tools, packs for illustrators and designers, a science pack, business,
schools, childrenæs, nature, transport, media and photos (and probably
more by the time you read this!)
4.7
Dinosaurs, costume and wildlife
4.7
I have looked at V.1 of their packages covering dinosaurs, wildlife and
historic costume. These come on 1, 2 and 3 discs respectively, and
except for the wildlife discs, the discs consist of a set of arced files
plus !Sparkplug and instructions for de-archiving. Each disc includes an
index which details the content of the discs plus a bit of information
about the picture, e.g. in the case of the wildlife pack, the creatureæs
country of origin.
4.7
These packs are sprites only, although future versions will include more
!Draw files, which I am told by another user who has seen an early
version of a dinosaur, are excellent. They look very useful and
generally well done, although one or two of the costume figures appeared
to have small bits cut off.
4.7
I wasnæt sure how the selections were compiled and although I was
impressed by the width in each category, I was also slightly disap
pointed. This may be because I was looking at these too narrowly as a
junior school teacher, looking for sprites covering areas I have been or
may be teaching. Thus I was disappointed to find neither a badger nor a
beaver in the wildlife library Ö if my class was looking at animal
habitats, I would certainly want pictures of both of these. Similarly, I
was surprised to find no Viking costumes, as this is a common subject in
Junior schools (and is now required by the National Curriculum). I know
their clothes werenæt that different from AngloÖSaxon and perhaps they
were like the Teutonic costume on the disc Ö but Iæm not an expert on
costume and would like some clearly labelled Viking figures! (I know
that the Vikings didnæt have wings on their helmets, so before I would
use the Teutonic figures, who do have winged helmets, Iæd have to do
some research into their accuracy!
4.7
Covering the National Curriculum?
4.7
Having said this, the history disc with 58 files does cover middle-
Eastern and European history fairly well; I look forward to a complemen
tary package on historical costume from other arts of the world.
(Following the National Curriculum, weære doing Mayans next year, and
maybe the Indus valley next, Micro-Studio!). Compilers of graphics
libraries who want to sell to education would do well to look at the
National Curriculum covering the relevant subject.
4.7
A tip for looking at sprites
4.7
If you want to look at a collection of sprites, donæt simply click on
them! Although this often works, it doesnæt always show the entire
sprite. I have only just discovered this Ö probably because, until
recently, I never had any sprites that werenæt completely displayed by
simply clicking on them. The easiest way to see them is probably not by
using !Paint but by loading them into a DTP package, where you can
easily resize them, etc.
4.7
Summary
4.7
With those caveats, these are excellent packages and Micro-Studio
wouldnæt have to make many changes to cover the national curriculum (and
of course they are looking toward a wider market anyway). At ú19.95 (the
introductory price for these packs) they are well worth the price. If
they go up to the ú29.95 of some of the other MicroÖStudio packs, they
are probably still decent value but may be getting more than most
schools can afford.  A
4.7

4.7
Draw Format Line Art N║ 1
4.7
John Jefferies
4.7
This is the first of a series of draw format lineart discs that Southern
Printers are planning to produce. There is not as much draw format
lineart available as there is sprite format artwork. This is probably
because it takes rather longer to prepare and it isnæt as easy to
transfer to Draw format from other computersæ formats, so itæs not so
easy to tap into huge banks of artwork already prepared for the Ataris,
Amigas and PCæs of this world. The advantages of using draw format
instead of sprite should, presumably, be fairly obvious. Firstly, the
size of the files is somewhat less and, secondly, the resolution and
quality of the output is only limited by the printer not the pixel size
of the sprite. Also, draw lineart can be scaled and rotated much more
easily and effectively than sprite files and the östepped edgesò
associated with scaled sprites can be largely avoided.
4.7
The lineart occupies all the capacity of the 800k disc apart from a
couple of readme files, one explaining the copyright situation and the
other giving an introduction to the contents and use of the disc.
However, the files are not compacted.
4.7
The actual lineart is divided up into four directories: Animals, People,
Transport and Others.
4.7
Animals
4.7
The animals are all fairly stylised and cartoon-like (e.g. the tortoise
above). The contents list is: Bear, Bunny, Dog, Elephant, Fox, Frog,
Goat, Panda, Piggy, PigSad, Pony, Seal, Tortoise and Toucan.
4.7
People
4.7
People provides Clown, Cowboy, Lady (Eastern), Pirate, Santa-1, Santa-2,
Witch-1 and Witch-2. Again, these are fairly stylised and cartoon-like.
4.7
Transport
4.7
Transport consists of: Bike, Car, Lorry-1, Lorry-2, OldCar and Traction.
These contain a lot more detail then some of the others Ö especially the
motorbike shown below which is a 62K file.
4.7
Others
4.7
The final directory contains a number of smaller files and also the
largest file of all. The file list is: Balloons, Clock (a very nice
carriage clock), Flag-1, Flag-2, Holly (useful at Christmas), Look,
Scroll-1, Scroll-2 and Tulips. This group contains the poorest examples
(the scrolls) and the biggest file of all (108K) which consists of the
word öLookò where the Oæs are a pair of (female?) eyes drawn with
incredible detail.
4.7
Conclusion
4.7
For ú5.50, you canæt say that itæs not value for money Ö well, it is if
you want lineart on any of the subjects mentioned. It looks to me as if
it has been prepared by (at least) two people Ö one with good technical
skill, as the motorbike and other transport shows, and one with a very
characteristic drawing style which is common to the people and animals.
Overall, a good disc Ö it will be interesting to see the sequel(s).  A
4.7

4.7
Careware N║ 10
4.7
Ashley Bowden
4.7
The programs on this disc include three educational games and a number
of other puzzles plus a bridge hand lister. The educational games are
described first but note that they are Éarchivedæ on the disc. This
means that you have to use the !SparkPlug utility (supplied) to
decompress them. Note also that they start off as 186K when archived and
turn into about 925K after decompression, so more than one floppy disc
is needed.
4.7
!Starmath
4.7
This game tests the useræs capabilities at mental arithmetic. An extra-
terrestrial flavour is created by the use of spacecraft, missiles and a
starry backdrop. You choose which of the mathematical operations ( +, -,
x, / ) you want to use, a level of difficulty and a speed. The lower two
levels are quite easy but the highest, level 3, is not. Well, not unless
you are the sort of person who can divide 783 by 29 in your head in less
than about two seconds. The graphics, sound and animation are very good
if, perhaps, a trifle over elaborate. None of the educational games are
RISC-OS multitasking applications but are Desktop compatible, in that
they can be run from and that they return to the Desktop.
4.7
!Magic
4.7
This is a word-game essentially the same as hangman. There are levels of
difficulty which dictate how many wrong attempts you are allowed for
each word and a scoring system which takes account of how quickly you
guess the word. The graphics are quite nice and, all in all, this is a
playable, if rather standard, game.
4.7
!Quizland
4.7
In !Quizland, you have to find your way out of a maze avoiding hazards
and answering general knowledge questions to help you along. You can
choose the theme of the questions: Science, Maths, English, History,
Geography or a mixture. Getting a question correct has no beneficial
effect as such, it just stops your Évital forceæ decreasing. If this
reaches zero before you get out of the maze then you lose. Serpents and
a strange bubble appear from time to time with the object of making life
difficult. However, it seems that if you get most of the questions
correct, you will get out since the maze is not too large. The game is
rather slow moving, because the author wishes to show off her/his
programming talents which one must, in fairness, admit are considerable.
4.7
The Puzzles
4.7
There is a set of six logical puzzles all by the same author which are
based on related ideas. All have pieces which are placed on some sort of
board (in two or three dimensions) subject to various rules. For
example, one puzzle is to place eight queens on a chessboard so that
none is attacking another. Another involves arranging 27 coloured cubes
in a 3 x 3 x 3 pattern so that each row and column contains exactly one
of the three available colours. Three of the puzzles use square tiles
divided into quarters by diagonal lines. The quarters are coloured and
the pieces have to be placed on the board so that adjoining edges are
the same colour (and match the edge of the board or fulfil some other
condition.) The puzzles have a unified feel to them and each uses the
mouse and pointer in a similar way. What is more, each game has a second
version where the computer solves the problem. This seems to involve an
exhaustive search of the possible positions and can take several minutes
but it is a useful addition. If you like this sort of puzzle then the
collection is recommended.
4.7
!Rubik
4.7
This is a computer representation of a Rubik cube. It can be scrambled
and unscrambled by the computer or you can do it yourself. Little more
can be asked of such a program.
4.7
!Bridget
4.7
This program lists bridge hands. These are stored in an !Edit file.
There are no colours or graphics just numbers and letters such as 7S.
The hands may be particularly interesting or illustrative but I have
only a slight knowledge of the game and am not in a position to judge.
4.7
!Solitaire
4.7
This is the only multi-tasking application on the disc. There are in
fact two versions of the game available. Traditional solitaire involves
beads jumping over others (draught style) until only one remains.
ÉColotaireæ involves beads of six different colours which have to be
removed in a predetermined order. Both versions have a playback option
so you can see where things went wrong. They also have some rather
insane variants. There is Éblindæ where all the pieces are invisible,
Éghostæ where pieces which have moved but are still in the game become
invisible and the aptly named Édaftæ where pieces which have been
removed are still visible when they should not be! All is, of course,
controlled by mouse and menus in the proper way and it is great fun.  A
4.7

4.7
Simple Measurement and Control
4.7
Jim Markland
4.7
Some months ago I wanted to write software to enable real time trans
position for a MIDI music keyboard and my experiences of that and other
interfacing projects may, hopefully, be of help to others wanting to do
some simple control and measurement on the Archimedes.
4.7
When I started my MIDI project, I decided to acquire an Acorn I/O card
for our A310 with MIDI upgrades rather than a pure MIDI card. This was
in order to leave open the possibility of future simple control
applications.
4.7
Was this a wise decision?
4.7
There were deep feelings of shock horror when the I/O card and documen
tation arrived. The manual is very perfunctory and the 1MHz Bus
application note is several orders of magnitude worse. The manual
appears to assume that the reader has served an electronic apprentice
ship, having first been weaned on a BBC Micro. This is not me. To begin
to remedy this, I have had to go back to the BBC Micro User Guide and
the Advanced User Guide which, luckily, I have been able to locate in
our library. This really should not have been necessary.
4.7
Further pangs of anxiety were experienced when I observed the public
health warning which goes with the MIDI upgrade for the card. Under
certain conditions it does not, reputedly, behave as well as the regular
MIDI only podule; nor does it have a Thru Port. To discover these I had
to make the investment! I also learned that the I/O card exhibits some
minor differences from the original BBC Micro specification. For
tunately, it now appears that the lack of a built in Thru Port can be
corrected through the use of a peripheral device.
4.7
The MIDI documentation which goes with the latest version of the MIDI
firmware is not too bad and is a definite improvement on the original.
Yamaha have very kindly provided MIDI voice charts, including for
percussion, and I now have reasonably stable software which appears to
achieve the original aim satisfactorily. I would also note that the
potential MIDI problems of which I was forewarned by the manual have not
surfaced. The imminent upgrade of Rhapsody is now awaited to fix various
situations, at least one of which Clares denied ever existed! These
include a MIDI voice selection capability and better captured data
handling.
4.7
The reading of Michael Booms ÉMusic through MIDIæ book is also in hand.
This Microsoft Press book is a good read, especially if you are starting
from a low knowledge base, but long-winded like many American texts and
a bit light in some technical areas. It is also a relatively expensive
import so borrow it, if you can. Incidentally, it would appear that MIDI
could be used for general comms purposes, although this would smack of
Éwheel re-inventionæ.
4.7
Now to control
4.7
My control project is still not off the ground Ö this is, very largely,
due to the difficulties I have had in establishing what one can actually
do with an I/O card. In this Acorn could have been more sympathetic.
öAsk you local dealerò is the standard response but the dealers to whom
I have spoken have not been very knowledgeable. My research may
therefore be of use to others who are attempting to tread this path. (To
be fair to Acorn some of this information is buried somewhere inside
their recently published Education Directory).
4.7
I am told by Acorn that the I/O card exists only for backward compat
ibility. Such is the inertia in our education system, however, that
peripherals which require the User Port Ö the Concept Keyboard for
example Ö are likely to be around for a long time. As a consequence, and
bearing in mind that the latest widget isnæt always necessary for a
particular job, I feel that the educationalist/dabbler need not feel too
bad about old technology. In fact, I was recently amazed to see several
BBC micros still in use for experimental work at the research establish
ment of a major, and very high tech, international company, where the
Archimedes were being phased out and replaced by Sun workstations!
4.7
What I/O can be done?
4.7
Given the 1MHz Bus, the User Port and the A/D Port (these are on the
Archimedes I/O card and an A3000 expansion with rather more functional
ity is now available from Unilab), what can be done? One route is to get
hold of Joe Telfordæs introductory book ÉControl on the Archimedesæ from
HCCS. This is not ideal but does describe a number of DIY interfaces for
those interested in electronics. (In the same vein, Atomwide do a DIY
internal expansion card.) Buffered interface boxes will needed to
protect your Archimedes and you may prefer to send for brochures to help
decide on the purchase of a ready built one.
4.7
The A/D Port is for input only and is designed to match the facilities
of a typical joystick but, clearly, with the capability to handle other
similar mixed analog and switched input. Several suppliers offer A/D
breakout boxes. Of these, Deltronics appear to have the most comprehen
sive one in that, I understand, theirs gives access to the Éjoystick
buttonsæ in addition to the analogue data. Other, and possibly better,
methods of dealing with joysticks are now available for the Archimedes,
yet the A/D Port still has its uses.
4.7
The User Port is Étwo wayæ and some interfaces seem to require to use
the Parallel Port, which is out only, in conjunction with it. Some
interfaces specifically target either Lego or Fischer-Technik models
whilst others are aimed at more general applicability. The facilities
offered do vary quite a lot although they are all fairly basic and donæt
tend to offer much, if anything, in the way of upgrade options.
4.7
In principle, the 1MHz Bus options should have the most to offer. The
peripherals I have come across which use this are from DCP Microdevelop
ments, Unilab and Paul Fray. The DCP units offer a modular approach to
control and can, for example, permit stepper motor operation. The
modules are daisy chained on an internal bus, incremental costs are not
outrageous and the flexibility offered is attractive. The Unilab
interface offers a wider range of features than those available on the
User Port although it doesnæt appear to cater for expansion. Paul Fray
supply a range of 1MHz cards for use in their own rack system. They also
offer the Arachnid real time control software extensions.
4.7
One complication is that control and data logging applications can be
accomplished in other ways. Serial Port, Parallel (printer) Port and now
I2C (IsquaredC) options are either available or about to become so. One
option will enable servos to be driven directly from the computer;
another is a controller in its own right. Maybe we will also see more
use being made of MIDI outside of entertainment? Of these, the I2C route
is one to watch with particular interest. Ian Copestake has announced
the imminent release of a series of peripherals which will access the
Archimedesæ internal I2C serial bus. This has the particular attraction
of requiring a very low cost hardware port on the computer. Morley
Electronics already offer this on their User/MIDI card for the A3000 and
I understand it is to become a standard on the IDE cards. Lesser mortals
will have to be content with the loss of a podule slot. A consolation
for those of us who have already installed the double width I/O card on
a 4-slot backplane is that the tiny I2C outlet is expected to fit into
that otherwise inaccessible and unused adjacent podule slot. I2C will
offer very considerable expandability and has the potential for lots of
functionality, once again at a reasonable cost.
4.7
If your use is serious/professional, consider the 1MHz Bus options but
also talk to talk to Intelligent Interfaces and Wild Vision. They both
supply a range of internal expansion cards offering specialised
functions. Others provide specialist expansion cards for sound and video
applications.
4.7
To sum up:
4.7
Å    There are a fair number of control peripherals available already both
for professional and home/education use, although the professional range
is nowhere as extensive as it is for a PC. Prices and facilities vary
greatly. (Some peripherals may be used with other computers possibly
with a little modification.)
4.7
Å    Serious users should consider the 1MHz Bus options but they may need
different internal expansion cards altogether depending on the appli
cation. They may have to pay a higher total price in consequence.
4.7
Å    Watch I2C developments carefully. In the meantime, if you canæt wait,
look at DCP for expandability. Paul Frayæs racking system and ÉArachnidæ
Software looks interesting.
4.7
Å    For simple applications with limited expansion ambitions, look at the
A/D break out boxes and User Port interfaces. The 1MHz Bus will still be
there for future use.
4.7
Å    Go for the sole purpose MIDI card unless you are convinced you want
the I/O card capability.
4.7
Å    If possible, donæt buy until you know what you really want. e.g. What
sampling rate and accuracy do you need for Analog to Digital conversion?
Do you need real time processing?
4.7
Unfortunately, the overall situation is pretty incoherent. Some of the
software has not yet been released for Archimedes use and some may be
rather primitive. Do check first. Check hardware compatibility too.
Buyer beware!
4.7
To my mind, the jury is still out on my self posed question. I am,
however, not unhappy (yet!) with the MIDI interface and do feel more
comfortable having discovered the 1MHz Bus interfaces.
4.7
Apologies in advance to those manufacturers/vendors who have been left
out or who may feel that I have misrepresented their product in any way.
They should be assured that this is unintentional and merely a symptom
of the state of play!
4.7
I would welcome any further contributions and/or errata on this subject.
4.7
Contacts (and fallible guide)
4.7
A3000 Podules/Expansion Box
4.7
H.C.C.S. (also the book)    091 487 0760
4.7
Morley Electronics Ltd    091 257 6355
4.7
Unilab    0254 681222
4.7
Concept Keyboard
4.7
Concept Keyboard Co Ltd    0962 843322
4.7
Joysticks/Joystick Interfaces
4.7
Voltmace  (mouse replacement)    0462 894410
4.7
The Serial Port  (parallel port)    0749 72234
4.7
RTFM Software  (econet substitute)    0534 67870
4.7
Technomatic  (int. expansion card)    081 205 0190
4.7
Data Loggers (serial port)
4.7
Phillip Harris Education    0543 480077
4.7
Resource    0302 340331
4.7
Sensors
4.7
GA Herdman    0777 700918
4.7
plus many others
4.7
I2C ÉOddulesæ (yet to be released)
4.7
Ian Copestake Software    051 648 6287
4.7
Servo control from Parallel port
4.7
Jansens    0733 244702
4.7
Trekker Vehicle
4.7
Clwyd Technics Ltd    035283 751
4.7
Scorpion Serial Port Controller
4.7
Commotion    081 804 1378
4.7
Professional/Serious Expansion cards
4.7
Intelligent Interfaces Ltd    0789 450925
4.7
Wild Vision    091 519 1455
4.7
1MHz Bus Interfaces
4.7
Arcom (Farnell) (STE Bus system)    0532 636311
4.7
DCP Microdevelopments Ltd    0480 830997
4.7
Paul Fray Ltd (Farnell)    0223 66529
4.7
Unilab    0254 681222
4.7
User Port/Parallel Port Interfaces
4.7
Deltronics    0269 843728
4.7
Phobox Electronics    0305 853767
4.7
Economatics (Education) Ltd    0742 561122
4.7
Lego UK Ltd    0978 290900
4.7
plus Unilab, Commotion and Paul Fray
4.7
A/D Breakout boxes/external cards
4.7
Phobox, Deltronics, Commotion, Economatics, Unilab
4.7
Parallel Port output module
4.7
Economatics
4.7
MIDI Thru expansion box
4.7
Electro Music Research Ltd    0702 335747
4.7
 A
4.7

4.7
DataKing & DataTrans
4.7
Dave Morrell
4.7
öDataKing is an integrated database package designed for ease of use as
a cross-curricular IT tool for Primary and Secondary phases.ò says the
advertising blurb. In fact, to allow for progression through the age
range DataKing can be configured in three different ways, known as
DataKing 1, 2 and 3. DataKing 1 is a simplified, cut down version
designed for primary age or the raw beginner. DataKing 2 is the standard
form and DataKing 3 is only needed if a datafile becomes too large for
memory. The desired version of Dataking can be selected by pressing
<space> at the first menu which cycles through the three options.
4.7
First impressions are deceptive
4.7
My first impressions of DataKing were acutely disappointing. DataKing is
not multi-tasking and takes over the whole machine. The main menu screen
is in Mode 7. It looked like another convert from the good old BBC B.
Once I started using it, however, I began to change my mind.
4.7
The program is entirely menu driven and, given that it is designed for
educational use at all ages, this is probably a good idea. On later
reading of the manual, I discovered that DataKing has been produced for
most of the computers found in education and this has, presumably, led
to a consistent interface over all the machines. Not really the RISC-OS
ethos, but understandable.
4.7
Getting started
4.7
There are six options on the main menu. Option B, Begin Here, is a
useful option to start with. It gives a very simple overview of the
program and is quite handy for those of us who cannot be bothered to
read manuals. It gives a suggested order for tackling the four main
parts of the package and moves on to give a simple example showing what
fields and records are.
4.7
In their suggested order for learning the program, Option A is the first
option. This allows the user to begin a new datafile. To begin with, you
only need to input a file name and the number of records. You then
follow the simple on-screen instructions to produce your first blank
datafile. One point I liked about this program is that field length does
not need to be specified and could be up to 250 characters long. This
means that children with relatively little experience in data handling
do not have to think too long and hard about the length of every piece
of data to be input. Each record can have up to 26 fields but, if
necessary, the program could push this up to 31. Before saving the file
to disc, you are asked to check whether all is correct and, if so, the
file is then saved and the first record appears on screen ready for the
input of data. As each record is finished, you are again asked to check
if all is correct before it is saved. If it is not quite as you want it,
the program allows you to edit the data one field at a time.
4.7
Once the simple basics of database handling are acquired, i.e. that each
record is composed of several fields, the input of data is extremely
easy with checks all the way.
4.7
Graphs & charts
4.7
After the data is in the file, what can be done with it? Most primary
schools like to display this sort of work as graphs or charts. DataKing
is well endowed with graphical options. Option C on the main menu
selects the charts section of DataKing. The menu that appears is a
graphical one. The various graphics options are shown in small icons
with a letter above. Pressing a letter leads to a question and answer
session concerning which fields are to be used etc. Once this has been
sorted out to the useræs satisfaction, the charts are produced very
quickly. Various bar charts, line graphs, pie charts and a scatter graph
are available from this menu as well as options to return to the main
menu, change the file being used or to enter the data workshop.
4.7
Charts and graphs can be printed directly from the program. As it comes,
the program only supports monochrome printers with Epson graphics
compatibility but instructions are given for producing colour dumps if a
screen dump program is available. Presumably, the same technique could
be used for printout on an inkjet, laser on non-Epson printer. For use
in a DTP package, a screensave option is available. This was incorrectly
described in the manual. A screensave is effected by pressing <S> not
<ctrl-P>.
4.7
Manipulating the data
4.7
Option D on the main menu is the heart of DataKing. This is the Data
Workshop, as they call it. This option presents the user with a menu
list of datafiles held on the disc. Pressing the relevant letter for the
datafile loads the data into memory to be worked on. At the same time,
the user is presented with another menu detailing the workshop options.
These are quite extensive; i.e. Print records, Browse through records,
Calculator, Choose a different file, Return to main menu, Group data,
Total fields and produce mean values, Sort, Search, Join files,
Correlate fields and produce labels.
4.7
Option H is a sort option. One aspect of this I liked was the facility
to save a sorted file under a different name leaving the original data
untouched. This leaves two datafiles on the disc containing the data in
different orders. The sort function seems to be very fast. One file I
worked with was the öPlacenamesò datafile converted over from öKeyò.
This contains 711 records of 10 fields. They did not seem to be in any
logical order when I converted them over and they were sorted in
alphabetical order of names in less than 1╜ minutes including writing
the file to disc. The sort is done automatically in the two simpler
configurations of DataKing. If the total of the entries in the selected
field is zero the sort is done alphabetically. If the total is greater
than zero it is done numerically. This could lead to problems with names
such as 4Mation. To avoid this problem, it should be entered as
!4Mation.
4.7
Option I is a search procedure. Like the rest of DataKing, all the
information is placed on the screen and options chosen by selected
keypresses. Again it is fast.
4.7
Printing records
4.7
In order to print out records (Option A), a print format screen has to
be gone through. The default options on this are sensibly set for
newcomers. The format screen allows the user to set up line or column
output, the number of fields output, the column width, the type of paper
in the printer and the size of print. This uses the default printer
options, so seems to be printer independent. If anything fancier is
needed, the search procedure can be utilised to extract the relevant
records and fields. These can then be converted, very quickly, to CSV or
TSV format ready for importing into a word processor or DTP package.
4.7
Summaries
4.7
Option C is a calculator. This allows one field to be defined as a
function of another in a similar way to that of a spreadsheet. Each
field in DataKing can be identified by a letter alongside it. The
calculator uses these identity letters expressed in a formula. If, for
instance, a teacher was to produce a datafile of marks for each child in
a class, the total can be worked out automatically by DataKing using a
simple formula such as Total (field E) = (fields) B+C+D, field A being
the name of the child. This is a very simple example but serves to
illustrate what can be done. Quite complicated formulae can be input and
worked automatically. Various other examples are given in the manual.
4.7
Option F will allow the user to calculate the total and the arithmetic
mean of each field. Results can be output to screen or printer. The
example which the manual gives for this is keeping a record of scores
during a school sports day. This could give virtually instant readout of
individual or team marks.
4.7
Option G allows the user to create frequency distributions of the data
in any field. It sounds very statistical but left me puzzled. The manual
does not give much explanation and no example for this option. I tried
working through a few datafiles but still could not work out what I was
getting. I could easily have chosen the wrong fields or the wrong files
for this but I think more explanation is needed in the manual.
4.7
Option K will correlate two numeric fields to give a Spearmanæs
Coefficient of Rank Correlation between them. Obvious examples for this
using the data files provided are the correlation between size and wing
span of insects and height, weight and shoe size of children.
4.7
Other features
4.7
Option B is for browsing through the datafile one record at a time using
the cursor keys.
4.7
Option E returns the user to the main menu.
4.7
Option L, the final one in the workshop, is a label printing facility.
Again, a question and answer session is provided to set this up. It
seems to provide for a very flexible label layout.
4.7
Manipulating the files
4.7
Option D allows the user to choose another datafile from the set on the
disc.
4.7
Option J allows the user to join files. This can be done in two ways.
Two separate datafiles using the same format can be joined to give one
file containing more records. Alternatively two files of different
formats and fields can be combined to give one file of more fields. With
this method, the fields in the second file are added to the end of the
fields in the corresponding position in the first file and a new file is
saved. Any two files can be combined regardless of whether or not the
final result is sensible.
4.7
Editing the data
4.7
The last but one option on the main menu allows the user to extend or
edit any of the available data files. DataKing 1 has three options:
Adding records, Adding fields & Simple Editor.
4.7
Adding records obviously allows more records to be added to the file.
For speed, the existing records are not read into memory so this option
does not allow editing of any records. Adding fields will allow the user
to add one or more fields to each record in an existing datafile. The
program first asks for the name of the new field(s) and then goes
through the file, record by record, so that the new field can be added
to each one. The file can be saved after each addition or left until the
end when all have been done. Any new fields that are not completed
during the one session can be entered using the Editor at a later date.
4.7
The simple editor reads the required file into memory and puts the first
record on screen. The user can then single step through the records in
the file. This is a rather slow method of working. If the number of the
record to be changed is known pressing <F2> and entering the number will
bring up the selected record. No new fields can be added using the
simple editor. Screen display is the same as when starting a new file.
4.7
DataKing 2 adds a fourth option, an advanced editor, to this menu. I
found this editor extremely useful and flexible. The data is loaded into
memory as for the simple editor but this time it is displayed in a
spreadsheet format similar to PipeDream. Twenty records are displayed on
screen at a time. The cursor and function keys are used for editing. A
function key strip is provided.
4.7
Records can be added to or deleted from the file. When adding records
data common to many records can be added automatically, as when
replicating in a spreadsheet. Data slots can be copied. Fieldnames can
be accessed and changed. When entering many records Éauto-entryæ can be
set up. This is not a mind reading facility unfortunately. It just moves
the cursor to the next slot when <return> is pressed. ÉAuto-entryæ can
be set to go down or to the right. The number of columns seen on screen,
up to a maximum of nine, can be set by the user. Fields longer than the
column width will be truncated to fit but the data will not be lost. To
see the full field from a truncated entry, place the cursor on it and
press <space>. The entry will appear in full at the top left of the
screen.
4.7
The advanced editor also contains a search facility. This searches for
specified words in specified fields.
4.7
One thing I did not like about the advanced editor was the use of <F9>
rather than <F12> to access the operating system. I know that this
allows a match with the Master and B series etc but <F12> does nothing.
I would have preferred both keys to give access to the operating system
thus giving compatibility between machines and, on the Archimedes,
programs.
4.7
All changes done in the advanced editor are in memory not on disc so it
is essential to save the data before exiting DataKing. DataKing is well
error-trapped in this respect as the only way I could exit without
saving was a hard reset or switch-off.
4.7
DataKing 3 adds a serial editor to the extend or edit options. DataKing
3 is only needed when the datafile is too big to fit into memory. This
should not happen very often with an Archimedes. The serial editor is
very similar to the advanced editor but works with two disc files rather
than one memory file. Records are read in twenty at a time, one
screenful, from the source file to be worked on. When the cursor leaves
the last line of the screen they are saved to the destination file and
the next twenty records are read in.
4.7
The final option on is a Quit option.
4.7
Conclusions
4.7
If you do not have a database in school this could be a good buy as it
is flexible, fast and easy to use. If you already have a good database
in regular use, it begins to lose some of its appeal. If you use more
than one type of computer in school it could have its attractions in
that a consistent user interface across the machines would be available.
4.7
For use in the home I think this program has a lot going for it. It has
a much easier learning curve than something like System Delta or
MultiStore. These are two that I have had access to but I cannot compare
it with something like Beebugæs Masterfile or Claresæ Alphabase as I
have never used them. Price wise, DataKing compares with Alphabase.
4.7
Although the program is not multi-tasking, it does not upset anything
left in the desktop when it is entered and does not appear to make any
changes to the machineæs configuration. This program can be recommended
as a simple database which is fairly powerful and flexible.
4.7
DataTrans
4.7
DataTrans is a sister program to DataKing from Shenley Software. It is a
fully RISC-OS compatible, multi-tasking application. Its purpose is to
convert data between different database formats. When run, it sets
itself up on the icon bar in the usual way.
4.7
To convert a datafile, drag the file icon to the DataTrans icon on the
icon bar. A menu appears consisting of two columns of names of popular
databases, mainly educational. The left hand column is titled öRead
fromò and the user must click on the button next to the database being
converted. The right hand column is titled öWrite toò and the user must
click on the button showing the format they wish the data to be in. That
is all there is to it.
4.7
It is fast and it works well. Most educational databases are listed as
well as Mail merge(!), CSV and TSV (TAB) formats.
4.7
Several datafiles were provided, mainly from the educational sector. All
these were converted for use in DataKing without problem. I also
converted several to TAB format and imported them into MultiStore
without much difficulty.
4.7
In my BBC Master days, I used ViewStore a lot and still have many of
these files around. All these were converted without problem.
4.7
The only problem which I encountered, and expected, was in trying to
convert some of the specialist datafiles for Key which ITV put out. Many
of these contain pictures, in BBC format, and I was unable to convert
any of these. Standard Key datafiles such as the Placenames file
converted with no problem.
4.7
Conclusions
4.7
Have you a need to convert data from one format to another? If you have,
this program could be very useful. I wish it had been available a few
years ago on the BBC. At ú18, it is not cheap for what it does but it
does it easily, quickly and accurately.
4.7
I think it could find a place in many schools considering the plethora
of databases, all with different formats that abound in the educational
sector
4.7
DataTrans and DataKing are both available from Shenley Software at ú18
and ú48 respectively.  A
4.7

4.7
Twin World
4.7
Stuart Turgis
4.7
Twin World is a wonderful new game from Cygnus software. Basically it is
a sort of Élevelsæ game similar in style to games on the BBC/Master like
Blagger, Manic Miner etc.
4.7
The differences are that, graphically speaking, Twin World is far, far
better (as you might expect), not only in the design of the screens, but
also in the animation. A vivid example of this is the response of the
hero to your key presses; if you hold down a direction key, your hero
will start walking briskly in that direction. However, if you suddenly
change directions, he slides a bit, then starts walking in the direction
you desire. Itæs attention to detail like this which lifts this game
above the usual genre of levels games. Also, the game area is not a
single screen, so each level occupies about five or six screens, with
smooth scrolling as you walk. There are some 23 levels in all, divided
between five different scenarios. Each scenario is four levels and
between each scenario is a special bonus level where you just get
points.
4.7
Adversaries
4.7
What else makes it different? Well, firstly, there are lots of adver
saries, mystical beasts of every shape and size, which you can shoot by
using one of three types of spells. The spells differ in the number
required to vanquish a beast. You can restock your spells by collecting
certain objects as you go along but the more powerful spells are less
abundant (especially on the lower levels).
4.7
Secondly, Twin World gets its name not from the different scenarios or
the number of levels but from the fact that on each level there are two
worlds, so you can avoid some beasts and obstacles by switching worlds.
You do this by pressing <down> once you are in an appropriate doorway
and you do a quick spin and.... youære in the other world.
4.7
Object of the game
4.7
To proceed to the next level, you have to find a piece of the missing
amulet, take it to the doorway which has an amulet sign on it, press
<down> as though youære trying to switch worlds and your hero waves at
you to confirm the completion. So, if you want, you can avoid a lot of
the obstacles and beasts and go straight for the amulet. Of course, it
is often located in quite a distant place so, inevitably, there will be
a number of obstacles to overcome.
4.7
Objects
4.7
Along the way you will find many objects. These automatically stock up
your spells repository to a maximum of 99 per spell type but you will
also find items which score points (a little bell rings and you will see
a score floating off to the top of the screen), keys which are used to
unlock many of the doorways, extra lives, skulls which remove lives,
springs which give you extra height for jumps, parachutes which let you
fall greater distances and a flute which allows you to summon a genie to
buy extra objects (in exchange for points).
4.7
Touches of brilliance
4.7
Other nice touches in the game are mainly in the animation; for example,
if you bang your head too many times, your hero stops, takes his hat off
and scratches his head. The second world is underwater and your movement
is very much restricted as it would be under water and, finally, when
you eventually die, your hero gives a quick spin and falls to the
ground. Itæs just great!
4.7
Music
4.7
The music throughout the game is very good, from the initial loading
tune to the different scenario tunes (yes, the music changes to fit the
mood of the scenario) and the final Écongratulationsæ tune when youæve
completed all the levels. Unlike some games, the music can be toggled
between high, medium, low and off, and this is separate from the sound
(explosions etc).
4.7
Finale
4.7
For the very final level, you will need to make sure that you have
plenty of spells, especially the more powerful ones, and plenty of
lives. This is because you face the evil lord who throws all his minions
at you in successive waves and, having defeated them, he himself mutates
into a massive dragon which you have to try and destroy.
4.7
Running details
4.7
Twin World, which is from Cygnus Software (priced at ú19.99 or ú18
through Archive), is one of two new games ported across from the Amiga,
(the second being Iron Lord). As you would expect, it runs happily in
1Mbyte of RAM but, unusually, it runs from, and returns correctly to,
the desktop. It is unprotected, so it will run from floppy, hard or RAM
disc.
4.7
Two applications are on the disc. The first is a help program which sets
the scenario, explains the objects, keyboard etc and how to load/save
games. The second runs the game. Having completed a level, when you are
shown the picture of the amulet, if you press Save, your current
position is saved but, be warned, it overwrites the last position. (The
file is called SavedGame if you want to copy it for each level.) This
position is restored when you choose the Continue Game option.
4.7
Conclusions
4.7
Brilliant, just brilliant! The only minor grumble is that it obvious
that it was a port from the Amiga or ST, the screen is only being about
half size (height wise). Itæs not over-priced, itæs addictive, it gets
progressively more difficult, the save position is essential and,
graphically, it is excellent.
4.7
Iæve completed the game and have given Paul some hints, tips and a cheat
for jumping levels. I expect this will be published in a few months
time, when youæve all had a go at playing it!  A
4.7

4.7
More Notes on BBC Emulators
4.7
Brian Carroll
4.7
At the end of last year I parted company with my long-neglected BBC
Model B. Murphyæs Law dictated that very soon afterwards I found the
need to run BBC and Master software, from DFS discs, to help several
newcomers to those machines! The result was that I had to take a serious
interest in the Archimedes 6502 emulators and the various DFS emulations
(see review, Archive 4.1 p 48) including recently the new disc from
Acorn, and I have spent a lot of time getting as close as possible to a
disc based BBC Micro.
4.7
These notes supplement the valuable contributions by Brian Cowan and
David Bower (Archive 4.5 pp 37-39) and acknowledge the documentation in
the latest Acorn package. I hope that what follows will help readers who
have not yet got a copy of this package.
4.7
A brief history
4.7
The two RISC-OS 6502 emulators, 65Tube and 65Host, have a rather
complicated history. There have been two versions of the former and
three of the latter. Table 1 (overleaf) shows these releases and the
actual versions, sizes and dates of the component parts of the packages.
Release 1.6 is the only one to have adequate documentation and includes
some conversion utilities.
4.7
65Tube
4.7
The 65Tube emulator should be regarded as a BBC 6502 Second Processor
which uses Archimedes and RISC-OS for input and output instead of a BBC
or Master Computer. It contains a copy of HIBASIC ver. 4.3 which is
immediately entered when the emulator starts. Note that the start-up
screen message gives the Tube OS version, not the emulator version. All
RISC-OS filing systems, *¡commands and system facilities are accessible;
including all screen modes, not just the BBC ones. There are only two
internal *-commands: *EMULATETUBE to start it and *QUIT to leave. The
Release 1.6 application, !65Tube, has a new icon and a useful !Run file.
The system variable 65Tube$Mode in the latter can be edited (in two
places) to start the emulator in any chosen screen mode. Though not
essential, I recommend starting the application from the Desktop.
4.7
PAGE in the emulator is set at &800 as expected and 44K is available to
the user. Anyone with ÉHighæ versions of BBC software would be well
advised to use this emulator; subjectively, it runs as fast as an
ordinary BBC 2nd processor (except in screen mode 7) and is very
straightforward to use with both ADFS and (if available) DFS. Hi-
Wordwise Plus works admirably, and the Hi-View packages should do as
well. Programs that attempt to access a BBC input/output processoræs
facilities, e.g. sound, are unlikely to work fully. To prevent external
memory access, 65Tube treats addresses &FFFFxxxx as within its own
address space rather than in the I/O processoræs.
4.7
65Host
4.7
This application substantially emulates a BBC micro with OS 1.2 and
BASIC 2. It can be set up with all or some of the 16 potential sideways
slots as either ROM or RAM. It cannot access RISC-OS facilities or
screen modes directly, as 65Tube can, except for specific but restricted
access to filing systems. It is particularly important to note, as Table
1 shows, that the application !65Host comprises four parts and that
these will be set up correctly only if the !Run file is used. The
application is therefore best started from the desktop: it is definitely
not sufficient to *RMRun the BBC 6502Emulator module! What follows is
mainly about Releases 1.4 and 1.6.
4.7
It should also be noted that the various *-commands mentioned in the
User Guide pp 153-155 are available only from RISC-OS, not from within
the emulator: they are used, for example, in the !Run file. These
commands include *DIPSTATE, previously undocumented, which replaces *FX
255 ,n to allow selection of the startup screen mode.
4.7
Inside the emulator, several specific *-commands are however provided
and all the BBC filing systems can be called: *ADFS, *NET, *DISC/DISK,
*ROM, *TAPE and a new one, *ARFS. ARFS acts as a gateway to whichever
RISC-OS filing system is current on entry to the emulator, e.g. ADFS,
NET, or DFS. *ROM and *TAPE do nothing useful; *ADFS, *NET select these
systems via RISC-OS; and in Releases 1.4 & 1.6 *DISC selects a rough
emulation of the BBC DFS that is coded in the ARFS and UTIL ROMs.
4.7
When one is using one of the RISC-OS filing systems via ARFS, only the
commands recognised by both ARFS and the external system are imple
mented. These include all the more common ones but sometimes the screen
output is less complete or in a different form. Release 1.6 has
considerable improvements in this area.
4.7
If a RISC-OS DFS is available, e.g. ArcDFS, it may be accessed via ARFS
by using syntax such as *DIR DFS::0 for DFS drive 0. *DRIVE is unrecogn
ised and will not be passed on by ARFS and *DISC will select the
emulated internal DFS. Even better is to load and set DFS as the current
RISC-OS filing system before entry and then to set ARFS as the entry BBC
filing system (see below). Release 1.4 already sets the latter but
Release 1.6 sets ADFS. It is worth remembering to set *ADFS before
leaving the emulator with *QUIT.
4.7
<Reset> resets RISC-OS as usual, but <break. and its variants operate
more or less as on the BBC, except that <shift-break> does not look for
a !BOOT file. However, when the emulator initialises or when the new
command, *RESET 1 which emulates a power-on 6502 reset, is invoked, the
emulator looks for a file and option (*OPT 4,n) that have been set in
system variables 65Host$BootFile and 65Host$BootOptions, so this useful
BBC feature can be approximated. The BootOptions value also specifies
the emulatoræs default filing system, from which the BootFile is to be
fetched (see Table 2). The option and filename may also be passed as
parameters when the emulator is started from the command line.
4.7
The Éinternalæ DFS invoked by *DISC uses the current RISC-OS system,
normally ADFS, with rather elaborate and inconvenient translations of
filenames. It requires, say, an ADFS disc to be set up with four
directories in the root named 1, 2, 3 and 4 which are Élooked atæ by DFS
as four BBC drives. There seems to me to be little point in using this
system when ADFS can more conveniently be used directly: it definitely
did not meet my need to be able to use standard BBC DFS floppies in my
external 5.25ö drive!
4.7
Though the latest Release 1.6 has improved the internal DFS emulation in
many details, the fundamental difficulties with it remain. This Release
has lowered default PAGE to the normal BBC ÉBæ value of &1900 and it may
be further lowered with care to &1100 to release more memory. Some other
detailed improvements have also been made, and it runs generally faster
than the earlier Releases.
4.7
As mentioned above, all 16 sideways slots at &8000 are potentially
available. BASIC is always seen in slot 12; ARFS and UTILSROM are cached
in slots 11 & 10 by the !Run file. Other BBC ROM images can be cached in
any of the remaining slots, including 13-15 if a startup language other
than BASIC is preferred. I have tried numerous BBC ROM images which seem
satisfactory unless they try to use non-existent or different hardware.
View, Beebugæs Toolkit+ and BeebHelp, and Wordwise Plus all work
properly but fairly slowly. Other slots may be prepared for sideways RAM
(the !Run file needs to be edited as required). ROM images may then be
*SRLOADed within the emulator using the BBC Master SRAM commands and
syntax. Each slot that is set up as ROM or RAM besides slot 12 needs 16K
in the RMA: 240K for them all.
4.7
ArcDFS
4.7
This package has been adequately reviewed elsewhere so I will limit my
remarks. I think the package is really excellent value; it provides all
the facilities of the three common BBC disc systems, and much more, and
the manual is a model of clarity. In the desktop, a new drive icon is
provided for each floppy drive surface. Eight surfaces can be handled,
so if a DFS ramdisc is set up (using *RAMDISC <drive>) it need not be an
existing drive as the manual implies. Windows behave exactly as for
ADFS, so file transfer and manipulation are extremely easy. The root DFS
directory is always displayed and files in other directories are shown
with their directory letter, so transfer to ADFS may need some re-
naming.
4.7
One note of caution: the icons and other file data displayed with Éfull
infoæ are meaningless and untidy. However, do not be tempted to *STAMP
or *SETTYPE DFS files because you will then change the addresses in the
disc directory that DFS and the emulator will require for correct
*LOADing. This does not matter for BASIC files, so it is possible to
define a filetype for these and then provide an icon and RunAlias.
4.7
All the many DFS commands are available from the *-prompt. *EX and *INFO
show heading, addresses and the L attribute in correct DFS format. The
!RunImage application is not required for such use, only the modules DFS
and ABClibrary. One particularly useful new *-command is *ASSIGN which
permits reallocation of logical drive number to physical drive surface.
I use this to make my external 5╝ö drive 2 appear from 65Tube and 65Host
to be DFS drives :0 and :2 instead of :4 and :6. Another useful one is
*DETAILS which reveals a discæs size and format.
4.7
Using various features of 65Host and ArcDFS, I have edited my !Run file
(available on the monthly disc) to start an application !BBC+DFS which
provides a DFS-based BBC ÉBæ with ROM/RAM expansion card. Clicking on
the icon, loads both emulator and DFS and looks for an EXEC !BOOT file
on the 5╝ö DFS drive :0. I have tried many of my old BBC discs and most
behave just as before.
4.7
Extras
4.7
As well as the new emulators, Release 1.6 includes some utilities to
help with the conversion of BBC Model B BASIC programs to run in native
Archimedes mode under RISC-OS. I have not used these yet. There is much
advice in the manual on this topic besides detail of all versions of
both 6502 emulators. There is also a comprehensive list of 3rd party
software, hardware and services aimed at the general objective of using
existing BBC software one way or another on the Archimedes.
4.7
Documentation
4.7
The voluminous documentation is provided only as files on the disc in
both raw text and Acorn DTP forms, and three raw text ReadMe files. The
total material is nearly seventy A4 pages but there is a great deal of
repetition and, as the files are all dated Aug or Sep 90, the new bits
in the ReadMe files should have been included in the main text.
4.7
There are still some obscurities and ambiguities. Much of the material
applies to all the Releases and should have been in the User Guide. I do
not have Acorn DTP so I have no page numbering or index. One day I shall
edit the lot and would expect the volume to be halved. I do not like
having a manual provided only in disc files and hope this is not an
Acorn trend.
4.7
Conclusion
4.7
Both emulations are now very satisfactory and should allow a great deal
of BBC software to be used as it is. Emulation of the BBC DFS in 65Host
is not good, even in the latest Release, and of course there is no DFS
emulation with 65Tube. Both, however, work harmoniously with ArcDFS
after a bit of Étweakingæ. Naturally, full DFS compatibility requires an
external 5╝ö disc drive.
4.7
Everyone should certainly be using Release 1.4 (Shareware 17). The
further improvements in the actual emulations of Release 1.6 are modest
but it is the first to provide adequate documentation which allows the
software to be properly exploited and some conversion utilities.
4.7
Whether Release 1.6 is good value is a moot point. Personally I think
almost ú20.00 is far too much for only modest performance improvements
and a machine readable and poorly edited section omitted from the User
Guide; it would be less unreasonable if a printed manual were included.
Nevertheless, I certainly could not have arranged so effective an
emulation without the manual and for those who have substantial BBC
software they want to continue to use with the Archimedes, the new
Release is essential.  A
4.7

4.7
Table 1: BBC 6502 Emulators Ö Summary of development
4.7
Source    Release    65Tube    65Host
BBCsound ARFS    UTILS
4.7
    number
4.7
        version    version    version
version    version
4.7
        size    size    size    size
size
4.7
        date    date    date    date
date
4.7

4.7
        (module)    (module)    (module)
(ROM)    (ROM)
4.7
ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ
4.7
Acorn    Initial    0.96    0.97    No
0.13    0.01
4.7
Apps 2    RISC-OS    29K    55K        3K
16K
4.7
disc    release    Nov 88    Dec88
Dec 88    Nov 88
4.7
ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ
4.7
Acorn    1.4    No    1.14    0.07    1.09
ditto
4.7
RISC-OS            63K    1K    6K
4.7
Extras disc            Sep 89
Feb 89    Aug 89
4.7
= Shareware 17
4.7
ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ
4.7
Acorn    1.6    1.17    1.19    ditto
1.24    ditto
4.7
BBC Model        31K    63K        7K
4.7
B Emulator disc    Apr 90    Jul 90
Jul 90
4.7
ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ
4.7

4.7
Table 2:  65Host Boot Options
4.7
The system variable 65Host$BootOptions is set to a 32-bit hex number
which is read as a string; i.e. &00000<n>0<m>. The leading zeros may be
omitted.
4.7
    Value of <n>    Filing System
4.7
    (bits 8 - 15)
4.7
    0    Default (Release 1.4, ARFS; 1.6, ADFS)
4.7
    1    TAPE
4.7
    2    TAPE3
4.7
    3    ROM
4.7
    4    DISC (i.e. the internal DFS emulation)
4.7
    5    NET
4.7
    6    Ö
4.7
    7    Ö
4.7
    8    ADFS
4.7
    9    Ö
4.7
    A    Ö
4.7
    B    ARFS (i.e. the current RISC-OS system)
4.7
    C-FF        Ö
4.7

4.7
    Value of <m>        Boot Action
4.7
    (bits 0 - 1)
4.7
    0    No action
4.7
    1    *LOAD
4.7
    2    *RUN
4.7
    3    *EXEC
4.7

4.7
Archimedes Quest
4.7
Joe Gallagher
4.7
The educational database Quest was one of the first available for the
BBC Micro but has gained the reputation of being something of a dinosaur
in these days of drop down/ pop up, all-singing, all-dancing windowed
systems. Its origins predate the era of bit mapped graphics, let alone
the widespread use of graphic user interfaces. Questæs roots were very
much in the dBase mould of command driven databases and it has retained
this flavour in all of its incarnations. The latest offering, Archimedes
Quest from the Advisory Unit at Hatfield, proves to be no exception to
this rule.
4.7
The program comes on a single disc accompanied by a slim guide similar
to those which have accompanied previous releases. On booting up, you
are presented with the öValuesò screen which acts as the command centre
for Questæs operations. This is the same Mode 7 screen as is found on
earlier releases Ö it is unfortunate that the authors chose to use the
Archimedesæ rather feeble emulation of a teletext screen. Clearly they
have been concerned with retaining the look and feel of Quest on the
Beeb. This screen, despite looking rather plain by todayæs standards, is
highly informative, as previous users of the program will recall. Apart
from the usual status information, it shows the fileæs fields, the last
typed query, which fields will be displayed by the PRINT command and in
what screen format they will be shown.
4.7
Quest is not a RISC-OS application. It can be run from the desktop as an
ordinary single tasking program and under the latest version has its own
icon which can be installed on the icon bar. However, it makes use of
neither the window manager nor the systemæs concept of filetypes.
4.7
The former is perhaps inevitable in the light of the decision to retain
the traditional command driven approach. This omission seems heretical
given the growing proportion of Archimedes applications which is multi-
tasking. Indeed, apart from its speed and graphic capabilities, it is
the powerful and easy to use windowing system of the Archimedes which
enables it to retain the edge over rivals of comparable price. Acorn
would dearly like to expand its existing user base but schools and
colleges still represent an important market. The RISC-OS desktop would
seem to be tailor made for this educational environment. The Archimedesæ
consistent, easy to use and intuitive menuing system allows operating
knowledge gained using one application to be readily employed when
learning a new one. Both student and teachers can get on with some
useful work quickly and without having to become expert in dozens of
arcane commands. With respect to information handling, multitasking
offers the student the opportunity to construct several views of their
findings and export these results, whether they be text or graphics, to
another application for further processing.
4.7
Retaining the old Quest interface appears to be a deliberate decision
based on the premise that, the user should be able to switch rapidly
from one facility of the program to another without having to go through
a labyrinth of menus and submenus. To help you along the way, the
function keys are defined with many of the most used keywords and there
is an extensive help facility accessed by typing HELP.
4.7
However, the fact remains that the user needs to know a minimum number
of commands to get going. I read recently that, amongst other things, an
ideal educational database should never take more than half an hour to
get to grips with. While sympathising with the sentiment, I feel that
even the most sophisticated user interface does not remove the need for
the learner to come to terms with the conceptual hurdles involved. You
can quickly learn how to knock out a few interesting shapes with !Draw
but it will take you slightly longer if you really want to use it in
anger. The truth is that, for all but the most trivial of tasks or those
such as word-processing, which are really aids to an existing skill,
there is a learning curve to be climbed. This is especially true of
information retrieval. The question is, does Quest make it steeper than
it need be?
4.7
In Quest it is possible to build quite complex conditional searches from
simple ones (and those containing multiple test values) joined by
logical operators. There is, however, no equivalent to the öhistoryò
command found in some database systems and no way of stringing together
a sequence of queries with display or formatting commands. Everything
takes place in the immediate mode with no possibility of editing other
than using the copy key to copy a line of text entered previously and no
way of saving a sequence of operations except by the rather artificial
and awkward use of a command file executed from the östarò prompt which
is accessible at all times.
4.7
While one can see a rationale for sticking with a command driven
approach, the lack of any kind of macro facility is, Iæm afraid,
something which greatly diminishes the much vaunted power and flexibil
ity of the system. Furthermore, the RISC-OS menuing facility is a huge
improvement not only on the old style full screen menus found in
packages such as Key on the BBC, but also surpasses those of the drop
down variety found on the Mac and in the Microsoft Windows environment
on the PC.
4.7
How then does Archimedes Quest shape up as an educational database for
the 90És? This version, on the face of it, would seem to offer very
little more than a bigger and faster edition of its 8 bit predecessor.
However, it certainly is both of these things. Quest runs comfortably
even on an unexpanded Archimedes 305 (are there any of these left?) and
it easily out performs its equivalent running under MSDOS on a Nimbus,
despite being coded entirely in BBC BASIC!
4.7
However, speed apart, there are a number of enhancements to this version
which make it worthy of consideration. Questæs infamous unfriendly
command language has mellowed somewhat to include more natural language
terms. For example, the program now allows you to substitute öhasò for
ösubò when searching for a text substring in a query and there are
similar modifications for handling other relationships as well as
housekeeping operations.
4.7
While Quest has always been highly rated for the flexibility of its
interrogative facilities, the same could not be said to be true of its
file handling. This area has been improved considerably. Quest is
perhaps the grand-daddy of educational databases and this is reflected
in the fact that many of its competitors have facilities to read and
write Quest files. In addition to this, Quest32 is able to import and
export files in both comma separated and tab separated format, as well
as data files from earlier versions of Quest. Further flexibility has
been added in that it is now possible to merge two data files and add or
delete fields within the database.
4.7
Questæs ability to communicate with other programs is now fairly
respectable, although it still falls short of those provided by a true
RISC-OS application. Nevertheless it is possible to export virtually all
of the programæs output; textual, statistical or graphical (as Archi
medes sprites) to external editors. You can create a data file for First
Word Plusæ mail shot facility simply by saving a file or a selection
from a file in comma separated format.
4.7
Graphs & charts
4.7
Undoubtedly, the ability to derive graphs and charts from data files
helps the novice user in interpreting their data. Quest has a fairly
comprehensive and integrated charting facility which is accessed by
typing STATISTICS or pressing the appropriate function key. This leads
to a menu (yes, there is one!) which includes options for pie charts,
scatter graphs, histograms and bar charts. Tables of corresponding
statistics for each graph can be viewed at the press of a button. Graphs
can be dumped out immediately to an Epson compatible printer or saved to
disc. In fact, in order to print a graph out on an Integrex colour
printer, it is necessary to save the screen first and then print it from
the desktop using the RISC-OS printer drivers. The graph facilities,
while adequate for most purposes, are perhaps the most unfriendly part
of the program. Quest does not require the user to define the type of
data being entered. So, when you choose to view a graph, the program
cannot check to see if the fields you are using will produce sensible
results. Instead, it proceeds to check through all the records before
giving an obscure error message where it encounters inappropriate data
types. Unfortunately, the manual is rather brief in its treatment of
statistics. As this aspect of the software is probably the most
difficult for unsophisticated users to master, a more step by step
approach with worked examples would have been welcome. For instance, the
handbook introduces the use of order files for constructing bar charts
but fails to give an adequate explanation of how to derive these.
4.7
Archimedes Quest is a worthy, if unexciting, product. I think it should
have been possible to build on its existing strengths while taking on
board the benefits of working as a true RISC-OS application. As it turns
out, it has merely accomplished the former.
4.7
The large number of data files available for the program allied to the
extensive support materials produced, will ensure that it will continue
to have its adherents.
4.7
Quest is not really the way forward in 32 bit databases but it certainly
does offer excellent value for money. For ú30 you get a program with a
wealth of features and it can be networked at no extra cost. Archimedes
Quest may look primitive when compared to glossier offerings such as
Minervaæs Multistore but, at nearly a tenth of the price, it may still
prove to be an attractive offering to schools with hard pressed budgets.
The real test of it will be how will it fare in the face of competition
from the very fully featured and attractively priced Key Plus offering
from ITV Schools.
4.7
Archimedes Quest costs ú30 and is available from the Advisory Unit for
Microtechnology in Education.  A
4.7

4.7
The CITIZEN IFDD Ö A öWhoppyò?
4.7
Ned Abell
4.7
The Archive team will soon be seeing new removable hard discs hitting
the office telephones in June or July with the launch of a Citizen
Europe system delayed from öearly 1991ò. One version was previewed at
last yearæs Which Computer Show at the NEC.
4.7
If your computer does not already have a Winchester disc or a second
floppy, this product could well be for you as itæs a large capacity 3╜ö
Floppy Disc Drive, (presumably with the öIò standing for Intelligent?).
4.7
The IFDD will take a standard 3╜ö floppy disc and read (but not write)
the files on it but its interesting new feature is that it will also
read and write to new high capacity 3╜ò metal-media removable discs.
There will be two different IFDD versions offered, one accepting 4M
discs scheduled for release in June and the other taking 20M discs which
will be released towards the end of the year. I understand the discs are
not interchangeable.
4.7
Read, Read Write
4.7
The IFDD reads ordinary 3╜ö discs for both 1.44 M and 720 K formatted
capacities, whilst it also acts as a large storage medium that can be
removed to a safe place. The drive unit is 101 x 25 x 153 mm (the same
approximate size as a current floppy drive) and works with a SCSI
interface that can be supplied by Citizen on a board 101 x 8 x 154 mm
and the drive weighs 600 grams. Some testing will be required to see how
the Citizen interface will mate with the Archimedes and whether existing
Archimedes SCSI podules will control the new drives and Iæm hoping to
acquire a complete unit for öthe hardware teamò.
4.7
I understand that the higher capacity is achieved for the 20M drive at
540 tracks per inch at 600 rpm and 63 sectors per track. It is possible
that the discs use special patterns on the surface, probably using CD
drive optical technology to correct the headæs position over the disc
guide line and thus transfer the data which it will do at 3╜ Mbit per
second at an average access time of 50ms. The discs will be initially
supplied by Maxell and TDK.
4.7
Whoppies!! or is it Flopchesters??
4.7
The idea must be that you can fit an IFDD as your only conventional
drive and store larger quantities of data yet still retain the ability
to read your old discs. Old files could then be copied through memory to
the new medium. I expect the new discs to have a write protect switch
like a conventional disc.
4.7
If you send discs through the post Ö beware. If you mail an IFDD disc to
someone they must have an IFDD of the right size to read it. If you want
to send a standard 3╜ö disc, you canæt write information to it on an
IFDD, so its best to think about running both systems Ö along with the
5╝ò you have for the PCemulator because it was left over from the Model
B!
4.7
Options
4.7
In the Archimedes market, the most likely use for an IFDD would be to
give the single drive home user both a second facia-mounted drive and a
hard sized disc, with the ability to copy conventional discs put in the
IFDD source to the existing destination drive 0. Archiving could be done
from a source on drive 0 to backup storage on the high capacity IFDD and
you could copy high capacity IFDD discs via the computers memory to
either a new disc in the same drive or to lots of standard floppies in
the other! Any system will take some careful thought to help your
particular applications.
4.7
New computers?
4.7
The implication for the whole Acorn range is interesting. Do we see the
emergence of new home machines with larger levels of RAM and high
processor speed to cope with greater windowed multi-tasking but only one
20M IFDD disc? It would make a lot of sense if the new ARM portable has
a whoppy, a serial port and no hard disc. Equipment manufacturers will
have access to the 4M drives in a couple of weeks. There are no exact
retail price details as yet but its expected that 4M drives will be
about 30% up on the cost of existing 3╜ö drives and 20M versions will be
the equivalent price to conventional 20M Winchesters. The success of the
whole project will depend on which manufacturers start fitting them to
computers and thus on Citizenæs initial pricing policy and especially on
the price of the discs. Maxell say that on launch they are expecting 4M
end user disc prices of ú90-100 per box of 10.
4.7
Knitting fog!
4.7
The technology looks very good, if somewhat slower than the 20ms access
Micronet removable discs. No doubt access times will improve. If these
IFDD units can be supplied to the customer at a price lower than
equivalent conventional hard disc storage, with Citizen making excellent
royalties from the disc sales and offering the technology to other
manufacturers at reasonable cost, then they could become the industry
standard and replace the standard floppy because they will still read
the older discs Ö yet the 5╝ö disc is still taking a long time to die
and some people are still using 8ò Ö so do we want yet another format?
Given the upward compatibility of the IFDD, I think we can cope with
another format and I certainly will be buying removable hard discs. The
only question is Ö which one? I think the price and availability of the
discs themselves will decide it Ö a sort of pounds per Megabyte equation
being needed. In my case, Iæm staggered to see Iæve got 155 discs in
boxes in front of me Ö thatæs 124M Ö plus quite a few blanks so I put
together a table of likely costs.
4.7
The cost is certainly an important factor but my ability to manage my
existing data is more important! Many of my discs are backup copies and
there is much pruning to be done. Buying !Spark has made the collection
physically smaller. I also need the ability to find a font, letter or
picture quickly and thus my discs are labelled in this generic fashion.
The range of applications I use is limited but putting several on a disc
is difficult because of the 800k floppy limit. If I had a hard disc, I
would use it to hold commonly used programs and current projects, a
removable system allows that and security. Looking ahead is like
knitting fog but I can see the advantage of having all my Fonts with
!Impression, !PDriver and !system all on one disc with room to spare!!
4.7
Iæm therefore looking at this whoppy option extremely closely and hope
to write more on this soon, even if I donæt intend to hurl them across
the office!  A
4.7

4.7
Storage Costs for Removable Discs
4.7
Costs per Mbyte based on 150M of data.
4.7
Archive February 91 prices for a A310 including podules. (Therefore add
2.5% for VAT increase.)
4.7
    N║ of    media    2nd drive    ú
4.7
    Media    cost    cost    per
4.7
    for 150M    ú    ú    Mbyte
4.7
Floppies    187.5    225.00    100
2.2
4.7
IFDD-4    37.5    356.25    130
3.2
4.7
(projected)
4.7
MicroNet    3.6    285.70    595
6.7
4.7
42M
4.7
IFDD-20    7.50    356.25    400
5.0
4.7
(projected based on 20M Hard disc prices inc. podule and proportional
media costs)
4.7
Assuming you need a fixed disc to store all the data and you need room
to grow...
4.7
Internal Fixed Hard Drives
4.7
Costs per Megabyte based on 200 Megabytes
4.7
200M Oak SCSI    1240.00
6.2
4.7
200M IDE        1033.85
5.2
4.7

4.7
Technoscan II Upgrade
4.7
Alan Mothersole
4.7
Technomatic have recently announced a software upgrade for existing
users of their Technoscan hand-held CCD scanner. This upgrade is
available for ú22.50 +VAT and consists of a new ROM to fit onto the
interface board, a fitting instruction sheet, new disc based software
and a comprehensive manual. (Readers may like to refer back to Archive
3.5 p50, where I reviewed the original scanner.)
4.7
The ROM is easy to fit provided the orientation if the original is
observed. The instructions are easy to follow. Powering up the computer
and typing *Podules from the supervisor prompt displays the message
Étechnoscan II scanner podule V2.00æ.
4.7
The disc contains the same sample scanned images as before but has a new
application file for the scanner. Double clicking on this mounts the
scanner icon on the icon bar adjacent to the drive icons. Clicking on
this opens a task window and clicking <menu> displays the options. The
application is multi-tasking, except during scanning, and can be used
with the interactive !Help application.
4.7
The purpose of this review is to describe the main differences between
Mark I and Mark II scanners. The software versions are 0.95 and 1.91
respectively.
4.7
My first observation was that Technomatic have changed the scanning head
sold with the software however there did not appear to be any electrical
of software incompatibilities between the new software and my old scan
head.
4.7
True monochrome scanning in Letter mode now works correctly and is
available at the highest resolution of 400 dpi. Clearly, one of the main
uses for scanners is in DTP and therefore the author has kept the memory
requirement to a minimum of 64k to ensure its compatibility with
Impression, Ovation, Tempest, etc. on a 1Mbyte machine.
4.7
The manual now runs to 55 pages of well presented tutorial, technical
and problem solving content.
4.7
On the scan head, the resolution switch action has been changed such
that rather than changing the size of the scanned image it now changed
the number of pixels scanned across the full width. With the original
scanner, sprites could only be saved as mode 12 sprites but with the
Mark II, the default modes are 12, 20, 0 and 18 for 16 grey, 8 grey,
mono (hi-res) and mono (lo-res) respectively but the sprites can be
saved into any screen mode.
4.7
Further to this, it is now possible to load any (default mode) sprite
back into the scanner task window. This is a great boon for anyone
wishing to use the powerful Écutæ facility or palette changes on a
previously saved sprite. The basic scanning method remains unchanged
except that there is now an accompanying Ébeepæ to the changed screen
border colour when scanning is too fast. This saves you from having to
look at both the screen and the scanner at the same time!
4.7
Additional set-up options can be defined prior to scanning Ö to preset
the size of sprite, scanner resolution, image resolution and zoom ratio.
The latter allows the x to y ratio to be fixed. An additional useful
feature is an auto shut down of the scan head if scanning has not been
started after a preset time. This will help to prolong the life of the
CCD sensor.
4.7
Extra zoom features are available for processing a scanned image.
ÉNormaliseæ will ensure that the saved sprite will have the correct size
and aspect ratio of the original object. ÉFit to Screenæ reduces the
size of the displayed image to fit onto the screen but maintaining the
correct aspect ratio. The Edit options have been updated to include
rotation of the sprite by +/- 90 degrees.
4.7
Another improvement has been made with the palette. The original version
allowed the user to change the colour tint of the two extreme colours
only but the new software takes a different approach. A set of vertical
Évolume controlæ slider bars are shown which can be used to adjust the
grey levels from black to white of each of the grey levels or allocate a
non-grey colour to a grey level. It is therefore possible to introduce
colour to a black and white sprite. This could be very useful in DTP.
4.7
Finally, the option of printing out the sprite has been provided without
having to load in !Paint was necessary as before. Printing is done with
the RISC-OS drivers and this review was made with Version 2 of
!PrinterDM. It is possible to set orientation, magnification, margin and
number of copies. This appeared to work quite satisfactorily.
4.7
In conclusion, the upgrade appears to be a worthwhile investment and a
significant improvement over the original.  A
4.7

4.7
Help!!!!
4.7
Å    Dynamic mouse resolution Ö I have been told that there is a module (?)
for the Archimedes which makes the resolution of the mouse ödynamicò
(i.e. transfers fast/slow mouse movements into big/small pointer
movements); can anyone tell me if this is so and where to obtain this
software? Jochen Konietzko, Fuehlinger Weg 15, W-5000 Koeln 71, Germany.
4.7
Å    Graphics and music Ö I want to synchronise graphics & music using
sound-tracker and Maestro files from BASIC V or using SWIæs. Can anyone
help? D.P.Allen, 12 Grove Farm Park, Mytchett, Camberley, Surrey, GU16
6AQ.
4.7
Å    Help for the handicapped Ö Many may not know that for a number of
years, Aleph One have sold computer-enhanced bio-feedback systems which
are used to help in the rehabilitation of physically handicapped
persons. Signals emanating from muscle tension appear on the screen as
graphs or are used to control video games. Aleph One have recently
translated the software as a RISC-OS application and are looking for
free or public domain games that can be made available, with the
package, to these patients. If you know of any entertaining games that
could be controlled by one or two joysticks or switches, please talk to
Laurie van Someren at Aleph One on 0223- 811679 or fax him on 812713.
4.7
Å    HP DeskJet 500 problems Ö Has anyone had success in controlling the HP
DeskJet 500 directly from BASIC V? I have been unable to alter the
printeræs font characteristics e.g. bold, pitch, etc using the Archime
desæ BASIC VDU command. To my disgust I have had little or no technical
support from Hewlett Packard or my local HP dealer. Roger Darlington, 1
Fells Grove, Worsley, Manchester, M28 5JN.
4.7
Help offered
4.7
Å    Improved Hawk V9 utilities Ö Some ARM code image processing utilities
have been written for the Hawk digitiser. These are corrected and
enhanced versions of the Hawk utilities along with 1D and 2D Fast
Fourier Transforms. If you are interested you should contact Claus
Birkner, Gneisenaustr. 1B, W 5800 Hagen, W. Germany.
4.7
Å    Using an HP7475a plotter with the Archimedes Ö If anyone wants to know
how to connect a HP7475a plotter to the Archimedes, especially if they
need to use Archimedes PCB, they should contact Claus Birkner, Gneise
naustr. 1B, W 5800 Hagen, West Germany.  A
4.7

4.7
Figure 1
4.7

4.7
Figure 2
4.7

4.7
Figure 3
4.7

4.7
4th Dimension    P.O. Box 4444, Sheffield. (0742-700661)
4.7
4mation    Linden Lea, Rock Park, Barnstaple, Devon, EX32 9AQ. (0271-
45566)
4.7
Abacus Training    29 Okus Grove, Upper Stratton, Swindon, Wilts, SN2
6QA.
4.7
Acorn Computers Ltd    Fulbourn
Road, Cherry Hinton, Cambridge CB1 4JN. (0223-245200) (210685)
4.7
Alpine Software     P.O.Box 25, Portadown, Craigavon, BT63 5UT. (0762-
342510)
4.7
Atomwide Ltd (p 8)    23 The
Greenway, Orpington, Kent, BR5 2AY. (0689-838852) (896088)
4.7
Avisoft     11 Meadow Close, Wolvey, Hinckley, LE10 3LW.
4.7
Base5   (p4)    PO Box 378, Woking, Surrey GU21 4DF.
4.7
Beebug Ltd    117 Hatfield Road, St Albans, Herts, AL1 4JS. (0727-40303)
(60263)
4.7
Black Sheep Software     P.O.Box
1831, London N15 3NE.
4.7
Clares Micro Supplies    98 Mid
dlewich Road, Rudheath, Northwich, Cheshire, CW9 7DA. (0606-48511)
(48512)
4.7
Colton Software (p14)    149-151 St
Neots Road, Hardwick, Cambridge, CB3 7QJ. (0954-211472) (211607)
4.7
Computer Concepts (p30/31)    Gaddesden
Place, Hemel Hempstead, Herts, HP2 6EX. (0442-63933) (231632)
4.7
Cygnus Software    11 Newmarke Street, Leicester, LE1 5SS.
4.7
Dabhand Computing    5 Victoria Lane, Whitefield, Manchester, M25 6AL.
(061-766-8423) (8425)
4.7
EMR Ltd     14 Mount Close, Wickford, Essex, SS11 8HG. (0702-335747)
4.7
Human Computer Interface Ltd     25 City
Road, Cambridge CB1 1DP. (0223-314934) (462562)
4.7
Longman-Logotron    Dales Brewery, Gwydir Street, Cambridge, CB1 2LJ.
(0223-323656) (460208)
4.7
MEWsoft     11 Cressy Road, London, NW3 2NB. (071-267-2642) (482-6452)
4.7
Micro Studio Ltd    22 Churchgate Street, Soham, Ely, Cambridgeshire.
4.7
MJD Software     13 Burnham Way, London, W13 9YE. (081-567-4284)
4.7
Oak Solutions (p19)    Cross Park
House, Low Green, Rawdon, Leeds, LS19 6HA. (0532-502615) (506868)
4.7
Pandora Technology Ltd    9 St Marks
Place, London, W11 1NS. (071-221-9653) (9654)
4.7
Pineapple Software    39 Brownlea
Gardens, Seven Kings, Ilford, Essex, IG3 9NL. (081-599-1476)
4.7
Ray Maidstone    421 Sprowston Road, Norwich, NR3 4EH. (0603-407060)
(417447)
4.7
Serious Statistical Software    Lynwood,
Benty Heath Lane, Willaston, South Wirral, L64 1SD. (051-327-4268)
4.7
Shenley Software     5 Coombefield Close, New Malden, Surrey, KT3 5QF.
(081-949-3235)
4.7
Sherston Software     Swan Barton,
Sherston, Malmesbury, Wilts. SN16 0LH. (0666-840433) (840048)
4.7
Soft Rock Software     124 Marissal
Road, Henbury, Bristol, BS10 7NP. (0272-503639 evenings)
4.7
Southern Printers    47 Drake Road, Willesborough, Ashford, Kent TN24 0UZ.
(0233-633919)
4.7
Techsoft UK Ltd (p20)    Old School
Lane, Erryrs, Mold, Clwyd, CH7 4DA. (082-43318)
4.7
The Advisory Unit    Endymion Road, Hatfield Herts, AL10 8AU. (07072-65443)
(273651)
4.7
The Serial Port (p22)    Burcott
Manor, Wells, Somerset, BA5 1NH. (0243-531194) (531196)
4.7
Westbourne Services    34 Bradley
Street, Wotton under Edge, Gloucester, GL12 7AR.
4.7
Wild Vision    15 Witney Way, Boldon Colliery, Tyne & Wear NE35 9PE.
(091-519-1455) (1929)
4.7
ZCL Ltd    Unit 1, Ringway Industrial Estate, Eastern Avenue, Lichfield,
Staffs. (0543-416626)
4.7

4.7

4.7

4.7
Norwich Computer Services  96a Vauxhall Street, Norwich, NR2 2SD.
0603Ö766592 (Ö764011)
4.7

Archimedes viruses galore!?
4.8
Judging by some of the ridiculous scare-mongering in certain other
magazines, you would think that Archimedes viruses were an extremely
serious problem. There are a couple of Archimedes viruses around and
they can be a nuisance but letæs not get the whole thing out of
proportion. If you are swapping discs with other people and are worried
about viruses, there are a number of PD inoculator and watch-dog type
programs around Ö Iæll put something on the monthly program disc.
4.8
When a magazine puts a Ébenign virusæ on one of its program discs to
Émake a pointæ, it does make you wonder... It would be interesting to
know how the Computer Crimes Unit would view it (see page 19) as it is
now against the law to create or knowingly distribute a computer virus!
4.8
A540æs in stock
4.8
There is a distinct dearth of A540æs at the moment Ö well, thatæs been
true virtually ever since they first came on the market! We usually
manage to get hold of about one or sometimes two a month, so they go out
almost as soon as they come into stock. However, we have managed to get
a couple of extra A540æs from one of our distributors and we havenæt, at
the time of writing, got buyers for either of them. If you are inter
ested, you will need to get on the phone to us fairly quickly.
4.8
Autoloaders for sale
4.8
After considerable delay in getting them from the States, the Xpress
autoloaders are now becoming more freely available. If you are copying
large numbers of Archimedes discs (or are paying someone else to copy
them) itæs worth thinking about getting an autoloader. Itæs just an
external drive which attaches to your Archimedes and has a serial cable
down which you send messages to tell the mechanism to load a new disc
out of a 50-disc input hopper or throw the disc out into one of two
output bins (e.g. accept and reject). They cost ú2750 (inc VAT) which
may sound a lot but, believe me, for anyone copying the numbers of discs
that we are, they are worth every penny. If you want more details, let
us know.
4.8
Thatæs it for now. Happy reading!
4.8

4.8

4.8
Products Available
4.8
Å    Arachnid is a real-time programming environment from Paul Fray Ltd
(based on Spider for the BBC B). For ú100 +VAT, you get a detailed
manual with tutorial section plus a program which can be used to respond
to external events such as switch closures, perform various timing tasks
and control external events via whatever I/O ports you have installed on
your computer. (Paul Fray Ltdæs phone number was wrongly quoted  last
month Ö it should be 0223-441134.)
4.8
Å    Conform Ö NorthWest SEMERC have produced a concept keyboard overlay
generator. The main criterion of the software writers was that the
package should be easy to use so it should be ideal in the primary
sector of education. The price is ú15 +VAT.
4.8
Å    Freddy Teddyæs Adventure Ö Topologikaæs Freddy Teddy is off on his
adventures again. After his first trips released under the program name
öFreddy Teddyò, he is off again under the title, öFreddy Teddyæs
Adventureò. For ú19.95 +VAT (ú21 through Archive) you get a storybook
and a disc which provide counting games and puzzles that encourage
logical thought and help children gain confidence in using their
Archimedes computer.
4.8
Å    My World Ö This is an application produced by NorthWest SEMERC which
allows children to manipulate Draw files. It is said to be öunlike any
educational software on the marketò. It costs ú15 +VAT and comes with 20
example files to get users started. Simple Stuff Sampler (ú7.50 + VAT)
is also available and provides a further 17 screens to be used with My
World.
4.8
Å    Primary WP Ö NorthWest SEMERC have produced a RISC-OS word-processor
called Phases#2 aimed at primary schools. It comes with its own outline
fonts, various sample documents, a keystrip and a double-ended manual Ö
one end starts as the User Guide and the other end as Starting to Use
Phases#2 and the two books meet in the middle. The price is ú15 + ú2.50
p&p plus VAT. Also available at ú7.50 +VAT each are two Phases Support
packs Ö The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Phases Borders Disc 1.
4.8
Å    Shareware disc N║39 Ö this contains a number of items of educational
interest and also some utilities: Algorithms (sorts, pattern matching,
routing, etc), A-level Chemistry tutorial, Draw files summarising the
RISC-OS applications, Compound interest and RPI calculators, BASIC FNæs
to help plot graph axes, BASIC V mathematical FNæs, Depth of field and
flash calculators for photography, Desktop backdrop, Disc copier
(updated from S/w 2), Compacted screen sequence creator, Desktop file
utilities, Converter from IBM WFN to outline fonts, Floating point
calculator, SoundTracker -> Rhapsody converter, Desktop !Help provider.
4.8
Å    Speech! Ö Superior Software have given the Archimedes a voice called
Speech! for just ú19.95 (ú19 through Archive). It uses the standard
sound interface leaving the computer free to do other things. No extra
hardware is needed. You can vary the pitch, speed, volume and voice
either directly or through your own programs. You can even sing the
words over a 4 octave range! It also comes with a program that will
allow you to change the dictionary yourself.
4.8
Å    Speech!! Ö DT-Talk is an allophone based speech synthesizer which can
synthesise any word in the English language. It integrates with the
computeræs own sound system and can therefore be used alongside other
sounds and music. It is available for ú15 +VAT from Atomwide.
4.8
Å    Speech!!! Ö A third speech system is also now available from PEP
Associates. This again links in with the sound system and can be
programmed by the user. It uses phonemes to generate words (donæt ask me
if thatæs the same as being allophone based!) and is available for ú25.
It is called PEP Associates SpeechSystem but why they didnæt call it PEP
Talk, Iæll never know! They have given us a public domain demonstration
which we have put on this monthæs program disc.
4.8
(All three speech systems have been sent to a reviewer, so watch (or
listen to) this space..)
4.8
Å    Spreadsheet MkV Ö Contex Computing have released a low-priced RISC-OS
compatible spreadsheet for just ú15 +VAT. This is an initial price Ö
early purchasers will get a printed manual, while stocks last. Thereaf
ter, it will be available as a disc file.
4.8
Review software received...
4.8
We have received review copies of the following software and hardware:
Conform, MyWorld + Simple Stuff Sampler, Phases#2 + Borders + The Very
Hungry Caterpillar, Carewares 4 and 6, !Voice-Builder from MJD Software,
Freddy Teddyæs Adventure, Avisoft Fast Array Sorts, PRES A3000 5╝ö
interface & software, Viewpoints from Sherston Software.  A
4.8

4.8
Government Health Warning Ö Reading this could seriously affect your
spiritual health.
4.8
Did you listen to öAny questionsò on Radio Four when they had the
question, öDo you think that Christianity is relevant today?ò (It was
linked to a question about George Carey, the new Archbishop.) The answer
from all four panellists was basically, öWe need a moral code to live
by. Christianity gives one, therefore itæs OK.ò What a load of rubbish!
If I were not a Christian, my response would be, öWhy should we stick to
Christian morality? Says who? Why is that any more of an authority than
any other religion or indeed any other philosophy Ö like humanism for
example?ò As a Christian, my response is, öHow dare they try to pinch
the moral code and ignore the Person who gave it?!ò
4.8
If you donæt believe that Christianity is actually true, you cannot
claim the Christian moral code as any kind of authority. In my case, I
believe that what Jesus said and did shows us the truth about God and
allows us to know God personally and therefore I try to run this
business in the way I think that God, whom I know and love, wants me to
i.e. on Christian moral principles. I accept that I may be wrong in my
basic assumption that Jesus is the truth about God... but at least itæs
a logically consistent position!
4.8

4.8
Small Ads
4.8
Å    30 colour palettes Ö send ú4, or ú3 + formatted disc, to R C Melling,
80 Severn Road, Culcheth, Warrington WA3 5EB.
4.8
Å    A3000, 2Mbyte, improved sound output. Will offer 2 month guarantee.
ú550 o.n.o. Machine in Reading, but call Ian on Romsey (0794) 22086.
4.8
Å    A310, 20M HD approx 10M software inc PC emulator & PipeDream, Philips
monitor, CC podule, spare drive, books etc. (mouse sometimes sticks)
ú850. (Sale due to return to DOS. Sob!) P A Hughes, 081-840-5650 after 6
p.m.
4.8
Å    A310M base, 2-slot bp, software ú500. 40M internal hard disk ú250.
Phone [phone].
4.8
Å    A310M, 4M upgrade, 40M drive, 5╝ö drive, CC ROM/RAM podule lots of
software ú999. Phone Gordon Barker on 021-705-1611.
4.8
Å    Acorn DTP ú40, Genesis ú25, PC Emulator (DR-DOS) ú45, FWPlus II ú45.
All unopened. Phone Peter on 0923-675590.
4.8
Å    Apocalypse ú10; Interdictor (1) ú10; Conqueror ú8; CIS Minipack 5
(Fish, Fireball 2, Pon) ú16; Render Bender ú35. Ring Mark on 0285-654346
evenings.
4.8
Å    Apocalypse ú10; Arcade Soccer ú8; Chocks Away ú9; Conqueror ú3;
Corruption ú3; Drop Ship ú8; E-Type ú8; Holed Out ú8; Nevryon ú8;
Olympics ú8; Pysanki ú8; Quazer ú3; U.I.M. ú10. Ring John on 081-898-
0447.
4.8
Å    !DeskAAsm Ö Desktop front end for Acorn Assembler. Send ú5 to Darren
Sillett, 43 Kingfisher Walk, Ash, Aldershot GU12 6RF.
4.8
Å    Digitisation Ö Artwork or VHS tape images digitised. Call Ned Abel on
0292Ö2249. Prices by arrangement.
4.8
Å    Price reduction Ö Future Software are now offering a compilation of
their games Mindwarp and Cobra for ú5. Contact R Millican, Future
Software, 10 Stokesay, Bidston, Birkenhead, L43á7PV.
4.8
Å    SigmaSheet, very recent version (2.01) ú25 o.n.o. Phone Stuart Bell on
0273-304825.
4.8
Å    Taxan 770 Plus low radiation multisync monitor (never used) ú295 or
consider exchange for HP Deskjet. Phone Mick Cattell on 0742-745209.
4.8
Å    Wanted RISC-OS PRM. In exchange, I will give the following: Desktop
Games, Corruption, Graphic Writer, PC Emulator, Max Gammon and Quazer.
Phone Frode Myklebust on 010-47-71-65209 (Norway).
4.8
Å    Z88 with 128K RAM, charger, mains adaptor, Archimedes link, utils.
Unused present. ú200. Epson RX little used ú100. Phone Andy on 0278-751-
317 (Somerset).
4.8
Charity Sales Ö The following items are available for sale in aid of
charity. PLEASE do not just send money Ö ring us on 0603-766592 to check
if the items are still available. Thank you.
4.8
(If you have unwanted software or hardware for Archimedes computers,
please send it in to the Archive office. If you have larger items where
post would be expensive, just send us details of the item(s) and how the
purchaser can get hold of them.)
4.8
User Guides ú2 + ú3 postage, A3000 1M upgrade ú45, Interdictor 1 ú6,
Superior Golf ú8, Trivial Pursuit ú8, White Magic ú8, Battle Tank ú6,
Alien Invasion ú6, Terramex ú7, Repton ú6, Missile Control ú4, Orion ú6,
ArcWriter ú4, Conqueror ú6, Logistix ú30, Teletext adaptor ú20, Acorn I/
O podule ú45, Serial Interface/buffer for Epson FX80 ú15.  A
4.8

4.8
Ace Computing
4.8
New
4.8

4.8
Computer Concepts
4.8
New
4.8

4.8
Computer Concepts
4.8
New
4.8

4.8
Hints and Tips
4.8
Å    ARM code errata Ö The following is for all those who have an unshak
able faith in the integrity of Acornæs code:
4.8
The code given to return from SWI öOS_ BreakPtò on page 736 of the PRMs
is incorrect. The following works.
4.8
.backtobreak%
4.8
    SWI öOS_EnterOSò
4.8
    ADR R14,breaksave
4.8
    LDMIA R14,{r0-r14 }^
4.8
    LDR R14,[R14,#15*4]
4.8
    ADD R14,R14,#4
4.8
    MOVS PC,R14
4.8
The code given on page 231 of the old BASIC User Guide (under CALL) is
incorrect. For example, to use MATCH, the line tokenisation routine, the
following code will work. This has been corrected in the new BASIC User
Guide.
4.8
.tokenise
4.8
    STMFD R13!,{r14 }
4.8
    ADD R0,R14,#18*4
4.8
    ADR R1,source
4.8
    ADR R2,dest
4.8
    MOV R3,#1
4.8
    MOV R4,#0
4.8
    ADR R14,cominghome
4.8
    MOV PC,R0
4.8
.cominghome
4.8
    LDMFD R13!,{pc }
4.8
.source
4.8
    EQUS STRING$(90,CHR$(0))  ALIGN
4.8
.dest
4.8
    EQUS STRING$(90,CHR$(0))  ALIGN
4.8
J Heher, South Africa
4.8
Å    BASIC printing to a DeskJet Plus Ö The April issue of Archive
contained a Help!!! plea about printing from Archimedes BASIC to a
DeskJet 500. I have a DeskJet Plus and have successfully printed from
BASIC. For reference, my printer is normally set with the function
switches 6 and 8 in bank A and 2 in bank B up, all others are down.
4.8
To print, I use the command VDU 2,1,27,1,38, 1,107,1,49,1,71 (see Line
Termination in Appendix 8.19 of the Owneræs Manual). Here is an example
of how it can be used:
4.8
 10 REM >PrintTest
4.8
 20 VDU 2,1,27,1,38,1,107,1,49,1,71
4.8
 30 PRINT öTEST OF NORMAL PRINTINGò
4.8
 40 VDU 1,27,1,38,1,100,1,49,1,68
4.8
 50 PRINT öThis is underlinedò
4.8
 60 VDU 1,27,1,38,100,1,64
4.8
 70 VDU 1,27,1,40,1,115,1,51,1,66
4.8
 80 PRINT öThis is BOLD printingò
4.8
 90 VDU 1,27,1,40,1,115,1,48,1,66
4.8
100 VDU 1,27,1,40,1,115,1,50,1,48, 1,72
4.8
110 PRINT öThis is 20 PITCHò
4.8
120 VDU 1,27,1,69 :REM reset printer
4.8
130 VDU 3
4.8
140 END
4.8
A Kitchenside, Weybridge
4.8
Å    Big memory tips Ö As a footnote to my own article in last monthæs
Archive on making best use of machines with more than 1M memory, Iæd
like to add one more tip. I was reminded by a review of Protext, which
noted that the current version does not multi-task, that my eleventh tip
might have been, öboycott non multi-tasking packagesò. Since, with 1M,
you couldnæt really multi-task two significant applications, this was
not a problem. Now, itæs a real pain in the neck not to be able to have
several applications with simultaneously active windows, much of the
power and ease-of-use of RISC-OS is being un-used and itæs annoying
knowing that 3M of your upgrade is being wasted!
4.8
So, unless thereæs a really good reason such as a time-critical sound
sampler or video screen grabber, I suggest that we boycott such
packages. Then, software producers would have to bring them up to date
and not try to palm us off with öArthur programs with !Run and !Boot
filesò. In an ideal world, software sellers would refuse to stock them
but at least they could be marked as such, perhaps indicating their
antiquity by listing them in a suitable script? Stuart Bell, Brighton.
4.8
Å    C book Ö I was recommended a good C book which I used on a C short
course I attended: The Waite Groupæs öNew C Primer Plusò, First Edition
1990, editor Howard W Sams & Co, ISBN 0Ö672Ö22687Ö1. It covers ANSI C,
UNIX, Microsoft C and Turbo C.   S. Stel, Netherlands.
4.8
Å    ChangeFSI update Ö A new version of ChangeFSI v0.79 is available from
Acorn Direct for ú19.95. This will handle more image formats than would
v0.69: Degas PI1, PI2 & PI3, !Translator Clear, MacPaint 579x720x1 bit/
pixel, ZSoft .PCX, Windows3 .BMP, Pineapple 16 bit/pixel, UNIX rle, PC
TGA. Unfortunately it will not run from the desktop under !ChangeFSI
(Shareware Disc 21) as is. This is because version 0.79 is 94 Kbytes
long, compared with 74K for v0.69. The solution is to edit the !Run file
of !ChangeFSI and increase the WimpSlot from 128K to 160K. All is then
well. A Quayle, Chester
4.8
Å    C txt library Ö This idea was inspired by the article ÉIntroduction to
Cæ ù Part 5, in Archive 3.6. This gave a complete RISC-OS application
using the libraries supplied with Release 3 of Acorn C. In particular,
it used the Étxtæ library to provide a window to display text generated
by the sample program. This requires a minimum of effort by the
programmer since the library looks after most of the problems.
4.8
Although it works as described, it has two major disadvantages. The
first is the slow speed during text generation. The second is the
operation of the window controls. In particular, the cursor control keys
cannot be used to move the text through the window, the close icon has
no effect and the vertical scroll bars can only be dragged. Here are
some techniques which overcome these problems.
4.8
Improved text generation speed turns out to be a very simple modifi
cation since the cause of the slow operation is the redrawing of the
window for every item added to the text buffer using, for example, the
txt_insertstring function. Two extra lines are required; the first turns
off the display updates when text generation starts and the second turns
it back on when the operation is complete. The lines shown below should
be inserted immediately after the visdelay_begin() statement and
immediately before the visdelay_ end() statement in the original program
function sysvars_to_text().
4.8
/* turn off display update */
4.8
txt_setcharoptions(t, txt_DISPLAY, FALSE);
4.8

4.8
/* turn on display update */
4.8
txt_setcharoptions(t, txt_DISPLAY, TRUE);
4.8
Improving text window control requires rather more code but again the
principle is fairly straightforward. Firstly an event handler has to be
registered for the text window following its successful creation by the
txt_new() function using the following statement:
4.8
/* register the text window event handler */
4.8
txt_eventhandler(t, user_txevent, NULL);
4.8
This registers the function user_txevent which will be called to process
text window events.
4.8
The function itself has to process all the events which the user
requires. A sample function is given below which is commented to show
which events are being processed. The keyboard key macro definitions
given in Éakbd.hæ are used for consistency but, in addition, the ÉHomeæ
key must also be defined using a macro as this is omitted from Éakbd.hæ.
The actual key values required are defined in the PRM, page 1198 and the
macro definitions are given in file Éakbd.hæ. Note, however, that the
definitions given for both akbd_ PageUpK and akbd_PageDownK are wrong so
I have not used these but used their correct definition in the following
code. The value txt_ EXTRACODE is added to the key value to represent
the equivalent window operation. A full list of these is given on page
325 of the ANSI C Release 3.
4.8

4.8
#include öakbd.hò
4.8

4.8
#define HOME        (30)
4.8

4.8
/***********************************
4.8
user_txevent    text window event handler
4.8
        t            text object
4.8
        h            event handle
4.8
***********************************/
4.8
void user_txevent(txt t, void *h)
4.8
{lines ; /* number of lines in window */
4.8

4.8
 h = h;
4.8
 while (txt_queue(t) > 0)
4.8
 {number of lines visible in window */
4.8
  lines = txt_visiblelinecount(t);
4.8

4.8
  /* process the next user event code */
4.8
  switch (txt_get(t))
4.8
  {+ akbd_Fn+127:
4.8
    /* close window icon */
4.8
    txt_hide(t);
4.8
    break;
4.8

4.8
   case akbd_UpK:
4.8
   case txt_EXTRACODE + akbd_UpK:
4.8
   case txt_EXTRACODE + akbd_Sh + akbd_Ctl + akbd_UpK:
4.8
    /* scroll up one line */
4.8
    txt_movevertical(t, ù1, TRUE);
4.8
    break;
4.8

4.8
   case akbd_DownK:
4.8
   case txt_EXTRACODE + akbd_DownK:
4.8
   case txt_EXTRACODE + akbd_Sh + akbd_Ctl + akbd_DownK:
4.8
    /* scroll down one line */
4.8
    txt_movevertical(t, 1, TRUE);
4.8
    break;
4.8

4.8
   case akbd_Sh + akbd_UpK:
4.8
   case txt_EXTRACODE + akbd_Sh + akbd_UpK:
4.8
    /* scroll up one page */
4.8
    txt_movevertical(t, -lines, FALSE);
4.8
    break;
4.8
   case akbd_Sh + akbd_DownK:
4.8
   case txt_EXTRACODE + akbd_Sh + akbd_DownK:
4.8
    /* scroll down one page */
4.8
    txt_movevertical(t, lines, FALSE);
4.8
    break;
4.8

4.8
   case akbd_Ctl + akbd_UpK:
4.8
   case HOME:
4.8
    /* move to start of text */
4.8
    txt_setdot(t, 0);
4.8
    break;
4.8

4.8
   case akbd_Ctl + akbd_DownK:
4.8
   case akbd_Sh + akbd_CopyK:
4.8
    /* move to end of text */
4.8
    txt_setdot(t, txt_size(t));
4.8
    break;
4.8

4.8
   default:
4.8
    break;
4.8
  }
4.8
 }
4.8
 return;
4.8
}
4.8
David Scott, Stockport
4.8
Å    Connection problems Ö If you are having connection problems with RS423
connectors, or video or printer Ö or a dongle, it may be because the
plugs are not Égoing homeæ properly into the sockets on the back of the
computer. I have noticed this particularly on A540æs, but it could also
occur on other Archimedes computers. This may be because the fixing
pillars either side of the socket are too high. The solution it to take
a pair of pliers (or a box spanner if you have a suitable sized one) and
remove each of the pillars in turn, take off the washer and screw the
pillar back in. That extra millimetre can make all the difference.
4.8
Å    CPC monitor Ö When my multisync died on me suddenly and I was forced
to make do with what I had Ö a well worn Amstrad CPC green screen
monitor. In practice it was fairly easy to connect the six-pin CPC
connector to the nine-pin connector on the A3000:
4.8
    Archimedes        CPC
4.8
    1, 2 & 3    Ö    6
4.8
    6, 7, 8 & 9    Ö    5
4.8
    5    Ö    4
4.8
Naturally, it is impossible to use the multisync modes but it certainly
is almost as sharp a picture on the tube as on my multisync and much
cheaper. If your main interest is games I wouldnæt recommend it but for
most business uses it is perfectly all right. I guess you could get a
second hand green CPC monitor for next to nothing in the UK as many
owners have exchanged them for the new CPC monitors. Ask your local
dealer! A spare monitor could come in handy any day! Tord Eriksson,
Sweden.
4.8
Å    !Edit Ö For what seems like an eternity I have been wrestling with the
problem of importing text from a wordprocessor (in my case View). What I
wanted to do was free the text from newline characters in order that, on
loading it into Ovation, it could be formatted to new column width, in
whatever point size, without the newline control code producing extra
linefeeds. At the same time, it should retain the carriage returns
marking the paragraphs and multi-line spacing. This way I did not lose
all the style. What follows is how I do it . It might seem obvious but
it could help someone who is as thick as me. If I have missed the point
would some kind person tell me before I go mad.
4.8
After loading your text into !Edit, go through the text ensuring that
there are double returns at the end of each paragraph and on multiple
line text like program listings or poetry.
4.8
My technique is firstly to change double returns into something which is
unlikely to appear elsewhere in the text, thus:
4.8
Press <F4> to select Find
4.8
In the Find dialogue box enter  \n\n <return>
4.8
In the Replace dialogue box enter  ZCZC<return>
4.8
Click on the Magic Character box
4.8
Click on the Go box
4.8
Click on End of File Replace
4.8
Click on Stop
4.8
Press <ctrl-up> to move the cursor to the top
4.8
Now, to replace the single returns:
4.8
Press <F4> to select Find
4.8
In the Find dialogue box enter  \n <return>
4.8
In the Replace dialogue box press <space>
4.8
Click on Go
4.8
Click on End of File Replace
4.8
Click on Stop
4.8
Press <ctrl-up>
4.8
Then, to restore the double returns to single ones:
4.8
Press <F4> to select Find
4.8
In the Find dialogue box enter  ZCZC<return>
4.8
In the Replace dialogue box enter \n <return>
4.8
Click on Go
4.8
Click on End of File replace
4.8
Click on Stop
4.8
You should have your text with the paragraph and multi-line spacing
intact. (Simplified from a hint sent in by R Follett, Winnersh, Berks.)
4.8
Å    Improving sound quality Ö Further to the comments by Jeremy Mears
(Archive 4.7 p 21) there is no need, on the A3000, to actually solder to
the motherboard. You can make contact to the appropriate resistors using
micro test clips (Tandy Ö ú1.50 for four). This would, I suppose, still
invalidate the warranty but is less obvious than blobs of solder on the
p.c.b.! To get access to the resistors, you have to remove the disc
drive by unscrewing it from underneath. R86 is under the keyboard side
of the drive whereas R99 is under the middle of the drive. Pin 1 of the
expansion port is the furthest right (looking from the keyboard side of
the computer). Gerald Williams, Aldershot.
4.8
Å    Multiple height and width text printing Ö I know that the emphasis
these days is on programs which multi-task and use mode 12 on the
desktop but not every program is suitable for this and some of these
programs require larger than usual height characters.
4.8
I am (slowly) developing a word game for the Archimedes, from one I
wrote last year on my Model B. The öBò version uses mode 2, with double
height routines written in machine code for speed. The original version
of this code was quite öillegalò and would not work on a Master but it
was fast! With it, I could also have text printed 3 or even 4 times
normal height just as quickly. However, I am new to the Archimedes and
ARM code is currently beyond me, so after trying various routines in
BASIC I came across VDU23,17,7. This gives characters at any height and
any width and is very fast! I can even get half width which gives the
impression of mode 1 characters in mode 2. Also, it works in most Screen
modes (except 3, 6 & 7).
4.8
Iæve put together a short routine which demonstrates how easy and fast
this routine is. To use it, all you have to do is append the PROCedure
to your program and call it with the colour you wish it to appear in,
the X & Y positions, the height and width of the characters and the
Text$ Ö the routine will do the rest! One point to bear in mind,
however, is that text is printed using the graphic cursor, i.e. under
VDU 5 and MOVE or PLOT, rather than the text cursor and VDU 31, X%,Y%.
4.8
Even though this demonstration program is about 20 lines long, the only
bits you need are in PROCtext(colour, X_co_ord, Y_co_ord, Height, Width,
Text$). The function FNvdu simply returns the text width of the screen
mode window in use and this is used to check if lines are too long in
the first line of PROCtext. The second line in PROCtext is personal as I
like being able to centralise text without effort! To do so, just set X%
to -1. The %110 sets bits 1 and 2 so that both characters and spacing
are altered at the same time. %100 sets spacing, while %010 will alter
just character sizes. It is also possible to use 0.5 as Height or Width
but that works better in öchunkyò modes, like 2 rather than 12. When the
width is set to an odd number, the öauto-centralisingò is sometimes a
little off so you may prefer to set up the X co-ord manually.
4.8
REM >$.Height/Wid.!RunImage
4.8
:
4.8
DIM block% 12, output% 12
4.8
MODE12:COLOUR3
4.8
:
4.8
PROCtext(1,-1,1,2,3,öMulti Height & Width!ò)
4.8
PROCtext(2,-1,4,2,1,öDouble Height, Normal Widthò)
4.8
PROCtext(3,-1,7,1,2,öNormal Height, Double Widthò)
4.8
PROCtext(4,-1,10,3,3,ö3 * 3 Formatò)
4.8
PROCtext(5,-1,15,4,1,öRidiculous! 4 X 1 !!ò)
4.8
PROCtext(6,-1,20,1,1,öYou should reset the height & width
4.8
 before finishingò)
4.8
PROCtext(6,-1,21,1,1,öbut as it stands the PROCedure will
4.8
do this anywayò)
4.8
END
4.8
:
4.8
DEFPROCtext(C%,X%,Y%,H,W,T$)
4.8
F%=FNvdu
4.8
IF F%-(LENT$*W)<=0 THEN ERROR 300,öLine too longò
4.8
GCOL C%
4.8
Y%=1000-(Y%*32)
4.8
IF X%=-1 THEN X%=(F%-LENT$*2)/(W*2)
4.8
IF W=1 THEN X%=(F%-LENT$)/4
4.8
X%=X%*32
4.8
VDU 23,17,7,%110,W*8;H*8;0;
4.8
VDU 5,25,4,X%;Y%;
4.8
PRINT T$
4.8
VDU 4,23,17,7,%110,8;8;0;
4.8
ENDPROC
4.8
:
4.8
DEF FNvdu
4.8
!block%=256
4.8
block%!4=-1
4.8
SYSöOS_ReadVduVariablesò,block%,
4.8
output%
4.8
=!output%
4.8
Å    Off screen desktop windows Ö Normally, the filer and switcher windows
are forced to stay within the confines of the screen but, by altering
their template files, it is possible to make them move Éoff screenæ and
thus help to reduce window Éclutteræ.
4.8
To do this, you have to copy the window templates from the DeskFS to a
directory called Templates. First, create a directory called Templates
in the root directory of your harddisc or Éworkdiscæ and then type the
following:
4.8
*deskfs
4.8
*copy templates.filer  scsifs::scsidisc4.$.templates.filer
4.8
*copy templates.switcher  scsifs::scsidisc4.$.templates.filer
4.8
(You can also copy netfiler, palette and wimp windows across if
required.)
4.8
Load the window template data into !FormEd (Shareware Disc 20) and set
the Éno boundsæ option for each window. Then, edit your disc !boot file
to include the following line:
4.8
Set Wimp$Path scsifs::scsidisc4.
4.8
(or whatever your system is!) Donæt forget the full stop at the end.
This points Wimp$Path in the direction of the updated windows.
4.8
Finally re-boot your machine to see the result!  M Roscoe, Ealing
4.8
Å    PrinterDM with the Star LC24Ö10 Ö I was interested to see the note on
!PrinterDM and the LC24-10 in Marchæs edition of Archive. May I draw
your attention to the öHint and Tipò which I had published in the March
edition of Risc User on the same subject but concerning a different
problem. I was initially disappointed in the results I obtained with
Impression Junior (and from the Ovation test disc and, to a lesser
extent, !Draw printouts). This was due to some lines of text having a
marked öslewedò effect. After speaking to Star, and much sleuthing, I
tracked down the problem to the very same line in the PrData file of
!PrinterDM (version 1.12). There is apparently some incompatibility
between the Star and the Epson LQ800. The former does not like the özero
absolute tabò command used to obtain the CR without LF. The solution was
to substitute the commands used in the FX80 module, although modified to
use the correct line feed command for 24 pin printers. With my version
of !PrinterDM I have not experienced any squashed text with the 24/180
inch feed (could the writer have been in IBM mode where the command
gives n/216 inches rather than n/180 inches?) but the bigger feed
suggested in Marchæs tip could equally well be used. The modified line
is as follows:
4.8
line_epilogue ö<27>A<0><13><27>2<27>J<24>ò
4.8
Iæm surprised that this matter has not previously been commented on,
especially as I think it also applies to the XB24-10.  A.F. Taylor,
Poole
4.8
Å    Quattro to Schema transfer Ö To move data files from Quattro, first
save the file with a WKI extension. Then you can use Schemaæs !sch123 to
translate the file into Schema format. This method leaves all sorts of
spurious bits and pieces which have to be edited out by hand but it does
work.  M Green, Devon
4.8
Å    Quitting First Word Plus Ö If you quit First Word Plus (release 2)
from the task manager while a text file is loaded, you will be thrown
out of the desktop. If other applications are running that may object
e.g. Draw, Paint, etc, they will announce what is about to happen and
give you a chance to prevent it. Otherwise you will lose any files that
you may have been working on in First Word Plus.      R Bunnett,
Swanley
4.8
Å    Reading disc names Ö For those software writers who need to check that
the user has inserted an appropriate disc in the disc drive the
following function returns the name if the disc currently inserted:
4.8
DIM block% 5
4.8
:
4.8
DEF FNdiscname
4.8
SYS öOS_GBPBò,5,,block%
4.8
?(block%+?block% +1)=13
4.8
=$(block%+1)
4.8
M Sawle, Hampshire
4.8
Å    !Schema VAT rate Ö New spreadsheets are created with various user
names available, one of which is öVatò. To change this from 0.15 to
0.175, look in the !Schema directory and then in the Menu directory and
you should find a file called StartUp. This has a write-lock on it so
you will have to use ÉAccessæ off the filer menu to enable it to be
changed. At the end of this file are a number of lines that start with
Éputusnæ, the first of which is the Vat rate which simply needs to be
changed before the file is again saved and the write-lock access
restored. Ian Hamilton, Harrow.
4.8
Å    Spaced filenames Ö If you want a <space> in a disc or file name, use a
hard space. This is available by pressing either <alt><1><6><0> or
<alt><space>. You should note that if you do use it then you canæt use
the copy key on a catalogue because the Archimedes thinks that the
character is a normal space (which is illegal in a filename). E Hughes,
Derbyshire
4.8
Å    Twin World cheats Ö The file SavedGame can be edited using !Edit to
cheat. Byte values of interest include:
4.8
Byte 1 = Level (Maximum = 22 = &16)
4.8
Byte 4 = Red Spells (Maximum 99 = &63)
4.8
Byte 5 = Blue Spells (Maximum 99 = &63)
4.8
Byte 6 = Green Spells (Maximum 99 = &63)
4.8
Bytes 8-11 = Score, low byte first. (Maximum = 999999 = &F423F )
4.8
Byte 12 = Lives (Maximum = 9 or 10 = &9 or &0A)
4.8
Remember all value are in hex, so use the magic character option in
!Editæs Find.  Stuart Turgis
4.8
Å    TwinWorld hints
4.8
Ö Owls in the forest can be killed by jumping up and firing.
4.8
Ö Similarly, on some occasions you will have to jump, but fire on the
way down to hit denizens close to you.
4.8
Ö Jump between worlds whenever possible Ö if you loose a life, youære
taken back to the last time you changed worlds.
4.8
Ö Stamping your feet can reveal objects Ö either treasure or keys.
4.8
Ö Beware of calling the genie when you are already carrying two other
sorts of objects (remember the horn is one), because you wonæt be able
to buy an object which you donæt already hold.
4.8
Ö Beware when shooting the three-headed dragon. If you donæt shoot the
head furthest away from you, it flies away from you and fires an almost
continuous salvo.
4.8
Ö Watch out for extended jump Ö you can sometimes use it when you donæt
realise Ö on some screens itæs essential and you may only have a limited
amount.
4.8
Ö Watch out for the parachute Ö in the last few levels I found I
couldnæt get rid of it and it limited my objects to just two types.
4.8
Ö When firing at the bird Ö if you duck, it flies lower to avoid your
fire. Stand until the bird is fairly close, then crouch and fire.
4.8
Ö When the giant clam fires at you, or the Big eye, if you run so the
Ébulletæ is off the screen it will disappear.
4.8
Impression
4.8
Hints & Tips
4.8
Bruce Goatly (BG), who is busy writing a book about using Impression,
very kindly sent us some hints & tips (in return for permission to use
our H&T in his book!). Most of the rest of the H&T are from the editoræs
experiences with the unreleased version 2.09. (Version 2.10 is not ready
for release so 2.05 is still the latest officially available version.)
4.8
Å    Abbreviation expansion Ö Use it to correct common spelling errors or
to enforce house style (I often type Éansæ for Éandæ and Éthwæ for
Étheæ, and the house style for my book is Édiskæ whereas I almost always
spell it Édiscæ). BG.
4.8
Å    Date and time format Ö As I continually forget what day it is, I use
the Insert date option quite a lot. If you want to change the format of
the date (the default is in the form 6th April 1991), load the !Run file
into Edit and alter the definition of the variable Impression$DateFormat
(see pp. 337-339 of the User Guide, on using system variables).
Similarly, you can alter the time format by editing
Impression$TimeFormat. BG.
4.8
Å    Dongle connection problems Ö If you are having problems with a dongle
that keeps saying it is not present and you find that you need to wiggle
it (just a little bit!) to recognise its presence, go back and read the
hint above about ÉConnection problemsæ. Alternatively, CC themselves
offer a hint about it. They say that it is important to quit properly
from Impression and not just do a <ctrl-break>, otherwise the dongle
might need to be left for a couple of hours for a capacitor to discharge
before Impression can be loaded again.
4.8
Å    Line spacing and font changes Ö If a line in the middle of a paragraph
starts with a different font from the lines around it, the line spacing
may be upset for that one line because of the way Impression does its
calculations. The way round it is to put the cursor at the start of the
offending line, cancel the font change at that point and insert a Énullæ
character (such as Alt-131). This will be invisible but will correct the
line spacing. BG.
4.8
Å    Loading text files Ö If you want to load a text file into Impression,
there is no need to create a new document first Ö just drag the Edit
file onto the Impression icon and it will set up an untitled document
and load the text into a null frame.
4.8
Å    Marking a single character Ö If you are doing DTP in a lower resolu
tion screen mode, you may be finding it difficult to use the mouse to
drag-mark a single character e.g. the Élæ in Éwillæ. One way of doing it
is to move the cursor between two of the characters, click <select> but
firmly hold the mouse in place. Then you use the cursor left or right,
as appropriate, to move the cursor to the other side of the character to
be marked and finally press <adjust>. George Foot, Oxted.
4.8
My method of doing any of this kind of detailed work is to have two
windows open on the same document Ö which is extremely easy to do
(another advantage over PageMaker!) Ö one shows the full page and one
just an enlarged section of the text. Then you can flick backwards and
forwards between the two views enlarging and contracting the windows or
simply pushing them to the back when they are not wanted.
4.8
(However, have you noticed that Impression sometimes insists on going
back to the beginning of the document when you expand and contract the
window using the size switch icon in the top right hand corner of the
window? Has anyone worked out why it happens and, more importantly, how
to stop it?)
4.8
Å    Special characters Ö The list in Appendix 5 of the Impression II
manual gives a printout of all the characters. This is useful, but there
is some variation from one typeface to another, so it would be useful to
have an Impression file of it so that you could print it out in your
particular typeface. Iæll put a file of it on the monthly program disc,
but if you want to do it yourself, you can run the following program and
put the text into a multi-column Impression document.
4.8
10 REM > CHARLISTER
4.8
20 *SPOOL CHARS
4.8
30 @%=2
4.8
40 FOR N% = 32 TO 255
4.8
50 PRINT N%;CHR$(9);
4.8
ö{òöheadingòöon }{ò ;CHR$(N%); ö}ò
4.8
60 NEXT
4.8
70 *SPOOL
4.8
Å    Spell-checking Ö Not really a hint, but I was using the spelling
checker and it offered me the word öfaltnessò and told me that
öflatnessò was wrongly spelled. Also, while spell-checking, someone had
written öBeebugsæ policyò. The spelling checker knows Beebug but can you
guess what it offered me as an alternative for the accidental plural?
Yes, thatæs right, öBedbugsò! On the same theme, I spell-checked my
Factfile and came up with Motley Electronics, Mike Leecher of EMU Ltd,
ARM3æs from Aloof One and IDLE drives from Ian Copycats. Then I tried
some of our contributors and found Brain Cowman, Dim Parkland and last,
but not least, Pall Beggarly.
4.8
Å    Tickets please! Ö (The following saga gives, firstly, an unnecessarily
long method of doing a job but one which illustrates techniques which
might prove useful in other circumstances. It is followed by the easier,
smarter method!) I wanted to make some numbered tickets at A6 size so I
made up an A4 page with four copies of the ticket. I used a two column
master page so that I could just take a copy of the text on the page and
paste it 14 times to make my 60 tickets. Near the bottom of each ticket,
it said, öTicket number: ò with an appropriate blank space. Then I
created four guide frames on the master page at about the right place to
put in the ticket numbers and inserted four new frames on each page. I
then went through linking all the frames together. To create the text
for the numbers, I used PipeDream using the örowò command and copying it
down 60 rows. I then ösavedò this in tab format straight into the first
ticket number frame and, instantly, all the tickets were numbered.
Brilliant! The only real hassle was lining up the ticket number boxes
with the words on the ticket. The problem is that although you can have
both the text and the master page on screen at the same time and at the
same magnification (which helps), the main page is not updated until the
master page is closed so I changed the öpreferencesò to make the master
page come up at the right magnification.
4.8
(A similar technique of linked frames is used for the running heads on
the magazine Ö i.e. the articlesæ names at top outside corners of the
pages. The dummy Archive, before articles are inserted, has a whole
string of 60 öXòs, one on each page, alternately left and right aligned.
Then, when an article has been inserted, the running heads are altered
using selective search and replace to change, for example, öXò into
öHints & Tipsò. This is easier than using copy and paste because it
preserves the left and right alignment. But I digress... let me get back
to the tickets...)
4.8
Then I suddenly realised the easy way of doing it.... Create the ticket
at full A4 size on the master page using öTicket number: ò and then
inserting the page number. (Use <menu> Ö Misc Ö Insert Ö Current page
number Ö Numeric.) Then, all you do is to add 59 pages (click on öInsert
new pageò with <adjust>, not <select> so that the menu option stays on
the screen) and use öFit lotsò on the öPrintò dialogue box reducing the
scale to 50%. If you find that it still says, öFit lots (1)ò at 50% and
you have to go down to about 48% before it goes to (4), click on
öSetup...ò and select the option to öIgnore page boundaryò. If you donæt
do this but print out at 48%, you will find that the margins are
unequal. This is a much quicker way of doing it than the previous method
and also gives the possibility of deciding that you want the tickets
smaller after all so you just reduce the scale and, perhaps, change to
sideways printing.
4.8
Å    Widows & orphans Ö This is the technical term for where you get a
paragraph split so that a single line is on one page (or column) and the
rest is on the previous or next. If the first line is split off from the
rest, the solution is fairly obvious Ö use <ctrl-G> at the beginning of
the paragraph to push the line onto the next column. The odd line at the
end of a paragraph is less easy. If the text is left justified, you can
again use <ctrl-G> to push one more line to the next column to join the
lonely orphan. However, if you subsequently edit the paragraph so that
the layout of the lines changes, you have to edit out the <ctrl-G>.
Also, this doesnæt work at all if you are using full justification
because the <ctrl-G> causes the justification on the last line of the
column to be lost and it looks like the end of a paragraph without a
full stop. The only solution I can find is to create a new frame with
<ctrl-I> and lay it over the last line of the column. This forces that
line over to the next column without losing the justification.
4.8
SCSI Hints & Tips
4.8
Å    Removable drive problems Ö We are beginning to understand more about
the problems with removable drives. Let me explain... SCSI drives are
intelligent and they keep their own record of any duff sectors. However,
this record is not available to the user. If you tell the computer to
öformatò the disc, it deliberately ignores any sectors it already knows
are duff. If you get a ösoft errorò i.e. where the data gets corrupted
so that the CRC check shows up an error, reformatting will clear the
problem. However, if the disc surface is actually damaged, it may be
that reformatting clears the problem temporarily but, with time, the
problem may reappear and you will get the dreaded öDisc error 10 at... ò
or whatever. The solution to this is to use the *DEFECT command provided
by RISC-OS. If you get an error, *VERIFY the disc, note the addresses
which are thrown up as either suspect or actually having a disc error,
say, 7CEC00, 7CEE00 and 7CF000 and then type in
4.8
*DEFECT SCSI::5 7CEC00
4.8
*DEFECT SCSI::5 7CEE00
4.8
*DEFECT SCSI::5 7CF000
4.8
where SCSI::5 is the drive definition. It is worth recording these
addresses in case you need to format the disc again in the future. You
then need to enter the *DEFECT commands again. If *DEFECT finds that you
are trying to map out a sector that is allocated to a file or directory,
it will tell you so, in which case, you will have to copy the file or
directory and delete the one which it says is in the way.
4.8
Obviously, it is better if you can avoid getting hard errors in the
first place so, just as a reminder, (1) always dismount the drive
properly before switching off the power and (2) keep your drive cool by
not packing other hardware around it.
4.8
Å    Removable drive problems (Part 2) Ö Surely there canæt be any MORE
problems with the removable drives Ö they really wonæt be worth selling.
Yes, there are more problems but, yes, I still think they are worth
selling. If you try to use the MR45æs or the Atomwide equivalent on an
Acorn SCSI podule or on a TechnoSCSI (I have not tried any others), you
will find that occasionally they just hang up Ö usually when copying a
sequence of files. It is a timing problem which Acorn say they will look
into but they are not too optimistic. They say that Syquest, who make
the drive mechanisms, have interpreted the SCSI standards in a different
way from other drive manufacturers. The Acorn engineers have tried to
modify their software to accommodate Syquestæs idiosyncrasies but
although they have managed to make a version of their software that will
work when copying lots of files, they find that it does not format the
cartridges properly! It is not beyond the bounds of possibility to get
SCSI software to work on the Syquest drives Ö both Oak and Lingenuity
have done it successfully but, as yet, there is no satisfactory way of
running them on Acorn or TechnoSCSI cards.
4.8
I should say to A540 owners, that, although I am using a Syquest
removable drive on my A540, I am doing so on an Oak podule. I made the
change (before I realised there was any problem) purely on the basis
that (1) the Oak software is the easiest to use on the MR45æs because of
the ease of dismounting and re-mounting discs and (2) it is the fastest
that I have tried. (I have not yet tried the offerings from HCCS or The
Serial Port but unless they have specifically tailored their software
for the Syquest mechanisms, I doubt that they will work.)
4.8
Å    SCSI land speed record Ö Oak are claiming an Archimedes drive speed
record. Their 300M HS drive, on an A440 with a 20MHz ARM3, runs at 1939
/ 1761 / 1043  Kbytes/sec in modes 0, 15 and 21 respectively. Can anyone
beat that?  A
4.8

4.8
Oak
4.8
From 4.7 page 19
4.8

4.8
Help!!!!
4.8
Å    Beginners articles Ö Weære still getting requests for more articles
for beginners. Weæd love to oblige but such articles are more difficult
to write and, possibly, less interesting for the writer. Since all the
articles are offered freely by members of Archive, that may explain the
dearth of such articles. If anyone feels they could rectify this
deficiency, do get in touch with us. Thanks. Ed.
4.8
Å    Broken directory Ö Can anyone help me please? I need to retrieve a
small file off a disc with a öbroken directoryò. Please contact Peter
Baxter on 0772-651616 (day) 0524-701543 (evening) to discuss terms etc.
4.8
Å    Hi-res printouts Ö Would anybody be able to help by doing some
printouts of Draw files on a Laser Direct Hi-res? For money? David
Turner, London SW6.
4.8
Å    Integrex paper Ö Does anyone know of a supplier of good quality paper
for Integrex colour printers? Brian Hunter, Macclesfield.
4.8
Å    IOC memory mapping Ö On page 110 of the PRMæs is the memory mapping of
the IOC. Can anyone in the know reveal enough information to allow the
use of the free timers? i.e. the latch and go commands etc. Jonathan
Heher, S. Africa.
4.8
Å    Impression printing Ö Does anyone know of a firm that will output my
Impression documents on a Linotype typesetting machine, preferably
without converting it first into MS-DOS format? Christine Shield,
Stocksfield.
4.8
Å    Print bureau? Does any known of any printers in the Manchester area
who can print from an Archimedes Impression disc? Contact Torben Steeg
at 92 Shrewsbury Street, Old Trafford, Manchester, M16 9AU or telephone
061-225-9706. (Or indeed, anywhere in the country! Weæll publish a list
of any that you send us. Any help on this subject will be appreciated by
many. Ed.)
4.8
Help offered
4.8
Å    Dynamic mouse resolution Ö In answer to Jochen Konietzkoæs query in
Archive 4.7 p60, Risc User published just such a program in volume 4,
issue 1.  A
4.8

4.8
Lindis
4.8
From 4.6 page 16
4.8

4.8
Comment Column
4.8
Å    Alan Highet replies Ö I would like to reply to Daniel Tamberg who
feels aggrieved by my review of Starfleet Encounter.
4.8
He must realise that the review was, like all reviews, only my own
personal views and other people must make up their own mind by trying to
read all the reviews available and speaking to other people who own the
game.
4.8
Let me deal with his points one by one. He says that it would be very
difficult to implement a computer opponent but surely that is a
programming challenge which he took on when he decided to write the
program. I have tried to write some simple programs myself and agree
that the computer opponent is the most difficult part but I wouldnæt
release it until Iæd mastered it.
4.8
As to it being a board game with the computer as a referee, that is what
I think it should have been but there is no board. I have played a few
wargames and think a computerised referee would be a good idea but I
wouldnæt dream of trying to transfer the whole game to computer as that
would ruin it.
4.8
Daniel says that you can pre-program macros prior to the game starting
which is true of general moves but as the game progresses you need to be
able to alter your plans and this would mean pre-planning a huge number
of macros making the game play unwieldy. Imagine trying to pre-judge all
the moves in a chess game and chess players do not have more than one
piece moving at any one time.
4.8
Daniel admits that the programming of the ships is very difficult and to
stick to the simple moves but whatæs the point of having all the other
features if not to use them. I admit that I was a bit harsh by saying
simultaneous use of the keyboard by two players doesnæt work but Daniel
admits itæs not ideal and I certainly donæt like the contortions I have
to go through for two people to gain access.
4.8
I reiterate my first point about this being a personal view but I still
think releasing the game into the Public Domain or as Shareware would be
Danielæs best bet and with the feedback, the game could be enhanced
greatly. As I said in the review, I think the programming is very good
and I hope he continues with some more games which I will look forward
to.
4.8
Å    Minervaæs Timetabler Ö Has anyone managed to use Timetabler to create
a complete timetable? I have tried it on a small section of a secondary
school timetable which I had previously created manually so I know it is
possible to timetable. The Minerva program does not create a fully
working timetable automatically Ö I was left with a number of parts to
try to fit manually.
4.8
I must say that once the elements are created, e.g. room designations,
staff and subject details, the program is reasonably straightforward and
potentially extremely valuable. I can also see that the time saving for
next year would be tremendous as the room details etc would not have to
be re-entered. However, unless it can create a fully working timetable,
it is not really very useful.
4.8
The program also does not seem to have followed the Acorn rules about
windows. You can only have one window open at a time Ö as soon as you
open one window, the current one closes. Peter Blenkinsop, Watford.
4.8
Å    Ovation versus Impression Ö Arenæt you taunting Risc User a little too
much? After all, Ovation is really öOvation 1ò and it surely compares
well with öImpression 1ò. I have both Ovation and Impression II and
always use the latter! I donæt know what that says, but Ovation really
is a good program and it does have some features lacking in Impression
(and vice versa, of course). Both Beebug and CC are working on bigger
and better DTP programs and it will be interesting to see the next
generation of programs. By the way, I donæt like the protection system
used by Beebug and much prefer a dongle. John Jordan.
4.8
Å    Ovation for Risc User? Ö Mike Williams, Risc Useræs editor writes...
From your recent editorials, it might be thought that you had some
vested interest in Computer Conceptsæ Impression II. And that from a
magazine which we all thought was independent! At the moment we donæt
happen to use Ovation for originating Risc User, though some of the
advertising copy is produced in this way, but then neither does it seem
very sensible to throw away all our Apple Macintoshes (purchased some
years ago at a not inconsiderable sum of money), and bear the cost of
purchasing replacement Archimedes systems. We thus keep costs down and
make the most efficient use of our resources, all of which has nothing
to do with the ability of Ovation or any other Archimedes based DTP
package to do the same job.
4.8
In fact, Ovation is widely used within Beebug for many tasks. All of the
Companyæs manuals are produced using Ovation, our book ÉFile Handling
for Allæ (reviewed in Archive 4.7) was entirely typeset using Ovation,
and it is routinely used by both technical and non-technical staff for a
variety of purposes.
4.8
We feel that our job is to produce the best possible magazine for
Archimedes users. We make the best use of the tools available to us, and
we try to be sensible and economical in the use of our resources. We may
not use Ovation, yet, but neither do we use Impression. End of Argument.
4.8
Archive Editor replies... No, we donæt have any vested interest in
Computer Concepts, though we did get a complimentary copy of Impression
to use for the magazine. We made an independent decision about which was
the best DTP to use for producing our magazine Ö this was based on
advice from various different independent people öin the knowò. What can
we say now, in the light of our experience? Well, not having used
Ovation, we cannot give a fair comparison between that and Impression
(but see the comment above) but we can make a fair comparison between
Impression on the Archimedes and PageMaker on the Macintosh. As a result
of that, my advice to Risc User would be that it is SO much easier to
produce an Archimedes magazine on Impression that, in the long run, they
would save money by selling their Macs, buying an A540 (which they get
at dealer prices, of course) and using Impression Ö Iæm sure Charles
Moir would give them a complementary copy, too.
4.8
Å    Powerband from 4th Dimension Ö I was surprised with the review of
Powerband (4th Dimension) in Archive 4.7. I found it very disappointing
and not up to the standards of Apocalypse (also by G. Key). I know
reviews are ultimately subjective and influenced by the revieweræs
experiences and expectations, but here are the comments I made about it
in a review I sent to Arcade BBS on the 14th January, 1991. It was
written before the second version of Powerband was released but my views
have not changed since.
4.8
I have been waiting for a decent driving/racing simulation for quite a
while, (to ween me off Revs) and when Powerband was rumored to have been
released, I rang 4th D and ordered it. My final evaluation of it is that
it does not approach the realism of Revs. No other micro-based simula
tion has, apart from ÉPower Drifteræ, which gave the same sort of ögut-
wrenchingò feeling when you go over a hill at speed. Another disappoint
ment is that there are no pits to change tyres, refuel, repair damage...
Variable weather might be nice as well. However, the most serious
deficiency of the game is that the racing is unrealistic; you can be
going flat-out at, say, 242 mph around a gentle curving bend and another
car comes hurtling past you about 50-60 mph faster Ö a bit improbable.
Also, during the World Championships, the same drivers get the same
positions in every race (mind you Iæve only done nine races so far).
Powerband is a lot better than his last effort, E-Type, so perhaps
G.Keysæ next driving game could carry on where Revs left off, about 6
years ago on an 8 bit 6502... Chun Wong, Sheffield.
4.8
Å    Schema Ö I was interested in the comments on Schema in the last
comment column.
4.8
I too have had a try at Schema and found it a great disappointment.
Having tried other spreadsheets in the past, I was expecting great
things. On the surface it looked fine but, when I tried to use it, I did
not find it at all intuitive.
4.8
There were a number of irritations: (a) It does not support the ^
function for raising to the power. The exponenial function, I find
clumsy. (b) There are no function keys for insert/delete columns or
rows. Using the mouse, I found irksome due to the number of menus
options. (c) Far too many menu options, which makes it difficult to
remember which menu option to use. (d) To insert a column to the far
left of the sheet requires adding a column to the right of column A and
copying A to B. Very untidy. (e) Schema cannot tell the difference
between text and numbers/formulae. Text has to be given quotation marks.
Most spreadsheets are far more intelligent than this. (f) Before
entering anything into the scratchpad, the cursor must be placed over
the required box and you can not move to another box after entering your
text in the scratchpad.
4.8
These are just some of the niggles I found and I will certainly not be
buying this product.
4.8
Come on Computer Concepts, letæs have a spreadsheet that links to your
superb Impression and Equasor. Eddie Lord, Crawley.  A
4.8

4.8
Matters Arising
4.8
Å    Archimedes viruses Ö We have received the following statement from the
Computer Crimes Unit in London... öThankfully the Archimedesæ youth and
overall responsibility of its users has ensured that very few Archimedes
viruses have been distributed. However, if the problem is going to be
tackled, it should be attempted early. Hence, anyone who has been
afflicted by a virus should send full written details and, if possible,
a disc containing an isolated copy of any files that have been affected.
Please clearly mark this disc Ö Archimedes Virus.
4.8
All suspect files should be in a directory called ÉInfectionæ and should
have their file types set to Text (FFF). Any other details, such as when
the infection took place (Date Stamp) or even the source of the
infection may help the Police at the Crime Unit to identify the virus
writer. Release of a virus is now illegal (Computer Misuse Act, 1990).
4.8
Any other comments or information which could lead to the identification
of a virus writer will also be appreciated. You may reserve the right to
remain anonymous.
4.8
Please send all discs marked ÉArchimedes Virusæ to: The Computer Crimes
Unit, 2 Richbell Place, London, WC1 8XD.ö Clive Gringas & Warren Burch
4.8
Å    ÉCo-Routines in Cæ errata (Archive 4.6 p 23) Ö The text immediately
after each left curly bracket ö{Écoroutines in Cæ disappeared in the
print. Here is a list of affected structures and missing text:
4.8
typedef    {okay!!! 4.8
input      {{ printf(öinput
4.8
output     {{ int
4.8
  while    {{ if
4.8
  if       {okay!!! 4.8
co_start   {{ int
4.8
  if
4.8
When text is imported into Impression, the text following a
ö{automatically stripped out. This is because Impression commands are
enclosed in curly brackets. Cy Booker has kindly sent us an application
which will convert C listings to text suitable to import into Impression
II v2.05. This has been put on this monthæs magazine disc. Ed
4.8
Å    Fan quieteners Ö Paul Skirrow had a fan quietener from Ray Maidstone
for review. Unfortunately, he found that it wouldnæt fit properly into
his computer. There wasnæt enough space next to the hard disc drive to
get it in. On investigation, it was found that he had one of Watford
Electronicsæ öfreeò hard discs Ö buy a 410 and you get it upgraded
öfreeò to 2M and a 20M drive. Unfortunately these öfreeò drives are
rather bigger than normal. Secondly, Paul found that even if he
disconnected the fan all together, it didnæt make much difference to the
noise level because the öfreeò disc was so noisy. Paul therefore
returned the fan quietener as he did not feel that he could give it a
fair review.
4.8
As a result of this experience, Ray has modified the fan quieteners so
that they do fit with these extra-large drives. He also found that they
are not all as noisy as Paulæs drive so it may still be worth using a
fan quietener even if you have got a Watford öfreeò hard drive.
4.8
Å    HawkV9 Utilities Ö The HawkV9 utilities mentioned in the Help Offered
section of Archive 4.7 p 60 are in fact HawkV10 utilities, the latter
being monochrome not colour. Apologies to Claus Birkner, the author, for
the mistake.
4.8
Å    HP DeskJet 500 with FWP Ö On this monthæs magazine disc there are two
First Word Plus printer drivers for the HP DeskJet 500. One uses the CG
Times font and the other Letter Gothic. Thanks to Dave Morrell who sent
them in.  A
4.8

4.8
Competition Corner
4.8
Colin Singleton
4.8
Another classic problem this month. In 1779 Leonard Euler proposed his
Officers Problem:
4.8
Thirty-six officers, of six different ranks and from six different
regiments, one of each rank from each regiment, are to form a square on
the parade ground such that each row and each file contains just one
officer of each rank and just one from each regiment.
4.8
Do not waste time on this one, there is no solution. Euler conjectured
that there is no solution for any oddly-even order, i.e. 2, 6, 10, 14
etc.
4.8
The order ten problem, however, was solved in 1959, barely into the
computer age. This, then, is your problem. Can Archimedes solve this
problem in less than 180 years? If so, how long does your program take
to find a solution? If no correct solution is received, the prize will
go to the one with the fewest errors (repetitions in a row or column).
4.8
To re-phrase the problem, place the two-digit numbers 00 to 99 in a ten-
by-ten grid so that no first digit occurs twice in any row or column,
nor does any second digit.
4.8
Solutions, and comments, either to N.C.S. or to me at 41 St Quentin
Drive, Sheffield S17 4PN.
4.8
Winners
4.8
Now, as promised, the winner of the December competition, which was to
find numbers which can be multiplied by an integer simply by a cyclic
rotation of their digits. You were asked to find the smallest such
number for each multiple, e.g. 076923 * 3 = 230769.
4.8
The winner is Joseph Seelig, of North Harrow, whose program has
investigated multiples up to at least 80000. It is good to see a new
name on the trophy. Josephæs spooled disc does not list a solution for
1757 but that is because he set a limit on the length of numbers to be
investigated. Given more time, his program (without modification) could
have found a solution. No contestant offered a solution for 1757.
4.8
Readers may be interested in the techniques used by the winners of this
and future competitions, so I will do my best to oblige. From the coding
of Josephæs program, his technique appears to be essentially the same as
mine, although his coding is neater.
4.8
I proved that the solution for a given multiple must be the first cycle
of the recurring decimal representation of the reciprocal of some
integer or, to put it another way, it must be a factor of some number
consisting of all nines. In the example above 1/13 = 0.076923 recurring,
and 13 * 076923 = 999999.
4.8
At least one contestant missed several solutions by considering only the
reciprocals of primes. Any number ending in 1, 3, 7 or 9 has a recurring
decimal reciprocal and must be considered.
4.8
All the cyclic rotations of such a number are multiples of it. Thus
769230, 692307, 923076, 230769 and 307692 are 076923 multiplied by 10,
9, 12, 3 and 4 respectively.
4.8
The numbers involved can be very large but multi-length arithmetic is
not needed. The sequence of multiples can be derived quite simply. If
the multiple, M is initially set to 1 and R is the reciprocal (13 in my
example), then successive multiples can be calculated by repetitive use
of the expression M = 10*M MOD R, until M returns to 1. The number of
repetitions indicates the length of the number.
4.8
The programming technique requires a list in memory (initially empty) of
the best solution found so far for each multiple. For ever-increasing
values of R, calculate the sequence of multiples for each R and check
whether this R provides a better solution than that already found (if
any) for each multiple. You need to remember the length of the solution
for each multiple as well as the value of R.
4.8
This does not guarantee to find the smallest solution for a given
multiple, since a higher value of R might give a shorter solution.
4.8
To be able to print the best solution (to date) for a given multiple, it
is necessary to hold the list of values of R on a file. The actual
solution (the reciprocal of R) can be generated by initially setting X
to 10 and repeating the calculation X = (X MOD R) * 10 until X returns
to 10. At each stage print the value of X DIV R, which will be a single
digit.
4.8
Incidentally, the best solution I have found for 1757 is derived from R
= 2377 and has 264 digits. It is...
4.8
0004206983592763988220445940260832982751
3672696676482961716449305847707193941943
6264198569625578460244005048380311316785
8645351283129995793016407236011779554059
7391670172486327303323517038283550694152
2928060580563735801430374421539755994951 619688683214135464871687  A
4.8

4.8
ArcScan III
4.8
Eric Ayers
4.8
Eric, who very kindly prepares the Arcscan data for Archive magazine
month by month now has a copy of the latest version of Arcscan and gives
us his comments....
4.8
Beebugæs ArcScan II is an easy-to-use system for quick retrieval of
magazine articles and other reference material, and is supplied complete
with index files for Beebug, Risc User and Acorn Manuals. It is simple
to adapt the system for other data: for example, I have all my computer
programs, with brief access and operating instructions, indexed on it.
Archive magazine and disc indexes are available in this format on the
Shareware 7 disc, and are updated regularly on the Monthly discs.
4.8
A new version Ö ArcScan III (v.0.5) Ö has just been issued. It is
compatible with files created on the earlier version and the Éfreeæ
files supplied have been extended to include the ANSI C Manual, and both
versions of the Acorn User Guide. There is a half-promise to make
available (to Beebug members ?) indexes for Micro User and Acorn User
journals right from issue 1. So what are the main differences in the
program itself?
4.8
The presentation has been completely changed: it now multi-tasks, with
normal WIMP scrolling windows, menus and icons, and standard wildcard
conventions. An excellent HELP facility is available from the icon bar
menu. The limitation to 25 lines per record, imposed by the previous
fixed window format, is removed. This was a real limitation with some of
the more ambitious Shareware discs! It is possible to specify the
database to be loaded on start-up. The requirement for magazine issue
and volume files to be consecutive has been lifted. A NOT option has
been added to the search logic.
4.8
The icon bar menu now offers three Éturn-offæ options: CLOSE removes
windows only, CLEAR also removes the resident database, while QUIT
removes everything. At all stages, unwanted memory is automatically
returned to the system pool. The PRINT option also appears now on this
menu, and it is here I have my first niggle.
4.8
If you happen to search for a string that appears 350 times in the file,
and then click on PRINT, you have the option of sweating it out or
pressing <reset> Ö nothing less will stop it. This makes nonsense of
multi-tasking, which is suspended during printing, and a <reset> loses
everything. One thing must be included in v.0.6 Ö a scan for the escape
condition to abort printing immediately. Also highly desirable would be
the facility to scroll and size the screen window and print out just its
contents, without the 9 extra lines of header information Ö in other
words, mouse-controlled selective printing.
4.8
Finally, I cannot resist a verbatim quote from the copyright notice in
the ReadMe file:ö... the data for all Acorn indexes in this database
carries a joint copyright. It must not be copied or used in any way
without permission...ò (My italics). Pity! Ö I did so want to use it to
look up SWI Wimp_Poll. Seriously though, ArcScan is an excellent
product. It scores over more complex databases by being tailor-made for
the particular job it does well. But, please, Dr Calcraft, will you get
something done about that PRINT option!
4.8
(I use Arcscan a lot to access material from back issues of Archive and
find it very effective. The only MAJOR drawback from my point of view is
the lack of use of RISC-OS printer drivers. If you donæt happen to use a
simple parallel or serial printer, tough! However, there is a way of
doing it. You can spool it to file and then load the spooled file into
!Edit or Impression, say, and then print out using the RISC-OS driver.
*Spool does not work for this, but it can be done by using
4.8
*SET PrinterType$5 RAM:filename (or whatever filesystem or filename you
want to use) and then *FX5,5. Ed.)  A
4.8

4.8
Language Column
4.8
David Wild
4.8
Since I wrote the last language column, I have had a letter from Mr T P
Rowledge, of Winchester, who feels that I was a little dismissive of
Smalltalk when I talked about the öcut-downò version. I am sorry to have
given that impression but it really was the only version which I had
seen mentioned in the magazines. Mr Rowledge, who ported both Little
Smalltalk, the öcut-downò version, and Smalltalk-80 to the Archimedes
tells me that the main version is now available from Smalltalk Express
Ltd, although he doesnæt say how much it is.
4.8
I am delighted to hear that the system is now available for the
Archimedes and hope that a review will soon be appearing in Archive. One
thing that I would like to say, however, is that we must start thinking
in terms of the benefits to be had by using software of any type rather
than just the advantages to the programmer. I see the difference between
benefits and advantages as being that benefits are öcashableò, and can
be included in a proposal to the boss, while advantages are those things
which affect our preferences once the benefits have been established.
4.8
Perhaps one way of seeing this difference is to look at some of the
excellent software offered by the Data Store at Bromley. Several of
their utility programs sit on the icon bar of my machine all the time
but, although they make life easier, it would not be true to say that I
would be severely handicapped if I didnæt have them. These programs have
advantages but I could always use the command line to do the same job if
someone took them away. !FontFX, on the other hand, does a job which I
certainly couldnæt do for myself and enables me to produce better-
looking newsletters (not related to computers) which would justify a
higher price if I were not the honorary editor. It is reasonable to
claim this as a benefit as the improved appearance is noticed by people
who have no interest in my computing tasks.
4.8
There is no question of the utility programs being in any way inferior
but it is the programs like !FontFX which will increase the appeal of
the Archimedes and so lead to wider use of the system.
4.8
Charm
4.8
In the March issue of Archive, I mentioned the new, at least for the
Archimedes, language called Charm which was sent to me by Peter Nowosad.
The idea of the language is to provide a fast, easily compiled, language
which will work on a single floppy 1mb machine. It is block-structured
like Pascal and ÉCæ and incorporates many similarities with both of
them.
4.8
The compiler itself generates assembly language statements which are
then run through an assembler before being linked with libraries to form
the final executable program. Several example programs are included in
the package, including a fully multi-tasking version of Chinese Checkers
which runs in its own window after sitting on the icon bar. The only
fault I can find with this program, which takes up 1500 lines of source
code, is that it wipes the floor with me before I have managed to work
out what is going on. There is also another game, this time not multi-
tasking, in which two serpents, controlled by the program, hunt another
snake controlled by the programmer. The graphics are excellent,
especially in view of the relatively small amount of program code.
4.8
An editor, compiler, assembler (which can be used independently) and
linker all come as part of the package which will be marketed by David
Pilling at ú5.99.
4.8
The one major criticism which I had of the package so far is to do with
the documentation. Peter is a computer enthusiast who has ported the
language from a 68000 development machine and the instruction manual is
really addressed to other computer enthusiasts rather than typical
users. When this has been tackled, Charm should be a means of writing
some very powerful packages for the Archimedes. With a new language like
this, the authoræs documentation is vital as there is nowhere else that
users can go for help. Later, when a language becomes accepted,
textbooks start to appear and the ölocalò documentation becomes much
less important.
4.8
The problem is, of course, not just confined to the Archimedes and to
languages. Many of the PC programs which I use at work are very badly
documented. I recently upgraded my scanner, which I bought from
Technomatic, and with the package comes a new manual. The first chapter
of this is devoted to installing the board; a task which, with luck, I
will never do again. I feel that this sort of information should be in
an appendix; as it happens, I am the only person who uses my machine but
in a busy office many people may need to look at the manual and they
donæt need installation information.
4.8
My suggestion is that a language manual should start with a simple
program, slightly more elaborate than the classic öHello Worldò, and
there should be full explanations about why the programming rules are
there. When this has been dealt with it would be appropriate to go on to
using the compiler, assembler and linker. In the case of a language with
its own editor, like Charm, editing instructions can be mixed in with
the programming part but the rest can wait. Technical descriptions
should be in an appendix unless they actually affect the use of the
program.
4.8
Scheme
4.8
I have received a note from the distributor of Scheme telling me that
version 4 of the language is well into the planning stage. This will
include full RISC-OS compatibility, the ability to manipulate very big
numbers, vectors and structures as primitive data objects, additional
macro facilities and structure building and syntax checking in the
editor. There is also to be a new edition of the handbook with more
examples and two-colour printing.
4.8
Together with the language itself there will be example programs and
utilities including packages for linear algebra, polynomials, numerical
methods of integration and approximation and several tasks to do with
group theory.
4.8
I donæt know yet when the package will be available but I will put
something in this column as soon as I have more information. With the
extras package, it should certainly deserve a place in the sixth form
maths class.  A
4.8

4.8
Credit where itæs due
4.8
Å    Lingenuity Ö Thanks are due to Lingenuity for their help to Ellen
Wilkinson High School. We ordered a piece of advertised software and
needed delivery before a cut-off date when the money would have been
ölostò. Lingenuity had with-drawn the software but they supplied an
alternative, considerably more expensive, piece of software at the price
of the original software we ordered. Mike Battersby, Northolt.  A
4.8

4.8
Atomwide
4.8
From 4.7 page 8
4.8

4.8
Analogue Measurement on the A3000
4.8
Peter Thomson
4.8
The BBC-B computer provided many enthusiasts in schools and universities
with an excellent introduction to measurement and control. The A3000
offers many advantages. Although the standard machine does not include
the analogue port, it is an inexpensive addition. HCCS sell a user/
analogue port expansion for ú44 +VAT and Morley sell a user/analogue
port + I2C for ú69+VAT.
4.8
Both are well made boards and can be fitted without any real difficulty,
simply plugging into the expansion sockets toward the rear and left of
the main circuit board. No other changes are needed.
4.8
The analogue port can be controlled from BASIC in exactly the same way
as on the BBC-B. The HCCS board has a slight problem here with one
command. ADVAL 0 DIV 256 should test the analogue chip to report the
most recent channel to complete conversion. This does not work on the
HCCS board, but they tell me they are looking into it. This is no real
problem unless you are recording values at the maximum conversion rate
and want to be sure of recording each conversion once only.
4.8
The conversion rate is twice that of the BBC-B, at 5ms per channel.
Here, the advantage of using the A3000 becomes clear. The BBC-B could
only cope with a 10ms conversion per channel using machine code routines
to collect, display and store the data. The A3000 can run a routine in
BASIC to collect, display and store data at 5ms intervals with time to
spare. The routine has to be slowed down because it can complete this
loop at 1ms intervals, recording the same value several times before the
next conversion.
4.8
My collection of sensors developed for the BBC-B analogue port plugged
into these expansion boards on the A3000 and worked without any
problems. I use a home made protection for the analogue port that uses
resistors and diodes, based on the design by Dr John Martin of Salford
University and again this works without any need to make changes.
4.8
My data-logging software for the BBC-B used machine code routines to
increase the speed of data handling and program overlays to provide a
series of menu options while leaving a reasonable amount of memory for
data storage. The A3000 renders most of these memory conserving tricks
obsolete. All the software will fit together with a vast data store.
This greatly simplifies the programming.
4.8
Excellent value for money
4.8
For any enthusiast, or for any school where data-logging is part of the
core curriculum for every child, I would recommend the A3000 + either
analogue port.
4.8
Sensors
4.8
I think that the greatest educational value is gained by producing your
own sensors. Light dependent resistors, thermistors etc are standard
components in school science laboratories. A simple potential divider
using Vref and ground with the output to an analogue input on the port
makes a simple and effective sensor. For those who wish to purchase
ready made sensors, there is a wide range now available from all
laboratory suppliers.
4.8
Measure-It from RESOURCE
4.8
This pack contains an interface to the analogue port, two temperature
sensors, one light sensor, a switch on a lead and data-logging software.
It costs ú64.50 +VAT. The analogue port must be fitted before this
package can be used. No problems were found with the use of this package
with either of the analogue boards.
4.8
The interface to the analogue port is robustly made inside a small metal
case. It should protect the computer from any accidental misconnections
of sensors. The sensors supplied all connect to this box with 5 pin DIN
plugs, again this should prevent misconnections. The sensors are each
supplied with 1m of cable. They should stand up well to school use.
4.8
The temperature sensors are precalibrated by the software and are
accurate to within one degree celsius, suitable for temperatures up to
100░C. The light probe is an L.D.R., suitable for room lighting but
producing a value too high for the converter in daylight. This is a
fault of the amplifier in the circuit in the Measure-It box, rather than
the sensor. Unfortunately there is no provision to adjust the output
signal.
4.8
Other sensors can be purchased. The instruction booklet also describes
how to connect your own sensors to the interface box.
4.8
Toolkit
4.8
The software runs under RISC-OS and uses RISC-OS printer drivers. It
leaves other applications intact but not accessible while it is running.
The menus do not use standard RISC-OS display formats or selection
methods. It is important to read the readme file on disc as the guide
book describes an earlier version of the software.
4.8
The first menu set offers a choice of thermometer display, temperature/
time graphs, measurement of a time interval, event counting and general
data logging.
4.8
The screen display of thermometers with a bar to show the temperature
and large characters is excellent, clearly visible from the back of a
large room. The graph displays are not so visible.
4.8
General data logging only makes use of three channels, I found this a
major omission. I did not like the system of setting time intervals
which offers a limited choice of preset times. Readings could be taken
at 2 second intervals but not at 4 second intervals, and no high speed
readings are available.
4.8
The event counting counts twice for each push of the switch, once for on
and once for off. I would have liked an option to count on the rising
signal only to count from my geiger-teller unit.
4.8
The second menu offers a larger range of options, mostly for specific
experiments for which extra hardware is needed such as pendulum motion
and pH measurement.
4.8
Facilities to review recorded data seem to be limited. Some recording
options permit the graph to be re-drawn to display a small section in
more detail but other options do not allow this. Other facilities that I
thought lacking were the ability to calibrate my own sensors and to
transfer the data to other software packages.
4.8
Conclusion
4.8
Measure-It from RESOURCE is a good low cost introduction to data-logging
on the A3000. For younger pupils it is excellent but the software is
rather limited for GCSE or A level work.  A
4.8

4.8
Contact Box
4.8
Å    Australian users Ö UK Archimedes user emigrating to Australia in July,
hoping to settle near Adelaide would like to hear from any other users
in the area. Please write to Ewart Jones, c/o Paul Rivett, 23 Bright
Crescent, Mount Eliza, Victoria 3930.
4.8
Å    London area Ö The Club A3000 is having a second Open Day on Sunday
June 23rd at Mill Hill School, NW7. For more details, contact Club
A3000, 42 Michelham Down, London, N12 7JN.
4.8
Å    Warrington Ö Any Archimedes user or user groups in the area, please
contact Robin Melling, 80 Severn Road, Culcheth, Warrington WA3 5EB.  A
4.8

4.8
Structural Analysis Ö CASA
4.8
Richard Fallas
4.8
The catalogue of Archimedes software is now beginning to expand at a
healthy rate with applications of a Éspecialistæ nature also becoming
more numerous, but the choice in many fields is still limited. Whereas
in the PC world, specialised packages related to disciplines such as
Civil Engineering, Architecture and Structural Analysis abound, in the
Archimedes domain they are rather thin on the ground.
4.8
Enter CASA
4.8
In Archive 3.1, I gave a brief review of Plane Draft from Vision Six Ltd
which is a Structural Analysis package. CASA comes from the same stable
and replaces the earlier program with the same modular options, although
now pin jointed trusses and frames are combined in the same module and
grids in another. Versions are available for up to 32 nodes (& 32
members, loads, etc) priced at ú150 per module, and at ú450 & ú300 for
the full Frame and Grid programs respectively.
4.8
CASA is RISCware, and the maturity of long term development is evident.
The WIMP front end makes it a delight to use in most respects. Perhaps
the most impressive thing is the way the GUI has been set up to act as
just that: a Graphical User Interface. Input of the various data types
is assisted in many instances by use of the mouse pointer supplementing
key strokes. There is an important balance to be struck of course,
within RISC-OS, to ensure that the Érightæ control and input methods are
available. By and large, Vision-Six have achieved this balance. Also,
they are responsive to suggestions and constructive criticisms, as
witnessed by the updates I have received in response to suggestions. I
would expect this to continue and believe purchasers of CASA will
benefit from future improvements as the program matures further.
4.8
CASA uses a split application technique; !CASA itself is the front end
and is used for input, editing and also for output control once
processing is complete. The same program is used for both frames and
grids by a clever switch of axes (orthogonal or isometric) and I will
return to this application shortly.
4.8
Processing & analysis
4.8
Processing is carried out by a separate application: !2Dframe, or
!2Dgrid, as appropriate. Controls here are limited to setting load case
factors, titles and number of passes for Second Order Analysis. This
split technique is used in order to make operation on 1 Mbyte machine
possible and it works well in practice Ö up to a point. During the
course of my testing I upgraded (painlessly) from 1Mbyte to 4Mbyte
following Stuart Bellæs positive experiences with IFEL, and it must be
said that the convenience of being able to switch back and forth quickly
(e.g. for tweaking faulty input) is a real boon. I am sure that the
current pricing of the various A310 2/4Mbyte upgrades will enable most
1Mbyte users to grasp the full advantages of RISC-OS Ö after 2 years, it
had become a Émustæ for me; more essential in my view than a hard disc.
4.8
As !2Dframe (or !2Dgrid) does its work ubiquitously and quietly passes
the updated data back to CASA (or saves it to disc on a 1Mbyte machine)
there is little to be said about it, as long as it works. One toggles
the required load cases to be combined, sets titles and factors in the
writeable fields, and selects ÉAnalyseæ, repeating the process for each
load case or combination required. I would prefer, however, to be able
to set up multiple combination load case alternatives on one processing
batch; so that a single print out covers all cases. During analysis,
checks are carried out on the model to ensure it is soluble Ö error
messages are very helpful here, e.g. ösuspected mechanism at Node...ò
Careful handling of pin joints, supports and any settlements of supports
is required to avoid such problems but this is common to all frame/grid
analysis programs. This is, after all, a tool to be used by Engineers
(and students) who have an understanding of the limitations of the
process.
4.8
Correct analysis?
4.8
As to whether the analysis part works Ö I checked it using numerous
frames and grids, previously analysed using my own and other commercial
packages and found excellent correlation in all 1st order cases. CASAæs
2nd order analysis is not commonly available and is a somewhat revealing
(and valuable) addition. Here a second (or more) pass is made using the
deflected frame from the first pass as the starting point Ö convergence
to a final solution will generally be rapid after say 3 passes. It
could, conceivably, show up a potentially dangerous instability. This
facility is, as far as I am aware, unique Ö certainly for software
remotely near this price level. It is also a sensible extension of
computer design Ö use the crunching power of the machine to improve
confidence in the solution for no increase in input effort. By the way,
analysis on the Archimedes is fast enough for any reasonable user Ö a
slight pause gives the brain a chance to catch up!
4.8
!CASA is much more evident in operation than the analysis applications
and itæs a gem. Input short cuts using the mouse are available in many
operations. Also, an inbuilt database of rolled steel section sizes
gives convenient access for setting up member types Ö unless youære
working in concrete or timber in which case you will need to calculate A
& I values (and J if using grid). As mentioned above, !CASA is switch
able from frame to grid input. In both cases, input and editing changes
can be reflected on the screen automatically, or as required. I wonder
if a 16ö or 20ò screen with one of these fancy new modes would give more
(useable) desktop space, as it can get a bit cluttered with umpteen
windows open at once! (How about a twin screen Archimedes Acorn? Ö or
even one that looks a bit more like my drawing board, i.e. big and
flat!!)
4.8
Graphical output
4.8
Graphical output options are exceptionally well supported Ö deflections,
loads, moments, shears, node and member labelling options Ö all are
scalable; with hardcopy being via RISC-OS drivers. One can get somewhat
confused with all the menus and options, however, and there is quite a
lot to master. I have queried the load case separation with VisionSix
and they have introduced colour coding to help with this.
4.8
Textual output goes straight to the printer but graphical output
requires the appropriate driver to be installed. Print cancelling is now
available via <escape> (as it should with all software). Control over
presentation of hardcopy is available, although text is a little spread
out for my liking; printouts tend to get bulky enough as it is. It is
possible to send text output to file and Pipedream happily accepts the
data as tab file format, so presentation could be altered Ö but beware
that errors donæt creep in!
4.8
Early difficulties with line-feeds on my RX80 were resolved with an
additional print format dialogue box; surplus page feeds on my Desk Jet
have yet to be eliminated but this is a one-off setting up problem. The
manual should be much more thorough on this aspect, however Ö in fact
the manual is probably the weakest part of the package. Better to be
wordy and pedantic but comprehensive, than to be brief, with such a
serious application. A full worked example is given, however, and this
is very useful. Manuals for RISC-OS programs must be hard to write
though and I appreciate the difficulties of anticipating questions from
the user.
4.8
Summary of features
4.8
Space doesnæt permit a blow by blow treatise on CASA Ö in any case, demo
discs are available, so that is the best introduction you can have. The
following list of additional features should give you a flavour of the
sophistication of !CASA:
4.8
Multiple windows with different views, loadings, scales simultaneously;
frames can be rapidly converted to Grids and vice versa; automatic
gravity loading switchable; trapesoidal, part-loads and point loads on
members; settlements can be applied to supports; internal hinges at some
or all nodes; lack-of-fit and thermal effects can be specified; Plotmate
output available; quick input of regularly spaced nodes available.
4.8
Conclusion
4.8
The product is aimed at a specialist market, but at a visit to the
Computers in Construction Exhibition recently, I did not see a compar
able competitor for less than 10 times the entry level price of CASA.
Sadly I saw not a single Archimedes. Yet for those Archimedes users who
need such a thing, this program will pay for itself over and over.
Students too will gain from having an affordable vehicle for öwhat
happens if-ingò.
4.8
VisionSix have done very well in producing this application and it is
definitely a ögood thingò. Of course, the fact that it is an Archimedes
application makes such excellence possible and also limits itæs use to
those Éin the knowæ. I wish them luck breaking into the market.
4.8
PS: I would be happy to compile a register of Engineering Software and
sources; Iæm sure there is more software available than is commonly
advertised. If the response warrants it perhaps Paul will print such a
list in Archive?  A
4.8

4.8
Landmarks Ö Egypt & World War II
4.8
Doug Weller
4.8
Logotron has long been a producer of quality software for schools. It is
now merged with Longman and is the publisher for BBC Software. Its
latest offerings for the Archimedes are two packages complementing the
BBC Landmarks series, although they can be used on their own without the
TV or radio programmes.
4.8
Computer stimulated learning
4.8
Logotron makes the point that these packages are meant to stimulate
learning and are not CAL. This means that much of the learning should
take place away from the computer, particularly factual learning. The
Landmarks programs are seen as providing a framework for childrenæs
learning, helping children to gain an understanding of life in the past,
a feeling for the time and the place and an empathy for the people
involved, as well as an idea of how individual facts fit together.
4.8
This is not easy on a computer but I felt that these two programs went a
long way towards meeting their stated aims. They do this by involving
children in a dialogue with children of the past Ö with these two
programs, a 12th century BC Egyptian boy and a 10 year old girl living
in 1940. The screen is divided into two windows, one for text and one
displaying relevant pictures.
4.8
Interactive history
4.8
Each program starts with the computer child introducing itself and
asking for the useræs name. The user (the teachersæ book gives sugges
tions for classroom organisation and advocates having children work in
small groups) is then asked to type in his/her name. The computer child
then offers to show the user around their town or village. Movement is
either by arrow key or by the familiar GO N, although GOTO placename
often works.
4.8
If this were all, it would be nice but not exciting. But there is more Ö
children can also actually talk to the computer child, asking questions
and making suggestions. Such questions as öDo you have any brothers or
sistersò or suggestions such as öTurn on the radioò get a response which
can often lead to further questions.
4.8
When I tried using the Project Egypt program after my son had finished
using it, my responses showed the computer that I was a different
person, and the Egyptian boy asked (very politely) if he was still
speaking to Matthew. When I replied negatively, he apologised abjectly
and restarted the program!
4.8
Realtime
4.8
The program stays active for three days. This means that when a group
comes back to the computer the 2nd day, a day will appear to have passed
for the computer child and things will seem to have happened while the
computer was off. If you try to talk to the WWII child after the 3rd day
she explains that the bomb damage at her school has been repaired so she
canæt talk to you anymore, and says goodbye.
4.8
Summary
4.8
These two programs, Project Egypt and Second World War, are a must for
anyone covering these periods and have access to an Archimedes. Costing
only ú19.95 and including excellent pupilsæ materials for off-computer
work, they bring history alive and put children in touch with life in
the past Ö the goal of most teachers but one which is difficult to
achieve. I only hope that Longman extend this format to other historical
periods, including those covered by the BBC ZigZag series, covering the
rest of Key Stage Two core history.  A
4.8

4.8
Base 5
4.8
From 4.7 page 4
4.8

4.8
MultiÖmedia Column
4.8
Ian Lynch
4.8
Following on from the March issue where we were starting to construct a
Genesis application, we will add to our single Genesis page and
illustrate one or two of the features available. If you are thinking of
buying Genesis 2 or up-grading from 1, this should give you an idea of
whether or not it is worthwhile. For example, the facility to customise
your own windows by specifying whether or not scroll bars etc should be
present, is a feature of Genesis 2 not available in 1. I know that a
book fully documenting the programming script language is in preparation
and should be available next month. When I get my hands on this, I
should be able to describe how to make your applications more versatile.
4.8
Extra modules will also become available in order to make more special
ised work, such as accessing the user port, easier. You could then write
a multi-tasking application which controlled various devices in the
background while you worked on something else. I have one of Unilabæs
new A3000 I/O podules which has 3 user ports, one analogue port and a 1
MHz bus, so I expect to do some experimentation with this in the near
future. I can recommend this as a solidly constructed add-on to anyone
wanting to gain interfacing facilities for an A3000.
4.8
Menu page
4.8
Back to the application. We have a title page which contains text and a
Next button and we need to make a page which will follow on from this.
To create a new page, we need to go to the Sound icon on the icon bar
and go Menu Ö Create page. This will create a page the size of the
screen and you can then adjust in size. In this case, we will make a
simple menu page so that particular routes can be chosen to look at some
of the individual sound attributes.
4.8
The first task is to give the page a title by Menu Ö Info Ö Page Ö
Title. Next, drag out four boxes into which we will enter the menu
options. This is done in the same way as for the first page. Then we
give the background the same grey colour as for the first page which
makes the whole application have a consistent lay-out. I have also
switched of the scroll bars as these are again not needed on this
window.
4.8
This should give us a page which looks like the illustration below when
the menu titles have been entered.
4.8
Saving and recalling
4.8
To save this page, use Menu Ö Save and the page will be saved with all
its details. Note that this includes the position on the screen so that
when the page is called up, it will appear in the position you speci
fied. Double clicking on the Next button that was saved on the title
page will now automatically cause the menu page to be displayed. This is
because it was the önext pageò created in the application. Note that if
you double click the Next button with <adjust>, the title page will
close leaving only the menu page displayed. This can be particularly
important when using machines with limited memory since the more pages
displayed, generally, the more memory consumed and you will eventually
get a message telling you that there is not enough memory and to close
something.
4.8
Linking pages
4.8
The real power of Genesis comes from its ability to make arbitrary links
between pages. What we need now is to be able to link our menu options
to pages which contain more detail about the subject the option refers
to. We have four options, so we will need at least four more pages Ö I
will deal with one at a time. The first is ÉFrequency and pitchæ and so
we will make a page with this as the title in the same way as mentioned
previously, Sound icon Ö Menu Ö Create page. (Incidentally, you will
notice that you canæt do this with the Browser, only with the Genesis
Editor which comes with Genesis.) It is now necessary to adjust the
sizes and positions of the windows so that the mouse pointer can be
placed in the ÉFrequency and pitchæ box on the menu page with the
ÉFrequency and pitchæ page in view. Now click <select> in the box and
then Menu Ö Link to, and a dialogue box with a variety of linking tools
appears. The first of these is the double click link and this is simply
dragged over the ÉFrequency and pitchæ window and released. It is
possible to do more complex links which are, for example, dependent on
some condition being satisfied but we will leave this until later. Now
that the link is established, double-clicking on the menu box ÉFrequency
and pitchæ, will cause the ÉFrequency and pitchæ page to be displayed.
4.8
RISC-OS
4.8
Like most RISC-OS operations, linking is quite intuitive once you have
done it once or twice Indeed, it sounds more complicated in a written
description than it is in practice. It is probably pertinent at this
point to mention the fact that there are many data types which Genesis
understands specifically, Maestro, Euclid, Mogul, Armadeus samples, Draw
files and Sprites and it is likely that other types will be catered for
in future. In addition to this, any RISC-OS application can be launched
from Genesis and so it is possible for several RISC-OS applications to
work together forming a unified and comprehensive programming environ
ment.
4.8
Help Ö Any animators?
4.8
We now need some information on the ÉFrequency and pitchæ page. One idea
I had was to make a film using !Mogul or !Tween of a vibrating object
producing a sound wave at a slow rate and also a quicker rate. If I then
used Armadeus to capture a high pitch and a low pitch sound we have both
a visual simulation and an indication of the difference in sound between
high and low frequency sounds. Unfortunately, my abilities at animation
are not great, so this bit is currently unfinished. Perhaps someone with
!Euclid or Tween could have a go at making a film and then I will
include it in the application. This should not be too difficult for
someone practised in !Euclid or !Tween.
4.8
Capturing sounds
4.8
Genesis 2 understands Armadeus samples and so, to include them in the
application, it is simply a matter of dragging a file into a frame, as
with graphics films or text. Obviously, to create your own sounds you
need the software and hardware for sound capture. The samples in this
monthæs application were captured using a cheap microphone connected to
a Unilab computer interface linked to a Unilab I/O 3000 box on an A3000
with 2Mb RAM running Armadeus. The samples were then saved and trans
ferred to Genesis 2. In fact, if you have enough memory, it is quite
feasible to run Armadeus at the same time as Genesis 2 and transfer the
files directly. Genesis 2 can play sound samples from disc so that
applications will work on 1 Mb machines, but 2Mb is far better and 4Mb
will not be wasted.
4.8
Storage
4.8
While a hard disc is not essential, it certainly makes life a lot
easier. If you use floppies, make sure that filer windows not currently
in use are closed, or you can get into complicated disc swapping (a bug
in RISC-OS so I am told). Also, when moving from page to page in
Genesis, double click with the right hand button as this closes the
previous window saving memory (essential on 1 Mb machines). A 4Mb RAM
upgrade for an A3000 is less expensive than a hard disc and would allow
you to run the application from a RAM disc. This also has speed
advantages.
4.8
Sign off
4.8
Thatæs all for this month. We can make further progress and introduce
some more techniques next month. In the meantime I am exploring the
possibilities of accessing interfacing ports using Genesis 2.  A
4.8

4.8
Colton Software
4.8
From 4.7 page 14
4.8

4.8
PipeLine
4.8
Gerald Fitton
4.8
This month Iæll start with a few words on Macros. When I started this
column, one of the things I expected to happen was that there would be
an abundance of macros (just like the short programs which appeared for
Wordwise). It didnæt happen at ₧rst but now Iæm beginning to see signs
that, whilst I was right in principle, I was wrong on the time scale.
Since last month, I have received many ideas for macros but many more of
you have asked how to record them.
4.8
This is what you do. Hold down <ctrl> and then tap <F> followed by <Y>
to start recording; you will be asked for a ₧le name to complete the
dialogue box. Then go through the motions (including mouse clicks etc)
you want to record. Finally <ctrl-FY> again to switch off the recorder.
When you record a macro on disc, please send me a copy for publication,
saying what it does.
4.8
John Jordan has written to me before; he has been using PipeDream for
some years now. Iæm sure he wonæt mind me saying this but he tells me
that it is only recently that he realised that options <Ctrl-O> can be
changed (several times) whilst you are working on a document. Perhaps
you didnæt know that either! Anyway, one of the problems that keeps
coming up in letters to me is that of choosing a suitable set of options
for the type of document in use. For example, with tables (databases,
etc) it is better to have Wrap OFF (and Insert on return OFF) but with
plain text (wordprocessing) it is better to have Wrap ON. A simple
(recorded) macro will switch you from a set of options suitable for
plain text to a different set suitable for tables. You can call such a
macro ÉTableæ and, just before you start entering tabular data, double
click on the macro ₧le to run it and so change the options.
4.8
Interword, Wordwise and other ₧les
4.8
Since I included a request for help in transferring Interword ₧les, I
have received similar requests for other wordprocessors, spreadsheets,
databases and the like. The good news is that I have been sent many
discs with programs in BASIC which convert a wide variety of ₧le formats
to PipeDream format ₧les. The bad news is that until I get them all
sorted out I wonæt know what works and what doesnæt. If you want to take
a chance (or want to help) then send me a blank formatted disc, etc, and
I will send you a copy of what I have. If you do have a go then please
write me a Éreviewæ for publication. Amongst the programs and explana
tions I have found many references to ÉLiberatoræ; does anybody have a
ÉLiberatoræ and what is it? Donæt tell me that the Liberator is a WW2
airplane Ö I know that!
4.8
PipeDream text to !Draw text objects
4.8
I have received an interesting program from Lee McGinty (Isle of Wight)
which allows you to enter text into PipeDream and then export it to
!Draw. !Draw accepts the text as a text object. What makes this program
so interesting is that you can introduce bold, italic, superscript, etc,
you can insert any outline font at any size from within PipeDream and,
when you import the PipeDream ₧le into !Draw, the highlights and font
changes are implemented. The copy I have is marked Evaluation Copy, so I
am not sure of the status of this program but, if you are interested
then write to me and I will forward your letters.
4.8
The GripeLine
4.8
This is Keith Matthewsæ idea. Send me your Gripes about how PipeDream
works (or doesnæt) and Iæll collect them together. Think of it as a way
of lobbying Colton Software for further improvements! Those of you who
received the April 1991 PipeLine disc will have seen Keithæs three
gripes. This should have been only two because the third one went away
when Keith upgraded from version 3.11 to 3.14. Perhaps the improvement
was an example of the PUI in action?
4.8
On the topic of gripes, Peter Nye has a Z88 and makes printer highlight
code 3 send the ASCII 27 to his printer. This means that in his text ₧le
he can introduce highlight 3 and follow it by other printer codes (in
the main text) so implementing a wide range of printer functions.
Perhaps this is the meaning of the phrase ÉExtended ... æ in the User
Guide. Anyway, Peter reckons that he canæt get this to work on the
Archimedes, so this is his Gripe öExtending printer codes through
highlight 3 doesnæt work on the Archimedesò.
4.8
Alan Highet complains that when he runs a macro which includes both
recalculation and printing the printing starts before the recalculation
is ₧nished. Has anyone a solution to this? How can PipeDream be made to
wait until it has ₧nished before starting printing Ö it has to be a
problem arising out of the multi-tasking nature of RISC-OS.
4.8
Help
4.8
B Warshavsky from The Netherlands has the EFF Hebrew Outline Font. His
problem is how to write from right to left in PipeDream? He would also
like to use more of the facilities available on his HPPaintjet printer.
4.8
The Local Authority for which Douglas Bell works has taken out a
PipeDream 3 licence and they will be using it in Standard/Higher Grade
Computing Studies as well as SCOTVEC Modules. If you have anything to
offer him or wish to ask him then send me your letters and I will
forward them to him.
4.8
Peter Nye suggests that if you are using a lot of printer codes which
affect vertical alignment, you should prepare the text ₧rst adding the
printer codes afterwards.
4.8
I have a letter from Tony Cowley about ₧nding bits of paperwork he has
₧led somehow. Using PipeDream, he has reduced his problems to a minimum.
His method is to ₧le his incoming correspondence chronologically rather
than by subject. He uses PipeDream to record key words in a column
(entering the record number or date in another column). When he wants to
₧nd a particular piece of paper he sorts the PipeDream database on the
₧eld containing the key words and so discovers the date (or document
number) of the piece of paper. The rest (as they say) is easy!
4.8
David Turner (of D & J Recording Ltd) wants to perform calculations in
(hours) minutes and seconds. He has sent me a disc with functions he has
built in to handle sums in the scale of 60. If you want to use PipeDream
to do sums in scales other than the scale of 10 (or hexadecimal or
binary) then drop me a line and Iæll explain Davidæs methods to you.
4.8
The National Curriculum keeps coming up in correspondence. Any PipeDream
format ₧les containing Attainment Targets and Assessment Recording and
Analysis will be most gratefully received by many PipeLine readers.
4.8
Dr Peter Davies has sent me a disc with a simple way of dealing with
Timetables. If you are interested send me a blank, formatted disc, etc
and Iæll send you a copy.
4.8
The Z88
4.8
Thanks for your letters about the Z88. Please keep them coming even
though I canæt say much about them in a column which is mainly for
Archimedes users. Iæm surprised how many of you have and use a Z88 for
much of your wordprocessing and tabular numeric input with transfer to
the Archimedes only for printing. I enjoy the freedom of tapping away
producing PipeLine from almost anywhere. (That is, when Jill isnæt
tapping away at her documents!) I port into the Archimedes to get good
quality printouts.
4.8
PipeLine
4.8
Since I wrote the ₧rst PipeLine column for the October 1989 Archive,
Paul has printed over 50,000 of my words about the use of Colton
Softwareæs PipeDream. Undoubtedly, PipeDream is one of those appli
cations that grow on you as you get to know it better. From what you say
in your letters to me, PipeLine has helped many hundreds of you to
improve your PipeDream expertise. I think that it is because PipeDream
is such a good piece of software that the PipeLine concept has been able
to expand to the quarterly discs; I donæt know what proportion of you
take the PipeLine discs but it must be fairly high. The ₧rst disc was
issued in July 1990 so the April 1991 disc makes up the ₧rst set of
four. Thanks for writing to me telling me how interesting, helpful and
instructive the information on the discs have been to you. Of course, a
lot of these disc based applications have come from you, the Archive
readers, so Iæd like to thank you all for helping make PipeLine what it
has become. By the way, if you make a contribution which is published
(on disc Ö not the Archive magazine) then you get a free copy of the
disc in which your contribution appears; if youæve already paid for the
disc then you get a ú5.00 refund!
4.8
PipeLine is not really a user group but it has grown (like Archive) to
have a user group Éfeelæ to it. The Érole modelæ I have used as my
starting point for PipeLine has been Paulæs Archive. PipeLine sub
scribers write to me asking for help and, often, useful help is given
(and I enjoy the correspondence). To a large extent, this ÉHelpLineæ is
as successful as it is because I get such strong support from Robert
Macmillan of Colton Software but it is also because about two dozen of
you PipeLine enthusiasts have taken over some of the queries that are
outside my ₧eld of expertise. When a problem has been solved by a
ÉPipeLine Helperæ, they usually write it up for publication. Once again,
if it is published, the writer gets a free disc. I would like PipeLine
to expand its ÉHelpLineæ (and other! Ö you tell me what you want)
activities more, to do this we need more helpers . . . You?
4.8
In conclusion
4.8
Having sent out the fourth disc of the series, I feel as if this is some
kind of anniversary. Colton have brought out a much to be desired
PipeDream mug Ö but not to celebrate PipeLineæs anniversary! I am
working on the possibility that I might acquire one or two for PipeLine.
If I do then you might get one as a prize if you do something spectacu
lar enough! Let me know what or who you think deserves a PipeDream mug.
4.8
Seriously though. Please keep those letters (or better, discs) coming to
Abacus Training. Weære relying on you to keep up the excellent quality
of PipeLine.  A
4.8

4.8
A better Draw: Version 1╜
4.8
Tord Eriksson
4.8
There is always someone who updates the software he is using, just for
fun or for the simple reason that he wants more and the producer of the
original software doesnæt plan to upgrade. Acorn hasnæt shown any
interest in upgrading Draw, so Jonathan Marten has done it instead.
4.8
Installing Draw1╜
4.8
There are a few differences between !Draw and !Draw1╜ to bear in mind
when running it from a hard disc: The !Draw1╜ !Run file has to check for
the system files first and load them, before loading the !Draw1╜ itself.
4.8
I learned this the hard way but it was enough to load !Draw before
!Draw1╜ to get the latter working. However, not everyone will have these
problems, because later copies of !Draw1╜ have been updated by Mr
Marten.
4.8
(From now on, I will refer to !Draw1╜ as ÉPlusæ and the original !Draw
as just plain ÉDrawæ.)
4.8
Draw made easy!
4.8
The first thing you notice is the different toolbox, in a separate
window, and the added buttons öOrthoò and öZoomò. The former makes lines
snap to the grid and the latter makes the window zoom in and out between
pre-set sizes which you can adjust. This is much quicker and easier
because you often need to zoom in to select the lines you have drawn,
group them into an entity and then look at the result by zooming out.
4.8
To rotate an entire drawing, or part of it, is almost impossible with
Draw. With Plus you can, with ease, rotate, inverse or skew to your
heartæs content, either by a certain number of degrees or by 180 degrees
at a time. This makes drawing manipulation much easier. Even text can be
manipulated in a similar way but you have to turn the text into a draw
file first, using !FontDraw, another handy utility. It is not as
powerful as FontFx but very useful anyway.
4.8
Homemade italics, anyone?
4.8
Naturally, as with Draw, you can mix drawings with text, as you wish. If
you feel inclined to skew the text it is very easy to do. On the whole,
Plus is easier to use than Draw, even if it has one or two rough edges.
So if a font hasnæt got any oblique or italic version you can easily
imitate it!
4.8
Conclusion
4.8
Considering that this is the result of one personæs toil in his spare
time, itæs an amazing product Ö I do have problems with the drawing as
spurious lines sometimes appear for no apparent reason. So I use Draw
first, then Plus. I look upon Draw1╜ as a complement to Draw, not the
ultimate !Draw version but it is worth every penny. Draw1╜ is available
on Shareware disc N║34 from Norwich Computer Services. It is cheap,
powerful and user intuitive Ö can you beat that?  A
4.8

4.8
Pineapple PAL Coder
4.8
Ned Abell
4.8
The PAL coder is a useful addition to the Archimedes in that it does two
things; it allows you to connect up external equipment to the computer
and it lengthens existing monitor leads!
4.8
The add-on unit is a plastic box about 11 x 5.5 x 2 cms which has about
30 cms of ribbon cable coming out of one end with a 9 way D connector on
the end. This connects to the monitor output socket on the computer. On
the other end of the box is another 9 pin socket which now acts as the
new monitor socket. There is also a BNC socket which gives PAL coded
video and an interlace switch. The whole unit is powered from a plug
type power supply.
4.8
Output
4.8
The output from this unit cannot be fed directly into a TV set aerial
socket but if you have a set with a phono plug öAVò video socket or the
öSCARTò type of socket, you should be able to feed the picture from the
coder into the set and view it by switching the set to video or the AV
setting. Check with a TV shop that your set can do this and that the
SCART connector has an adaptor to connect to the BNC on the coder.
4.8
Recording
4.8
If you have a video recorder, you can record pictures from the Archi
medes onto tape by feeding the recorder video input with the output from
the coder. A normal 9 pin colour or monochrome monitor can be used at
the same time as you are using the video output.
4.8
Quality
4.8
The pictures on the video output are of a high standard but they are not
as good as on the monitor. This is to be expected as any PAL coding
system is trying to squeeze a lot of information into a restricted
bandwidth. With the box in circuit, there seems to be no change in the
RGB monitor display. If I compare the pictures generated by my Arvis
genlock and the Pineapple coder then there is little difference in
perceived quality.
4.8
Opening the lid!
4.8
Inside the box, you will find a variable inductor that can help to
control any öhookingò at the top of the coded picture and a variable
capacitor which can be used to adjust cross colour or moire patterns to
a minimum. Itæs a very well made product and, for someone starting off
with an Archimedes and not able to afford a proper monitor, itæs a very
useful add-on.
4.8
The ability to provide a video output can also be of great use if you
want to distribute your Archimedes pictures to another display or use
them on video tape. The retail price is ú69 + VAT.  A
4.8

4.8
Developing a RISC-OS Utility Ö Part 1
4.8
Darren Sillett
4.8
My aim in this series of articles is to illustrate how to produce a
fairly complex RISC-OS utility with the minimum of hard work. To this
end I intend to develop a BASIC library over the coming months which
will provide a cushioning layer between you and the window manager.
4.8
Standard application files
4.8
An application is represented as a directory whose name begins with É!æ,
e.g. !Edit. Inside this directory, the applicationæs files are stored.
Some of these files have a special significance in the desktop. These
are detailed below:
4.8
!Boot Ö is executed when the desktop Filer first displays the appli
cation directory.
4.8
!Run Ö is executed by the desktop Filer when the user double-clicks on
the application directory.
4.8
!Sprites Ö contains the main application sprite and any filetype sprites
used.
4.8
!Help Ö is executed by the desktop Filer when the user selects Help from
the Filer menu.
4.8
!RunImage Ö is the executable code of the main application program.
4.8
Templates Ö is the applicationæs window template file.
4.8
Sprites Ö is the applicationæs private sprite file.
4.8
Getting started
4.8
The first step in creating a new application is to make a new directory
on the your working disc which contains the name of the application. Our
application is going to be called !Ultimate so create a new directory
with that name.
4.8
The next step is to start creating some of the files described above.
Use !Paint to create a sprite with the same name as the directory. The
sprite should be about 68 OS units square which corresponds to a mode 12
sprite 34 pixels wide by 17 pixels high. You can also create a small
sprite called sm!ultimate which will be used by the Filer when display
ing Full info on the application. This sprite should be 34 OS units
square which corresponds to a mode 12 sprite 16 to 19 pixels wide by 9
pixels high.
4.8
Save this file as !Sprites inside the newly created application
directory.
4.8
The next file to create is the !Boot file. This contains the command to
load the sprite file into the Wimp sprite area. This is not strictly
needed in the case of our application because the desktop Filer does
this automatically when no !Boot file exists but, for completeness, and
in case of future expansion, we will still create one.
4.8
To create the !Boot file, use !Edit to create a new obey file containing
the following lines and save it in the application directory.
4.8
The !Boot file should contain the following:
4.8
| >!Boot
4.8
IconSprites <Obey$Dir>.!Sprites
4.8
Last of the simple files to create is the !Run file. This should be
created using !Edit in a similar fashion to that for the !Boot file.
4.8
The file should contain the following lines:
4.8
| >!Run
4.8
IconSprites <Obey$Dir>.!Sprites
4.8
Set Ultimate$Dir <Obey$Dir>
4.8
WimpSlot -min 16k -max 16k
4.8
Run <Ultimate$Dir>.!RunImage
4.8
The sprite file is loaded again in case the application has been run
from the command line. An environment variable called Ultimate$Dir is
set containing a copy of the variable Obey$Dir. This allows the
application to access its application directory once the program itself
is running, enabling it to access, for example, the BASIC library which
we will be creating.
4.8
The WimpSlot command informs the Task Manager of the memory requirements
of the application. The last command executes the main application
program.
4.8
The main application
4.8
The !RunImage file contains the main program code which will be
developed over the coming months. The program presented here is a bare
skeleton which will be fleshed out as more features are incorporated
into the application.
4.8
All the program manages to do at the moment is initialise itself to the
Task Manager and display its icon on the icon bar. To quit the appli
cation you need to use the Task Manager window.
4.8
 10 REM >!RunImage
4.8
 20 LIBRARY ö<Ultimate$Dir>.WimpLibò
4.8
 30 PROCinitialise
4.8
 40 task_id%  = FNinitialise_wimp (öUltimate utilityò)
4.8
 50 bar_icon% = FNcreate_bar_icon (ö!ultimateò,bar_icon_left)
4.8
 60 REPEAT
4.8
 70 SYS öWimp_Pollò,mask%, wimp_block% TO result%
4.8
 80 CASE result% OF
4.8
 90   WHEN 17,18 : PROCreceive_ message(wimp_block%!16)
4.8
100 ENDCASE
4.8
110 UNTIL finished%
4.8
120 PROCclosedown_wimp(task_id%)
4.8
130 END
4.8

4.8
200 DEFPROCinitialise
4.8
210 finished% = FALSE
4.8
220 mask% = 0
4.8
230 ENDPROC
4.8

4.8
300 DEFPROCreceive_message(message%)
4.8
310 CASE message% OF
4.8
320   WHEN 0 : finished% = TRUE
4.8
330 ENDCASE
4.8
340 ENDPROC
4.8
Line 20 Ö Initialises the BASIC library.
4.8
Line 30 Ö Calls routine to initialise application variables.
4.8
Line 40 Ö Initialises the application to the Task Manager using one of
the WimpLib routines.
4.8
Line 50 Ö Displays the applicationæs icon on the icon bar. If a value of
bar_icon_right is given instead of bar_icon_left then the icon will
appear on the right hand side of the icon bar.
4.8
Lines 60..110 Ö Main WIMP polling loop. This is where the application
gets its chance to interact with the user and other applications. At the
moment, it just recognises a quit request from the Task Manager but more
will be added later.
4.8
Line 120 Ö Closes down the WIMP parts of the application i.e. removes it
from the icon bar.
4.8
Lines not explicitly referenced are either unimportant or left for
explanation later.
4.8
WimpLib
4.8
To aid development and provide a useful routine library for everybody
the windowing parts of the application will be found in a BASIC library
called, appropriately, Wimplib.
4.8
 10 REM >WimpLib
4.8
 20 DEF FNinitialise_wimp(app_name$)
4.8
 30 DIM wimp_block% 512
4.8
 40 SYS öWimp_Initialiseò, 200, &4B534154, app_name$ TO
version%,task_id%
4.8
 50 bar_icon_left  = -2
4.8
 60 bar_icon_right = -1
4.8
 70 =task_id%
4.8

4.8
100 DEF FNcreate_bar_icon (app_name$,position)
4.8
110 wimp_block%!0  = position
4.8
120 wimp_block%!4  = 0
4.8
130 wimp_block%!8  = 0
4.8
140 wimp_block%!12 = 0
4.8
150 wimp_block%!16 = 68
4.8
160 wimp_block%!20 = %10000000000010
4.8
170 $(wimp_block% + 24) = app_name$
4.8
180 SYS öWimp_CreateIconò,, wimp_block% TO icon%
4.8
190 =icon%
4.8

4.8
200 DEF PROCclosedown_wimp(task_id%)
4.8
210 SYS öWimp_CloseDownò, task_id%, &4B534154
4.8
220 ENDPROC
4.8
What next?
4.8
Next month I hope to embark on the subject of menus and present some
easy to use library routines for manipulating them.
4.8
I have not decided on the applicationæs precise use yet. I would be keen
to hear of any suggestions for features that could be added to the
application as it grows. So, if you have any ideas or would find a
particular feature handy, please write and tell me and then at least the
application will be of use to someone!
4.8
I can be contacted either through Archive or at 43, Kingfisher Walk,
Ash, Aldershot, Hampshire GU12 6RF.  A
4.8

4.8
Crossword Callup 2
4.8
Alan Wilburn
4.8
This program, aimed at teachers, started life on the BBC B and has been
rewritten as a RISC-OS compatible application with an increase in speed,
size of the database and the opportunity to use RISC-OS printer drivers.
4.8
The program comes on an unprotected disc in a strong vinyl A5 folder
with two comprehensive manuals. One manual is from the original BBC B
version dealing with the database and the second dealing with the
Archimedes enhancements. The second manual assumes you have little
knowledge of RISC-OS and explains how to back up the disc, load the
program etc Ö ideal for teachers.
4.8
The program
4.8
The program makes crosswords, which can be printed out or completed on
screen, from a supplied database. The datafiles can be edited and added
to Ö 490 clues are supplied as a start Ö with a limit of 4,000 clues for
a disc-based program.
4.8
To get started, you open the directory and double click on the appli
cation and it will load, taking over the computer. If you have more than
one drive and/or hard disc, the default has to be set from the command
line Ö it can only be run from $ Dir. on a hard disk. After the title
screen, the main menu appears. Six of the options are for managing the
database and the others are for constructing a crossword, printer setup
and an exit to the desktop.
4.8
The database
4.8
A clue file has five fields: Clue number, Clue, Answer, Level of
difficulty (three choices) and Linked subjects.
4.8
All of these fields can be edited and a new clue file can be entered.
Bump icons allow you to move through the files easily either singly or
in steps of ten and fifty.
4.8
The Main Menu options give a choice of hard copies of subjects, clue
list linked to a subject and a word list for a subject. The database can
be cleared from a menu option if you wish to start from scratch. This is
more of a hang over from the original version which could only handle
just over a hundred files on a 40T drive, but is necessary if Cross
Number Puzzles are to be made. On the disc are two directories, one for
the saved sprite and word file (only one of each which are overwritten
each time) and the other containing tools. The tools are to alter clue
files from the BBC B version into Archimedes format, merge two files and
expand the database to allow more than 4,000 files.
4.8
Printer options
4.8
Menu option 8 is for setting up the printer. From this, pre-loaded RISC-
OS printer drivers can be set for scalable printouts set by a slider
icon or the default Epson driver can be chosen. The background colour of
the crossword can be chosen from a supplied grey palette Ö any other
colours would have to be dealt with in Paint. There is an option to
automatically save a sprite of the crossword grid and a double spaced
!Edit file of clues and answers which can be loaded directly into a DTP
application. Bump icons are available to set the width of the Edit file
and the number of copies to be printed.
4.8
Making a crossword
4.8
To make a crossword, menu option 1 is taken and you decide whether you
are going for a printout or on screen solving. The subjects are then
displayed and you choose which you want, followed by the choice of
levels of difficulty. The computer loads the relevant clues and you are
asked to decide how many clues you want to use. The grid is then built
up on screen. If you donæt like the grid, the computer will keep
redrawing until you are satisfied. If you are solving it on screen, you
move around the grid using the cursor keys and the clue appears at the
bottom of the screen. The answer is entered and you continue to the next
clue. At any time, you can remove an answer.
4.8
If the printout option was taken, the grid and clues are saved to disc
and the grid/clues/answers are printed out over three pages. The
printout was good from the RISC-OS driver for my dot matrix printer but
I found the built-in print option printed across the full 136 columns on
my printer and I didnæt get round to altering the DIP switches to try it
out. If the printer is not connected, the sprite and Edit files are
saved before an error message is generated and you can exit the program
to use the files in DTP.
4.8
In the Archimedesæ manual there are sample crossword/number puzzles
including some using the mask capabilities of Paint to overlay the grid
on a background picture.
4.8
Comments
4.8
I like the program but I find it an unnecessary complication to have to
set the default drive from the command line and who wants to clutter $
Dir. on a hard disc? I consider it a waste of very limited computer time
in school to complete a crossword on screen and so it seems to me that
the most useful part of the program is the DTP aspect. I need to have
crosswords on one sheet so that they can be easily photocopied to be
used as backup / extension / revision work to various lessons and so I
prefer using the two saved files with DTP. Otherwise, it means physical
cut and paste to make up one sheet from the printouts. Using 2Mb RAM on
an A3000, I found it very easy to make a crossword, exit to the desktop
load the two files into Impression and go back and do the next cross
word. I experimented with the mask / overlay technique and found that it
can give very impressive results with little effort.
4.8
Crossword Callup is available from Northern Micromedia for ú19 +VAT + ú1
p&p (=ú26).  A
4.8

4.8
WorraCad
4.8
Mike Hobart
4.8
First, the facts. WorraCad is a fully RISC-OS compatible, ödongleò
protected program which runs comfortably on a basic 1Mb machine, at
least for simple jobs. It comes with a clear, generously-illustrated,
well-printed and quite comprehensive manual which is a little under-
indexed. It costs ú82.
4.8
The program function is, to quote from the manual, öComputer Aided
Draughting (often mistakenly called Computer Aided Design Ö an entirely
different type of application) ... a process whereby the computer is
used as a means of simplifying the drafting processò. Its other theme is
accuracy: eighteen significant figures. I recently zoomed in on a
section of a drawing by a factor of over 700,000! In the laboratory, we
use electron microscopes for that.
4.8
When loaded, WorraCad displays its icon on the icon bar and when this is
clicked, a drawing area, a menu strip and a coordinate window appear.
The menus are also available in the standard RISC-OS fashion via the
menu button, but, personally, I prefer the öradio buttonsò of the menu
strip. The top button moves you around the menu hierarchy, announcing
your present position and, if clicked, moving you towards the root.
Relevant buttons in the sub-menus remain öonò until deselected. This is
very handy most of the time. For instance if you are trying to draw
lines, but feel the need to zoom in, you can go ödown and upò to the
zoom menu, perform the zoom, then reverse the route, but you do not have
to reselect ölinesò in the öDrawò menu, just draw. Occasionally, this
feature can lead you astray, for instance when the select menu has been
in use, you should make sure that you are not resetting the origin by
mistake just because you forgot to switch off this option. My general
feeling is that this is a well thought out part of the program.
4.8
WorraCad uses three kinds of öprimitiveò: points, straight lines and
arcs. Lines can be full feature lines or construction lines which are
used to facilitate the drawing process by providing a skeleton. Lines
may be drawn parallel, normal or tangential to other lines, or at a
specific angle. Circles and arcs constructed by reference to either
centre and radius, three points or more complex constructions involving
centre, point and angular or distance offset.
4.8
Provided that you are drawing fairly standard engineering or building
structures, this is all very convenient, but the more complex flowing
shapes of, for instance, a boat, Concorde or a Gothic arch must be
approached by a series of approximations, which would be tedious.
4.8
WorraCad has provision for up to sixteen drawing layers. The layers may
be hidden (after a redraw), or can be used as guides for work on the
current layer. Colours for each element in a drawing may be set from
within the layer control and are not fixed to each layer. There are also
options to hide construction points and lines (and most other output
categories) from the final product, without having to delete them. There
is full control over paper size. Orthogonal (square) and isometric
(diamond) grids are supported. Various transformations of bits of the
drawing are provided for, e.g. mirror about any line, stretch, rotate.
The facilities for multiple replication of objects with offsets or
rotations programmed would make designing, say, a rack-and-pinion system
a doddle.
4.8
The behaviour of the grid feature can sometimes be a little disconcert
ing. The basic system is very good, allowing grid divisions to be at any
pitch you like, though twelfths are not supported, so Imperial measures
have to be öfudgedò. Sometimes, the grid disappears if the screen
magnification is wrong. It is still there, and objects still attach
themselves to it, but you need a second window at a different magnifi
cation to see it. Incidentally, the zoom system is exquisite, offering
not just numerical zooms, but also fit to page and a özoom to rubber
banded areaò option. Also disconcerting can be the appearance of the
screen if an action, especially a deletion, has been done: nothing seems
to have happened. This is due to the use of a command-driven re-drawing
system. The purpose is to eliminate the long waits with which most
readers will be familiar when using !Draw; if there are many objects on
the screen, the redrawing can be very slow. WorraCad avoids this, and a
quick jab at the örò key is all that is needed to make apparent the
amendments (deletions etc) since the last redraw. Insertions appear at
once.
4.8
What is essential, if you are to get the best out of WorraCad, is that
you should know what you are aiming at. The dimensions and layout should
be clear in your mind, as should the approach you are going to use to
construct your drawing. The example in the manual, a drawing (a full-
feature engineering drawing) of an audio cassette is a very good example
of the approach needed. Draw a rectangular outline, then fillet (round)
the corners on a 3 mm arc, then centre the spools, draw construction
circles and lines appropriate for the öteethò, draw a tooth, and its
share of the circle, then replicate it to fill, then the spindle holes,
the raised area (hatched), the tape window and finally the body screws.
You could draw a perfectly recognisable cassette in !Draw more quickly,
but with this drawing you could imagine making one in the workshop.
4.8
The example makes use of known facts about cassettes. You could quite
easily design your own cassette with different dimensions, drive
mechanisms etc. on a fairly freehand basis. If you want to draw a circle
to fit between two angled lines at a given point, you would not need to
know the exact diameter of a circle required, just the lines and the
point. WorraCad will work out the right size circle and will dimension
your drawing for you. You can label your design with a special font of
technical appearance (like the ones you buy as stencils for a drawing
pen). If you need the drawing in a less technical format, WorraCad will
save it as a !Draw file, available for outline font text, Bezier curve
constructions, and colour fills. WorraCad provides for hatches, which
!Draw does not. Incidentally, each segment of line (i.e. between clicks)
is an object in WorraCad and its !Draw output, so a big drawing can get
very big in drawing demands. Printing is by RISC-OS printer drivers or a
built-in HPGL plotter driver. Input is allowed from DXF using an
importer program whose icon will delight afficionados of öThe Hitch-
Hikers Guide to the Universeò. There is no facility for !Draw input as
Bezier curves and outline fonts are not supported and position informa
tion would need to be rounded.
4.8
Overall, this is a very professional package. It essentially aims to
make anyone look like a skilled draughtsman (at least to my untrained
eye) and it provides the tools to take the drudge out of making good
technical drawings. It is not a package which removes the need to think
and plan, nor is it to be thought of as a better version of !Draw (there
is one if those on Shareware 34) but it does allow the construction of
accurate drawings by those who lack the skill with pen and paper, and
would doubtless accelerate the work of a skilled draughtsman.  A
4.8

4.8
Using the PC Emulator Ö Part 9
4.8
Richard Forster
4.8
The PC emulator does a very good job of pretending to be a real IBM
compatible but when you look behind the facade, it is still an Archi
medes. You cannot use many of the Archimedes functions when under
emulation but there are a few things we can do which a user of a real PC
cannot do. You can of course alter how much memory is available to you
by plugging and unplugging modules but I cannot think of any situations
where it would be preferable to having less memory so I will skirt
around this Éfacilityæ.
4.8
Sound is, of course, the one thing the PC emulator falls down on. Audio
effects on standard PCs are not amazing but, nevertheless, some programs
do attempt to use them and hearing the racket that is usually produced
by the emulator calls for one thing Ö the ability to turn it off.
Software which has musical effects will usually have an off option which
you can use but sounds which usually accompany errors are unstoppable.
4.8
To turn the sound off you need to issue the command:
4.8
*SPEAKER OFF
4.8
before loading in the emulator. If you are likely to always want the
sound off, you can place this command in the !Run file of your !PC
directory. If you do this, make sure that you place it before the line
which looks like:
4.8
Run <PCe$Dir>.Genboot.!RunImage
4.8
or the command will never be executed.
4.8
Alternatively, if you still want the sound, you could experiment with
other sound voices. The emulator picks the voice in the voices list
which is set to channel 1 and uses it when producing the sounds.
Changing the sound voice used is not quite as easy as just typing in:
4.8
*CHANNELVOICE 1 5 (or something similar)
4.8
This is because some of the files which are run before the emulator is
operational, unplug various modules in order to give more memory and
this includes modules like Stringlib and Percussion. If you want to use
sounds from these modules (personally, I think some of them work better
when anything more than a single beep is produced), you must alter the
file !Modules in the Genboot directory of !PC and place a | character
before name of the module you want to use. If you want to use a sound
voice from a module stored in RAM (i.e. loaded in) you must change the
file !Config in the same directory, changing the Y to a N after the line
about removing all RAM modules.
4.8
Hard disc users have a couple of things they can do. Firstly, you can
write protect your PC hard disc drive, which might at some stage be
useful. To do this you simply find the file called Drive_n (where n is
the letter of the PC hard disc drive) in Archimedes mode, and alter its
access codes. This can be done most easily from the desktop where all
you have to do is make sure the öFile has owner write-accessò is not
set.
4.8
You can also set up several PC hard disc drives. The easiest way of
doing this is, once you have created the first one, which will be called
Drive_C, is to rename it Drive_D and then create another Drive_C using
the program. It is also necessary to change the file !Run2 in !PC (or
the file !SCSIRun2 if you use a SCSI drive) to tell the computer that
you have two usable PC hard disk drives. All this applies to version
1.33, and so if you have an earlier version you might have to fiddle
about a bit.
4.8
You want to edit the necessary file to include the new path name of the
new drive and you want to place it on the same line as the previous path
for the Drive_C file. If the files were hidden on your hard disc in the
directory PC, off from the root then you would be changing a line like:
4.8
/<PCe$Dir>.!RunImage <PCe$Dir>. ROM adfs::4.$.PC.Drive_C
4.8
to
4.8
/<PCe$Dir>.!RunImage <PCe$Dir>. ROM adfs::4.$.PC.Drive_C
adfs::4.$.Drive_D
4.8
Once you have done this you should load up the emulator and run the file
FDISK. You will notice that there is an option 5 to öSelect next fixed
disk driveò which is not available if you only have one PC hard disk
drive set up. You can use it to toggle between the two drives. When you
have selected the new one you should select option 1. Do not worry if
you are on the wrong drive when you press it, you will get an error and
you can return to the menu and select the next one. Once you have set up
the drive you should execute a format command.
4.8
If you have not already set up any hard disk drives, the task is simple.
In order to set up both discs, and to install the system files on drive
C so that you can boot up from it, you simply type in (and answer the
prompts):
4.8
FORMAT C: \s FORMAT D:
4.8
If you have already set up a hard disk drive and have just created
another, check which one is already formatted. To do this, simply check
drive C and D in turn, taking a catalogue of each. This should reveal
which is the existing one, and you can format the other. Remember that
if you have already had a drive set up, you must make sure you format
the other one or you could lose your data.
4.8
These two things that we can do on a hard disk drive system are very
useful, especially when they are used together. I have my system set up
with a 512K drive C and a 5Mbytes drive D. All my boot files are on
drive C, including a couple of utilities I find useful, and there is an
autoexec .bat file set up with the single command:
4.8
D:
4.8
The effect of this is that when I load up the PC emulator, the system
files are loaded from drive C and the system switches straight into
drive D. Drive C has been write protected as mentioned before and so my
system files are safe from accidental deletion. They are also quickly
accessible from wherever I am on Drive D. If I worried about viruses,
which I do not, I would be reasonably safe in the knowledge that they
would find it extremely difficult to get at those system files, because
the source of their protection is from the Archimedes, not the PC.
4.8
On this Drive C I have two files from the original boot disc which I
personally find invaluable, but which I have not yet mentioned. They are
PUTFILE.EXE and GETFILE.EXE, and they are the only files on the boot
disc which you would be unlikely to find on a real PCæs disk. They allow
you to transfer files from the PC emulator to the Archimedes. There are
now a few programs for the desktop which allow you to read PC formatted
discs and a couple allow you to save data to them, but the ONLY way to
do this from the PC end is with these two files.
4.8
The syntax of the two commands is the same. They both require a source
filename and a destination filename. GETFILE.EXE takes a file from the
Archimedes and transfers it to the PC, and PUTFILE.EXE takes a file from
the PC and places it on the Archimedes. When using them it is best to
include full pathnames for the Archimedes part although, for the PC
part, the filename will suffice.
4.8
A use of the two programs might be to transfer a text file between the
two sources. So if I had the file CORR91 in the directory
$.1WP.DOC.LETTERS of my Archimedes hard disk, and I wanted to transfer
it to the current directory of the PC emulator calling it CORR91.TXT, I
would type in:
4.8
GETFILE :4.$.1WP.DOC.LETTERS. CORR91 CORR91.TXT
4.8
If I then edited it and wanted to place it back where it came from I
would type in:
4.8
PUTFILE CORR91.TXT :4.$.1WP.DOC .LETTERS.CORR91
4.8
You have to be careful when using both of these commands because they
will give no warning if they have to overwrite an existing file. You
might also run into difficulties if you are trying to transfer data on a
single drive machine as the utilities will not give you a prompt to
change between you PC and Archimedes disc. In these cases the best
option is to set up a ramdisk as shown in parts 3 and 6 of this series
and use this as the PC disk.
4.8
As a demonstration of what we have learned so far and to demonstrate
GETFILE, we shall create a batch file using edlin which will allow us to
get multiple files. As added protection, the program will not let you
use a filename if there already exists a file with the same name. To use
it you simply type in GET followed by an even number of parameters,
alternatively the file to get and the file to save, e.g.
4.8
GET :4.$.LET1 1.TXT :4.$.LET2 2.TXT :4.$.LET3 3.TXT
4.8
So here it is, a batch file to be called GET.BAT
4.8
echo off
4.8
:start
4.8
if ö%1ò=öò goto end
4.8
if ö%2ò=öò goto nosecond
4.8
if exist %2 goto secexist
4.8
getfile %1 %2
4.8
if errorlevel 1 goto end
4.8
echo File %1 got and saved as file %2
4.8
shift
4.8
shift
4.8
goto start
4.8
:secexist
4.8
echo Second file already exists! (I will not overwrite)
4.8
goto end
4.8
:nosecond
4.8
echo You must give me a file name to save to!
4.8
goto end
4.8
:end  A
4.8

4.8
Shareware Disc N║38
4.8
Alan Highet
4.8
All the programs have been tested on a standard A310 and on a 4 Mbyte
A410 with ARM3 and SCSI hard drive. Unless otherwise stated, all
programs ran on both machines.
4.8
Address
4.8
This is a multi-tasking address book which comes with a data file of
useful addresses. A data file can be loaded by double clicking or
dragging to the icon bar in the usual manner. Alternatively, you can
merge files by dragging them to the open address window. There is space
for the name, address, telephone numbers and remarks. Clicking <menu> on
the window gives access to the usual choices of add, delete, goto,
print, save, sort and, of course, search. A search will display the
cards found in a separate window but this can only be saved as a
separate file and not printed. For this you need to go to the main
window and match up the cards or save the found file and reload it as a
main file.
4.8
The print option does not work with my laser printer as no page feed is
sent but I see no reason why it wonæt work with an ordinary dot matrix
printer. The search routine is fast but the sort routine isnæt, which
the author admits to, but I donæt think that is a great handicap as I
donæt really see any great need for regular sorting.
4.8
Graphdraw
4.8
This program allows you to generate graphs in a multi-tasking window.
Data may be entered in various forms. A separate edit window is shown on
screen where the x/y coordinates may be entered manually up to a maximum
of 40 pairs. You can also drag files from Edit or Pipedream using CSV
format although Tab files will also load. Clicking <menu> on the edit
window opens an option menu allowing you to clear the data or save it as
a data file.
4.8
Plotting the graph is also done from this menu, and a second window
opens displaying the graph with the axes automatically scaled and
labelled in Trinity outline font. The points are displayed as small
boxes and options are available to plot the best fit straight line,
least square fit to a parabolic equation, a polynomial fit for orders 3
to 6 and a smooth cubic spline through all the data points.
4.8
A further sub-menu allows you to print the data from each of these
calculations along with the individual errors for each point. You can
also print the graph, save it as a screenfile or save it as a drawfile.
Many of the options can be altered such as the legend size and the graph
title and other items could be added in Draw.
4.8
Overall, this is a very well written program which does everything asked
of it. Hopefully, the author will continue to develop it allowing more
data points, more types of data entry and different types of graph.
4.8
Curves
4.8
A short program to draw curves which unfortunately has no documentation
and not even any REM statements to help you so, not knowing the values
to enter I managed to produce only a straight line.
4.8
Chain
4.8
This is a game for 2, 3 or 4 players played on an eight by eight grid.
Each player can be human or computer and the computer has varying skill
levels. The idea of the game is to place one of your tiles on an empty
square or on a square already occupied by yourself. Each square has a
critical limit and when that is reached the square Éexplodesæ. This
means that the square loses all its tiles and each adjacent square gains
one tile of a similar colour to the exploded tile. This of course could
very well take that tile over its critical limit and so it in turn will
Éexplodeæ in a chain reaction, hence the name.
4.8
The board is nicely presented and works very well and my only complaint
is the endgame. Try as I might, when playing with two human players, I
cannot get the game to end and I wonder if the author has ever finished
it. Once all the squares are of one colour, the game should end but this
doesnæt happen and the chain reaction continues for ever. I assume this
to be a bug as playing against the computer works fine.
4.8
Apart from this niggle, I think it a good game but feel it would be even
better turned into a multi-tasking desktop game.
4.8
Tetris
4.8
This is a good implementation of the classic game with good graphics and
changing background pictures. For the few people who donæt know the
game, the idea is to position random shaped blocks, falling down the
screen, in a neat fashion at the bottom. If a line is completed, with no
gaps, it disappears and all the other blocks move down one. The only
controls are to rotate the block and move it left to right. Having
played the game before, I didnæt bother to read the !ReadMe file and
consequently didnæt realise there were options to pause the game,
display the number of blocks used, display the next block and even title
the many background pictures. So please take note, always read any
documentation!
4.8
Calendar
4.8
This displays a neat window with the current month displayed. Two arrow
are provided to step forward or backwards month by month and you can
change the format to read Mon-Sun or Sun-Sat but that is all. I think it
would have been nice to be able to mark some day with appointments but
maybe the alarm clock provided free with the Archimedes does all that
for you.
4.8
Clipboard
4.8
This module allows you to copy and paste between writeable icons using
some Ctrl keys. An example of a writeable icon is the Palette save on
the icon bar. You can copy and paste or cut and paste between any icons
in any program but Iæm not actually sure if that is much use.
4.8
Fontfix
4.8
A lot of commercial outline fonts will not load into FontEd and this
program strips out all the surplus data from an outline font allowing
you to load it. The author says the program is designed to let you
change the name of the font to the original, i.e. Trinity to Times, but
it does allow you to alter the fonts themselves in FontEd which raises
the question of breaking copyright.
4.8
Italiciser
4.8
Double clicking on this application produces a small window in which you
can alter the angle you require then any Draw file dragged to the window
can be dragged back to Draw with slope of the selected angle.
4.8
Positive or negative angle are catered for and it works very well giving
some interesting effects.
4.8
Menon
4.8
Menon is an icon on the desktop, or on the icon bar, which acts like a
filer allowing you easy access to files that may be hidden on your hard
disc. Any file or application can be dropped onto the icon and this will
then be displayed when clicking <menu> over the icon and sub-menus can
be set up in a similar manner to ADFS. The program worked well on most
things I tried but didnæt work properly with Impression files as it
loaded a second copy of the program.
4.8
Modes
4.8
This program acts in a similar manner to the palette icon giving you
easy access to other modes than 12, 15 or 20 with an editable file for
the modes you want to use. Unfortunately, I couldnæt get it to work.
Firstly the program demands a RAM filing system to be set which it loads
with files and then, when selecting a mode, an error message appears
Ébad wimp modeæ. Iæm not sure what is wrong and there is no proper help
file to explain what the files in ram actually do.
4.8
Fontselect
4.8
This program sits inside your !Font directory and, instead of installing
all the fonts, it lets you select only the groups of fonts you require.
It was written because of the large number of fonts available and the
inability of some programs to handle them. I followed the instructions
and finally got the program to run and a nice window appeared allowing
me to select various fonts but not all of them! Although I had ticked
Trinity font, Impression told me it couldnæt find that font and my !boot
file which installs the fonts and Impression no longer worked, so I
think Iæll stick with my old system.  A
4.8

4.8
Presenter Story
4.8
Ned Abell
4.8
Presenter Story (v.1.20) is not the sort of software which will appeal
to all Archimedes users but those of us who need to communicate will
wonder why we never had anything as comprehensive as it before Ö and
whilst blessing it Ö will curse its failings!
4.8
It is designed to allow the Archimedes to become a mode 12, sixteen
colour presentation tool so that you can hook it up to a video projector
or large monitor. You insert a disc and step your way through a
presentation containing text, logos, maps and sprites by pressing the
space bar, each press giving you a new screen full of information in
different fonts, in different colours, with different backgrounds etc.
Pie charts, line and bar charts can be displayed and sprite animation is
also possible Ö you can even set it up to sequence automatically.
4.8
Many video projectors, (not the Sony 2040), will hook up directly to the
Arc in place of the monitor. The business person can prepare material
and even, at the last minute, change it or re-order it. Thus, it is also
very useful to teachers, trainers and sales people who can throw the
overhead projector acetates away and score more than a few points with
clearer, up to the minute presentations.
4.8
Another great plus point of Presenter Story is allowing the use of
frameworks to generate a house style in all subsequent presentations.
4.8
Video production
4.8
Iæve mentioned before in Archive that the Amiga is the currently
preferred computer in semi-professional video captioning and animation
circles. Presenter Story puts the Archimedes firmly in contention as a
new video tool with existing hardware packages of genlock and digitiser.
The presentations that are created with Presenter Story can be used by
the genlock to affect any video going through it and function key f12 is
used to toggle the overlay. If you use the Wild Vision 400 genlock, the
manual says the software can trigger fade in and out, override the
genlock and provide a buffered I2C bus as well as four GPI interfaces
(for triggering a vision mixer etc). Some of these options, however,
have yet to be implemented.
4.8
I use an ArVis S-VHS genlock and have found no incompatibility but the
shadow key is not supported Ö Iæm working on it! There are also keys
that will provide interlace, an edge colour to the text and there is
also a drop-shadow toggle. These effects are shown after the screen is
re-drawn and can help the display when it is overlaid on live video. The
Watford digitizer is supported and will allow you to load images as
backgrounds into the map/logo editor for using as templates.
4.8
In television, this use of graphics costs two arms and a leg and is time
consuming. With my Archimedes and this software, it is affordable, easy
to do and, with careful choice of text and background colours, very good
displays can be achieved.
4.8
Opening the box
4.8
Presenter Story comes with a well printed and laid out manual of a
hundred A5 pages in a ring binder which also contains the one disc of
software in a plastic holder. Apart from Presenter Story, the disc also
contains two other applications called !PSfont and !PSroll. The disc
also has a !Font file containing the Manager as well as Optima, Garamond
and AmTypeWrit fonts and a sprite file as well as XATæs Video module.
4.8
The structure of !PStory
4.8
On loading the application for the first time, the demo pages are also
loaded and these give a very good idea of the power of the software and
provide examples of layout that you can change for your own presenta
tions. The manual also contains worked examples.
4.8
Paging is the key to the software as each page can contain a series of
different items and after it has finished, you move on to the next page.
Within each page a series of items can be drawn or animated and it is
possible to include a user operated trigger on each item. Thus, if you
had a series of, say, items and their costs, pressing a key would allow
the next to appear below the one already on screen. This is great for
animating text to a sound track or during a lecture. The components of
the page can be:
4.8
Å    Text in different colours, mixed fonts and super and subscript with
alternative (top bit) characters like ⌐.
4.8
Å    Pie Charts Ö 2D or 3D with removable segments
4.8
Å    Line charts in a variety of styles
4.8
Å    Sprites from a pool. These alone can be animated
4.8
Å    Beeps to warn you to press a key
4.8
Å    Logos drawn in the editor or traces which can be made around an image
imported from the digitizer
4.8
Å    Maps drawn in the editor (two colour large area logos)
4.8
Å    Effects to determine how the page appears such as boxwipes, bounces
and patterns
4.8
Å    Labels Ö to label charts maps and graphs
4.8
Å    Changes to the palette
4.8
Å    Triggers to put a pause in the display
4.8
Å    Four pre-set arrows as a graphic
4.8
Å    Border to set the screen edge colour
4.8
Å    Clear to clear the screen
4.8
Å    Background to set the back colour (which can be transparent)
4.8
These components can be in a sequence of different items which are drawn
one after the other. Thus on one page it would be possible to, say,
slide a sprite of a blue rectangle in over a transparent background, pop
text over it, animate it on cue and then add a logo. Good eh!
4.8
Structure
4.8
The structure of the Presenter Story main application requires you to
put your pages, logos and charts in three directories inside the
application rather than in external directories although the sprite and
palette directory is external. Each presentation you produce is copied
onto a new disc from the master, so that each has its own copy of
Presenter Story, and the requisite items for that presentation are
imported from other discs or specially created.
4.8
There is a password security system which you may invoke to prevent
other people altering the data. It is possible to output the screens
directly to a printer or via a screensave file.
4.8
PSroll
4.8
Having created your pages the application Presenter Roll allows you to
join them together in a particular order, the number of pages depending
on the amount of memory available. My 1M machine manages four. The pages
are joined bottom to top in a loop and the speed and direction can be
altered. This can be very eye catching if not overdone. If you were a
travel agent, one of these displays in the window could contain a lot of
late booking holidays Ö estate agents could put houses for sale in a
loop. Public buildings could create information displays which did not
have the usual page wait associated with teletext-like systems. This
also allows me to create a vertical örollerò of credits for the end of a
video. I do this already as a öcrawlerò with XATæs Video Utilities.
4.8
PSfont
4.8
This application allows you to change and to rescale the seven fonts
used in !PStory. I keep a font pool on floppy one, and running its font
manager makes all the pool available for use. If you save any changes to
the fonts, and if the new fonts required are not on the Presenter Story
disc, running !PStory after restarting the computer will cause the
application to hang, so the fonts required must be copied to each
presentation disc. This can use up a lot of space. You must remember
that font display on a 1M machine is a compromise between speed and
available memory. Sensible recommendations for FontMax sizes are
included in the manual but I would also recommend reading the !Readme
file you may have with your existing font manager. This file is not
included on the PStory disc. Remember that you can only configure to
Font Max2 and 3 to 250 pixels.
4.8
This application does the job but there is no on screen representation
of how your rescaled font will look thus you have to approximate and
then go into !PStory to see what it looks like and then come back to
!PSfont to change things. As the applications are not multi-tasking,
this is bad news if you are trying to create a title font on screen to
approximate to a font on some sales literature and this wastes time.
4.8
Limitations
4.8
The first note of caution that I would sound is that Presenter Story is
not multi-tasking as it takes over the whole computer to do its job but
there are ways you can quit back to the desktop. I personally like the
desktop environment and want to refer to other files whilst working with
Presenter Story. More seriously, you can sometimes use the exit option
from PStory and find that the computer locks up and needs resetting.
4.8
The second caveat is that its component editor for graphics is Éuniqueæ.
I have yet to find a way of importing Drawfiles into the package which
is a shame as I used to use this system in my videos and would like to
update my archives. I am not really in favour of re-inventing the wheel
especially as the manual commends you to edit any sprites you are using
with !Paint or !Artisan and you can use conventional palette files.
4.8
There are some things I donæt like about the application structure. The
filing references to logos, sprites and pages are purely numerical,
although pages can be given names to identify them as you create them
and you can page shuffle using these names. This requires a comprehen
sive pencil and paper filing system of the elements used so that you can
keep track of items for future use Ö it would be so easy for the page
name you specify to be appended to the number thus passing this title to
the disc filing window and still retaining a numerical sequence.
4.8
The colour selection in some parts of the page designer asks for input
from 0-9 and A-F whilst background colour selection is in the range 0-
16. This needs standardising. If you want to choose 2D or 3D for a pie
chart, you are asked to input either of the numbers ö1ò or ö2ò instead
of the more logical ö2ò or ö3ò Ö pedantic points, I know, but points
that could make the package use simpler.
4.8
Thatæs most of the moans out of the way. Designing pages of information
is fairly easy. A new page is selected, the type of input required is
selected from a menu and this input can then be positioned on the page.
Sensibly for items like text, the middle mouse button centres the line
of characters. This is great for centering lots of subtitles in an
overlay box Ö you just write down the co-ordinates of the first line of
text and keep the same öyò value for different pages.
4.8
Positioning manually, I found the box that represents the characters
seemed smaller than the actual line of text and two or three goes were
required to get it just right. I would like to see the provision of a
grid overlay toggle as lining up different lines of text by eye in my
case is about as good as my plastering! I did find that larger sizes of
text did tend to övignetteò or slightly cut off at the bottom.
4.8
Conclusions
4.8
If you present information to others or are involved in video, you need
software like this. There is little choice in this area of the market
and while Presenter Story does have shortcomings, these can be worked
round. The font presentation on screen is very good and the quality of
imports help the user to create presentations that can have a distinc
tive house style to match existing styles used by a company. I would
prefer a DTP feel to create the pages but author Paul Reuvers of XAT is
doing the usual balancing act between the quality of output and ease of
use versus 1M machine memory limitations.
4.8
In my view Presenter Story is not yet the definitive presentation
package for the Archimedes but XAT and Lingenuity have made a good first
attempt. I would expect to see what I now regard as a highly rated
package become even better to compliment its öbusinessò price (as well
as an upgrade path for us pioneers). I look forward in hope to a RISC-OS
compliant version of Presenter Story 2 Ö especially now that software
authors are seeing the power of other packages in a WIMP environment.
4.8
Presenter Story (v1.20) by X-Ample Technology is ú169 +VAT from
Lingenuity.  A
4.8

4.8
Design Conceptsæ Programs
4.8
Robert Chrismas
4.8
The Design Concepts programs are all priced between ú1.00 and ú2.00.
They are multi-tasking RISC-OS applications, although Freehand puts a
window over the desktop for time-critical drawing operations. Each
application comes with a page or so of A5 documentation and includes a
!Help file.
4.8
The programs are mostly tools to support larger applications. Some of
the jobs these programs do could be done with other programs but they
might still be attractive to people with only (only!) 1M of memory
because these programs are memory frugal, 32K seems typical. The
versions I saw were written in BASIC and even when I was not excited by
the program, it was interesting to be able to look at the code and see
how it was done.
4.8
FreeHand: With most painting programs you can hold down <select> to
create a free hand drawing. Using this program feels like that, but it
creates a draw file. You can set a high scanning speed for smooth curves
with lots of points or lower for less points and therefore smaller
files. The draw file consists of straight line segments and it can be
reloaded and edited but FreeHand does not like ordinary Draw files. Some
artistic ability is a benefit. ú2.00.
4.8
Shade: Impression comes with a very useful Draw file called GradTint
with a rectangle shaded from black to white in finer gradations than
anything you could normally produce with Draw. This program creates
similar rectangles between any two colours. Of course it is mapped onto
the screen palette when displayed on the screen. For anything but greys
you would need a good quality colour printer to see the effect properly.
ú1.50.
4.8
Fontlist: This outputs a draw file with examples of all your fonts. Each
line says something like ÉThis is Hobartæ. It always lists all your
fonts. ú1.50.
4.8
Back2: This should provide a menu for the desktop background allowing
you to load applications. Unfortunately ÉIt requires considerable
setting up before it can be useful...æ, you have to modify application
boot files (e.g. using Edit). It also allows a repeated sprite back
ground. ú2.00.
4.8
Speedo: This is a like ÉUsageæ on Applications 2 except that it gives
numeric output. I enjoyed using this to discover the effect different
applications had. ú1.00.
4.8
Muncher: Muncher produces a constantly changing pattern in a window.
This is a useful program if your Archimedes runs too fast. ú1.00.
4.8
KeyCap: This allows you to preview an outline font at any size. It uses
a constant sized window so you only see the bottoms of large characters.
ú1.50.
4.8
CountWord: Drag a text file to this application and it will count the
words and the paragraphs. It can handle First Word Plus files as well as
normal text. ú1.00.
4.8
Mouse: Sometimes you want the pointer to move quickly, at other times
you want a more sensitive response. This program adjusts the speed of
the mouse as you move it, so slow movements are very accurate and fast
movements cause the pointer to leap around the screen. You can adjust
the levels at which the pointer speed changes. The program does not
tinker with the interrupts. ú1.00.  A
4.8

4.8
Design Conceptsæ Fonts
4.8
Robert Chrismas
4.8
If you noticed the Design Conceptsæ advertisement in Archive 4.6 p17 you
probably suspected a rip-off. Who sells Éproperæ outline fonts for
ú1.50? More from curiosity than expectation, I sent for two fonts which
arrived within a week. A couple of weeks later Paul sent me the whole
range to review.
4.8
These are proper outline fonts, you can add them to your !Fonts
directory or use them from the !MoreFonts directory supplied on the
disk.
4.8
Appearance
4.8
There is a wide variety of styles from 5th century Celtic, through
Goffik (Christmas card writing) to LCD (calculators and 70æs advertisers
trying to look modern) and Ainslie (a pleasant modern script style). The
more neutral styles like Sparta and Hobart will probably be the most
used. None of the fonts is suitable for large quantities of text but
they could be used for headlines or posters.
4.8
Used to excess, these fonts could produce documents which would frighten
granny (if granny is a typographer). However some jobs do need a special
look and one of these distinctive fonts could well be suitable. At this
price, you can afford to use them with discretion.
4.8
Quality
4.8
When a font is displayed on the screen or printed it must be converted
to patterns of pixels. The pixels will not match the outline exactly. If
the letters are large, we do not usually notice any problems but if the
letters are small, they can lack clarity and symmetry. To improve the
quality of the letters, designers add Éhintingæ data called Éskeletonsæ
and Éscaffoldingæ (grim names!) to the font. Skeletons ensure that thin
lines will always be at least one pixel wide, so they do not disappear.
Scaffolding ensures that the letters have similar dimensions and that
similar parts of the letter create similar patterns of pixels.
4.8
Creating skeletons and scaffolding takes time, which is why good quality
fonts are usually expensive. I do not have any technical documentation
on the various types of scaffolding lines, but I compared the Design
Conceptsæ fonts with the Trinity font used to print this article. In
most cases, the Design Conceptsæ hinting appeared to be less detailed
and some seemed very limited but it is hard to tell how much scaffolding
is desirable for less Éregularæ styles. I felt that the fonts printed
acceptably in small sizes.
4.8
Designers can save time by not defining all the characters. It is
possible to have 224 definitions (ASCII 32Ö255). To be useful, a font
must have definitions for characters 32Ö126 because these are the
standard characters available from the keyboard. Characters 128Ö255
include alternative vowels with accents, umlauts, ligatures and special
symbols so, for most purposes, a few gaps here will not matter very
much. The Trinity font has 208 defined characters of which 157 have
scaffolding. All the Design Conceptsæ fonts have all the characters
32Ö126 and most have about 170 definitions altogether.
4.8
Some of the Design Conceptsæ fonts have the same definitions for upper
and lower case letters and, in others, the lower case is just the upper
case reduced in size. Only Ainslie and LCD have clearly distinguished
upper and lower case.
4.8
You need Font Manager 2.42 or later to use these fonts Ö none has a
Postscript equivalent.  A
4.8

4.8

4.8

4.8
Acropolis
4.8
Characters 156 Scaffolding 18
4.8
U/L/case scaled down
4.8
Ainslie
4.8
Characters 185 Scaffolding 116
4.8
U/L/case different
4.8
Celtic
4.8
Characters 169 Scaffolding 112
4.8
U/L/case all but 2 identical
4.8
Goffik
4.8
Characters 101 Scaffolding 90
4.8
U/L/case scaled down
4.8
Hobart
4.8
Characters 177 Scaffolding 116
4.8
U/L/case identical
4.8
Khut
4.8
Characters 170 Scaffolding 113
4.8
U/L/case identical
4.8
LCD
4.8
Characters 221 Scaffolding 191
4.8
U/L/case 6 different rest scaled
4.8
Sparta
4.8
Characters 167 Scaffolding 108
4.8
U/L/case scaled down
4.8
Subway
4.8
Characters 170 Scaffolding 107
4.8
U/L/case scaled down
4.8

4.8

4.8

4.8
The table shows how many characters are defined in each font, and how
many have scaffolding. FontFix from Shareware 38 was used to find these
statistics. FontFix does not measure quality and it counts the logo
which many designers include as a normal character. The table also
compares the upper and lower case characters.
4.8

4.8

4.8
hinting comparison
4.8

4.8
Celtic from Design Concept
4.8

4.8
Trinity Medium
4.8

4.8
converting an outline to pixels
4.8

4.8
Careware Disc N║7
4.8
John Oversby
4.8
Careware Disc N║7 is packed with applications and examples. Most come
with Help text files which should be read before use.
4.8
!DrawLink
4.8
Using a text area in !Draw can be tedious since effects such as right,
left or full justification, number of columns, font type, can only be
edited in !Edit. This means that !Draw should be used alongside !Edit if
text areas are required. !Drawlink allows text, in ASCII format, to be
linked to a standard header for use in !Draw. The package is used from
the Command Line (F12 Ö star prompt) and the input file and output file
names must be specified. I found this unhelpful and prefer to use pre-
prepared text files, under such names as Éleft-justæ or É2-colæ in clear
directories.
4.8
!DrawCGM
4.8
!DrawCGm is a Utility for converting Acorn Draw files to CGM Computer
Graphics Metafiles which may be imported into Lotus FreeLance and other
Graphics tools on the PC. I did not have an opportunity to test this.
4.8
!FontEd
4.8
After using this to modify some of the characters in one of my outline
fonts, I realised how time-consuming the production of a new font would
be. Use it to convert a character into a !Draw path, so that it can be
rotated. Even better, use !Draw1╜ (S/W 34) which does the job very well
and with greater ease.
4.8
!MakeGIF and !Translator
4.8
!Translator converts sprites from many formats, including Amiga, Atari
and ProArtisan compressed forms, and in different modes, to sprites for
use in RISC-OS applications, in any mode you can normally use. Options
include changing the palette, saving part of a sprite, enlarging or
producing a mirror image. It will also take compressed forms such as GIF
(Graphics Interchange Format) and convert these into Archimedes sprites.
!MakeGIF does the change in compression and type. Typically, a sprite
can be reduced to half its size in GIF format, allowing more pictures
per disc. Many bulletin boards and PD libraries use GIF files to pack
more information into each file.
4.8
BFonts
4.8
Fed up with the boring Archimedes font as used in the desktop? Here are
twelve new ones including IBM and Giraffe (tall and thin!).
4.8
NEC
4.8
This contains a printer driver for the NEC P2200 printer for use in
Pipedream, which I was unable to try, and !Chars, a neat application
with its own window which helps you to choose characters not available
from the keyboard such as ⌐ and ╡ and not defined on the keyboard when
using word-processors or DTP programs. With the pointer over the
character, press <select> or <shift> to enter the character.
4.8
Symbol
4.8
A Greek/Symbols outline font.
4.8
!FileUtils
4.8
FileUtils installs an icon on the iconbar. When you drag a file to the
icon, a menu will pop up which lets you perform a * command using the
filename of the file you dragged to the icon. Commands include
*ScreenLoad for sprites, change file type, open application directories,
stamp with todayæs date. This is useful if you are not sure about using
the Command Line or if the file has a long path name which would be
tedious to type out in full.
4.8
!MultiPrnt
4.8
Drag files to this to be printed without your constant attention. Will
multitask on text files but !Draw files and sprites need to Éseeæ !Draw
or !Paint first so the printing takes over the machine.
4.8
!PCDir
4.8
This only works on 720K PC formatted discs but it does it pretty well. A
disc icon appears on the icon bar. Place a PC disc in the drive and
click <select>. A directory window (but not in the normal window
colours) appears with the PC files, and extensions, in an Archimedes
look-alike way. Files can be moved from this window, into RAM, onto a
hard disc, onto an ADFS floppy, with sensible choice of filetypes. For
example, a PC file with the extension .DOC will be converted into a text
file on an ADFS disc. Files can also be dragged into applications. Take
a PC disc with a text tile, load the file into !Edit, work on it, then
save the changed file back to the PC disc. This version of !PCDir will
not allow formatting. I have used this application with DTP to take
information sent to me by those who use PC machines. Unfortunately, I
canæt send them the finished product other than in printed form but that
is their loss!
4.8
!PrBuffer
4.8
Provides a printer buffer of a size decided by you!
4.8
!Z88
4.8
A RISC-OS program to take information from a Z88, through the Archi
medes, to a printer or a disc. It needs a special cable to attach the
Z88 to the serial port. I am not able to test it.
4.8
!BasicMgr
4.8
This allows access to BASIC from the desktop.
4.8
!Dots
4.8
This produces Fractal Ferns programs.
4.8
!Jotpad
4.8
This Application is a desktop jotpad.
4.8
!Logga
4.8
Its aim is to record how long you do something over a long period of
time, e.g. how many hours you use the computer each week. Pressing
<select> starts the log and pressing <adjust> stops it. The file is it
produces is text. Use !Edit to view it.
4.8
!WrongWay
4.8
Turns all the text on screen upside down (or correct way up if it was
already upside down!)
4.8
LowMem40
4.8
This module provides a screen mode (40) which only takes up 8k which is
great for backing up / copying discs.
4.8
Overall
4.8
Careware Disc 7 is excellent value, particularly as those who buy it
support charity.  A
4.8

4.8

4.8
Setting up the PC Emulator
4.8
Richard Wheeler
4.8
Over Christmas, my family acquired an A420 Learning Curve (plus
printer). Every now and then the family lets me delve into the machine
and set things up the way I want to. These notes describe how I set up
the PC emulator.
4.8
When I first saw that the Archimedes had a PC emulator I was quite
excited. At work I have a PS/2 which is LANed to a laser printer. I had
a vision of taking Archimedes spool files to work to make use of the
quality and speed of the laser printer (and also of bringing work home
for evenings and weekends). As I came to read a bit more about the PC
emulator, it all seemed rather Éiffyæ Ö and set up was not something to
be done quickly. This was especially so once I realised that the
emulation would deliver XT speed which is distinctly like watching
coffee trees grow. With 4 Mbytes of memory available, I wanted to do
something which would give some sort of turbo boost even if only through
a memory resident D drive. From the various bits and pieces that I read,
I decided that a large RAM disc Ö say 2 Mbytes out of the 4 Mbytes
installed Ö would be the best starting point.
4.8
One afternoon, I settled down to Édo the deedæ and it turned out to be
remarkably simple. These notes describe what I did and the few problems
I encountered.
4.8
Detailed installation steps
4.8
Step 1 was to read the two articles by Bill Mapleson and David Wilkins
in Archive 4.3 which were more than helpful. In general, I will only
describe differences from these articles Ö particularly as David
describes the more complex task of amending an existing PC environment
rather than the simpler task of setting up a new environment.
4.8
Step 2 was to make a copy of the PC directory (as set up on the Learning
Curve) onto a floppy. I will not explain where I went wrong in detail
but I did need to recover files from this later on...
4.8
Step 3 comes from Archive 4.3 p9 (where it is also called step 3). I
used !Edit on the PC.!PC. GenBoot.!Config file to give answers of N to
ÉAlways Kill Modulesæ, ÉPerform RMClearæ and ÉPerform RMTidyæ.
4.8
Step 4 is a combination of Archive 4.3 p9 step 4 and p20. I used !Edit
on PC.!PC.!Run2 to include my hard disc name for both disc partitions.
For me, the line then looked as follows;
4.8
/<PCe$Dir>.!RunImage <PCe$Dir> .ROM adfs::Harddisc4.$.PC.Drive_C
adfs::HardDisc4.$.PC.Drive_D
4.8
I originally followed the David Wilkinsæ suggestion at the end of page
20 and tried to use <PCe$Dir>.Drive_C etc but this caused me too many
problems. (The disc partitions are created in the PC directory and not
the PC.!PC subdirectory which PCe$Dir is pointing to. Apart from a
simpler line in PC.!PC.!Run2, I could see no benefit from moving the
files down a directory.) About this time I had to use the floppy disk...
4.8
Step 5 was to create a standard PC environment with a 10 Mbyte C drive
and a 2 Mbyte D drive, both on the hard disc. As I was perfectly happy
to create a ram disc in megabyte multiples (2 Mbyte in fact) I had no
need to modify !ADFSDisk as David describes (the thought of doing which
scared me silly). I created the D drive first by running !ADFSDisk and
answering É2æ to the size prompt. Surprisingly !ADFSDisk did not run
from my Hard Disc and I had to use the PC Emulator floppy. Instead of
continuing after the file had been created, I used <escape> and then
renamed the Drive_C file just created, to Drive_D. Then I re-ran
!ADFSDisk to create a 10 Mbyte Drive_C and this time let the process
continue to set up the PC Emulator and DRDOS. Despite my prior reserva
tions, this all worked as described in Acornæs mini manual. The install
formatted both the C and D drives so I had no need to use FDISK
separately to format the D drive.
4.8
At this point I had a working PC XT Ö at last <delete> worked like a
delete key should and, to my great surprise, <print> gave a screen print
straight away.
4.8
Step 6 was to use Drive_D from RAM rather the Hard Disc. David Wilkinsæ
description of what to do, starting at the bottom of the first column of
page 21 is excellent. My differences were that when I came to use !Edit
on PC.!PC.!RUN I found that I had no MemAlloc relocatable module in
System:Modules. Mine was in PC.!PC.Gen Boot. I set the RAMFSSize to
2176k [= 2048k + 128k]. Allowing 128k overhead may well be extravagant
but I wanted to minimise the chance of problems. I also found that when
I poked PC.!PC.GenBoot.!Runimage it was the numeric keypad which had to
be used (in fact exactly as David describes but not what I originally
did).
4.8
Simplifying PC operation
4.8
Once I had a workable PC, the next steps were to make it just that bit
more useable. Where I work, it is standard to set up a series a batch
files to initiate applications and a banner which lists the available
applications. All this can be set up as follows
4.8
Step 7, from the C:> prompt create a new directory as follows
4.8
 MD \PCAMS <return>
4.8
 CD \PCAMS <return>
4.8
Step 8, for each PC application, use Editor (if using DRDOS) or Edlin
(if using MSDOS) to create within the PCAMS directory a batch file to
start the application. Typically, this will be three commands. The first
prevents commands being echoed to the screen, the second changes to the
application directory and the third invokes the application through (as
we will see below) another batch file. For example, I have IBMæs
Display-Write 4 wordprocessor installed, so I created the file D4.BAT Ö
the BAT file extension indicating a batch file. This contains the
commands
4.8
ECHO OFF
4.8
MOUSE
4.8
CD \DW4
4.8
DW4
4.8
The additional MOUSE command is to invoke the mouse driver so that I can
use the Archimedes mouse from within DisplayWrite 4.
4.8
Step 9 is to use Editor to create a banner file (in directory PCAMS)
which will list the batch files set up. Mine is in file HELLO.DAT and
looks something like
4.8
************************************************
4.8
*                                              *
4.8
*      Personal Computer Access Services       *
4.8
*      ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ-       *
4.8
*                                              *
4.8
*  D4  DisplayWrite 4                          *
4.8
*                                              *
4.8
*  FS  Frost & Sulivan Expert System Examples  *
4.8
*                                              *
4.8
*      Use RESET to return to an empty         *
4.8
*      Archimedes Desktop                      *
4.8
*                                              *
4.8
************************************************
4.8
This shows that I have not had time to set up many PC applications yet!
4.8
In order to display the banner, the following commands are used:
4.8
CD \PCAMS
4.8
CLS
4.8
TYPE HELLO.DAT
4.8
These need to be added to the end of AUTOEXEC.BAT so the banner displays
when the PC Emulator is entered. My AUTOEXEC .BAT now looks like:
4.8
@ECHO OFF
4.8
REM The DRDOSBEG and DRDOSEND labels tell the SETUP program which
4.8
REM statements it should process. Put any additional statements for
4.8
REM DR DOS between these two labels. Any other statements e.g. for
4.8
REM other operating systems, should be placed outside the labels.
4.8
:DRDOSBEG
4.8
PATH C:\;C:\DRDOS
4.8
APPEND C:\DRDOS
4.8
KEYB UK+
4.8
VERIFY OFF
4.8
PROMPT $P$G
4.8
CD \PCAMS
4.8
CLS
4.8
TYPE HELLO.DAT
4.8
:DRDOSEND
4.8
(My other change in AUTOEXEC.BAT is to include the current directory in
the command line prompt. I find this invaluable when working across many
directories).
4.8
Displaying the banner when each application terminates is simpler to
achieve than to describe! If the application is normally started simply
by running an executable program then the process is straightforward.
Create the batch file invoked from the PCAMS directory (in the example
above this would be C:\DW4\DW4.BAT) to invoke the application executable
and then the three commands described above. However, if the application
is normally started by a batch file (which may then invoke further
nested batch files Ö as is the case with Displaywrite 4) the three
commands have to be included at the end of the final batch file Ö a bit
of searching may be required to find the correct place but it is not
usually too hard. As an example
4.8
ECHO OFF
4.8
CLS
4.8
REM RELEASE 1.0
4.8
REM MODE LPT1:,,P
4.8
CD >C:\DW4\DW4ODIR.BAT
4.8
ECHO Insert a diskette for storing documents in drive A:
4.8
PAUSE
4.8
A:
4.8
CD >C:\DW4\DW4DDIR.LST
4.8
C:
4.8
CD \DW4
4.8
DW4PG C:\DW4\PROFILE.PRF,,C:\DW4,,C
4.8
C:
4.8
CD C:\DW4
4.8
REM IF NOT EXIST DW4ODIR.BAT GOTO LABEL1
4.8
REM DW4ODIR
4.8
REM :LABEL1
4.8
CD \PCAMS
4.8
CLS
4.8
TYPE HELLO.DAT
4.8
What next?
4.8
There are a number of things I have yet to do with the PC emulator.
(These include configuring a printer driver, making worthwhile use of
the RAM disk and, if I get really adventurous, doing some PC based
comms). Depending on the time I am allowed, the success I achieve and
the reception this article receives, I will let you know all about my
experiences.  A
4.8

4.8
International Hangman
4.8
Ashley Bowden
4.8
Micro-Aid have produced a version of the well-known word game, hangman,
aimed at pupils and students learning languages. The game is played in
much the usual way although the word to be guessed can be in a chosen
foreign language. There are twenty-five of these to choose from
including the more exotic Malay and Chinese as well as most European
languages.
4.8
The game has a number of variations. You have the option of a clue which
is actually the translation of the word. So, for example, you can try to
guess an English word, with its French equivalent as the clue, or vice
versa. You can elect not to have the clue, although the international
flavour is lost if you end up just guessing an English word without it.
4.8
There is a slightly mystifying scoring system. I could find no explana
tion on the instruction sheet or in the program and I ended up with a
negative score after some (deliberately) bad play.
4.8
Each language has a list of word pairs stored in an !Edit file. This can
be amended and a facility exists for the user to add a new language.
Files containing English synonyms and antonyms are included so the game
is not restricted purely to foreign languages.
4.8
Unfortunately, only capital letters are used in the game and so there
are no accents. Many language teachers I know find this aspect of
computer programs rather off-putting since they wish to reinforce the
correct use of accents.
4.8
The program makes little use of the Archimedesæ potential. It is rather
odd being presented with a MODE 7 title screen followed by a routine to
choose your language using the mouse and a system of sub-menus. What is
worse is that the main game screen is also in MODE 7. This is really
unforgivable and it indicates clearly that the program is just a partial
rewrite of the original BBC version. There are also a couple of small
bugs in the code on my review copy. At a price of ú10.75 +VAT the game
is not attractively priced and one feels that it should perhaps have
stayed with the BBC where it obviously belongs.  A
4.8

4.8

4.8
Mark Drayton
4.8
This disc is a compilation of many various Public Domain titles; some
applications, demonstrations, and several games. One of the five
directories on the disc contains text files concerning most of the
programs on the disc. Some are detailed instructions and others simply
state the version number and author. Careware 5 is available through
Norwich Computer Services for ú6.00.
4.8
Applications
4.8
In the ÉAppsæ directory reside four applications and four directories
containing useful files and some ÉUserDataæ to use with the
applications.
4.8
!ChartDraw (V. 1.00) Ö This allows you to enter figures under a
specified label which the program will then present as either piechart,
linegraph or a stacked/grouped barchart. The presentation in each form
is quite flexible, allowing you to select horizontal or vertical
bargraphs, or hatched or solid fills for example. This application is
fully RISC-OS compatible and is superbly presented, with detailed
instructions. There is no facility within the program to print out a
graph, although an option is provided to save the whole screen as a
sprite, so it can be printed out using an art package such as !Paint.
Some demonstration files are provided within the UserData directory.
Note: Version 2.00 (Nov. 1990) is now available, incorporating a print
facility and several other improvements. It was included on the
ArchivePD Éfreebieæ disc last month. Perhaps someone at NCS will update
the version on the Careware disc? (æTis done! Ed.)
4.8
!Designer Ö This small program enables the user to edit/design BBC
(system) fonts, which are completely Éstand aloneæ. Although the program
is devoid of any instructions, it is very simple to use. Four BBC fonts
are supplied in the UserData directory.
4.8
!KeyStrip (V. 1.00) Ö This is the best Keystrip generator program for
the Archimedes I have yet encountered. It caters for any function key
and the <print> key, plus either <ctrl> or <shift>. You can print
directly from the program, which is set up to drive an Epson FX80
compatible, although code is supplied to drive an Epson LQ800 compat
ible. From the same author as !ChartDraw, it is also easy to use and
well presented with copious instructions, and runs from the RISC-OS
desktop. Some useful demonstrations are supplied.
4.8
NewModes Ö Created with The Data Storeæs mode make utility, they provide
extra big screens, in both 16 and 256 colours. The dimensions are as
follows :
4.8
    Mode    Text    Colours
4.8
    40    156*36    16
4.8
    41    156*36    256
4.8
    42    92*36    16
4.8
    43    92*36    256
4.8
They are selectable in the normal way and are nice to use in the
Desktop.
4.8
PrintBuf Ö A relocatable module provides the following commands :
*Buffer [<size>[k]], *NoBuffer and *Flush. It enables you to print
documents seemingly instantly and continue, by acting as a support
buffer to the printer. Setting this up is a little tricky but full
instructions are provided.
4.8
QLUtils Ö Three programs are supplied, QLMod Ö a module which loads
Sinclair QL screens in mode 9; QLreader Ö program which reads QL discs;
QLScrConv Ö program which uses QLMod to convert QL screens into sprite
files. Two QL screens are provided for experimentation. Only useful if
you are unlucky enough to own a Sinclair QL.
4.8
!Teletext Ö A utility to create teletext style screens. Very easy to use
and well presented. Instructions are incorporated into the program. Use
!KeyStrip to print out a key strip (supplied). The function keys are
utilised to change colour, and for other operations. Why an Archimedes
owner would wish to use this form of presentation is beyond me, but if
you did, Iæm sure this would suit your needs adequately. Beware: you
must reset the computer to escape the programæs clutches!!
4.8
Demos
4.8
There are two demonstrations, both from Noah Professional. One displays
32,768 colours, (pretty but boring), the other incorporates a spectrum
analyser, whooshing stars, music and the inevitable small scrolly text.
It does a good impression of an Amiga on exit, (why?). However, I have
seen much, much better.
4.8
Games
4.8
!Poker Ö This is a fairly accurate and detailed game, which, (to the
best of my gambling knowledge), incorporates all of the known variants
and rules. Quite acceptable graphics. Player-computer games are
possible. NOTE: No instructions are supplied !! A lot safer than the
gee-gees...
4.8
!Quartet Ö A desktop version of öTetrisò, which involves packing falling
shapes into a bin. Quite addictive and frustrating. (Ali is addicted to
it! Ed.) It installs on the icon bar, so bringing up yet another game is
far too easy. Instructions supplied. RISC-OS only. Guaranteed to
distract you from your work.
4.8
!Simon Ö A simulation of the once popular hand held game of the same
name, designed to be a test of observation and memory. Full instructions
supplied. Levels of difficulty are selectable. Good fun.
4.8
KX_P1124 Ö This directory contains information and configuration files
for Epson LQ/SQ printers, and some First Word Plus printer drivers. Not
owning the said hardware, I am not able to comment on this material.
4.8
Conclusion
4.8
This disc offers a lot of varied Public Domain material and is tremen
dous value for money. It is well documented and packed full to the brim.
Given all this and the opportunity to contribute to charity, what are
you waiting for?  A
4.8

4.8
Careware Disc N║ 5
4.8

4.8

4.8
A3000 Expansion Card Case
4.8
Tony Colombat
4.8
During the last month, the school at which I teach was the happy
recipient of a Laser Direct printer and ten A3000æs supplied by local
business firms. The Laser Direct has a podule which needs to be fitted
to the back of one of the A3000s and I was staggered to find that no
cover or protection was supplied by Computer Concepts. Certainly, the
printer could not be used with a bare podule sticking out the back and
inquiring pupil hands all too ready to explore pcbæs.
4.8
To overcome the problem I decided to order an öExpansion Card Caseò from
PRES and, within 36 hours of telephoning the order, the case arrived.
4.8
I had never seen a podule case before and was surprised at how well
everything fitted together. The case is made of metal in the familiar
cream of an A3000 and is slightly wider, though no longer, than an
expansion podule. There is plenty of room above and below the podule to
avoid any possibility of the pcb touching the case. At the computer end
of the case is a lip which slides into the grooves under the A3000 and
two screw holes and screws that match those above the expansion
interface on the A3000. Once fitted, a sturdy, though ungainly, cover
for the podule is available.
4.8
The difficult bit now begins because, with the case in place, one has to
try and fit the podule into the expansion interface with the cover
stopping any attempts to line up the podule pins. I found the best
method was to tip the computer onto its front end and lower the podule
vertically down onto the interface. Once the correct position has been
achieved and the podule pushed home a good fit is made. I then found the
second problem, neither firms had supplied screws for fitting the podule
to the expansion case. I ended up temporarily fixing the two together
with nylon clips.
4.8
Summary
4.8
Anyone expanding their A3000æs potential with accessories such as a
scanner or laser printer which require a podule would do well to check
whether they are supplied with a podule cover. If not, and they are sure
that they are not going to fit further podules for a hard disc etc, they
will find it worthwhile to contact PRES for their A3000 Expansion Card
Case. (A3K3) at ú15+VAT.  A
4.8

4.8
4th Dimension    P.O. Box 4444, Sheffield. (0742-700661)
4.8
Abacus Training    29 Okus Grove, Upper Stratton, Swindon, Wilts, SN2
6QA.
4.8
Acorn Computers Ltd    Fulbourn
Road, Cherry Hinton, Cambridge, CB1 4JN. (0223-245200) (210685)
4.8
Ace Computing  (p4)    27 Victoria
Road, Cambridge, CB4 3BW. (0223-322559) (69180)
4.8
Atomwide Ltd   (p24)    23 The
Greenway, Orpington, Kent, BR5 2AY. (0689-838852) (896088)
4.8
Base5   (p32)    PO Box 378, Woking, Surrey GU21 4DF.
4.8
Beebug Ltd    117 Hatfield Road, St Albans, Herts, AL1 4JS. (0727-40303)
(60263)
4.8
Clares Micro Supplies    98 Mid
dlewich Road, Rudheath, Northwich, Cheshire, CW9 7DA. (0606-48511)
(48512)
4.8
Colton Software  (p35)    149-151 St
Neots Road, Hardwick, Cambridge, CB3 7QJ. (0954-211472) (211607)
4.8
Computer Concepts (p30/31)    Gaddesden
Place, Hemel Hempstead, Herts, HP2 6EX. (0442-63933) (231632)
4.8
Contex Computing    15 Woodlands Close, Cople, Bedford, MK44 3UE. (02303-
347)
4.8
Design Concept     30 South Oswald Road, Edinburgh, EH9 2HG.
4.8
Lingenuity (Lindis) (p16)    P.O.Box 10,
Halesworth, Suffolk, IP19 0DX. (0986-85-476) (460)
4.8
Longman-Logotron    Dales Brewery, Gwydir Street, Cambridge, CB1 2LJ.
(0223-323656) (460208)
4.8
Micro-Aid    Kildonan Courtyard, Barrhill, Girvan, S. Ayrshire, KA26 0PS.
(0465-82288)
4.8
Micro Librarian Systems    Staley
Cottage, Ridge End Fold, Marple, Stockport, Cheshire, SK6 7EX. (061-449-
9357)
4.8
Minerva Systems    Minerva House, Baring Crescent, Exeter, EX1 1TL.
(0392-437756) (421762)
4.8
Morley Electronics    Morley
House, Norham Road, North Shields, Tyne & Wear, NE29 7TY. (091-257-6355)
(6373)
4.8
Northern Micromedia    Resources
Centre, Coach Lane Campus, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE7 7XA. (091-270-0424)
4.8
Oak Solutions (p15)    Cross Park
House, Low Green, Rawdon, Leeds, LS19 6HA. (0532-502615) (506868)
4.8
Paul Fray Ltd    4 Flint Lane, Ely Road, Waterbeach, Cambridge CB5 9QZ.
(0223-441134) (-441017).
4.8
PEP Associates     55 St Paulæs Drive, Chatteris, Cambridge, PE16 6DG.
4.8
Pineapple Software    39 Brownlea
Gardens, Seven Kings, Ilford, Essex, IG3 9NL. (081-599-1476)
4.8
P.R.E.S.    6 Ava House, Chobham, Surrey. (0276-72046)
4.8
Ray Maidstone    421 Sprowston Road, Norwich, NR3 4EH. (0603-407060)
(417447)
4.8
RESOURCE    Exeter Road, Doncaster, DN2 4PY. (0302-340331)
4.8
Topologika    P.O. Box 39, Stilton, Peterborough, PE7 3RL. (0733-244682)
4.8
VisionSix Ltd (p26)    13 Paddock
Wood, Prudhoe, Northumberland, NE42 5BJ. (0661-33017) (36163)
4.8

4.8

4.8
Norwich Computer Services 96a Vauxhall Street, Norwich, NR2 2SD. 0603-
766592 (764011)
4.8

Is Archive a User Group?
4.9
Archive is not a user group, although we have always tried to keep that
öuser group feelò by encouraging readers to contribute their own ideas,
articles, questions, small ads, contacts etc. We have also always tried
to remain independent, as far as that is possible for a commercial
enterprise. To this end, we have deliberately not got involved in
developing our own hardware and software products even though we have
the necessary knowledge and expertise to do so. This means that,
hopefully, you can trust the reviews to be reasonably impartial.
4.9
Blatant advertising?
4.9
Another thing we have avoided is taking up lots of pages of the magazine
advertising our own wares. However, we have found that many new
subscribers donæt know, for example, that we issue a monthly program
disc or that we have a huge PD software library, much of which is
dedicated to raising money for charity (over ú30,000 in the last 2
years). They donæt realise that we do Archive magazine binders or that
we have asked a promotional company to make us some Archive mugs! (See
Products Available.) So we have taken up a half page advert to make
these things known. (Well, we are going to next month, but when I was
pasting up this issue, I forgot to leave space for it!)
4.9
Hard times ahead?
4.9
Many businesses are finding things difficult in the current economic
climate and Norwich Computer Services is not immune from these pres
sures. There is always the temptation is to drop your selling prices  in
order to attract business away from other companies who are selling the
same things. The trouble is that it means that other companies, to avoid
losing business, may have to drop their prices too. This sounds great
from the consumersæ point of view... but is it?
4.9
The problem is that if everyone cuts their margins, many Acorn-specific
companies will not be able to make enough money to live on and may be
forced into diversifying into other computers or giving up on Acorn all
together. (I personally would rather go back into full time F.E.
teaching than do that!) Also, those companies that do stick with Acorn
will not be able to afford to employ as many (or as competent) technical
back-up staff. All in all, this means less support for Acorn products
and that is not in the consumersæ best interests. For companies to
behave in this way is, I believe, both short-sighted and selfish.
4.9
Advertising Policy
4.9
We are, therefore, saying to companies wanting to quote cut-throat
prices in our magazine that we are no longer prepared to accept their
advertisements. We do not accept their argument that öSo-and-so is doing
it, so Iæm only matching his prices.ò Our only slight worry is that we
may be accused of not being independent any more but we believe that
what we are doing is in the interests of the Acorn market as a whole, so
the decision stands. (In case you are wondering, we are not the only
magazine that places restrictions on its prospective advertisers!)
4.9
Very best wishes,
4.9

4.9

4.9
Products Available
4.9
Å    3D Chess Ö MicroPower have now released their new chess program and
itæs in 3D. I donæt know how good a game it plays but the 3D display is
very impressive. ú19.95 from MicroPower or ú19 through Archive.
4.9
Å    Animynd Life is a version of John Conwayæs Mathematical game, Life. It
has a wide range of features allowing you, for example, to load and save
patterns, randomize, single step, set up various parameters etc. It
comes with a library of around 70 shapes, some of which are quite
fascinating to watch, and costs ú20 from R.R. Thomas, 9 Oughtonhead Way,
Hitchin, Herts. SG5 2JZ.
4.9
Å    Archimedes for the Anxious is a book by Alison Tyldesley published by
RESOURCE, price ú4.95. It is a övery-beginnersæ guideò to the Archimedes
öwritten in plain Englishò including explanations about using Draw and
PenDown.
4.9
Å    Archive Mugs Ö We have just ordered some special pottery mugs for
Archive subscribers. They are from the same company that did the
promotional mugs for Acorn Computers and those who have seen the mugs
they produced for Acorn will know that they are good quality. The design
is basically the Archive logo from the front of the magazine in black
and reflex blue on a white mug. They cost ú3 each + ú1 p&p, or ú10 for
four + ú2 p&p.
4.9
Å    ArcComm 2 is now available from Longman Logotron. This is a fully
RISC-OS compatible comms package costing ú54 +VAT or ú59 through
Archive. It supports a range of different modems, has many different
file transfer protocols and terminal types. It also has an extended
procedure language which makes it very easy to, say, automatically log
on to a bulletin board or to Telecom Gold and download mail and upload
messages or files. (I am using it myself and finding it very good. Peter
Gaunt, the author, is available on Arcade BBS, 081Ö654Ö2212, and was
very helpful in getting ArcComm 2 working with my slightly odd WS3000.
Ed)
4.9
Å    Arcventure Ö is an archaeological expedition into Roman Times. It is a
simulation in which pupils take part in an archaeological dig with all
sorts of interesting Éfindsæ to be made. ú29.95 from Sherston Software.
4.9
Å    Boogie Buggy Ö Looks like a fascinating new game from 4th Dimension.
You have to navigate a bug-like creature around the screen in an effort
to neutralise the power of an evil monster lord without, yourself, being
damaged beyond repair. From the advertising blurb, the graphics look
good and it claims to be öthe first quality game to use the entire
screenò. ú24.95 from 4th Dimension or ú23 through Archive.
4.9
Å    Broadcast Loader Ö Educational Econet users will be pleased to hear
about Acornæs new ÉBroadcast Loaderæ which greatly reduces the time
taken for a class of pupils to receive the same file(s) which they
request from the fileserver. A site licence costs ú69 +VAT from Acorn or
ú75 through Archive. Acorn say it is öcomplementary to Acornæs Econet
and Level-4 File Serverò and that it is öindependent of the type of
fileserver in useò and also that it is öcompatible with Level-2, Level-3
and Nexusò.
4.9
Å    Chocks Away ÉExtra Missionsæ from 4th Dimension is now available at
ú19.95 (or ú19 through Archive). It provides you with 26 additional
missions to fly, 6 of which are reconnaissance missions.
4.9
Å    Cross-32 Meta Assembler Ö Baildon Electronics have recently released,
under licence to Universal Cross Assemblers, Cross-32 which will allow
you to assemble programs from a wide range of microprocessors and micro-
controllers. It can be driven from RISC-OS or from the command line. The
rrp is ú175 +VAT and it is available through Farnell Electronic
Components.
4.9
Å    DrawAid is a utility costing just ú10 from Carvic Manufacturing which
allows you to create Draw files of complex shapes that have repeating
patterns. It provides you with an environment which will allow you to
use BASIC to generate your patterns.
4.9
Å    Guardians of the Labyrinth is a new maze-based adventure game Ö ú3.49
from Soft Rock Software. It has ten user selectable mazes with the
ability to load and save your game position.
4.9
Å    House of Numbers Ö an educational program with three levels of
difficulty aimed at children aged 6 to 13. It is centred around a maths
adventure/puzzle program. ú22 +VAT from Chalksoft Ltd or ú24 through
Archive.
4.9
Å    I/O Box 3000 Ö Unilab have produced an interface box that plugs in the
back of the A3000 and provides three user ports, an analogue port and a
1 MHz bus. One of the user ports has been put on a connector with the
same number of pins as the printer port on the BBC Micro for backwards
compatibility with hardware designed to hang on a BBC. The cost is
ú77.58 +VAT.
4.9
Å    !MapIT claims to be the first Genesis II application. !MapIT, costing
ú32 from HM Associates, analyses the IT requirements of the National
Curriculum. The National Curriculum identifies IT as a cross curricular
skill which must be delivered as an integral part of all ten statutory
subjects to all pupils aged from 5 to 16 and !MapIT enables you to
examine the contribution that IT can make to these ten subjects. !MapIT
uses, and is distributed with, the Genesis II browser so you do not need
to have Genesis II to use !MapIT.
4.9
Å    PenDown Outline Fonts Disc Ö Longman Logotron have now released a disc
of outline fonts, ostensibly for use with PenDown but which can be used
with any application capable of dealing with outline fonts. There are 12
fonts Ö all what you might call fancy fonts Ö for ú18 +VAT or ú19
through Archive.
4.9
Å    Removable SCSI Drives Ö The prices of the MR45 removable SCSI drives
have dropped even further! Weæve been able to take a further ú40 off the
price bringing it down to ú755 with an Oak SCSI podule and ú555 without
(or ú735 with a Lingenuity podule) and the spare 42M cartridges are now
down to ú75 each. (We are now on top discount rate with the importers,
so apart from changes in the dollar exchange rate, the prices should now
be stable.)
4.9
Å    Sellardore Tales Ö is an Éeasy readæ adventure game for slow learners,
priced ú24 +VAT from Sherston Software. It covers National Curriculum
English AT2.
4.9
Å    Shareware N║40 Ö contains a simple card based database (ADFS only),
desktop ARM code disassembler, 256-level greyscale picture editor,
desktop optical character recognition, Blackjack for up to 4 players,
Connect4 (2 player or player vs computer), single player high/low card
game, horse racing game, sliding block puzzles, screen saver utility,
desktop Mandelbrot generator plus a number of utilities: set the access
status of files, file type guesser, simple calculator, various desktop
file utilities in one program, German key caps, desktop reset button,
extra desktop star commands, Fahrenheit <Ö> Celsius converter, desktop
volume control.
4.9
Å    Training Courses Ö (I suppose you could say that these are öProducts
Availableò.) Acornæs Training Centre is offering a new series of
training courses for applications programmers. The titles are,
öProgrammersæ Introduction to Cò, öIntroduction to Application
Programmingò and öAdvanced RISC-OS Application Programmingò. More
details from the Acorn Training Centre.
4.9
Å    !X Terminal Ö Gnome Computers have produced software that will turn
your Archimedes into a terminal to any type of remote workstation
working under X 11. It supports TCP/IP over both Econet and Ethernet,
can provide support for up to eight independent X screens and includes
network security through DES encryption. !X costs ú199 +VAT.
4.9
Review software received...
4.9
We have received review copies of the following software and hardware:
Archimedes for the Anxious, Animynd Life, ArcComm 2, ÉChildrenæsæ
graphics library from Micro Studios, DrawAid, 3D Chess, Pendown Fonts
Disc, House of Numbers, Viewpoints and Arcventure from Sherston
Software.ááA
4.9
STOP PRESS! Ö Careware N║á13 is now available including DrawPlus (see
the review on page 19). See Price List for details.
4.9

4.9
Here are two sayings from the bible.  They are very short but very
profound....
4.9
Better a little with the fear of the Lord áááthanágreatáwealth with
turmoil
4.9
Proverbs ch 15 v 16
4.9
In Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
4.9
Colossians ch 2 v 3
4.9

4.9

4.9
Norwich Computer Services 96a Vauxhall Street, Norwich, NR2 2SD. 0603-
766592 (764011)
4.9

4.9
4th Dimension    P.O. Box 4444, Sheffield. (0742Ö700661)
4.9
4mation    Linden Lea, Rock Park, Barnstaple, Devon, EX32 9AQ.
(0271Ö25353) (Ö22974)
4.9
Abacus Training (p17)    29 Okus
Grove, Upper Stratton, Swindon, Wilts, SN2 6QA.
4.9
Acorn Computers Ltd    Fulbourn
Road, Cherry Hinton, Cambridge, CB1 4JN. (0223Ö245200) (Ö210685)
4.9
Acorn Training Centre    Unit 5,
Cambridge Technopark, 645 Newmarket Road, Cambridge CB5 8PB.
(0223Ö214411)
4.9
Atomwide Ltd (p4)    23 The Greenway, Orpington, Kent, BR5 2AY.
(0689Ö838852) (Ö896088)
4.9
Beebug Ltd    117 Hatfield Road, St Albans, Herts, AL1 4JS. (0727Ö40303)
(Ö60263)
4.9
Carvic Manufacturing    3 Shingay
Lane, Sawston, Cambridge CB2 4SS. (0223Ö834100)
4.9
Clares Micro Supplies    98 Mid
dlewich Road, Rudheath, Northwich, Cheshire, CW9 7DA. (0606Ö48511)
(Ö48512)
4.9
Chalksoft    P.O. Box 49, Spalding, Lincs, PE11 1NZ. (0775Ö769518)
4.9
Colton Software (p18)    149Ö151 St
Neots Road, Hardwick, Cambridge, CB3 7QJ. (0954Ö211472) (Ö211607)
4.9
Computer Concepts (p30/31)    Gaddesden
Place, Hemel Hempstead, Herts, HP2 6EX. (0442Ö63933) (Ö231632)
4.9
David Pilling    P.O.Box 22, Thornton Cleveleys, Blackpool, FY5 1LR.
4.9
Gnome Computers Ltd    25a
Huntingdon Street, St Neots, Cambridgeshire PE19 1BG. (0480Ö406164)
4.9
HM Associates     40 Hylton Road, Newton Hall, Durham DH1 5LS.
(091Ö384Ö1874)
4.9
Longman-Logotron    Dales Brewery, Gwydir Street, Cambridge, CB1 2LJ.
(0223Ö323656) (Ö460208)
4.9
MicroPower Ltd    Northwood House, North Street, Leeds LS7 2AA.
(0532Ö458800)
4.9
Midnight Graphics    5 Victoria Lane, Whitefield, Manchester, M25 6AL.
(061Ö766Ö8423) (Ö8425)
4.9
Minerva Systems    Minerva House, Baring Crescent, Exeter, EX1 1TL.
(0392Ö437756) (Ö421762)
4.9
Oak Solutions (p12)    Cross Park
House, Low Green, Rawdon, Leeds, LS19 6HA. (0532Ö502615) (Ö506868)
4.9
PEP Associates     55 St Paulæs Drive, Chatteris, Cambridge, PE16 6DG.
4.9
RESOURCE    Exeter Road, Doncaster, DN2 4PY. (0302Ö340331)
4.9
Sherston Software     Swan Barton,
Sherston, Malmesbury, Wilts. SN16 0LH. (0666Ö840433) (Ö840048)
4.9
Simtron Ltd     4 Clarence Drive, East Grinstead, W. Sussex, RH19 4RZ.
(0342Ö328188)
4.9
Soft Rock Software    124 Marissal
Road, Henbury, Bristol, BS10 7NP. (0272Ö503639 evenings)
4.9
Superior Software    Regent House, Skinner Lane, Leeds, LS7 1AX.
(0532Ö459453)
4.9
Unilab Ltd (p17)    The Science Park, Hutton Street, Blackburn BB1 3BT.
(0254Ö681222) (Ö681777)
4.9

4.9

4.9
Computer Concepts
4.9
New artwork
4.9

4.9
Computer Concepts
4.9
New artwork
4.9

4.9
- Includes MEMC1a upgrade
4.9
- Large capacity OS ROM sockets
4.9
- No soldering required
4.9
- Four layer printed circuit boards
4.9
- Courier collection of your machine
4.9
  2nd Mb - ú225  4th Mb - ú299
4.9

4.9
23 The Greenway  Orpington  Kent  BR5 2AY  Tel [phone]  Fax 0689
896088
4.9

4.9
The Complete Upgrade Solution
4.9

4.9
- Uses only eight RAM devices
4.9
- User upgradeable from 1 to 4 Mb
4.9
- Four layer printed circuit board
4.9
- Low power consumption
4.9
- Available without RAM devices
4.9
  Bare card - ú35  2nd Mb - ú56  4th Mb - ú159
4.9

4.9
- New series Aleph One ARM3
4.9
- 3 to 4 times performance increase
4.9
- Surface mount technology
4.9
- Four layer printed circuit board
4.9
- Courier collection of your machine
4.9
  ARM 3 upgrade - ú399
4.9

4.9
- Uses only eight RAM devices
4.9
- Suitable for A440, A400/1 & R140
4.9
- Fully RISC OS compatible
4.9
- Four layer printed circuit boards
4.9
- Courier collection of your machine
4.9
  8 Mb upgrade - ú749
4.9

4.9
- Increases resolution with all Multiscan monitors
4.9
- Doubles desktop work area
4.9
- Custom modes for Taxan and Eizo monitors
4.9
- Suitable for all Archimedes computers
4.9
- Free with any multiscan monitor from Atomwide
4.9
  Atomwide VIDC Enhancer - ú29
4.9

4.9
- All products are cross-compatible
4.9
- Combination deals available on all products
4.9
- Typical combination A310 4 Mb and ARM3 ú675
4.9
- Dealer enquires welcome
4.9
- Phone for full details on all products
4.9
  All prices exclude VAT at 17.5% but include delivery
4.9

4.9
- 400 series RAM upgrade kits
4.9
- Supplied with full fitting instructions
4.9
- 410/1 to 420/1 requires 1Mb
4.9
- 420/1 to 440/1 requires 2Mb
4.9
- 410/1 to 440/1 requires 3Mb
4.9
  1Mb - ú35  2Mb - ú65  3Mb - ú99
4.9

4.9
- Syquest removable disk systems
4.9
- Including One cartridge, drive unit and all cables
4.9
- 42Mb removable cartridges
4.9
- High-flow fan fitted for improved cooling
4.9
- Please phone for prices on other SCSI related products
4.9
  Atomwide Syquest drive unit - ú470  42Mb disks - ú64
4.9

4.9
Hints and Tips
4.9
Å    Beware spaces Ö There is a problem with spaces at the end of OS
variables:
4.9
If you include in a !Run file code such as the following:
4.9
Set ThisApp$Dir <Obey$Dir>
4.9
Run <ThisApp$Dir>.!RunImage
4.9
then beware that you donæt include a space at the end of the first line!
If you do, the space will be included in the definition of ThisApp$Dir
and the second line will cause a öBad File Nameò error. Hugh Eagle.
4.9
Å    PC emulator with an ARM3 Ö The default boot-up process for the ARM3
performs an RMClear command, killing all RAM resident modules including,
in particular, the module that drives the ARM3. So, in order, to get the
PC emulator to take advantage of the ARM3És extra speed you need to
alter the line in !PC.Genboot.!Config immediately after the one that
reads öPerform RMClear?ò from öYò to öNò! (Thanks to Martin Coulson of
Atomwide for this advice.) Hugh Eagle
4.9
Å    Printer tips Ö You can alter the halftone density by editing the
PrData file within your printer driver (see Archive 4.6 for an example
of how to find this). For instance, PrinterLJ has lines such as:
4.9
pxres_halftone:300/8
4.9
pyres_halftone:300/8
4.9
so each halftone dot is actually formed of a matrix of 8x8 dots, giving
a halftone density of 300/8=37.5 dpi. This gives a very coarse effect
but can produce 65 different grey levels. Altering the lines to:
4.9
pxres_halftone:300/6
4.9
pyres_halftone:300/6
4.9
gives öonlyò 37 grey levels and a dot pitch of 50 dpi. Experiment to see
what suits your printer best.
4.9
A word of caution. I used !Draw to produce some PCB artwork, printed it
out using !PrinterLJ on a DeskJet Plus and sent it off... Disaster! The
size was OK across the width but was 1.5% too small along the length of
the paper, as was discovered when the finished circuit boards came back.
Iæd previously had no trouble using an Epson-compatible printer, so it
may be something to do with the friction feed on the HP slipping, or
perhaps a slightly thicker paper would have helped. Anyway, if your hard
copy must be accurate, then check it! Jonathan Oakley, Cambridge.
4.9
Å    Printing * command output Ö Ever since I got my LaserDirect I have
been laboriously printing the results of *Status, *Dump, etc. by
directing the output to a file and then printing the file (while
bemoaning the loss of the <Ctrl-B>, etc. facility α la BBC). However, I
have just realised that it is easier (and much more in keeping with
Acornæs RISC-OS standards, I am sure) to open a Task Window in !Edit,
enter the * command (which puts its output in the window) and then print
the contents of the window by ösavingò to the printer driver icon. In
other words, click <menu> on the !Edit icon on the icon bar and use
Create Ö New Task window. This presents you with a new window with a *
ready for a command. Type in the command whose output you want listing,
say, *STATUS. When the listing has finished, click on the window with
<menu> and go Edit Ö Save and drop the text file produced onto your
printer icon. Easy! (Then close the window, answering ÉYesæ to ÉKill and
closeæ.) Hugh Eagle
4.9
Å    Printing via a RISC-OS printer driver from a BASIC program Ö Have you
ever wondered why your computer has a button called öPrintò that doesnæt
seem to do anything of the sort?
4.9
At last, applications seem to be appearing that recognise that pressing
the <Print> key is rather an intuitive way of printing (Impression and
Poster are two examples). Also, I have discovered that RISC-OS printer
drivers are not nearly as fearsome as the PRM makes them seem and it is
actually quite easy to incorporate into your own programæs printing
routines which are activated by ... wait for it ... the <Print> key.
Amazing!
4.9
Take the Painting application from the original Arthurian Welcome disc,
for instance. We still use this in my family because it is so simple,
but it has always (incredibly) lacked a printing facility. To rectify
this, proceed as follows:
4.9
Put this line near the beginning of the program (e.g. immediately after
PROCdesktop (at about line 200):
4.9
 PROCPrintSetup(110000)
4.9
Note: 110,000 bytes is big enough to allow the program to run in mode
20. 55,000 would be enough for mode 12.
4.9
Put this line in the WimpPoll loop (e.g. immediately after the ENDCASE
statement at around line 400):
4.9
IF INKEY-33 THEN PROCPrint(162,232,1274,972)
4.9
Note: INKEY-33 is the crucial function that recognises whether the
<Print> key is being pressed.
4.9
Finally, put these procedures at the end of the program:
4.9
DEF PROCPrintSetup(SpriteAreaSize%)
4.9
DIM SpriteArea% SpriteAreaSize%
4.9
!SpriteArea%=SpriteAreaSize%
4.9
SpriteArea%!8=16
4.9
SYS öOS_SpriteOpò,9+256,SpriteArea%
4.9
ENDPROC
4.9

4.9
DEF PROCPrint(X1%,Y1%,X2%,Y2%)
4.9
SYS öHourglass_Onò
4.9
PrintHandle%=OPENOUT(öprinter:ò)
4.9
SYS öPDriver_SelectJobò,PrintHandle% ,0 TO Old%
4.9
ON ERROR LOCAL PROCPrintError
4.9

4.9
MOVE X1%,Y1%:MOVE X2%,Y2%
4.9
SYS öOS_SpriteOpò,14+256, SpriteArea%,öTempSpriteò,1 : REM Get sprite
4.9

4.9
DIM RectBlock% 15,Transform% 15,PrintPosition% 7
4.9
RectID%=1
4.9
BackCol%=&FFFFFF00:REM set background colour to white
4.9

4.9
REM X1%, Y1%, etc. are the screen coordinates of the area
4.9
to be printed
4.9
!RectBlock%=X1%:RectBlock%!4=Y1%
4.9
RectBlock%!8=X2%:RectBlock%!12=Y2%
4.9

4.9
REM No scaling or rotation required
4.9
!Transform%=&10000:Transform%!4=0
4.9
Transform%!8=0:Transform%!12=&10000
4.9

4.9
REM Put the bottom LH corner 1.5ö REM from the left AND 5ò from the
4.9
REM bottom of the page
4.9
!PrintPosition%=1.5*72000
4.9
PrintPosition%!4=5*72000
4.9

4.9
SYS öPDriver_GiveRectangleò,RectID%, RectBlock%,Transform%,
PrintPosition%,BackCol%
4.9
SYS öPDriver_DrawPageò,1,RectBlock%, 0,0 TO More%,,RectID%
4.9
WHILE More%
4.9
  SYS öOS_SpriteOpò,34+256
4.9
,SpriteArea%,öTempSpriteò
4.9
,X1%,Y1%,0
4.9
  SYS öPDriver_GetRectangleò,, RectBlock% TO More%,,RectID%
4.9
ENDWHILE
4.9
SYS öPDriver_EndJobò,PrintHandle%
4.9
SYS öHourglass_Smashò
4.9
CLOSE#(PrintHandle%)
4.9
ENDPROC
4.9

4.9
DEF PROCPrintError
4.9
SYS öPDriver_Abortò,PrintHandle%
4.9
SYS öHourglass_Smashò
4.9
CLOSE#(PrintHandle%)
4.9
ENDPROC
4.9
Hugh Eagle
4.9
Å    Running one application from inside another If youæve ever been
puzzled by odd behaviour when you try to run one application from inside
another, the following advice from Mark Neves of Computer Conceptsæ
Technical Support Department may help.
4.9
My particular problem arose when I tried to make sure that a printer
driver was loaded by running !PrinterXX from within application Aæs !Run
file. The result was that application A failed to run and when I quit
!PrinterXX, an error was reported.
4.9
The answer is that when you run a ösibling taskò from another appli
cationæs run file the sibling ötakes over the current environmentò until
it terminates and only then does it return control to the parent task
(in a manner analogous to a subroutine call).
4.9
The solution is to use the command
4.9
* Desktop <sibling task name>
4.9
rather than *Run.  Hugh Eagle
4.9
Å    öSavingò data from one application to another Ö (This is another of
those öobvious to those who know itò hints.) If you want to transfer
data (e.g. text or a sprite or a drawn object) from one RISC-OS
application to another you donæt have to save it on a disc from
application A and then load it into application B; all you have to do is
drag the icon from application Aæs öSaveò box (i.e. the window that
appears when you choose a Save menu option) into application Bæs window.
4.9
This works with all well behaved (öRISC-OS compliantò) applications,
e.g. !Edit, !Draw, Impression, !Paint, !Poster, etc. and generally works
for either the whole contents of a window or for selected items. Hugh
Eagle
4.9
Å    Sprite plotting and colour translation Ö The ColourTrans section of
the PRM (pages 1399 to 1424) includes references to a number of SWIæs
(including, in particular, ColourTrans_SelectTable) which have to be
called with R1 pointing to the ösource paletteò. Since, according to PRM
pages 390Ö391, a spriteæs palette data starts 44 bytes after the
beginning of the sprite, it seems clear that, in order to translate a
spriteæs palette you simply call the ColourTrans SWI with
SpritePointer%+44 in R1, doesnæt it? Wrong!!!
4.9
In fact, the palette data in a sprite appears to include 8 bytes for
each colour with the second 4 bytes duplicating the first 4 (does anyone
know why this is?) whereas ColourTrans expects only 4 bytes per colour.
4.9
So, before you can translate a spriteæs colours, you need to include
some code on the following lines:Ö
4.9
PaletteLength%=SpritePointer%!32Ö44
4.9
IF PaletteLength%=0 THEN
4.9
 PalettePointer%=0
4.9
ELSE
4.9
 FOR I%=0 TO PaletteLength%-8 STEP 8
4.9
  Palette%!(I%/2) = SpritePointer%!(I%+44)
4.9
 NEXT
4.9
 PalettePointer%=Palette%
4.9
ENDIF
4.9
Note: The palette data, if any, starts 44 bytes after the beginning of
the sprite. SpritePointer%!32 contains the number of bytes from the
beginning of the sprite to the start of the actual sprite pixel data. If
this equals 44, there is no palette.
4.9
The point of setting PalettePointer% to 0 if there is no palette data,
is that if the sprite has no palette then, in many cases, (especially if
the sprite is defined in a 256 colour mode) it makes sense to call
ColourTrans with R1 set to 0 since ColourTrans will then translate the
default palette for the spriteæs mode. However ...
4.9
Å    Strange sprite colours Ö Ever since RISC-OS arrived, Iæve been puzzled
by the odd colours which have appeared when some sprites have been
plotted by various applications (including Impression, no less). I think
that, at last, Iæm beginning to understand why. Consider the following
curious state of affairs:
4.9
Palette details are an optional part of the sprite data format. A lot of
sprites are created by !Paint. !Paint, by default, creates sprites
without a palette (presumably on the assumption that, having been
designed in the Desktop colour scheme, they will be used on the
Desktop.)
4.9
The PRM (page 1278) recommends that you should use the ColourTrans
module for best results when plotting or printing a sprite. However,
although ColourTrans knows how to translate from any given palette and
from the default palette for any mode, it doesnæt seem to be equipped
with any means of translating the standard desktop palette of a mode
other than the current one.
4.9
Therefore, the best that applications can do when faced with a palette-
less sprite is to tell ColourTrans to assume that the sprite was defined
in the default palette for its mode. The trouble with this is that it is
about the worst possible thing that can be done with a sprite defined to
be used on the Desktop since, for instance, colour 0 which is intended
to be white, will be translated by ColourTrans, working from the default
palette, into black! For example, even Impression reverses the colours
of its standard document icon.
4.9
So, whatæs to be done? As far as I can tell:
4.9
The best advice is to make sure that every sprite has a palette. If this
isnæt possible then, for plotting sprites on the Desktop, use
Wimp_ReadPixTrans if a sprite doesnæt have a palette (this is the
routine that the Wimp manager uses for plotting sprites as icons and
seems to produce quite acceptable results on the whole) and save
ColourTrans calls for sprites that do have palettes. For example, follow
the above palette conversion routine with code something like this:
4.9
SYS öColourTrans_SelectTableò,Mode%, PalettePointer%,-1,-1,ColTable%
4.9
IF PaletteLength%<>0 THEN
4.9
  SYS öOS_SpriteOpò,52+512,Sprites% ,SpritePointer%,200,200,
Mask%*8,Scale%,ColTable%
4.9
ELSE
4.9
  IF NumberOfColoursInSprite%<63 THEN SYS öWimp_ReadPixTransò, 512,
Sprites%,SpritePointer% ,,,,,ColTable%
4.9
  SYS öOS_SpriteOpò,52+512,Sprites%, SpritePointer%,200,200,
4.9
Mask%*8,Scale%,ColTable%
4.9
ENDIF
4.9
If youære plotting to a printer, öWimp_ReadPixTransò doesnæt help and I
donæt think there is any straightforward, foolproof method. (It would be
possible, I think, to create a block of palette data with the RGB values
for the colours of the Desktop palette in the relevant mode and then
feed this into ColourTrans, but this would be a rather tedious process.)
Hugh Eagle
4.9
Impression HintsáandáTips
4.9
Å    Adding fonts by using search & replace Ö As a mathematics and physics
teacher, I use a lot of Greek letters and it is rather bothersome to
have to work through all those menus to reach the effect öGreekò every
time. Therefore, I use search & replace in a way which (at least in the
Impression Junior handbook) is not documented:
4.9
I type the text, using the Latin equivalents of the Greek letters (ög-
Quantò instead of ög-Quantò) then, when I have finished the text, I use
the following:
4.9
    Find: g-Quant
4.9
    Replace: g-Quant
4.9
Impression does the rest. (Many thanks to Computer Concepts for the
information!)
4.9
By the way, if you wish to find out how all the other effects are saved
in an Impression document, there is an easy way to find out: Just take a
document with lots of effects and save only the text story (öwith
effectsò). If you then drag the icon of the saved text story onto the
!Edit icon, the text will appear with all the effects in plain language.
 Jochen Konietzko, Koeln, Germany
4.9
(Wouldnæt it be easier to use <ctrl-F6> and edit the öGreekò style, go
down to the bottom where it says öKey short-cutò, click in the box and
press, say, <ctrl-shift-F9>, then OK it? Then when you want, say, ög-
Quantò, you type ö<ctrl-shift-F9>g<ctrl-shift-F9>-Quantò.... Oh, I see,
Impression Junior doesnæt have styles. Oh well, nice try!)
4.9
Å    Cutting invisible text Ö If you have more text in a frame than will
fit, you get the little red arrow which indicates that some of the text
is invisible. You could obviously create a new frame, click on the over-
full frame and then click <adjust> on the new frame but there may still
be too much for that frame. So, is there any way of marking the
invisible text so that you can cut it or copy it? The answer is that you
simply use <ctrl-down> to move the cursor to the (invisible) bottom of
the text the click <adjust> to indicate the upper limit of the area to
be marked. Ed.
4.9
Å    Handy hint Ö If you use the Éhandæ to move up or down through a long
document, you are not limited in your movements to the visible page. In
other words, if you keep moving the mouse up and up (by repeatedly
lifting the mouse off the table) or down and down, you just keep moving
through the document in the desired direction. (This is particularly
useful if you are a trackerball user!) Ed.
4.9
Å    Importing text files into Impression Ö In the new version of Impres
sion which CC have just sent me (version 2.11), I have discovered an
exciting new concept in the Archimedes world Ö öthe Return Stripperò!!
4.9
In the Extensions directory is a new loader module called öLoadReturnò
which at last seems to deal satisfactorily with the importing of text
files. Using this, I no longer have to load the file into !Edit then
change linefeeds into carriage returns before importing. Nor do I have
to suffer fixed line lengths in the imported text.
4.9
However, I do have two quibbles (some people are never satisfied!):
4.9
Double carriage returns are reduced to single returns, so spaces between
paragraphs are eliminated (unless you change the style so that it leaves
such a space Ö which I think is good practice. Ed). I feel it would be
helpful to be able to set a öpreferenceò to decide whether or not double
returns are preserved.
4.9
Importing a text file now involves a somewhat tiresome sequence of
message windows whereby I am asked to accept or reject each of the
available loader modules in turn. I feel it would be helpful to be able
to use the öpreferenceò facility either to define which loader is used
for which filetype or, at the very least, to determine the order in
which the various loader options are offered to me. Hugh Eagle.
4.9
(All I did was to put the LoadReturn extension into the Auto directory
in the Impression directory and now when I want files stripping, I use
!Settype (Shareware 19 or 23) to change them to Acorn data file type
(&FFD) and they are stripped automatically. Ed.)
4.9
Å    Labels & Tickets Ö Another way of doing tickets and labels is to
define a new master page which is the right size for what you want to
create (pretty radical, eh?). öFit lotsò still works, giving you
multiple tickets per sheet, but youære not restricted to 1% size
increments which can cause you to miss the boundaries on sticky labels,
especially where there are three or four across the page width.
(Brilliant! Why didnæt I think of that? Ed. Ö see below.)
4.9
A similar technique works for cassette inlays. One way is to define a
single master page 101mm deep and 288mm wide, divided into columns of
16, 12, 65, 65, 65 and 65mm; this format will fit two inlays to an A4
page (assuming zero border width, which will vary between printers), but
you need to fiddle around with !FontDraw and !Draw (Or use Draw1╜ Ö see
below. Ed) to get text on the spine of the cassette. Starting with a
page 288mm deep and 101mm wide gives you the spine text a sensible way
round, but the four öbodyò pages are then landscape, which you may not
want.
4.9
Another way is to split the inlay into two chapters; the spine has a
101mm wide, 28mm high master page, and the body pages are 65mm by 101mm,
or vice versa if you want landscape. Then you need to do a bit of
cutting and pasting by hand, as Impression wonæt print individual pages
sideways. This is the technique I ended up by using, printing at 141%
then reducing the pasted-up result from two up on A3 back down by 70% to
A4, thus enhancing the graphics halftones from 37.5 dpi to 53.6 dpi.
Iæve included an example ... (Which we have put on the Monthly Program
Disc. Ed) Jonathan Oakley, Cambridge.
4.9
Å    Labels & tickets Ö Edæs version Ö I have played a bit with Jonathanæs
ideas and developed them a little. I tried to create some labels (like
the ones on our Shareware Discs etc which come as 24 to an A4 page) and
found that his method worked very well. I created a master page that was
70mm x 37.125mm (which is 210mm divided by 3 horizontally and 297mm
divided by 8 vertically). I set a border 3mm wide on all four sides
because the Laser Direct HiRes can print up to about 2.5mm of the edge
of the page and I wanted to have a simple line border around my labels.
I put all my text on the master page including a page number so that I
could have a serial number on the labels. I then closed the master page
and created another 23 pages for my document by using <menu> Edit Ö
Insert new page. I clicked 22 times with <adjust> so that the menu
stayed on screen and once with <select>. I then pressed <print> and
clicked on öFit lotsò and then öSetup...ò and then öIgnore page borderò.
The printout which appeared was almost right but was 1mm too far to the
right, 1mm too low at the top and the last label was even lower. (Thinks
hard.... tries various things and then....) The printout was slightly
too long so I created a slightly shorter master page Ö 70mm x 37.11mm. I
tried to see if there was any adjustment on the laser printer but
couldnæt find any so I went to the (new, shorter) master page, clicked
on the frame and pressed <ctrl-F10> to alter the frame. In the position
section, I simply increased X from 5 to 6 and reduced Y from 5 to 4 in
order to move the text on the page 1 mm right and 1 mm up. Bingo! Every
border on every label was almost exactly 5mm.
4.9
I also had a quick try with Jonathanæs cassette inlay printing and it is
really very easy with his first method Ö I cheated though by using
Draw1╜ (Shareware 34). For the spine, all you do is create a new Draw1╜
document, type in the text you want, change it to whatever font you are
using, press <menu> Ö Special Ö Text to path and then <menu> Ö Save Ö
Selection and drop the Draw file produced into the relevant graphics
frame in your Impression document. Then use <adjust> to drag the picture
round until it is near enough at right angles to the rest of the text
(having decided which way you want it to face) and finally press <ctrl-
F11> (Alter graphic) and set the Angle to exactly 90░ or 270░. (If you
can remember which way round 90░ or 270░ puts it, then thereæs no need
to swing it round with <adjust>.) Here is a bit of text that I have just
inserted. It must have taken me all of 45 seconds to create the frame,
type in the text, convert it and add it in! (Software to enable me to do
that on the Mac cost me hundreds of pounds a couple of years ago!)
4.9
Å    öRunningò an Impression document Ö In Alan Highetæs review of !Menon
on Shareware 38 (Archive 4.8 page 48) he mentions that it did not work
well with Impression documents since an attempt to örunò one of these
caused a second copy of Impression to appear on the icon bar.
4.9
I have observed a similar phenomenon in trying to create a front-end for
Impression which, amongst other things, opens a template document chosen
by the user. Simply *Running the document results in the loading of a
new copy of Impression regardless of whether one is already running.
4.9
So, why is it that double-clicking on an Impression document in a Filer
window will load it into an existing copy of Impression whereas
örunningò it doesnæt?
4.9
Mark Neves of Computer Conceptsæ Technical Support Department has kindly
explained why this happens and has pointed to a solution.
4.9
The reason is that what happens when you double click on an icon in a
Filer window is not simply that the document is örunò. First, the Filer
broadcasts a Message_DataOpen message inviting other applications to
open the document, and only if this message is returned unacknowledged
does it instigate a *Run.
4.9
The solution is a fairly simple program on the following lines:
4.9
REM >!RunImage
4.9
TaskName$=öRunImpDocò
4.9
:
4.9
PROCSetUpWimp
4.9
DocToOpen$=FNReadOSVarVal
4.9
(öDoc$ToOpenò)
4.9
PROCPollLoop
4.9
SYS öWimp_CloseDownò,Taskid% ,&4B534154
4.9
IF NotAcknowledged% THEN OSCLI(öRun ò+DocToOpen$)
4.9
END
4.9
:
4.9
DEF PROCPollLoop
4.9
LOCAL mask%,quit%
4.9
NotAcknowledged%=FALSE
4.9
PROCSendDataOpenMessage
4.9
mask%=0
4.9
quit%=FALSE
4.9
REPEAT
4.9
SYS öWimp_Pollò,mask%,block% TO reason%
4.9
CASE reason% OF
4.9
WHEN 17,18 : IF block%!16=4 THEN quit%=TRUE
4.9
 REM Another task (presumably
4.9
 REM Impression) has acknowledged
4.9
 REM our request to load a file.
4.9
WHEN 19  : NotAcknowledged%=TRUE:quit%=TRUE
4.9
 REM Our request has not been acknowledged.
4.9
ENDCASE
4.9
UNTIL quit%
4.9
ENDPROC
4.9
:
4.9
DEF PROCSendDataOpenMessage
4.9
!block%=256
4.9
block%!12=0:block%!16=5:block%!20=0
4.9
block%!28=0:block%!32=0:block%!36=0
4.9
block%!40=&2000
4.9
$(block%+44)=DocToOpen$
4.9
?(block%+44+LEN(DocToOpen$))=0
4.9
SYS öWimp_SendMessageò,18,block%,0
4.9
ENDPROC
4.9
:
4.9
DEF PROCSetUpWimp
4.9
DIM block% &1000,errblk% 256
4.9
REM Taskid%=FNWimpInit(200,TaskName$)
4.9
SYS öWimp_Initialiseò,200, &4B534154,TaskName$ TO Version%,Taskid%
4.9
ON ERROR PROCError(TaskName$)
4.9
ENDPROC
4.9
:
4.9
DEF FNReadOSVarVal(varname$)
4.9
LOCAL temp1%,temp2%,length%
4.9
DIM temp1% 100,temp2% 100
4.9
$temp2%=varname$
4.9
SYS öOS_ReadVarValò,temp2%,temp1%, 100,0,3 TO ,,length%
4.9
temp1%?length%=13
4.9
var$=$temp1%
4.9
=var$
4.9
:
4.9
DEF PROCError(TaskName$)
4.9
!errblk%=ERR
4.9
$(errblk%+4)=REPORT$+ö at line ò+ STR$ERL
4.9
errblk%?(4+LEN$(errblk%+4))=0
4.9
SYS öWimp_ReportErrorò,errblk%,1, TaskName$
4.9
SYS öWimp_CloseDownò,Taskid%, &4B534154:END
4.9
ENDPROC
4.9
To use this program, simply set up the OS variable Doc$ToOpen with the
full pathname of the document and run the program. Hugh Eagle
4.9
Å    Setting a style in an Impression frame Ö Question: how do I set up a
blank frame containing a predetermined style (for instance, to hold the
address of the person I am writing to, where I would like to use a
different font from the one in the body of the letter)? If I put the
cursor in the frame, then apply the style, then move the cursor
elsewhere (or save and reload the document) before bringing it back to
the address frame, and then start typing, the text comes up in the
Basestyle.
4.9
Answer: If after applying the style, I type anything (for instance a
couple of carriage returns) in the address frame then the applied style
seems to be remembered and the address frame works as intended.
4.9
Caution: if I delete the entire contents of the frame the applied style
is deleted too. So, if I want to blank the frame for reuse I have to
remember to leave a carriage return or two to preserve the style. Hugh
Eagle.
4.9
Å    Typesetting Ö We said we would try to find companies willing to do
typesetting from Impression output. Here are two that we have found. If
you discover others, ask them to send us details of their services and
we will publish them. We are particularly interested in those that will
take Impression files as such rather than PostScript files on MS-DOS
discs.
4.9
The Type Station in Cardiff offers a full bureau service for bromide or
film. You create PostScript files and either send them by post on an MS-
DOS disc or send them c/o BT using a modem. For details, contact Elgan
Davis on 0222Ö229977.
4.9
Focus Print in Aberdeen can do bromides (PMTæs) from your Impression
files. Phone Alexander Bisset on 0224Ö592571 ext 211 (or 0224Ö593956
evenings).ááA
4.9

4.9

4.9
Oak
4.9
From 4.8 page 15
4.9

4.9
Comment Column
4.9
Å    Archway Ö I have recently received, from Simtron, a copy of their free
demo disc for Archway. Itæs an excellent demo which seems to give a good
idea of the kind of results Archway can produce and, more importantly,
how you use it. It is well worth a look for those who are interested in
writing Wimp applications but have not yet got to grips with all the
intricacies of the Window Manager. Hugh Eagle, Horsham.
4.9
Å    Equasor Update Ö Brian Cowanæs review of Equasor in Archive 4.6 did
not mention the important Design/Apply feature, probably because he had
a pre-production version.
4.9
Equasor can routinely produce expressions with super- and subscripts to
the East such asá  However, the Design/Apply feature allows you design
custom subscript positions (up to two per symbol) in any of 8 positions:
N, S, E, W, NE, SE, NW and SW. Also, the N and S scripts can be centred
over the variable or aligned left or right, and the three E and three W
scripts can be spaced out horizontally from the symbol, and similarly
the three N ones can be leaded (raised or lowered) by an amount you can
set, applicable to the whole Equasor ödocumentò.
4.9
The new structure can then be applied to a symbol and different
structures designed and applied elsewhere. Here are some examples:
4.9
The first 3 atoms were designed using the Design/Apply feature, the
fourth by a combination of that on the öHò and the routine subscript
feature on the öeò plus a little kerning of the ö2+ò. I like Equaser
very much, but my version (1.02) does have a few minor bugs. Steve
Kirkby
4.9
Å    LaserDirect Hi-Res (Canon LBP4) Ö I hope you will publish the
following comments to encourage anyone who may be wavering about whether
to buy a LaserDirect printer. (I wavered far too long!)
4.9
Use with RISC-OS drivers Ö Absolute simplicity. It gives wonderful
results (both with text and graphics, especially Drawfiles). It brings
Impression to life and we can now actually see the differences between
the various fonts! A joy to use.
4.9
Use with programs that donæt cooperate with RISC-OS drivers Ö I was
quite concerned about how difficult it would be to use with programs
such as First Word Plus or Lotus 123 on the PC Emulator. In practice, I
have found it surprisingly straightforward:
4.9
(i) The LBP4 printer can be plugged permanently into both the Laser
Direct card and the parallel port and can be switched between the 2
interfaces just by pressing a few buttons on the control panel.
4.9
(ii)áWith the help of the driver supplied on Careware 12, text printing
from First Word Plus via the parallel port is totally straightforward.
(Having said that, the question of using First Word Plus has proved
academic because we have all rapidly become convinced of the advantages
of Impression!)
4.9
(iii) Basic text printing from Lotus 123 and any öVDU2ò (or <Ctrl>B)
style printing (e.g. printing the output from a * command such as *DUMP
or *STATUS) is also straightforward. The printer can easily be switched
via the control panel between standard and öline printerò mode (i.e. 160
characters by 8 lines per inch) in either portrait or landscape
orientation. Software control (via escape sequences) is doubtless
possible but you need to buy extra programmeræs manuals to get all the
necessary details.
4.9
(iv)áWhile it is possible to use the parallel interface in this way, it
is actually almost as easy to print to a file and then print that file
through the LaserDirect RISC-OS driver (or via Impression for all the
extra control over layout that it gives.)
4.9
Noise Ö After reading some comments, I had imagined my study sounding
like an aircraft hangar with the printeræs fan competing with the
computeræs for attention. In fact, the printer is scarcely audible most
of the time and even when it is printing it is quieter than the
computer.
4.9
Hugh Eagle, Horsham.
4.9
Å    Public key cryptography Ö A review of öThe Public Keyò, (a magazine
specializing in public key cryptography) appeared in Archive 4.5 page
57. Issue 2 of this magazine is now available from: George H. Foot,
Waterfall, Uvedale Road, Oxted, Surrey RH8 0EW. A nominal charge of
ú1.50 (EEC countries ú2.50: Overseas air mail ú3.50) is made to recover
expenses in part Ö cheques payable to G.H. Foot.
4.9
New readers will require Issue 1 of the magazine and the disc containing
the cryptographic program in addition to Issue 2. (Inclusive charge:
ú5.00, EEC countries ú6, Overseas ú7).
4.9
Alternatively, write to the above address for a free descriptive
leaflet.
4.9
The magazine is produced as a hobby interest of the editors and is not a
commercial venture.
4.9
The unique merit of public key cryptography is that it is a universal
system allowing anyone to communicate securely with any other person
without a requirement for any previous contact between them and without
any necessity for a preliminary exchange of codes.
4.9
The program in the magazine will encrypt messages (including graphics)
for onward transmission and decrypt messages which have been received,
all in a very simple fashion.
4.9
Public key cryptography is an interesting application for the Archimedes
computer which will have a fascination for many people and serve a
useful purpose for others.
4.9
The underlying principles are described for anyone wishing to make a
closer study of the subject but no special knowledge is required for the
operation of the program.  mmm mmmmmm
4.9
 Å    Schema Ö Clares replies to the criticisms of Schema in Archive 4.8
p18...
4.9
a. The version of Schema to be released soon, does have the ^ operator.
Existing users will be receiving upgrades.
4.9
b. Only the more common operations are provided on the function keys.
Inserting and deleting rows and columns is generally only needed if you
make a mistake in the design of your sheet. If you do, the facility is
there to correct the error.
4.9
c. Schema is an extremely powerful package and far from having too many
menus, it is remarkable that it manages to deliver so much power with so
few menu options to remember.
4.9
d. Inserting a column to the left of Column A is only going to be
necessary if you have set up a badly designed sheet. If you do make such
an error, the program allows you to rectify it in the way described. It
is better to do things this way than to add an extra menu option to cope
with a rare situation.
4.9
e. VAT, NAME and ARCHIVE for example, could be strings or user names or
macros hence the use of quotes to distinguish them.
4.9
f. The article talks about a scratchpad. There is no scratchpad in
Schema. I think the writer means the entry window. This is a window
which displays the contents of the current cell and allows you to edit
them. Since the contents of this cell are displayed, naturally, before
you can edit data in a cell you have to make that cell the current cell.
Once you have clicked into the edit window, you edit your data exactly
as in any other editing window in any other RISC-OS application. The
mouse and the cursor keys act exactly as you would expect.
4.9
D Jackson, Clares
4.9
We have had quite a number of letters about Schema expressing a range of
views both positive and negative although the balance is on the negative
side. However, it seems clear that Colin Ross Malone Ltd, who are doing
the programming, are committed to clearing up all the bugs and imple
menting as many as possible of the facilities which people are
requesting. (See also the comparisons between Schema, PipeDream and
Logistix on page 27.)
4.9
Å Tracer Ö Midnight Graphics gave one of our subscribers a copy of
Tracer for review. Eventually, he returned it saying he couldnæt get it
to do what he wanted it to and therefore he didnæt want to review it
negatively. Another subscriber got a more up-to-date version from them
and had a go. He actually wrote a review but it was rather negative as
he wasnæt very impressed by what he managed to achieve with Tracer.
4.9
Instead of just publishing the review, we faxed a copy of it to Midnight
Graphics to give them the right of reply before going to press. They
said they felt that the review was unfair and pointed us to the fact
that they had sold over 600 copies öand have received no negative
commentsò. They also faxed us a sample customer response form as öa
sample from many satisfied ownersò. It was from an IT co-ordinator and
gave the simple response, öExcellent!ò.
4.9
I have therefore refrained from publishing the review but would ask that
if any of the öover 600ò owners of Tracer are subscribers that they drop
us a line telling us very briefly what they feel about Tracer. Thanks.
Ed.ááA
4.9

4.9
Contact Box
4.9
Å    German bulletin board Ö ArcWorld is an Archimedes BBS run by Thomas
Fischer. Ring it on +49Ö7191Ö23217 using 2400 baud 8n1.
4.9
Å    Norfolk Schools bulletin board Ö Star-Net is run from Eaton (City of
Norwich) School by Paul Welbank. It is on 0603Ö507216 using 300 to 2400
baud (8n1). It is aimed mainly at schools in this area but open to
others to call in.
4.9
Å    Wakefield is 100! Ö The Wakefield BBC Micro & Archimedes User Group is
having its 100th meeting celebrations on the evening of July 3rd 1991 at
Holmfield House, Wakefield. They will have a display of all the Acorn
range of machines from the Series One, through the Atom to the A540 and
R260. For further information, ring 0924Ö379778 or Ö255515 or Ö250764,
evenings or weekends.ááA
4.9

4.9
Are you ...     fascinated by the Archimedes?
4.9
Can you ...    program in ARM Assembler?
4.9
Would you ...    like to work in a small team at the forefront of image
data compression?
4.9

4.9
If so, write to Bill Mullarkey at     DB Elec
tronics Ltd
4.9

4.9
Enthusiasm and capability are more important than formal qualifications.
However, the employment package could include sponsorship for continued
education at any level Ö elements of the work are sufficient for a
collaborative PhD.
4.9

4.9
    DB Electronics Ltd
4.9
    Systems House
4.9
    62-68 Strand Road
4.9
    Bootle
4.9
    Merseyside
4.9
    L20 4BG
4.9

4.9
Competition Corner
4.9
Colin Singleton
4.9
A century or so ago, a puzzle was sold for a penny on the streets of
London. It consisted of a peg-board with 36 holes drilled in a six by
six square array. Lines were marked joining the holes, six lines
horizontally, six vertically, and 18 diagonally, including all the short
diagonals. The object of the puzzle was to place six pegs in six of the
holes so that no two are connected by a straight line.
4.9
The eight by eight puzzle can be worded thus: place eight queens a
chess-board so that no queen is attacked by any other queen. They could
be placed on squares a4 b2 c8 d5 e7 f1 g5 and h6. This solution has the
interesting additional property that no three queens are in a straight
line, in any obscure direction.
4.9
This last feature is not a requirement of this competition. The problem
is to find the number of fundamentally different ways in which the
puzzle can be solved for n queens on an n by n board, excluding
solutions which are rotations or reflections of others.
4.9
There is only one solution for n=4, two for n=5, and one for n=6. Please
extend this list as far as possible.
4.9
The winners!
4.9
The January competition involved the calculation of e to 1000 decimal
places, or as far as possible. I did not penalise those who submitted
only 999 dp! The winner on speed, as usual, was Dr Riha of Leeds, whose
program took 0.21 sec on an A540. This, I think, is clearly faster than
the next best, 1.25 sec on an A3000.
4.9
The latter time was recorded by Andrew Wallace of Harlow, who wins the
endurance prize for having calculated 1 million places in slightly over
a week! His timings for around 100000 places were faster than those of
others who actually carried out the calculation, rather than simply
estimating the time.
4.9
No prizes for the shortest program, submitted by an entrant at Birming
ham University, using an algebra package. Apart from a few control
directives, the Éprogramæ consisted of the expression to be evaluated,
which is the single letter e! When you enter these competitions, you are
supposed to write the programs.
4.9
The prize for the February competition (the Mastermind game) is also
shared, between J R Thorn of Cardiff and Graham Jones of Durness. They
both used essentially the technique I outlined but somehow managed to
diverge on the third guess, thereby ending up with very different
answers for the Émost awkwardæ secret number as defined for the
competition. The pattern of progress towards this number, however, is
very similar in each case and justifies a shared prize. The number is
identified on the seventh Éguessæ.
4.9
Grahamæs sequence of guesses is 0123 (leaving 3048 possible numbers from
the worst reply) then 4567 (leaving 768), 1288 (170), 2619 (32), 9840
(4), 0034 leaving one, which is 8905.
4.9
Mr Thornæs sequence is 0123 (leaving 3048 numbers), 4567 (768), 1488
(171), 6399 (30), 5990 (3), 2296 leaving only one possible, which may be
2692 or 2696, depending on the sixth reply.
4.9
The Snap problem in March produced three entries with a full list of
numbers of ocurrences of 0 to 52 snaps. Fortunately they agreed with
each other, which saves me having to work it out! I didnæt ask for the
fastest, so the result is a three-way split between Dr Riha (fastest
again!), Joseph Seelig of North Harrow and Cy Booker of Swanley.
4.9
Joseph also sent me (on disc) a full list for 208 cards, which took just
over 7 minutes to create and involves 393-digit numbers. A reader in
Holland related the puzzle to his experience in deciding who should buy
Christmas presents for whom. Interesting. I first encountered it in
connection with the inefficient secretary who managed to put all the
bossæs signed letters in the wrong envelopes.
4.9
Congratulations to all the winners, especially the three new names on
the roll of honour.ááA
4.9

4.9
Colton
4.9
From 4.8 page 35
4.9

4.9
Unilab
4.9
New
4.9

4.9
Draw Plus Ö A Much Revised Application
4.9
Barry Thompson
4.9
It was interesting to read the article by Tord Eriksson in Archive 4.8.
It seems that he is using an earlier version of Draw1╜. Jonathan Marten
has now released version 2.0 and calls it Draw Plus. A considerable
number of additions and refinements have turned this application into a
very comprehensive page creation program.
4.9
Libraries
4.9
Imagine being able to create libraries of your most commonly used drawn
fonts, electronic symbols and clip art or anything else for that matter.
The library can be saved in a file, independent of any drawings, and the
objects in it pasted into any drawing.
4.9
Layers
4.9
Objects can be created on up to thirty one layers. Layers allow related
information to be kept together and completed parts of the drawing to be
made un-selectable so that there is no danger of accidentally changing
them. Information not needed for the moment can be hidden.
4.9
Magnification
4.9
Clicking <adjust> on the zoom icon in the toolbox gives a range of
magnifications from 99:1 down to 1:99. An excellent feature of this is
that, having selected an object, clicking <select> on the zoom icon
means that the object that is magnified by zooming always appears at the
centre of the window.
4.9
Beware though of zooming in at large magnifications on hollow objects
like rectangles and circles Ö you end up looking at the white space at
the centre of the them. Use the scroll bars to find the section that you
require.
4.9
Background objects
4.9
Another feature, which is useful, is that objects can be set into the
background where they become un-selectable so that there is no danger of
accidentally changing or moving them. However, this feature may become
redundant now that it is possible to draw on layers.
4.9
Lines
4.9
There are eleven different selectable line styles within the application
and all can be edited to suit the useræs needs.
4.9
Extra menu items
4.9
The three icons at the right hand side of the toolbox are used for
orthogonal movement of the cursor when creating objects, magnification
selection and lastly grid lock. Clicking <adjust> over the last two
icons bring up menus from which various options can be set.
4.9
Clicking <menu> over a drawing window produces an extremely comprehen
sive menu. There is only space here to deal with some of the facilities.
4.9
Miscellaneous
4.9
This includes options on file information, printing, dashes, layers, set
objects in and clear objects from the background.
4.9
Further options allow sprites, text areas or text in ASCII form to be
saved. There is also an option in this menu which enables you to save
your favourite preferences and default settings.
4.9
Settings
4.9
Two items of particular note are: show XY (cursor position) and a
setting for automatic window scroll.
4.9
Create
4.9
This repeats some of the toolbox items with the exception of the polygon
option, which has a slide off arrow allowing the number of sides of the
polygon to be set (3 to 100 sides).
4.9
Select
4.9
An option is included whereby objects can be moved one place forward or
backwards in the stack that they are in.
4.9
Edit
4.9
This menu contains items useful when in path edit mode. It has options
to make lines truly horizontal or vertical and to straighten curves
without changing them to a line. Another option allows curves that
intersect to have their joining points smoothed.
4.9
Information such as the text and path styles, layer and dash pattern
information, grid and zoom options is saved along with the drawing, and
these items are restored when it is reloaded.
4.9
Text items
4.9
The usual features are incorporated including font name, style, size/
height, colour and background colour. What makes this section of the
program more interesting is the facility of changing the text styles
after the text has been typed and the return key pressed. How? Select
the text then Ö Menu Ö Text Style Ö then change the feature from the
menu that you want to change eg. font name, size, style or colour.
4.9
Special item menu
4.9
This menu option includes facilities which allow text to be converted to
path objects, much as FontDraw and FontFX. Text converted to paths can
be rotated, skewed, transposed, etc. A text explode menu option allows
text characters i.e. words or sentences to be broken into individual
parts. These can then be manipulated as individual text items to be
kerned, aligned, arranged into vertical text etc.
4.9
Alignments
4.9
This feature allows objects to be aligned at their top, bottom, right,
left or vertical or horizontal centre. Objects can be spaced out equally
in the horizontal and vertical plane. There is also a distribute
facility which allows the edges of several objects to be distributed
evenly to their top, bottom, right, left or vertical or horizontal
centre.
4.9
Bounding box
4.9
Lastly there is an option to draw a bounding box around an object or
group of objects. This is a useful feature for drawing an invisible box
around an object or group which contain thin lines. In some DTP
applications thin lines disappear into the sides of frames and are thus
not printed.
4.9
Key short cuts
4.9
Although most items can be selected by the mouse via menus, page
creation can be speeded up by the many function key, ctrl+key, shift+key
combinations. For example, Save Page is <F3> <return>, Save Selection is
<Shift-F3> <return>, <ctrl-A> selects ALL objects on the page, <ctrl-J>
brings up the alignment dialogue box and there are many, many more. One
undocumented feature is that, after pressing <F3>, the Save dialogue box
always appears under the pointer or cursor, pointing to OK so that you
can either click <select> or press <return>.
4.9
Finally
4.9
As can be gathered from my comments, I am very impressed by this
application. My first Capsoft disc (see Archive 4.7 p 13. Ed.) was
created almost exclusively using this program and all of the later ones
are being created using it and it can be thoroughly recommended. It
seems to be a much faster program in operation than the original Draw
supplied by Acorn.
4.9
I have used the various versions of this application almost every day
both at work and at home since they were released. Included with the
program is an excellent manual in the form of a text file in Edit format
and several example libraries and draw files, including a huge London
underground map.ááA
4.9

4.9
Help!!!!
4.9
Å    Armadeus sound sample distortion Ö When a standard relocatable sample
module such as StringLib is played, SYS öSound_Controlò can be used to
alter the pitch and volume. However, modules created by Armadeus suffer
from serious distortion if this command is used. Does anyone have a
solution? Jeremy Mears, 21 Collum End Rise, Leckhampton, Cheltenham, GL5
0PA.ááA
4.9

4.9
PipeLine
4.9
Gerald Fitton
4.9
PipeLine is many things to many people. It started, and continues, as
this monthly column you are reading which appeared first in the October
1989. Later, I made the information available to a wider audience (i.e.
those who were not Archive readers) by producing a quarterly disc.
Although those who bought the first PipeLine disc (July 1990) were
exclusively Archive readers, I now have many subscribers who bought a
PipeLine disc first and, through it, learned of Archive magazine. These
PipeLine subscribers are now Archive readers as well.
4.9
More recently, PipeLine has evolved into a focus for exchange of
problems with, and ideas for, users of PipeDream Ö a sort of PipeDream
Useræs Club. We have built up a team of ÉPipeLine Helpersæ who are
expert in different specialist areas (such as text, spreadsheet and
database file conversion from Éalienæ packages) which they are able and
willing to support.
4.9
If you use PipeDream in a way that you find interesting enough to want
to show others (and help them with their problems), please write to me
(at the Abacus Training address on the inside rear cover of Archive) and
let me know. What do you get in return? Firstly, lots of thanks (and new
friends) from those with whom you correspond. Secondly, if you write up
your experiences and I publish it on a PipeLine disc, you get a refund
of the disc price and a free disc.
4.9
Paulæs hint
4.9
Yes! Paul Beverley is an ardent PipeDream user. Here is a partial
solution to a problem that I have been asked a dozen times or more.
Paulæs version of the problem (and his solution) is that he wants to
identify those rows in a spreadsheet which have a column containing
numbers lying between two values. He quotes as his example a sheet with
a (long) column of numbers, column L, in which he wants to identify
those rows which contain values between 499 and 501. The method Paul
uses (slightly modified by me) is to insert a new column A (place the
cursor in column B and use <Ctrl-F3>), place the cursor in the new
column A and use <Ctrl-LFC> to fix it. Note that your old column L is
now column M.
4.9
In A1 put the higher of the two values of the range (in this example
501) and the lower value (499) in A2; remember that these must be
numbers and not text; use <F2> to enter a number or an expression. In
the next cell, A3, enter the expression if(M3<A$1&M3>A$2,M3,0) and
replicate it down the whole sheet. Below the last entry (e.g. A499), in
say A500, enter the expression sum(A3A499)*2/(A1+A2). The expression in
A500 will evaluate to the number of rows in which a value between 499
and 501 occurs between M3 and M499. If you <Tab> across the sheet and
<Page Down> with column A fixed you will quickly pick up the rows you
want. Of course, a selective Save (using the ÉSave selection of rowsæ
dialogue boxes) to a new file will collect together the rows you want
and no other rows.
4.9
The growing file
4.9
Howard Snow loaded an 80K file having over 10,000 rows from a PipeLine
disc, sorted it on one of the columns and then tried to resave it. The
PipeLine discs are pretty well full and he got the error message ÉDisc
fullæ. He saved to another disc and found that the file had grown by
about 10K! He sent me the larger file. I loaded it, saved it, and it
shrank back to 80K! After many red herrings, it took Robert Macmillan to
come up with the solution. It was nothing to do with V 3.10 against
Vá3.14 (still the latest version) and nothing to do with sorting but it
was the now well known ini problem (first recorded by Stephen Gaynor) in
another guise. Howardæs ini file contains the default Line separator
(see the Files Ö Save Ö Line separator dialogue box) CR,LF (or LF,CR)
whereas mine contains LF on its own. Whenever Howard came to save the
file he had an extra byte (the CR byte) per row that I didnæt. Ten
thousand rows produce ten thousand CRs, ten thousand extra bytes!
Although I loaded Howardæs file without problem (and he loaded mine) our
different ini files made the saving operations different.
4.9
The ini file
4.9
If you send me a file that relies in any way on default option settings
then send me a copy of your ini file too. If your file uses your default
settings and if they are different from mine then all your defaults will
be substituted by my defaults when I load your file. Perhaps the worst
thing that happened to me because of this ini feature is that Colton
Software sent me a price list on disc to send out with their PipeDream
leaflet. Their default ini was for numbers to be to two decimal places;
mine is zero. When I loaded their document and printed it, all prices
were rounded to the nearest ú1.00 (instead of the nearest 1p) and I
didnæt notice it! I use a default of zero decimal places; if I send you
a price list in which I have forced some slots to two decimal places
then, no matter what your default Ö even if it is ten decimal places Ö
those slots I have changed from my default will be reproduced correctly
(two decimal places) when you load the document into your machine.
4.9
File conversions
4.9
The Liberator (see last monthæs PipeLine column) was a now obsolete
computer. David J Holden used to have one. He has written many file
conversion routines to and from the Liberator format. One way of
converting files from, say, MasterFile format to PipeDream format is to
convert to and from some Éstandardæ intermediate format. David used the
Liberator format as the Éstandardæ intermediate format. The good news is
that David now has a copy of PipeDream 3 and will be rewriting his
routines. He will probably use PipeDream as the Éstandardæ intermediate
format.
4.9
Even better news is that Ian M H Williamson, a PipeLine subscriber, has
volunteered to be a PipeLine Helper for all PipeLine subscribers who
want to convert files of Éalienæ format to PipeDream format. Send your
files on a disc to me in the first instance and I will pass them on to
Ian.
4.9
Illegal number of output bits
4.9
I can now make the definitive statement that this Ébugæ, which causes
printing to be cancelled, is not a PipeDream bug. Of course I am quoting
Colton Software but the experts over there have managed to get Acornæs
!Draw to do the same thing under similar circumstances and have put the
problem back to Acorn. Watch this space!
4.9
Patricia Vasey has written to me with a technique which helps her to
avoid changing back to the default colours. It is simply to set the mode
to a 256 colour mode (e.g. mode 15) from the palette icon. News such as
this is still very much in demand both to help PipeDream users and to
help diagnose the problem.
4.9
Here is the latest suggestion! If you have set your FontMax values such
that you are using anti-aliased outlines on screen (with non standard
background colours) then this is what is held in the Font cache.
ColourTrans works hard for you on the screen presentation if you are
using non standard colours. If you now send your document to a RISC-OS
printer driver it seems to get confused about the anti-aliased outlines
interpreted by ColourTrans and produces the error message. Well, if you
donæt understand what Iæm talking about, donæt worry, try Patriciaæs
solution instead. What that (probably) does is to purge a lot of rubbish
out of the Font cache so that the Font Manager stands a chance of
sending correct information to the Printer driver.
4.9
Changing the colours in PipeDream to the default colours before printing
doesnæt always prevent the Ébugæ striking particularly if you have a
second application (e.g. !Draw or !Paint) with documents that contain
text and a non standard palette. Here is some more advice; before
printing from PipeDream clear any marked block with <Ctrl-Q>; if you
can, purge the font cache (e.g. change the mode). It is always good
practice to Save before printing; if you have extensive trouble with a
file then save it, close the file, Tidy Up (or Quit) PipeDream, reload
the file and then print it.
4.9
Printing sprites
4.9
There seems to be some confusion over a remark I made in March. On the
July 1990 PipeLine disc there are Éworkaroundsæ by Maurice Edmundson for
printing sprites from within PipeDream in Énon square pixelæ modes. The
then current version of PipeDream would print sprites correctly only
from within Ésquare pixelæ modes. The latest version of PipeDream,
Vá3.14 will print sprites correctly from all modes. Because of this, the
Éworkaroundsæ on the July 1990 PipeLine disc are redundant. Indeed, if
you use Mauriceæs Éworkaroundsæ then Vá3.14 will not print out the
sprites correctly.
4.9
Hence, when I publish the Érevised editionæ (in July 1991) of the July
1990 PipeLine disc I shall not be including the redundant Éworkaroundsæ.
Some people have said to me that they donæt want to upgrade to Vá3.14
because Mauriceæs Éworkaroundsæ wonæt work any more with Vá3.14. Donæt
worry about the Éworkaroundsæ Ö upgrade now because Vá3.14 is Ébetteræ
than earlier versions and you donæt need the Éworkaroundsæ. Gosh! Letæs
hope Iæve made it clear this time.
4.9
Upgrading PipeDream
4.9
This is a service for PipeLine subscribers only. I now have Colton
Softwareæs Upgrade Kit and permission to upgrade PipeLine subscriberæs
master discs to Vá3.14. Send your master disc to me together with a
label and a 22p stamp. I will upgrade your master and get it back to you
by return post. A ÉPipeLine subscriberæ is one with a currently valid
annual subscription.
4.9
Booting
4.9
I have had some correspondence with Elwyn Morris about difficulties he
has had with booting up from switch on (PipeLine column August 1990).
Some of the function keys were being executed after booting. This is
cleared by adding a *FX 15 at the beginning of the Obey sequence. He was
getting an unwanted Untitled1 file on screen at the end of the sequence.
This doesnæt happen if you include \FQ|m as the last line of the Obey
file called by !Boot.
4.9
DiscCat & ArcScan
4.9
Francis Aries has improved his DiscCat (disc cataloguing) program which
first appeared about a year ago. He has used it to produce a catalogue
of the PipeLine discs. One consequence of the improved program is that,
to get the best out of it, Authors need to enter keywords on a specific
line. I hope to issue the revised July 1990 disc with keywords in place
for Francisæ program. Please will authors of PipeLine articles write to
me for details.
4.9
Let me know whether you want a catalogue of PipeLine in ArcScan format.
I have had an offer from Joe Herzberg to look after the ArcScan format
if there is enough demand so please let me know.
4.9
Has anybody got an index of the Archive PipeLine articles in PipeDream
format including a column of keywords which can be searched?
4.9
Tax tables, bibliography and timetables
4.9
L H Snow has sent me a PipeDream tax table spreadsheet. Daniel Dorlingæs
Bibliography and school/college timetables by Peter Wicks are both
available on disc.
4.9
Mortgage calculations
4.9
Keith Matthews has sent me an excellent Shareware application which uses
PipeDream to make mortgage calculations. Do you want a copy? Being
Shareware you contribute to Keith whatever you think it is worth when
you have tried it out.
4.9
Charles Dickens
4.9
This database is of characters appearing in the works of Charles
Dickens. An excellent 65K file with references to over 1000 characters Ö
this file is indispensable for crossword puzzle or Dickens addicts Ö by
Roger M King of Guernsey.
4.9
Redefined keyboard
4.9
One for schools as well as serious users. Ed Rispin of the Institute of
Terrestrial Ecology has sent me a keyboard definition macro which
converts the keyboard to a set of tally counters. Ed says that when he
has collected a sample of invertebrates then he has to count the
different types. By allocating a different key to each type (e.g. Q for
snails, W for slugs, E for earthworms, etc) then the count consists of
tapping a single key for each specimen. Edæs disc contains the macro, a
!Draw file for the keyboard layout and a blank for you to customise. Ed
uses this for real!
4.9
Macros
4.9
A growth area for PipeDream users. Send me yours. Recent contributions
include öSmart Quotesò and one to load and lock user dictionaries.
4.9
I am in contact with Colton about the best way of including macros on
disc so that you can record a macro and then copy the macro to another
disc (changing the directory path) and still have the macro Éworkæ. The
problem is that different people might have different directory or disc
names for the directory containing the macros. I have a partial solution
which involves the recipient of the disc of macro files clicking on an
obey file to set a system variable which takes the value of the path
name to the macros. Has anyone any other suggestions? What we need is a
macro which sets the path to the macro directory!
4.9
The PUI
4.9
Up to now only two readers have written to Colton Software asking for
more information about the PUI. Perhaps it is not going to be as useful
as I and Colton Software thought!
4.9
Finally
4.9
At last I have managed to return every disc sent to me. Last month in
desperation, I operated a last in first out (LIFO) system on top of a
hierarchy of priorities. This meant that some of you who sent me discs
had to wait quite a long time for a reply. Generally I have given the
!Help correspondence a higher priority than PipeLine contributions. I
think that the longest delay was about six weeks. Sorry! However, more
of you benefitted from this policy than lost out and those with a
problem usually received a reply by return post. Also the April 1991
PipeLine discs were posted early (during the last week of March). I am
flattered by the spate of renewals Ö more than half of those who took
the April 1991 disc have already renewed.
4.9
Please keep your letters and discs coming. I will do my best to keep you
up to date with applications, to help you with your problems and Iæll
return your discs to you as soon as practicable.ááA
4.9

4.9
Language Column
4.9
David Wild
4.9
There has been very little new on the language front during the last
couple of months Ö and it doesnæt seem as though there is a great deal
in the pipeline at the moment. I suppose that the next peak will be when
object-oriented versions start to appear for the Archimedes as they are
doing for the PC.
4.9
What does give some cause for concern, right across the computer range,
is the standard of programs that get released. In some cases, notably
dBase IV, the software house has been struggling to survive the damage
to their reputation.
4.9
Recently, I found that I had been using my home accounts package for
over a year and when I looked at the graphs I found that they didnæt
actually mean anything. During the first complete year they had
reflected the state of my bank account quite faithfully, but the program
couldnæt cope with the change to more than one yearæs details.
4.9
An outlining package, supplied on one of the Careware disks from
Archive, turns out to have a number of bugs in it. The instructions say
that you are allowed eight levels of idea and you can ödemoteò an idea
from one level to another. If you forget how far you have gone, the
program can crash with an out-of-range subscript error. Another problem
is that you can load an existing file into the program but it will still
show up as a new file in the heading and using the save facility, which
has a very useful default directory feature, will save it as a new file
rather than the one that was brought in. There are one or two other
minor faults which add to the spoiling of what should have been a very
useful program.
4.9
The problem isnæt, of course, confined to the Archimedes Ö or even to
the micro-computer world. At work, we use a couple of mini computers
with programs supplied by a software house to meet our requirements and
we have to do some very fierce testing before we can let the programs
into our öliveò system.
4.9
The common feature is that the errors were not found at the testing
stage; this ought to have eliminated all but the most subtle. It is true
that testing can never prove that there are no bugs but a good testing
plan can keep them to a minimum.
4.9
Ideally, this testing plan should be drawn up before any of the
programming work is started. It is, in effect, an important part of the
program specification. If you are writing a payroll program, for
instance, somebody should know exactly what outputs should be generated
by any input, and if this isnæt the case, you donæt know enough to do
the program design. The actual format, in terms of appearance, might
well be left till later but the employees who are to be paid by the
system will know how much they ought to get and will expect the program
to do it correctly.
4.9
Equally, the Income Tax and National Insurance people will know what
information, as well as money, they ought to get Ö and this will form
another part of the specification.
4.9
In most other applications, there will be similar knowledge about what
is expected from any input, and there should be clear information about
what should happen to any unacceptable input. With this information, you
should be able to generate test data which will allow you to check that
all input is treated correctly.
4.9
Creating all this test data and documentation is a big and unexciting
task but, if it is done properly, it can pay enormous dividends in
keeping out many of the bugs which seem to infest many programs.
4.9
The test data doesnæt all have to be realistic Ö invoices, for example,
can be for silly small amounts Ö but each item of input should be
identifiable throughout the run. One of my colleagues doing acceptance
testing of a new program fell into a trap by creating several lines of
data with identical amounts in each line. There was a bug in the program
that only read the amounts from the first line and repeated them on all
the subsequent lines for the transaction so he didnæt spot the bug.
4.9
Languages such as the current versions of ÉCæ and Pascal, which allow
you to compile separate modules to do common tasks, help to eliminate
many of the bugs but you still need to test to prove that the expected
results are produced.
4.9
The type of bug that I am talking about here must not be confused with
design flaws. There are programs which donæt do quite what I want but
they do do what was specified Ö so there isnæt a bug. A good example of
this was a small database program given away with a recent issue of
Archimedes World. The standard of programming, in terms of technique, is
absolutely first class but the program still needs quite a bit of
improvement. One interesting thing about it is that the programmer shows
that reasonably complex programs can be written in BASIC without any
need to use GOTO!
4.9
Turbo Pascal
4.9
I recently bought a copy of Turbo Pascal to run on the PC emulator. The
object-oriented facilities are extremely interesting and I hope that
someone, somewhere, is considering similar facilities for the Archi
medes. The combined editor and compiler is useful; it has facilities for
compiling in memory and any errors are reported back with the relevant
source code.
4.9
Turbo Pascal öunitsò are very similar to the modules in Acorn Pascal and
there are some very useful compiler options so that only changed modules
are recompiled.
4.9
Another facility similar to that on Acorn Pascal is a construct known as
a ötyped constantò which is much the same as an initialised static
variable. The pedant in me rather dislikes the name as I feel that a
constant should be exactly that Ö with no risk of it changing during the
run.
4.9
Another pedantic objection is that there seems to be no way of telling
the system that you want non ISO-standard features flagged. The
philosophy seems to be that because Turbo Pascal is so popular there is
no need to worry about other peopleæs standards. I do feel that this is
rather short-sighted as many routines will be non-compatible.
4.9
As I explore the program, I will record my reactions and let you know
how I get on in later issues.ááA
4.9

4.9
Credit where it is due
4.9
Å    Thanks a lot! Ö In Archive, 4.7, p 60, I asked for information about a
module which makes the resolution of the mouse pointer dynamic.
4.9
The response has been quite staggering: I received no less than 23
letters from three countries telling me about the !MegaMouse module and
as if this were not enough, 5 people actually sent a floppy containing
the !MegaMouse.
4.9
Archimedes lovers really are great people!
4.9
Jochen Konietzko, Koeln, GermanyááA
4.9

4.9
Small Ads
4.9
Å    A3000 + Acorn colour monitor + stand. VGC ú500 ono. Phone 0908Ö377239.
4.9
Å    A3000 + colour monitor ú600. Chromalock 235 ú145, Atelier ú50, Render
Bender ú30, Splice & Tween ú20, World View ú5. All v.g.c. boxed. ú800
the lot. Phone Mark on 081Ö670Ö8055.
4.9
Å    A310 + CM8833 monitor dual drives, 2 slot bp, Trackerball, Star LC10,
140 discs inc storage, many books. All vgc. ú650. Failing eye sight
forces sale. Can deliver up to 75 miles from E Northants. Phone
0933Ö57811.
4.9
Å    A310/1 upgraded to 4M + 20M Hdisc ú850, Oak 45M internal drive +
podule ú250, Armadillo A448M MIDI/stereo sampler ú120, Acorn MIDI podule
(latest software) ú40, Laser Direct Qume ú800, Impression II ú100,
Tracker ú25, Armadeus ú30, Splice ú15, Investigator 2 ú15. Cost of
living forces return to Atari (yuk!). Phone Glenn on 0932Ö567614.
4.9
Å    A310/1 upgraded to 4M, MEMC1a, IFEL 4slot bp, 2nd internal drive, VIDC
enhancer. Ex. cond. ú1050 o.v.n.o. Phone Len on 0225Ö428662 after 1 p.m.
any day of the week.
4.9
Å    A410, 2M RAM, 40M hard disc, Taxan 775 multisync monitor, First Word
Plus 2, all ex cond. ú1000 o.n.o. Also Brother HR15 printer. Contact Mr
Lefebure on 0869Ö50482 evenings.
4.9
Å    A410/1 colour 43M hdisk, 4M RAM, 5╝ö I/F & ext drive, PC emulator,
Acorn ISO C, ISO Pascal, PipeDream, FWPlus, PRM, Citizen 120D printer +
lots of other software, books, mags discs etc ú1800 o.n.o. House
purchase forces reluctant sale. Phone 0380Ö720069 evenings & W/E.
4.9
Å    A410/1 upgraded to 4M / 50M HD, Taxan 770+, dust-covers, manuals etc
as new. ú1800 o.n.o. Software available. Phone 0582Ö607690.
4.9
Å    A540 as new, boxed, software, cables etc. Offers over ú3000. Phone Len
on 0225Ö428662 after 1 p.m. any day of the week.
4.9
Å    Archimedes podules: Acorn I/O, Armadillo A448 sound sampler & FFT,
Brainsoft Multiboard. Also, Acorn C & Fortran 77. All under half price.
(Also various BBC/Master stuff.) Phone Ronald Alpiar on 0202Ö575234.
4.9
Å    CM8833 monitor and lead ú160 o.n.o. Phone 0942Ö884222.
4.9
Å    Font Starter Pack ú20, Midnight Graphics Clip Art 1 ú15, ALPS ú10,
World Class Leaderboard ú10, Pacmania ú5. Contact Michael Pargeter on
0462Ö434061 (evenings).
4.9
Å    Original software boxed with manuals Poster ú50, FWPlus1 ú30, EFF
fonts (Albert, Clauch, Poster, Sophie, Sulikow, Swiss, Tamsin, Interact)
ú40. Phone Mike on 0742Ö342870.
4.9
Å    R140 + Viking II monitor + lots of PD software. Any reasonable price.
Also Pipedream ú120, Teletext adaptor (software versions 1.05 & 2.01)
ú70. Phone Andreas Fuchsberger on 0753Ö685048 or E-Mail
[e-mail] or [e-mail].
4.9
Å    SCSI 20 Mbyte hard disc, Miniscribe, formatted, tested. ú90 o.n.o.
Phone 081Ö643Ö1186.
4.9
Å    Silver Reed EX43/IF40 daisywheel printer, 4 fonts, 5 cassettes, serial
& parallel interfaces ú150 o.n.o. Ring Bournemouth 529787.
4.9
Å    Sony 3╜ö drive & dual slot front panel ú75, Viewstore (Archimedes)
ú15, WWisePlus (Arch.) ú15, ANSI C v1.14 ú10, 27128 EPROMs (PGM 12.5V)
ú2.75 each. All prices o.n.o. Phone 0234Ö856070.
4.9
Å    View for Archimedes ú7.50, BBC BASIC Guide (vgc) ú7.50. Phone Julyan
Bristow on 021Ö427Ö5084.
4.9
Å    Watford A310 2M upgrade ú150. Phone William Lack on 0743Ö790343.
4.9
Å    Z88 + PC link II, 128k RAM, parallel interface, Archimedes lead,
magazines ú235. Phone Jason on 0533Ö704315.
4.9
Å    Z88 with mains adaptor, Archimedes link, parallel printer cable,
manuals etc ú170. Phone Mike on 0742Ö342870.
4.9
Charity Sales Ö The following items are available for sale in aid of
charity. PLEASE do not just send money Ö ring us on 0603Ö766592 to check
if the items are still available. Thank you.
4.9
(If you have unwanted software or hardware for Archimedes computers,
please send it in to the Archive office. If you have larger items where
post would be expensive, just send us details of the item(s) and how the
purchaser can get hold of them.)
4.9
User Guides ú2 + ú3 postage, Genesis 1 ú20, Superior Golf ú8, The Real
McCoy (UIM, White Magic, Arcade Soccer & Quazer) ú15, ArcWriter ú4,
Serial Interface/buffer for Epson FX80 ú15.ááA
4.9

4.9
Schema Ö Good News & Bad News
4.9
David Scott
4.9
My recent acquisition of Schema (version 1.03) as a replacement for
Logistix and its disappointing performance, has prompted me to set up a
comparison between the three main contenders for the title of
ÉDefinitive Archimedes Spreadsheetæ. A list of the main good and bad
points of Schema is also included.
4.9
Spreadsheet construction
4.9
A medium sized test sheet was created using each package in turn. It
consists of 100 rows by 30 columns (3000 cells). Cell A1 was initially
left blank. The rest of the first rows and columns were set up with
expressions of the form ÉA1+1æ so that each cell depends on the value
entered in A1. The block from B2 to the bottom right corner of the sheet
(AD100) was set up to give the product of the current row and column
using a formula of the form: É@A2*B@1æ. (The @ sign indicates that the
following value is fixed; the actual method for doing this varies on
each package.)
4.9
Performance comparison
4.9
The performance was measured on an Archimedes 410/1 updated to 4 Mbytes
of ram and using a 42 Mbyte hard disc for loading and saving. The system
font was used for all tests which were displayed on a multisync monitor
in mode 20. The results of the tests are as follows:
4.9
    Logistix    Pipedream    Schema
4.9
Load time    4 s    20 s    70 s
4.9
Save time    4 s    9 s    10 s
4.9
Recalculation time    4 s    13
s    90 s
4.9
File size    130 K    44 K    90 K
4.9
Memory size    c.700 K    800 K
832 K
4.9
Summary of results
4.9
Logistix is by far the fastest program. Its main disadvantages are that
it is not a RISC-OS task and that the data files on disc are larger.
4.9
Pipedream makes most efficient use of disc space but is from 2 to 5
times slower than Logistix. It is a RISC-OS task but does not include
graphs and charts.
4.9
Schema is slow for both load and recalculation although files are midway
in size. Although many of the features are good, the performance
generally is too slow when used with spreadsheets of a substantial size.
4.9
(I would say that judging spreadsheets on the basis of one example sheet
could be a little misleading because different types of sheet will show
off the strengths and weaknesses of the different spreadsheets. Ed.)
4.9
Features of Schema
4.9
How does the newcomer, Schema, rate in terms of performance?
4.9
Good features are:
4.9
Å    Full RISC-OS implementation
4.9
Å    Graphs and charts are available and may be transferred to other tasks
in Draw format
4.9
Å    Comprehensive macro language allows complex task to be programmed
4.9
Poor features (see below for more details) are:
4.9
Å    Very slow with medium and large spreadsheets
4.9
Å    Memory control is poor resulting in large and increasing requirements
4.9
Å    Bugs can cause system failure and data loss
4.9
Å    Difficult to set up column and row widths quickly
4.9
Å    No headings facility for either columns or rows
4.9
Å    Bad choice of default style Ö not a commonly used format
4.9
Å    Macros can only be called by a slow menu-based method
4.9
Å    Printouts can have both missing and extra columns/rows
4.9
Å    Problems when loading data in CSV format
4.9
Å    No support for converting from Logistix (support is provided for Lotus
123)
4.9
Å    No standard database type functions as provided in most spreadsheets
4.9
Documentation is a 432 page manual which is comprehensive and generally
has good content but is spoiled by some minor errors.
4.9
As mentioned in the March 1991 issue of Archive, a new release is likely
later this year which will address some of the problem areas listed
above. In the meantime, it is really only suitable for small spread
sheets where it compares well with the competition.
4.9
Now the bad news
4.9
Now for some detailed comments on some of the problems found with Schema
Version 1.03. These are based on using it on an Archimedes 410/1
upgraded to 4 Mbyte of memory and a 42 Mbyte internal hard disc. The
Schema application and all data files were installed in a dedicated
directory on the hard disc. Schema was configured not to use overlays or
reset slots.
4.9
Speed
4.9
The time taken to load and recalculate medium to large spreadsheets is
slow. The larger the sheet, the worse this problem becomes. This
effectively precludes the use of spreadsheets with more than about 5000
active cells since the load or recalculation times can become many
minutes. The load speed is likely to be noticeably improved in future
releases.
4.9
Window redraw
4.9
The time taken to redraw a spreadsheet window of fixed size seems to be
proportional to the size of the spreadsheet. Large spreadsheets take
longer to redraw even though the visible data area is just the same as
for a small spreadsheet. This is because the results of visible cells
can be dependent on other non-visible cells.
4.9
Work space
4.9
The amount of work space required seems to be out of all proportion to
the size of the spreadsheet data file. One large sheet with about 10,000
cells required 2.4 Mbytes of memory during building of the sheet.
4.9
When workspace has been taken from the system, it can only be returned
if Schema is quitted. Discarding all of the spreadsheets has no effect
whatsoever on the current memory allocation. If a spreadsheet is saved,
discarded and then reloaded, the memory requirement often increases
further. If Schema is restarted, however, the memory requirement is
usually much less than that previously required when constructing the
sheet.
4.9
These work space problems will be improved in the next release.
4.9
Faults
4.9
When data is loaded from a CSV file, the spreadsheet must be created
with sufficient rows and columns to accommodate all the data being
loaded. If this is not done, all data which overflows the edges is lost
without any warning.
4.9
If the default style is set to anything other than Plain before loading
a CSV file then this is ignored and the default style is treated as
Plain.
4.9
Setting column and row sizes
4.9
The Column Width and Row Height are tedious to set up from the menu as
they are at the end of a long menu chain. One of these stages could be
avoided by setting the default units required from, for example, the
Spreadsheet Default menu. The values which are preset for the three
different units are not equivalent (96 point is not 1 inch, the correct
value is 72 point).
4.9
If one of the values is changed the values in the other units do not
move in synchronism. The value in the dialogue box is always the default
or last value set. It would be more helpful is this was the current
value of the selected row or column as this would enable a new value to
be guessed much more easily.
4.9
Note that the units required for the equivalent CHANGEHEIGHT and
CHANGEWIDTH macros are pixels.
4.9
Using the mouse to change the width/height is not always predictable.
Sometimes it seems to be impossible to make any change in size because,
even though the correct mouse pointer appears, only a window redraw
occurs. The amount of change in size is not always the amount indicated
by the mouse pointer.
4.9
Dialogue box termination
4.9
When dialogue boxes are used, the program is not consistent as to the
use of keys rather than mouse clicks to end the dialogue. ÉReturnÉ
should always equate to æOKÉ or æYesæ, and ÉEscapeæ should equate to
ÉCancelæ or ÉNoæ. In some cases, pressing <escape> allows the operation
to go ahead instead of aborting it, for instance, with the block fill
confirmation dialogue box. In this case pressing <return> has no effect.
4.9
Keyboard macros
4.9
Keyboard macros are rather tedious to use as they have to be attached to
a submenu which is relatively slow to use.
4.9
Non-rectangular spreadsheets
4.9
If, as is quite common, it is not practical for a spreadsheet to be
rectangular, all the cells required to make the spreadsheet rectangular
are included by Schema if any formatting is applied to them. This can
make the spreadsheet both larger in memory requirements and in the time
taken to recalculate it. It is therefore worthwhile to avoid even
setting a style to unused cells.
4.9
YESORNO Macro
4.9
If <escape> is pressed, the result is not predictable and may lead to
system failure. It does not return <2> as stated in the manual, nor can
the pointer be moved outside the dialogue box.
4.9
Plain style
4.9
It is not possible to alter this style permanently, as the default style
reappears even after alteration and saving as the new default style. The
default parameters chosen are not particularly useful as one decimal
place is one of the less common requirements. The commonest requirements
in my experience are for either integer format or for two decimal places
(currency).
4.9
Headings
4.9
There is no headings facility which fixes one or more rows and/or
columns on the screen. It can only be simulated by opening another
window for the headings. This is both wasteful of screen space as well
as tedious to set up.
4.9
Documentation Problems
4.9
Page 55, 156: the use of the symbols, ^ (raise to power symbol) and
shift key symbol are confused.
4.9
Page 79: the three examples of rounding are all incorrect.
4.9
Page 83: the selected column width or row height is in inches, centime
tres or points (NOT characters).
4.9
Page 228: the two local variables called Éaæ and Ébutteræ are not
declared in the example.
4.9
Page 233: Repeat evaluates the given sequence until the expression
evaluates to a zero value (NOT non-zero).
4.9
Page 240: Line 2 refers to a list below. There is no obvious list.
4.9
Page 241: There is a reference to attaching a macro to F9 and F10. Both
these keys are already used for other functions as is Shift F10.
4.9
Page 273: The ÉRelated macrosæ refers to CELL. This is a function not a
macro.
4.9
Page 276: CONTMACRO refers to Shift F9 and F10. Shift F10 is already
used. How is this specified, is it 0 = F9 and 1 = F10?
4.9
Print problems
4.9
If the grid lines are printed then their thickness is variable. The
alignment of the characters relative to the grid lines is poor when the
row height is reduced.
4.9
It is not clear that the ÉHeaderæ and ÉMarginæ figures represent fixed
rows and columns rather than the row and column labels. When printed on
the LaserDirect Qume, the contents of the Header and Margin rows and
columns are not printed; only blank cells.
4.9
One more column at the right hand side of the sheet is printed than
existed on the spreadsheet.
4.9
(Colin Ross Malone Ltd, who are doing the programming of Schema for
Clares, have acknowledged most of these problems and are seeking to
solve them and implement various enhancements in a later version(s) of
Schema.)  A
4.9

4.9

4.9
Stars on your Screens
4.9
Ronald Alpiar
4.9
(Some time ago, we asked readers to tell us what sorts of things they
did with their Archimedes computers. Ronald has written to tell us about
how he uses his Archimedes (alongside a PC Ö Hiss, boo!) to do some
fascinating computer assisted astronomy. We have given him some space Ö
perhaps more than usual, but it is very interesting Ö to explain. He has
sent some photos to show us but not all of them, I am afraid, are easily
reproducable in mono, but we will have a go with some of them. Ed.)
4.9
The computerisation of astronomy, Ére-rigeuræ for the professional
astronomers, is now all the rage amongst amateurs. So I ought really to
begin with a Pauline Health Warning and caution you that, once hooked by
this metamorphosis of an ancient hobby, you may well become a lifetime
addict!
4.9
Hereæs how it all works. At the focus (both literally and metaphori
cally) of the entire setup is the Charge Coupled Device Sensor Ö the CCD
chip. This is an IC somewhat similar, electronically, to an EPROM, in
which the UV filter is replaced by a transparent glass window. The light
sensitive area consists of an array of pixels in each of which incoming
light photons can be converted into Éfreeæ electrons. They are not quite
free, because each pixel forms a potential well which confines the
accumulating photo-electrons. At a given signal, the potential well
walls are lowered, thus shepherding packages of pixel electrons in an
orderly manner to a readout position where each such package creates a
charge for amplification, receives further processing and finally is
turned into a video display. In normal circumstances this Éexpose-
readoutæ cycle takes place at video frame rate Ö 50 frames/second.
4.9
Now, what can you see if you point a normal video camera at a starry
sky? The answer, however light sensitive your camera may be, is precious
little Ö far less, in fact, than youæd see with a cheap pair of
binoculars. At best, a few of the brightest stars visible to the naked
eye Ö big deal!
4.9
So whatæs the point? The point lies in that tiny time slice Ö 1/50
second Ö during which photo-electrons are allowed to accumulate in the
CCDæs pixels Ö that is under normal video operating conditions. The
intelligent reader will now be way ahead of me. Why not permit the
pixels plenty of time to amass lots of lovely electrons and only then
flush the accumulated contents to the readout position? This Éintegrated
exposureæ is precisely the trick which astronomers use to capture the
images of faint stars Ö whereby not 1/50 sec, but seconds, minutes or
even hours of integration time are employed. The method works splendidly
Ö but there are three snags.
4.9
House Full!
4.9
The first snag is that the potential well walls which confine electrons
within pixels are necessarily finite. In practice, about 150,000
electrons would fill up a well; adding more would cause an overflow to
neighbouring pixels. So, if in order to capture faint stars, you
increase integration time, any bright stars in the field will be over-
exposed. Any further photo electrons created will slide over the top of
the potential walls into neighbouring pixels. Ultimately the entire
pixel array can become flooded by the overflow from brighter stars.
However, long before that catastrophic point, both detail and dynamic
range begin to suffer.
4.9
Keep it cool!
4.9
The second snag is that, even in the total absence of incoming light, we
have to contend with free electrons in the CCD substrate. Being confined
in potential wells, these Éthermal electronsæ build up Ö just like
photo-electrons. The term Éthermalæ is well chosen, since this phenom
enon is highly temperature dependent. At normal room temperature, and
even in the total absence of any incident light whatsoever, thermal
electrons can fill up potential wells in as little as 10 seconds. How
then do the professionals achieve integration times of minutes or hours?
4.9
The answer it to cool it! By reducing the CCDæs temperature, and hence
that of its substrate, you dramatically reduce the number of thermal
electrons Ö thus opening the door to long integration times. Nowadays
cooling is delightfully simple, thanks to a tiny device known as a
Thermo Electric Cooler Ö TEC. It consists of a parallel array of diodes
which utilise the Peltier Effect to act as a heat pump. Heatsink one end
of the pump, and the other end rapidly cools down. In practice, a TEC is
a tiny sliver Ö size of a 5p piece Ö which is thermally sandwiched
between the under surface of the CCD chip and a substantial heatsink. It
is typically powered by a 5 volt ╝ amp DC supply and quickly lowers the
substrate temperature at least 30 C below ambient. At that stage, we
stop worrying about thermal electrons and start worrying about our
optics getting covered with condensation!
4.9
Grab it!
4.9
Now, video signals normally consist of a train of successive frames
flying past at 50 frames/second Ö the eye and photo-persistence
providing the illusion of continuity. Our third snag is that following
integration time we receive one frame and one frame only of integrated
information. High alertness is needed to grab it before it is gone for
ever. One way to do this is to record it on video and subsequently view
the single integrated frame in freeze-frame mode. However, this solution
is far from satisfactory for critical astronomy. Rather, the frame is
digitised, pixel-by-pixel, the results being stored in RAM. We thus end
up with an area of RAM which mirrors the contents, after integration, of
the array of CCD pixels. Timing is of the essence; grabbing the next
frame must follow immediately after sending the Éstop integratingæ
signal to the CCD driver: and that can only be done when the same device
controls both integration and the digitiser board.
4.9
Image processing
4.9
This is where the computer takes over. After generating a timed exposure
and grabbing the integrated frame, displaying the result on VDU could
simply consist of transferring the appropriate contents of RAM to
screen.
4.9
However, we can do far, far more than that. Image Processing (IP)
enables us to manipulate, clean-up, enhance, even beautify the raw image
Ö beyond photographyæs wildest dreams. At its simplest level, IP is used
to scale and/or rotate the display Ö maybe for easier comparison with
star charts. The two commonest IP functions are Éthresholdingæ (removing
noise by setting a lower intensity limit to whatæs displayed) and
Éstretchingæ (selecting part of the observed dynamic range and scaling
it to cover the entire dynamic range available on display). These two
simple, but powerful, techniques reveal faint details which are
practically invisible in the original image field. ÉConvolution kernelsæ
can be applied to detect edges and thus sharpen up fuzzy images. At a
more advanced level, FFTs are used to compute spacial frequencies, thus
enabling us to resolve nearby sources Ö such as binary stars which are
so close as to appear as one. Lastly, by in-depth analysis of the image
field, a novel method of IP (developed by the author) Ö called
Éauditingæ Ö allows us to tabulate the entire stellar contents for
display in any way we choose.
4.9
Nor is there any colour-bar, even though weære using monochrome cameras.
Information obtained by conducting timed exposures via coloured filters
can be combined to display the subtle tint differences between stars Ö
or indeed to enhance them.
4.9
I donæt have to remind my fellow countrymen how hostile our climate is
to astronomy. Sometimes ages pass with barely an half-hour break in the
night sky coverage. This makes computerised astronomy particularly
attractive: during a single half-hour cloud break, you can capture
enough images to keep yourself happily occupied processing, studying and
wondering at them for weeks to come. Moreover you need burn no midnight
oil!
4.9
Getting it together
4.9
Weæve now considered all five essential ingredients Ö CCD sensors,
integrated exposure, cooling, frame grabbing and image processing. How
is this kit of parts all put together? Back to that bedroom Ö which
happens to adjoin a large flat roof Ö home to the authoræs astro
equipment including the item of concern to us now, illustrated in the
photo. Here we see an array of three cameras saddled on a common
Éequatorialæ mount. Before turning our attention to those cameras, a few
words about the mounting.
4.9
As is standard in astronomy, it consists basically of two perpendicular
axes, so that one can point the camera array in any direction. However,
the whole thing is strangely tilted over. In fact, one of the axes is
adjusted to always point directly at the earthæs celestial pole Ö the
Pole Star near enough. This is because, due to the earthæs daily
rotation about its own axis, all stars (Sun included) appear to trace
out concentric circles, centred on the celestial pole Ö circling it in
approximately 24 hours. When we make timed exposures we would just see
faint circular arcs instead of sharp star points. So we have to
compensate for the earthæs rotation by counter-turning our cameras about
the same axis, and at just the same rate. Astronomers call this
Étrackingæ : if the mount is equatorial this is very simply achieved by
inching only one of the mountæs two axes of rotation. In my case the
axes are driven, via precision worm gears, by three stepper motors. A
BBC Master is dedicated to complete control of the equatorial mount. Its
User Port generates TTL signals which, after amplification, drive the
stepper motor windings. Software enables one to slew rapidly from Éhomeæ
direction to any chosen direction in the sky Ö or to any object whose
celestial coordinates are known: calculating the correct number of
stepper motor steps, the program compensates for the fact that the star
will have moved on or back a little by arrival time. On completion of
slew, the mount locks onto the direction by tracking: again the program
uses internal timers to generate stepper motor pulses at exactly the
correct rate to compensate for the earthæs rotation.
4.9
Cabling trunks connect the roof-top equipment to the bedroom computer
control centre. Thereby all slewing, tracking, camera operation, shutter
control, focussing, viewing etc can be remotely performed in the luxury
of indoor warmth and comfort.
4.9
Cameras and lenses
4.9
There are three independent cameras in the array. Two of them are DIY
modified Phillips Imaging Modules. These consist of a CCD sensor
together with all the electronics to drive it on five surface technology
circuit boards. All it needs is a 12 volt supply, and an ordinary video
monitor to display the view. I had to locate and cut the fine circuit
board tracks which send four sets of timing pulses to the CCD. They are
diverted to an extra board which subjects all four to a common TTL gate
control. When control is low, CCD operation proceeds at the normal video
rate: when high, the timing pulses are interrupted, allowing photo-
electrons to accumulate until it falls low again. Nerves of steel and
rock steady hands were needed to cut and solder the microscopic tracks
on the surface technology circuit boards! Only one of these two cameras
incorporates a TEC cooler. The third camera, which provides all the
illustrations for this article, is a commercial Lynxx astro camera from
SpectraSource.
4.9
The photo shows all three (if it comes out in print! Ed). The rectangu
lar boxes house my modified Phillips Imagers. The lower, and larger box
contains the TEC cooled imager, its reddish copper plate heatsink being
clearly visible. Nestling and somewhat dwarfed between them, sits the
Lynxx camera.
4.9

4.9

4.9

4.9

4.9
Notice that all three employ, as optics, ordinary camera lenses.
Although all have also been mounted on powerful astronomical telescopes
for deep sky work, the humble photo lens is all thatæs required for wide
Érich fieldæ working, comet hunting etc.
4.9
Digitisers
4.9
A digitising circuit is essential to convert the analogue pixel charges
to digits for computer storage. The digitiser has to be very fast,
particularly if its to grab and digitise pixel contents at full video
rate. Assuming a 256x256 pixel array, each digitisation must be complete
in a mere 0.3 ╡sec: this can only be achieved using so-called Éflashæ
converters. However, if the readout can be slowed down to a more
leisurely pace, we gain time to digitise with greater accuracy. This
leads to another important digitiser requirement Ö resolution: that is,
the number of bits that an analogue variable is digitised to. It can
easily be shown that high resolution Ö lots of bits Ö is quite critical
for serious astrophotography: otherwise not only do we sacrifice the
vast dynamic range of stellar brightnesses, but fainter stars, close to
the noise background, are progressively lost. Professional astronomers
use 16-bit (or more) digitisers: but plenty of serious work can be done
with 12-bit resolution. Eight bits is just about tolerable for amateur
work; whilst with only 6 bits, oneæs options become quickly exhausted.
4.9
Hereæs whatæs available Ö
4.9
For the Archimedes: Watfordæs Video Digitiser (6-bit) Hawkæs V9
Digitiser (8-bit)
4.9
For PCs : Lynxx Camera & Digitiser (12-bit) & very many other 8 bit
ones.
4.9
I use the Lynxx digitiser plugged into a PC, and a Watford Podule on the
Archimedes (Hawk being too expensive though desirable). Surely a slight
modification of the Watford Podule, incorporating one of the increas
ingly cheap and common 8-bit flash AD converters would be possible Ö
thereby transforming a clever toy into a valuable piece of scientific
equipment: Mike, are you reading this?
4.9
Computers
4.9
Digitisers are designed to plug into specific computers: so the demands
of the digitiser dictates the choice of computer. Thereæs absolutely no
way one can treat a Lynxx digitiser as an Archimedes Podule Ö nor a
Watford Podule as a PC expansion board. So to use the Lynxx camera at
all, one needs a PC Ö in my case an Amstrad 2286. Lest I be accused of
treachery I plead that the latter is used for only two purposes, both
unprovided for by Archimedes, namely as host to (a) the Lynxx expansion
board and (b) a CD-ROM reader expansion board. This latter gives me
access to the gigantic (19 million star) GSC catalogue on two CD-ROM
disks.
4.9
In both cases, files of information are written onto disk, and
immediately transferred to Archimedes (thanks for Arxeæs MultiFS
software), where all remaining work is carried out.
4.9
IP software
4.9
All imaging processing and display software is written in BASIC, with
some embedded assembly language. My highly CPU intensive and recursive
Auditing algorithms are also in BASIC and greatly accelerated using the
ABC Compiler. ÉCæ afficionadoes may raise their eyebrows Ö but I offer
no apology! After nearly 2 decades of intensive programming in both
languages I find BASIC incomparably the better for developing, testing
and running. It is fully up to coping with the most elaborate algo
rithms, including compilers for other high level languages. The ability
to run in either interpreted or compiled modes is a godsend, which
decimates development time. I might expatiate for hours on Cæs many and
grievous shortcomings: here I mention only its messy and confusing
insistence on a cacophony of curious brackets and punctuation marks and
the quite appalling implementations (with the honourable exception of
Borlandæs Turbo C) which force the hapless programmer to spend far more
time struggling with a user-hostile implementation than actually writing
the program! To me C appears to be advocated on grounds which are either
doctrinaire (e.g. that itæs Éstructuredæ) or quite false (e.g. that itæs
Éportableæ). (I was going to edit this out to avoid possible offence
but... well, itæs a magazine in which people can express their own
views, so, why not? Ed.)
4.9
The accompanying figures (all of which are dramatically illustrate the
power of IP. They are all based on a single exposure using an Olympus
42mm f1.2 lens and a 30 second integration time. Of all the stars shown
(some 120 have been audited) only the brightest would be visible to the
naked eye.
4.9
Figure 1 is the raw CCD image. Theoretically, individual stars ought to
occupy only 1 pixel. Note that the brighter ones already overflow into
neighbouring pixels. Moreover, the brightest, top right, shows the
typical tail due to its electrons being dragged over neighbouring
pixels, when flushed upwards to the readout position. Software added the
coordinate axes and labelling, the sky itself being devoid of such. The
stars are plotted on a 16-level grey scale, which scarcely does them
justice.
4.9
In Figure 2 we see the mixed benefits of windowing and stretching. Many
more stars are seen than in the original, however theyæve all grown into
quite ugly blobs, as in a badly focussed picture.
4.9
The pristine point nature of stars is restored in Figure 3 (only on
program disc), thanks to the Audit processing. Lastly, in  4, we see the
effect of adding colour (definitely only on the program disc!).
Information extracted from three extra exposures, using red green and
blue filters was added to the original naked exposure. The hue informa
tion was mathematically scaled up to exaggerate the slight tint
variations amongst the stars.ááA
4.9

4.9

4.9

4.9

4.9

4.9

4.9
Camera piccy here
4.9

4.9
Figure 1 Ö The raw CCD image
4.9

4.9
Figure 2 Ö The effect of windowing and stretching
4.9

4.9
DTP Seeds
4.9
Tony Colombat
4.9
Open any magazine with connections to the Archimedes and somewhere there
will be a reference to DTP. It may be a comment on one of the many
programs, details on DTP history or terminology, or just hints and tips
on how to avoid such errors as öriversò or öorphansò. I find all this
detail interesting but does it improve my DTP?
4.9
Inspiration for DTP
4.9
It is with the aim of providing inspiration for improving DTP presenta
tion that Mike Matsonæs book has been produced. The 120 pages are packed
full of ideas, designs and creativity which the reader is encouraged to
adapt for their own purpose. The biggest idea which is passed on in the
book is the need to look carefully at what you read Ö not just at the
words but at the way the words are presented and how this may help you
in your own productions.
4.9
Contents
4.9
The headings include; Page layouts, Stationery, Graphs, Invitations,
Posters and Advertisements, Contents, Headers and Footers, and Titles
and Logos. Each section contains a number of examples, some of which are
annotated to describe features the reader should observe. To fully
appreciate the techniques involved, however, a supplementary disc needs
to be available. This should be possible, as incredibly, all the pages
of the book were produced using öEditò, öDrawò and (showing its power in
DTP) öPosterò from 4Mation.
4.9
Conclusion
4.9
Is the book worth the money? It certainly is if you want inspiration for
producing impressive DTP documents, but donæt expect to learn any
technical terms or details. I think the book needs to read in conjunc
tion with simple technical reviews such as that supplied in Archive 4.3
p51 or the book supplied by Computer Concepts along with their Impres
sion II DTP package.
4.9
öDTP Seedsò by Mike Matson from 4Mation at ú8.45 (or ú8 from Archive).
A
4.9
Shareware N║ 37
4.9
Alan Highet
4.9
All the programs have been tested on a standard A310 and on a 4 Mbyte
A410 with ARM3 and SCSI hard drive. Unless otherwise stated, all
programs ran on both machines.
4.9
Help
4.9
This is a very clever utility which adds a help option to the filer
application menu and is resident in most of the applications on all the
discs I have received from N.C.S. recently.
4.9
If you click <menu> over an application and then go to the sub-menu
ÉApp. <application>æ there is a help option added which, when selected,
displays the readme file in the application directory. It works by
having a ÉHelpæ application inside the main application which in its
turn displays the readme file.
4.9
Aidon
4.9
If you click <menu> on the disc icon and select ÉFreeæ, a rather messy
command window appears showing disc space in bytes which most people
find confusing. This utility changes that by intercepting the call and
displaying the information in a neat little window with the space
displayed in K along with a sliding bar displaying graphically the
amount of disc space used.
4.9
Basedit
4.9
This is yet another icon bar front end for the BASIC editor but this one
really does set out to allow you easy access. You can just <shift-click>
on a BASIC program and the editor will be loaded with the program in
view. Returning to the desktop by pressing <F1> twice leaves the program
but unfortunately doesnæt warn you to save the program. The other
problem is it will not work with a SCSI hard disc. I assume because itæs
looking for ADFS disc 4.
4.9
This is certainly one of the best front ends Iæve tried and, with a
small modification, I would use it regularly.
4.9
Find
4.9
Clicking on this icon displays a find box enabling you to search any
disc for a file or directory with the ability to use wildcards and
filetype selection. Clicking on ÉGoæ starts the search and, as the files
are found, they appear below the main window. When the search is
finished you may click on any file displayed and the parent directory
will appear. Ö A very useful addition for anybody with a hard disc. (I
find it awfully slow by comparison with the equivalent on the Mac. Is
there a faster version or is it a function of the way the Archimedes
files are structured? Ed.)
4.9
Myhelp
4.9
This allows you to add your own help commands which can be called up at
any time. You simply add the command to an ASCII menu and the help lines
to another ASCII file and then place the application on your disc.
Clicking on the application displays a window with the relevant command
queries and clicking on the required one displays the associated
information.
4.9
Pseudoapp
4.9
This application is only really useful for a hard disc owner as it
allows multiple applications to be seen but only one copy to be kept on
the disc so saving space. After installing it on the icon bar, you drag
an application to the bar and release it. A similar application icon
will appear and this can then be dragged to a file window and released.
The program then creates an application which contains only a !Boot
file, a !Sprite file and a !Run file which stores the location of the
real application. By double clicking on the icon the real file is then
run transparently to the user.
4.9
This has a limited use but works very well and could be used for
temporary directories for program development. Although this works just
as well on floppy discs, prompting you to insert the appropriate discs,
you might as well label the discs properly and install the actual
application.
4.9
Setdir
4.9
Once this is installed on the icon bar, any directory dragged to it is
selected as the current directory and a filer window is opened display
ing the contents of that directory. There is also an overscan utility
selected by clicking menu on the icon bar. This gives you an overscan
version of most of the popular modes along with a very big screen and a
very small screen.
4.9
The setdir side of the application works fine but the overscan did cause
me some problems. If you are using overscan and you quit overscan
instead of selecting a new mode with the palette icon, the machine will
lock up requiring a <ctrl-break>. Although this is not really a bug, I
do think you shouldnæt be able to do it.
4.9
StrongEd
4.9
This is a text editor similar to Edit but allowing up to four documents
in memory which you can cut and paste between. Although quite useful, it
really is only the same as multiple copies of Edit. The program sits on
the icon bar and is RISC-OS compatible but does not multi-task. Programs
may be loaded by dropping onto the icon bar and saving is either
achieved by a normal save function or, if creating a new file or
filetype, returns you cleanly to the desktop with a save box ready to
drag to a filer window.
4.9
The functions, similar to Edit, work very well and the speed of the
search and scroll are truly superb but I just wonder what benefits this
program has over Edit or Twin. Maybe time will tell?
4.9
Fontmenu
4.9
This module provides a hierarchal font menu which means that the initial
menu shows the font name with sub-menus showing styles such as bold,
italic, etc. This is very similar to the menu used in Impression II and
is a much tidier idea for anyone using more than a few fonts. The
problem is that you need to understand something about programming to
use it and if you wish to use it with commercial software you would need
to be able to access their code which is not at all easy if the program
was not written in BASIC.
4.9
Hdrivelist
4.9
This is an ASCII list of virtually every hard disc drive giving details
such as size, access times, track data and other technical details. The
list is very comprehensive but I wonder if anybody would actually use
it?
4.9
Interface
4.9
This module allows you to add graphical effects to your windows when
writing an application. One nice touch was the inclusion of an Impres
sion document for the manual as well as an ordinary ASCII file.
4.9
The effects available at the moment include a choice of borders for an
icon and the choice of how the icon is displayed when selected. You can
also select the type of pointer used depending on its position, similar
to Impression.
4.9
My programming knowledge doesnæt allow me to fully utilise this module
but what I have seen works well and compliments the already easy to use
FormEd which is also included on the disc.
4.9
Sysfont
4.9
This allows you to create a module to change your system font by typing
*ALPHABET <alphabet name>. Any BBC font can be used (filetype &FF7) and
nine are provided with the program.
4.9
This works perfectly and could very easily be incorporated in your own
programs to change text as and when required although the desktop font
can just be installed by double-clicking on the appropriate icon.
4.9
Zansi
4.9
Zansi.sys is a replacement for Ansi.sys in MS-DOS and increases the
screen response under PC emulation. I have not been able to test the
program but the author claims that the Archimedes will run faster than
an 8MHz AT. Also included are MORE.com which replaces the DOS Étypeæ
command and VIEW.com which allows you to view files just like a text
editor.  A
4.9

4.9
Creating the Right Impression
4.9
Ivor Humphreys
4.9
As Audio Editor of the monthly classical record magazine GRAMOPHONE, I
look after all aspects of the pages which are devoted to hi-fi matters.
Until recently, the whole of the magazine has been produced the hard
way, using glue and scissors to assemble pages which the printer then
follows. An Archimedes user since 1988, it was inevitable that I should
look towards its DTP potential, with a view ultimately to producing
finished pages for the magazine. With that in mind, I made contact with
Computer Concepts in August 1989.
4.9
Progress has been methodical and, Iæm glad to say, almost linear. There
was much to learn about driving Impression well enough to produce final
artwork which would emulate our house style exactly, although the
program is wonderfully intuitive to use. I was determined not to
compromise in any respect, and things like the symbols we use to denote
the CD, LP or cassette media (C L A), the extended range of foreign
accents we require and the way in which in-text codes for all these
things are used in our Érawæ copy (much of which comes across from a PC
network running Wordstar) naturally took some fathoming. I must say
straight away that we could not have been achieved all this without the
frequent and extensive help we have received from CC, who have written a
special version of their Wordstar loader module to suit our particular
requirements and have also helped iron out several last-minute crises
that we have had with PostScript.
4.9
The system has been in regular use for magazine work for about a year
and now supplies finished artwork for the whole of our audio section,
several other fairly complex editorial pages, some advertisements and
quite a lot of other in-house material each month. It also generates
about a dozen preliminary pages of our twice-yearly catalogue of
classical music releases as well as its monthly supplement. We are about
to embark on the most ambitious project of all, so far: the 1992 edition
of our 672-page book for newcomers to Compact Disc called The Good CD
Guide.
4.9
As an Archive subscriber from the start, I naturally corresponded with
Paul Beverley on occasions and indeed NCS have supplied two of our three
machines. As Paul has had a fair number of enquiries about producing
professional artwork on the Archimedes, I volunteered to jot down a few
thoughts to try and smooth the way a little for others wanting to
produce professional DTP output.
4.9
PostScript
4.9
To produce finished artwork, you will have to convert your DTP program
output to PostScript format on a disc which can then be taken to a
professional typesetting bureaux. As only a very few of these have so
far installed Archimedes (but for details of some that have, see
Impression Hints & Tips, page 11. Ed.), the final format will almost
certainly have to be MS-DOS, which is universally accepted. The Acorn
PostScript printer driver is used to produce the file, which is then
dragged across to an MS-DOS filer window and renamed. At GRAMOPHONE we
use a separate directory on the hard disc (called, quite sensibly,
ÉPostScriptæ!) and use the same default name each time to prevent the
build-up of redundant material; this is well worth the trouble since
PostScript files are often large.
4.9
System requirements
4.9
Much of my early work was done at home on an A310 with no hard disc but
with an external Cumana 40/80 track 5╝ inch drive which was used with
the PC Emulator and for taking Beeb-originated text from one of my
colleagues. An early 420 at the office was a revelation and this, as
well as the 310, has now been upgraded to 4 Mbytes of RAM with ARM3, to
complement the recent further acquisition of an A540. I think now that a
RAM capacity of 4 Mbytes is pretty well mandatory for serious DTP work
(8 M isnæt outrageous), as is a hard disc, and I would describe ARM3 as
one of those rather expensive options that makes you wonder how you
managed previously.
4.9
Two excellent utilities are Minervaæs PC-Access and, for the Beeb files,
Emmet Spieræs Public Domain program DFSreader. PCDir (also PD) is a
perfectly good alternative to PC-Access except that it doesnæt format
discs to MS-DOS, something which is a surprisingly regular necessity
with the size of typical PostScript files. (Loading the emulator just to
do this is a pain because it doesnæt multi-task.) A couple of other
utilities Iæve found particularly useful are Wastebin from LOOKsystems,
which has the benefit of saving its Érubbishæ to disc (giving you a
second chance to rifle through it, unlike the regular filer delete
option) and Emmet Spieræs SciCalc, which I use a lot in almost every
session (you can even drag results into an Impression document). Both of
these are also PD and available from NCS. One final plug is for Jonathan
Martenæs latest enhancement to the original !Draw program, DrawPlus,
which, like Impression, is extremely intuitive to use. I find it
invaluable. Again itæs PD but I would have paid good money for it.
4.9
(DFSReader is on Shareware 31 (or as a separate program from Watford
Electronics at ú6 + ú2 p&p + VAT), PCDir is on Careware 7, Draw1╜ (an
earlier version than DrawPlus) is on Shareware 34 and DrawPlus is on
Careware 13. There are dustbins littered(!) around various Careware and
Shareware discs, but the LOOKsystemsæ one is on Shareware 36. Ed.)
4.9
Output
4.9
The latest version of Impression II (2.10) has the facility to add crop
marks at the printing stage, obviating the need to set up a master page
which is larger than the final required page size. One anomaly with the
Acorn PostScript driver, however, is its inability to print pages larger
than A4, regardless of the page size set in its menu options. All
professional work requires either crop marks or, for four-colour work,
registration marks outside the document print area. There are two ways
around this. The best by far is to purchase CCæs Expression-PS utility,
which has a variety of very useful functions designed to enhance the
existing Acorn driver. (These include a range of standard pages with or
without extra margins for crop marks, control of half-tone screen
density, dot shape and screen angle and an extremely Éfriendlyæ routine
for matching up PostScript font names with their Acorn equivalents.)
Alternatively, one can modify the öPrDataò file for one of the set pages
within the driver application itself. For example, my page width is
230mm and the depth 300mm, which equates to 652pt by 850pt. I use
Version 1 of the driver, in which the A4 page is altered, changing the
line:
4.9
  page_selection: %%BeginFeature: PageSize A4|Ja4|J%%EndFeature
4.9
to read:
4.9
  page_selection: %%BeginFeature: PageSize A4|Jstatusdict begin
4.9
 652 850 0 1 setpageparams end|J%%EndFeature.
4.9
This modification will also be of help to users with limited RAM space,
since to install Expression-PS requires 96k. (If space is really tight,
another 96k can be retrieved by Quit-ing the printer driver after
installation, since only its module is required once set up.) If your
PostScript driver is Version 2, you should edit its text file PrDataSrc
in a similar manner and then run the program PrSquasher to generate a
compressed version of the data file PrData. Unless you are using
ExpressionPS, you must add the relevant AcornùPostScript font transla
tions to the end of the PSprolog file for any additional fonts that you
buy. You should also add the PostScript names to the commented (%%) list
at the top of the same file.
4.9
The bureau will either use the MS-DOS Copy command on a PC (or compat
ible) to send the file to the phototypesetter via the serial port, or
via a Macintosh using Apple File Exchange or DOSMounter. They will need
to be told that your files are PostScript and it will also help them to
know how many pages there are and what sort of size the files are; any
graphics in a file greatly increases its size and thus takes longer to
transfer at typically 2400 baud. PostScript files can be truly massive:
100K or more for a complex A4 magazine page with quite simple graphics
is not uncommon. You need to decide whether you want bromide or film
and, if the latter, whether you want positive or negative output (this
option can also be set with Expression-PS). Typical current prices for
an A4 page are ú3╖50 for bromide for next day completion (ú5╖30 same
day) and ú6╖50 (or ú9╖50) for film. We use bromides at a medium
resolution of 1,270 dpi for most of our work and to be frank there is
little point in going higher for most purposes.
4.9
One tip to finish with. Generally, I have found it safest to break long
documents down into smaller units. With the fairly complex layouts used
in a magazine, it can even make sense to print each page separately so
that if a fatal PostScript error is thrown up at the bureau, you can at
least go back and focus on the guilty page. This may seem fiddly but the
cost can quickly mount up with repeat trials and anyway the bureau
cannot afford to be tied up with endless experiments. On the other hand,
they will be happiest, once youæve gained confidence, to have the files
in slightly larger chunks of between, say, 5ù15 pages, depending on the
project.ááA
4.9

4.9
Careware Disc N║ 4
4.9
Tristan Cooper
4.9
Careware Disc No. 4 is another excellent compilation of Public Domain
software, providing a combination of applications, demonstrations,
utilities, games and other entertainment. There is comprehensive
documentation on the disc which will help you get the most benefit from
these programs. The memory required by each application is shown after
the name, below.
4.9
!Bin (16K) Ö This is a RISC-OS dustbin to run on the Archimedes desktop.
As it provides instant file deletion, rather than storing files away for
later removal, it is a good choice for floppy disc users. If you want to
delete a directory, however, you must Select All the files in it then
drag them to the bin.
4.9
!Projector (488K) Ö This animation must be run in mode 15 in order to
give the correct speed and the right colours. The author, Malcolm
Banthorpe, gives us a wide screen projection of three, essentially blue,
birds that gently swan around their window. The action is smooth and
impressive and shows what can be done using a combination of Euclid and
Mogul. Although acting as a background task, a 1 Mbyte machine is not
going to have much left for anything else.
4.9
!SeriaLink (200K+) Ö This utility is for those who wish to transfer
files from Archimedes to BBC. The documentation is clear and explicit.
Note that a cable will be required to connect the machines via their
RS423 ports.
4.9
!Sparkplug Ö is provided to expand some archived files.
4.9
!Invade (32K) Ö If you need any distraction from your various desktop
tasks, this pretty little space invader will cruise back and forth above
the Icon bar. Zap with the mouse at your peril!
4.9
!Pelmanism (24K) Ö This old, old favourite card game surfaces in desktop
form. As you might expect, you have to match pairs of cards together Ö
but it must be a precise match i.e. including colour, which was news to
me !
4.9
!Wander (32K) Ö The quick-witted will spot the Cleesian name reference
here. If youære bored with the birds flying around or need a change from
a certain Deskduck (see Careware 2) then try these cute little goldfish
that swim around the backdrop, blowing bubbles.
4.9
Info Ö provides important instructions for most of the programs on this
disc.
4.9
PCDirV09h (128K) Ö a very well presented and implemented utility for
reading IBM PC format floppies. When installed, an extra floppy drive
icon appears on the icon bar, labelled A: which may be used just like
the Archimedes floppy drive. You will be prompted for IBM PC discs and
may then transfer files Ö via RAMdisc for speed Ö onto ADFS floppies or
your hard disc. Likewise, ADFS files can be copied onto PC discs. PC
file extensions will be converted to an appropriate ADFS file type e.g.
.TXT becomes FFF, .BAS becomes FFB and vice versa. Furthermore, files
can be dragged straight from a PC disc to an application such as !Edit
and back again without the need for an intermediate ADFS disc. This
utility is very well documented, works perfectly and must be worth
several times the cost of this Careware disc on its own. (For a later
version of !PCDir, see Careware N║7. Ed.)
4.9
Tunes.1 Ö a small selection of numbers from Genesis, Queen and Super
tramp, very well arranged by Richard Millican.
4.9
Tunes.2 Ö a selection of classical and traditional pieces from Tom
Measures including some Mozart, Haydn and Rossini.
4.9
Note that the Archimedes will drive external MIDI instruments to give
vastly superior sound quality compared to the internal speaker.
4.9
Convert Ö consists of several programs which will convert files between
Interword, PipeDream, View and Wordwise. It does this by converting
files to a common Éliberatoræ format, which may then be converted to any
of the other four formats.
4.9
FKeystrip Ö This BASIC program will produce function key strips on any
Epson compatible printer. It will print out 5 strips on a normal fanfold
sheet. Note that you may need to issue *IGNORE depending on your printer
settings otherwise the whole lot will be on one line!
4.9
ScrBlanker Ö This module will Éswitch offæ your screen display if the
computer is left unused for a certain time, thereby discouraging the old
problem of Éburn-inæ of the screen phosphors. The default time is 600
seconds which can be altered with *Blanktime t , where t is a time in
seconds. If there is no keyboard or mouse activity after this time, the
screen blanks out, returning immediately a key is pressed or the mouse
moved.
4.9
Scrnfade Ö two BASIC programs for Modes 13 & 15 which can be used to
fade out a screen image.
4.9
Summary
4.9
Where can you buy this much excellent software at such a low price and
support charity at the same time? If youære not already buying Careware
discs, now is the time to start.ááA
4.9

4.9
Careware Disc N║ 6
4.9
Tristan Cooper
4.9
Careware Disc N║ 6 is an Archive compilation of Public Domain software,
including a combination of applications, utilities, games and music.
There is sufficient documentation on the disc to get them running; in
many cases a Help option is offered in the Menu window. !Sparkplug is
provided to expand those that have been archived. The memory required by
each application is shown after the name, where appropriate, below.
4.9
Hangman Ö Youæll need to expand this onto a blank disc, as it is quite
massive! An excellent implementation of this old favourite game,
including excellent graphics, showing considerable attention to detail.
You can add to the existing word lists or even make up your own using
!Edit.
4.9
Lineof5 Ö Run from desktop, this is a very simple game in the same vein
as Connect4 but it is remarkably difficult to beat the computer.
Addictive and infuriating Ö youæll hate it, often!
4.9
Polymos Ö This is another huge suite of files that must be expanded onto
its own disc. This ancient game uses pieces made of 5 squares in
different configurations which must be assembled into the grid. Playable
on many levels of difficulty to suit all ages, this demanding game
should be part of your collection.
4.9
Music Ö contains twelve classical pieces from Schubert, Chopin,
Beethoven and others; plus seven more modern pieces from various
composers. Tom Measures has once again produced some very pleasing
arrangements.
4.9
1stExtra (32K) Ö If you have any existing WP files that you want to use
with First Word Plus (version 2), this utility will convert them quickly
and efficiently. You install it on the icon bar, drag files to it and
follow the menu options. Itæs very user friendly and converts both to
and from First Word Plus format.
4.9
App_Maker Ö What an excellent idea! Click on the icon, enter a new
application name (and size if necessary) and App_Maker will automati
cally create your !Boot, !Run, !Sprites and !Help files for you. You can
then load these into !Paint, !Edit etc to tailor them to your needs.
Very useful indeed and well documented.
4.9
Evaluate (16K) Ö This is a desktop utility which will evaluate any
mathematical expression that you can give it. At first sight, this looks
very elementary but take a look at the Help file Ö this is a sophisti
cated utility which performs just about any maths functions you can
imagine and you can tailor it by adding your own functions.
4.9
StickyBD (80K) Ö Itæs very easy to find the desktop cluttered with open
directories and the files you want hidden somewhere in the morass.
Hereæs the solution Ö you can pick any entry out of a directory window,
drag it to the backdrop where the icon will Éstickæ, ready for later
use. A neat trick Ö if you collect the various icons down one side of
the screen, itæs rather like having an extra icon bar.
4.9
SysUtil (96K) Ö There is no way I can do justice to this utility in a
few lines! Itæs own text file telling you all about it is 13K long! In
essence, it provides a wide range of desktop utilities including adfs
functions; file finder; save function for system data, character set,
configuration, sprites; directory manipulation; First Word Plus
functions; and much more.
4.9
RFSMod Ö a desktop utility for use with Computer Concepts ROM podule
giving the commands Free, Compact, Map and Podules.
4.9
Summary
4.9
If one is offered something at a very low price, itæs easy to disregard
it as being of little worth. If you are in any doubt as to the value of
Archiveæs Careware discs then I strongly recommend you to invest in at
least one. Take the time to give it a worthy test Ö and then send off
for the rest of them.
4.9
At ú7.00 a disc (ú6.00 to Archive subscribers), these discs are
seriously anti-inflationary.ááA
4.9

4.9
Silent computing Ö Is it possible?
4.9
Tord Eriksson
4.9
Silence is golden, especially when working in a small crowded room where
everyone is using a computer, each with a fan, or external, fan-cooled
drives that send you up the wall with their buzzing. Add to that a
couple of laserprinters and dot-matrix printers....
4.9
Kill the fan!
4.9
The first problem for me was my noisy SCSI drive. This had worked
flawlessly since it arrived by post, except for the din from the fan.
After I realised that the fan tried to force air into a box that didnæt
have any exit holes for the air I drilled some holes in the lid and
disconnected the fan. Now there was some air circulation through the
box, anyway.
4.9
To improve matters even further I stood the drive on its end, but a
friend, who knows computers better than most, told me to stop that
immediately as the discæs bearings and other moving parts are made for
sideways or flat mounting Ö anything else might be harmful. Having
become a bit worried about excess heat that might harm the drive I
reconnected the fan until I found the ultimate solution:
4.9
There are small thermostatic switches commonly found in fire alarm
systems etc. These are either closing or breaking circuits. The
switching temperature is typically 50 or 70░ C in a fire alarm system
(they are made in a wide range, with a switching range of around 10
degrees Ö to stop them from switching on and off all the time and
wearing out prematurely).
4.9
A switch that closed at 70░C was, in my mind, perfect to put in series
with the fan circuit. Lowering the drive to the lower mounting holes,
probably intended for a high capacity drive, made room for the switch on
top of the drive, with the sensitive surface against the upper drive
surface, held in place by a piece of Armaflex foam. You have to bend the
connectors on the switch as otherwise there is not enough room. Test the
circuit by heating the switch with your soldering iron, with the power
on to the drive. When the thermostat is heated, the fan should start and
run for a couple of seconds. Until now the fan hasnæt started up as I
seldom use programs that use the drive intensively, but itæs nice to
know that it is there when it is needed. I also fitted a dust-filter
outside the fan, just to keep the inside clean. (I havenæt checked with
Oak but Iæm pretty certain that doing this would invalidate your
warranty. Ed.)
4.9
No impact printers!
4.9
The next step to silent computing is getting rid of noisy impact
printers, such as daisywheel printers and dot-matrix printers, or put
them in another room where no one is forced to listen to the racket.
4.9
Most laserprinters emit ozone, that is harmful to your health, usually
have a noisy fan and are quite expensive. The modern ink-jet printer are
quiet and less expensive than lasers, but are they good enough for a
small office or the dedicated amateur?
4.9
Canon BJ-330 Ö Top of the range
4.9
Having used a KX-P1124, a typical 24-pin dot-matrix printer, for a year
or so, I have found the print quality when printing Impression files
quite amazing, good enough for the odd fanzine (fan magazine? Ed) or
other non-commercial work. It has a weakness and that is NOISE and lots
of it!
4.9
So when Canon Sweden kindly lent me a BJ-330, their biggest ink-jet
printer, suitable for up to A3 format, I unpacked the huge boxes
eagerly.
4.9
Everything taped down
4.9
The amazing number of pieces of reinforced tape that holds everything
down on the printer and sheetfeeder must surely be gross overkill, but
certainly nothing comes adrift!
4.9
There were three manuals included, one for us Swedes, one for French,
German and English users and one Programmeræs Manual in English. All
these were flawlessly translated from Japanese; quite a feat!
4.9
The printer is quite handsome in grey plastic, with logos and control
panel text in a darker grey. The only coloured items to be found are the
yellow and green LEDs that adorn the control panel!
4.9
No low-level control
4.9
In contrast to the earlier bubble-jets from Canon (the BJ-10e and the
BJ-130e) there is no possibility of low-level control of the printer, so
the printer driver for the BJ-130e, available from EFF, does not work.
Instead, the built-in Epson LQ-850 emulation is used with an Archimedes
computer, as with my old Panasonic printer, so I didnæt change a thing
on the computer, just set the dip-switches on the printer according to
the manual.
4.9
The printer can have two font cards, so in addition to the fonts built-
in, you can add a number of fonts. Very useful for First Word Plus
users, but of little importance to Impression users.
4.9
Printing
4.9
It is imperative that the printer is on-line before you tell the
computer to print a document, otherwise it refuses to function. This is
not so with my dot-matrix printer, but on the other hand that doesnæt
flush the print buffer if you abort printing (making a mess of the next
print job) Ö so it is just a small inconvenience: To get things going
you abort the printing, set the printer on-line and start the printing
job once again.
4.9
Printing by dropping on the RISC-OS printer icon is the fastest I have
seen! Printing Impression files is another matter Ö it will not enter
Guiness Book of Records Ö but it is not the printeræs fault!
4.9
The printer outpaces an A3000!
4.9
As the printer still is faster than my A3000 manages to send the bits to
the printer, the printer head parks every five lines or so, leading to
striped images, especially when printing large illustrations. Reading
the PRM and the Impression manual and following their advice didnæt help
Ö no amount of Fontcache nor a huge system sprite area will solve the
problem (An A540 would!).
4.9
The solution is to let the printer driver print to a file first, then
send the finished bit-image to the printer. An A4 page can easily become
bigger than 800K so you have to use a huge RAM-disc or your hard-disc
for a perfect result.
4.9
To get the optimum result, you should use the LQ-850 emulation set to
360 x 360 dpi. If you want to use less ink, you just use the control
panel to set the printer to HS, high speed. It makes the images a bit
grey, but that might be the only solution if the paper doesnæt soak up
all the ink! When the ink is fresh it normally is quite wet and needs to
dry before using. So standard fan-fold paper isnæt really up to it. I
guess laser printer paper would be perfect.
4.9
The sheetfeeder
4.9
As my fan-fold paper wasnæt useable, the ink spreading radially in the
paper to make the result a mess, I had to use the sheet-feeder.
4.9
This is very straight-forward to install and functions perfectly, even
with just one sheet of paper in the bin. There is even a possibility to
fit a second bin, if need be. In short, flawless in operation!
4.9
Conclusion
4.9
I have never used a quieter printer than the BJ-330, nor one that could
print on such big paper (a laser that could do it would cost a small
fortune!).
4.9
Using it for draft-printing is a pleasure indeed, as it really flies and
the sheet-feeder certainly works well.
4.9
To make originals for printing it is perfect, even if it isnæt as fast
as a Laser Direct (far from it!). I donæt think you could see the
difference between a page printed with a good laser printer and a page
printed with a BJ-300 (for A4) or a BJ-330. I have never seen blacker
printing and, with the right paper the result is perfectly all right for
professional work.
4.9
The only thing that I did not like was the dip-switches in the back. I
have to lean over the printer to change them and they are so very small!
Why not have all controls up front?
4.9
Proof!
4.9
It is so good that Iæve sent these two pages to Paul for inclusion in
next Archive as a full-spread illustration. Try to see any difference
between it and any other page!ááA
4.9

4.9
Unfortunately, I couldnæt use them, as Tordæs English needed a little
adjustment. Take it from me that the printout quality is impressive for
a non-laser printer Ö although I must say that I could tell the
difference even between that and a 300 d.p.i. laser. Ed.
4.9

4.9
ShowPage Ö Poor Manæs PostScript!
4.9
Tord Eriksson
4.9
For some years now, PostScript has been synonymous with DTP and CAP
(DeskTop Publishing and Computer Assisted Publishing) because this
graphics programming language was developed by Adobe in 1982 just in
time to be used by Apple on the then revolutionary Macintosh.
4.9
It has its origin as a programming language for complex three-dimen
sional databases (as used in CAD programs) called öDesign Systemò. It
then developed into öJaMò (for John Warnock and Martin Newell) at the
famous Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (where Windows, Icons, Mice and
Pointers were conceived). This was used there as a multi-purpose
language in experimental applications as diverse as VLSI design and
graphics.
4.9
John Warnock, the leading man behind PostScript started, together with
Chuck Geschke, a company called Adobe Systems Incorporated in 1982, that
developed the language into a graphics description system and an
interpreter for raster based printers such as typesetters and laser
printers.
4.9
A flavour of Forth
4.9
Having grown out of a language that inherited many features of Forth, it
still keeps to Reverse Polish Notation, that is, you write ö12 8 + 20 =ò
and not ö12 + 8 = 20ò or ö0 0 movetoò not, as in BASIC, öMOVE(0,0)ò.
4.9
This is probably the origin of the name of the language, as you add the
operand as a post-script.
4.9
Showpage Ö a PostScript interpreter
4.9
Computer Concepts, famous for their Impression DTP and fast öhard wiredò
laser printers, have found a niche for turning a dumb, low-cost laser
printer into a powerful PostScript printer. They do it by making an
Archimedes do the heavy work of interpreting the PostScript file and
then sending the bitmap over to the non-PostScript laser printer, such
as the LaserDirect Hi-Res.
4.9
The main problem with PostScript lasers has been that they are either
very slow or very costly, or both. Some printers can be upgraded to
PostScript standard by adding a PostScript card, probably costing
anything from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands. The typical price
difference of a standard laser printer with and with-out PostScript
being ú500 for the cheapest and ú1000 for the bigger ones Ö upgrading
later is always more expensive!
4.9
So, as an alternative to upgrading your printer, you buy Computer
Conceptsæ Showpage and can still print your own and othersæ PostScript
files at a reasonable pace, for less than the cheapest PostScript
upgrade since Showpage retails at ú149.00.
4.9
A big package
4.9
From Computer Concepts arrived a big box, slightly dented, containing a
disc, with the interpreter, some utilities and some PostScript fonts, a
manual about the interpreter, a number of registration forms etc and two
big books from Adobe. Both these books were entirely made with Post
Script, no cutting or pasting performed manually or with the DTP system
involved. The result is very impressive!
4.9
Tutorial and cook book
4.9
One of the books is a thick reference manual that contains all the
operands etc that are used in PostScript, with numerous examples that
shows the language to be a pretty complete programming environment, even
if it leans heavily towards graphical applications Ö I wouldnæt
recommend it for arcade-style games!
4.9
The other book is more interesting and consists of two books rolled into
one: A tutorial that takes you from the first simple programming example
(a line) to the rather complex workings of the image operator and how to
get the most out of your Apple LaserWriter, the most widely available
PostScript printer.
4.9
Part two is a öcook bookò with complete recipes on how to make arrows,
dash patterns, arcs (elliptical or not), how to set text as arches, in
vertical columns, with small capital letters, how to create new fonts or
modify old fonts etc.
4.9
öProgram 18 / Making Small Changes to Encoding Vectorsò is extra
pleasing to a Swede as the text is a quotation in Swedish, made by one
of the big names in typography, Valter Falk.
4.9
So there is much to learn about PostScript, especially how to make the
most of it because all languages, artificial or not, take a long time to
master.
4.9
The interpreter in use
4.9
Not having a PostScript printer, nor even a laser, I was curious about
how the complex sample files, that are found on the disc, would print
out on a ink jet printer (Canon BJ-330). As the printer is printing
faster than my A3000 manages to send the bitmaps, I always send the
bitmap to a file first before dumping it to the printer. A primitive
printer-spooler, I know, but it prevents the printers time-out parking
the head while printing the images, as that always leads to a minute
misalignment of the printing head when restarting. With my 24-pin
printer, there is no problem because it is much slower.
4.9
I can say, truthfully, that the results are amazing, both due to the
complexity of the pictures themselves and due to the fact that the BJ-
330 isnæt made to print in this way. Even a 24-pin matrix printer
produces good enough output to be used for proofing of PostScript
documents.
4.9
Many of the sample files supplied are so complex that there is no way
that you could produce them with any art package I know of. It shows how
PostScript can be used as a creative tool, as well as a way of describ
ing a piece of text.
4.9
Especially endearing is the way you can use a letter or a word as a
mask, so that another text or pattern shines through, the mask being
semi-opaque or whatever you want. I would love to have that function
added to !DrawPlus, my favourite utility!
4.9
Next: Let us use PostScript!
4.9
To learn a language properly, you have to use it for a long time. I will
give you a few small programming examples in the next part of this
exploration into the world of PostScript.
4.9
(To avoid stepping on any sore toes and because US companies love to
sue, I hasten to add that PostScript is registered trademark of Adobe
Systems Incorporated.)ááA
4.9

4.9
(This is a VERY professional package and I reckon that Jonathan Marten
could have made quite a bit of money by selling it professionally. (Mind
you, Acorn might have had something to say about that!) Still, if you
are using Draw1╜ or DrawPlus, why not send Jonathan something to show
your appreciation Ö especially if, like Barry, you are using it in the
course of your work. Draw1╜ is available on Shareware N║34 but this
latest version, DrawPlus, is so good that we are making it available as
one of the programs on Careware N║13 which is now available. Ed.)
4.9

4.9
The Archimedes Speaks
4.9
Robert Chrismas
4.9
Robert looks here at PEP Associatesæ SpeechSystem (ú25) and Superior
Softwareæs Speech! (ú19.95 or ú19 through Archive). Two more speech
programs are now just about ready: ARCticulate from 4th Dimension and
DT-Talk from DT Software. Robert will look at these and report back as
soon as he can.
4.9
Children can understand and speak English long before they learn to read
and write. For most people, speech remains a more Énaturalæ form of
communication. It is not surprising that so much effort has been devoted
to enabling computers to produce and recognise speech. Computing experts
soon found that it was easier to get computers to speak than to
recognise and Éunderstandæ speech. (The same is true for people but for
different reasons.)
4.9
The clearest computer speech is obtained using samples of a personæs
speech, in effect using the computer as a digital recorder. Whole
sentences can sound very natural but sampled sounds require lots of data
so the number of sentences you can store is limited. It is possible to
store individual words and to combine them to make sentences (you may
remember Acornæs early attempts to do this using Kenneth Kendallæs
voice). However the vocabulary is still limited by the size of the
computer memory. Also, once you begin to work with words instead of
whole sentences, the speech begins to sound mechanical because of the
difficulties of reproducing the natural patterns of rhythm, pitch and
stress which usually reinforce the meaning of the utterance. Even the
sounds of words may change in natural speech to facilitate pronunciation
of some sound sequences.
4.9
Spoken English must include a high level of redundancy. If we listen to
a sixteen stone male for Newcastle speaking over the telephone and a
seven stone female cockney with a lisp shouting in the street outside
the window we can understand both while still hearing the differences
between them. Provided that the sounds have certain similarities with
normal human speech, they are comprehensible even when it is clearly
non-human, as anyone who has listened to Dr Who or Mr Punch well knows.
4.9
Phonemes
4.9
In English, we recognise about 50 unique sounds which allow us to
identify words. These sounds are called phonemes. The phonemes are
divided roughly into:
4.9
    consonants  e.g. the Ébæ sound in Ébatæ
4.9
    vowels         e.g. the Éoæ sound in Édogæ
4.9
If a computer can utter these phonemes reasonably accurately, it can
produce recognisable speech with an unlimited vocabulary.
4.9
Since these sounds have a fairly simple structure, it is not necessary
to work with fragments of sampled speech Ö the computer can synthesise
the sounds.
4.9
The programs
4.9
Superior Software and PEP have both produced programs which speak using
synthesised phonemes. The packages sound different and they have
different features. Each package includes:
4.9
Å Documentation
4.9
Å A desktop front end
4.9
ÅáA module to convert English words into phoneme codes
4.9
ÅáA module to convert phoneme codes into sounds
4.9
The packaging and documentation
4.9
Speech! comes in a CD pack with a single page of documentation and
advertisements. The text refers you to help files on the disk which are
more extensive. It is important to read the help files if only to learn
that you should not attempt to write to the (protected) disk. The help
files contain enough information to use the programs but they assume
some background knowledge. In the worst case, the text refers to the
Ésecond formant centre frequencyæ without explanation. You can get some
idea of what it is by changing the frequency and listening to the
effect, but more information would be helpful here.
4.9
SpeechSystem has a 54 page A5 manual. The manual is well written and it
includes a helpful introduction to the linguistic background to the
program. It is disarmingly frank about its limitations. In a discussion
of the difference between the sound of Éleadæ in Élead pipesæ and Élead
singersæ it says that the pronunciation depends on the meaning of the
sentence which É...places the problem firmly in AI country, and beyond
the scope of SpeechSystem in its current formæ. Once you have installed
SpeechSystem by entering your name, you can back up the disk. This form
of protection seem to be the best compromise between user friendliness
and copyright protection.
4.9
Neither package enables you to create speech fragments which can be
freely distributed, so you can only give your creations to other people
who have bought the programs.
4.9
Speech! front end
4.9
If you load the main program, !Speech!, and drag a text file to the
program icon, the file will be read aloud. A window allows you to enter
a line of words or phonemes to be spoken. The window also gives you
control over the pitch, speed, level and both the second and the lower
formant frequency (they affect the vowel sounds).
4.9
The !Sp_Dict application allows you to create new Speech! modules with
modified pronunciation dictionaries. !Sp_Demo shows off the features of
Speech! and includes talking pictures. Finally there is a drill and
practice spelling program (educational theorists collapse in horror!).
4.9
SpeechSystem front end
4.9
Like !Speech! !PEP_Text will read text files dropped on to the icon. The
text appears in a window with a set of tape recorder like controls.
!PEP_ Text can also speak words (or characters) as you type them, as I
type this this into First Word Plus it is speaking each word. Another
option causes any system text under the pointer to be read, so, for
example, you can point to the file names in a filer window and hear each
one spoken.
4.9
!PEP_Word allows you to create/edit a pronunciation dictionary. There
are also two demos which you are free to distribute. One of the demos is
included on the Archive 4.8 program disk; the speech quality is
identical to SpeechSystem.
4.9
Words to phonemes translation
4.9
    Beware of heard, a dreadful word,
4.9
    That looks like beard and sounds like bird,
4.9
    And dead: itæs said like bed not bead,
4.9
    For Goodnessæ sake, donæt call it deed!
4.9
    Watch out for meat and great and threat,
4.9
    They rhyme with suite and straight and debt
4.9
In written English, spelling is determined by etymology not pronuncia
tion. Of course, many words are spoken as they are spelt and most of the
rest are covered by rules which leave only a few exceptions to be learnt
by heart. People use rules to help spell words they have no difficulty
pronouncing. For computer speech, the text is given, the rules must
indicate how to pronounce the words.
4.9
SpeechSystem seems to have some powerful rules built into the program.
If it fails to pronounce a word accurately you can create and edit a
translation dictionary which is contained in !PEP_Lib using the
!PEP_Word program. The dictionary is a list of words and the phoneme
equivalents. The dictionary can only handle complete words, so if a word
can take a number of suffixes and/or prefixes, each instance must be
entered. The documentation avoids drawing attention to this requirement
by using place names for its examples.
4.9
In the Speech! program, dictionary entries can deal with parts of words
and they may include wild cards so one rule can cover many instances.
For example Éi>#e_IY|æ makes the Éiæ before É<consonant>eæ long as in
Élineæ and Étimeæ. Entries can even specify changes in pitch within a
word. Because the Speech! dictionary is more versatile than that used by
SpeechSystem, I think it would be possible to use it to create a
dictionary to cope reasonably with words from a foreign language.
4.9
Changing the dictionary is less straightforward than with SpeechSystem.
You must copy !Sp_ Dict, then use !Edit (or similar) to change the
dictionary in the application. The format given in the !Help file is
wrong but it is easy to work out the correct rules by examining the
file. When you have changed the dictionary, SP_Dict will create a new
Speech! module.
4.9
As they are supplied both programs seem to aim for ÉReceived Pronuncia
tionæ (RP), the accent associated with educated people, the south east
of England, the BBC World Service and Radio 3. Since this is a long way
from my native Hampshire accent it was quite brave of Paul to send me
these programs. With both programs, you can produce more accurate speech
(or regional accents) by spelling phonetically (spelng foneticly).
4.9
Speech using phonemes
4.9
Both programs allow you to enter speech as a sequence of phonemes. With
Speech you use *SAY for words and *SPEAK for phonemes. SpeechSystemæs
*UTTER allows you to embed phonemes in ordinary text but the method of
indicating phonemes is less compact.
4.9
*SAY TOKEN    Speech! words
4.9
*SPEAK TOWKOXN
Speech! phonemes
4.9
*UTTER TOKEN    PEP words
4.9
*UTTER {{ /t//ow//k//ax//n/}} PEP phonemes
4.9
The programs use different letter codes to indicate phonemes. Speech!
uses its own codes, apparently based on, but not identical to, those
used by the BBC version of the program. Some of the sounds are rather
hard to place. The help file gives ÉOHæ as the first vowel sounds in
Écolouræ and Époloæ; but these are different sounds in RP and most
regional accents. SpeechSystem uses a standard code called ÉArpabetæ.
The documentation includes a table to convert from the International
Phonetic Alphabet into Arpabet, so you can easily translate the
pronunciation given in a dictionary into a form which the program can
use.
4.9
SpeechSystem allows you to specify the overall pitch of the speech as
part of a SWI. To change the pitch of individual phonemes you must alter
bytes in the phoneme buffer directly.
4.9
Speech! offers OSCLIs and SWIs to set the overall volume and pitch as
well as the formant frequencies. You can include numbers within a
phoneme sequence to control the pitch of each phoneme, values 1Ö8 are
speaking pitches, 10Ö57 cause the phoneme to be sung. Creating a song is
fun but, to keep the tempo vowels must often be doubled or trebled. Even
a short song takes a long time to enter, but it is possible to get
results much better than the example, ÉDaisy Daisyæ. (This was, no
doubt, inspired by HAL in 2001!)
4.9
In everyday speech, a change in volume, stress, is used to emphasise
meaning. Neither program makes it easy to copy natural speech stress
patterns but changes in pitch can be used for similar effects.
4.9
Quality
4.9
I wrote a program to allow listeners to compare the sounds of the
programs and used twelve people, who had not heard the programs before,
as subjects. To try to standardise the test, I use RP for all phonetic
speech and I did not use any variations in pitch which would have
depended on my own preferences. The results of blind trials showed that
all the subjects found that Speech! sounded more Énaturalæ than
SpeechSystem. This was probably influenced by the way Speech! runs the
words together while SpeechSystem pauses between each word, but the
pronunciation of individual words was also a factor. Speech entered as
phonemes was not preferred significantly to words translated into
phonemes by the programs, which indicates that both programs did a
reasonable job of translating words into phonemes. When subjects heard a
single word with no clues to its meaning they found it very difficult to
identify the word when it was spoken with either program (about 30% of
words were correctly identified). Afterwards, many commented that both
programs sounded very mechanical. One said that Speech! sounded just
like the BBC version and was surprised that the Archimedes could not do
any better. I think I could have made some improvements to the examples
provided with Speech! by tinkering with pitch etc, but there were not
many ways of improving the SpeechSystem examples.
4.9
Summary
4.9
I enjoyed using both programs and I think they are good value. Both
programs sound mechanical but Speech! less so than SpeechSystem. Speech!
allows more variation of, and better control over, pitch and sound.
SpeechSystem has better documentation and a better front end and the
standard phoneme codes are more convenient.ááA
4.9

4.9
A Taste of APL
4.9
Alan Angus
4.9
In my first article I introduced the idea of using I-APL to explore the
basic idea of functions. The example below uses the i function to assign
the numbers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 to variable S. The outer product operator öo.ò
can then be used to make a multiplication table based on S, öSo.xSò, or
an addition table, öSo.+Sò. Other tables can be made by using S with
another vector such as B shown in the examples.
4.9
In the following examples, a set of values for a quadratic function are
stored in variable V and this is used with R, which consists of the
integers from Ö1 to 8, to give some crude graphical representations of
the quadratic function. The öo.ò operator is used to set up tables of
all the combinations of elements of V with those of R.
4.9
The first table uses ö=ò to test for equality, plotting 1 when they are
equal and 0 when not equal. The second table uses a Éless than or equal
toæ test to produce a bar chart and the third table is a little more
clever in that it uses indexing on the string É*æ to plot with the É æ
and É*æ characters instead of 0 and 1.
4.9
I-APL does have access to better plotting facilities than this through
the VDU drivers, but because of the implementation method used, it is
rather slow. The screen dump shows a plot of a triangle transformed
several times about the centre of the axes.
4.9
SETUP
4.9
SHOW C
4.9
REPT 5
4.9

4.9

4.9

4.9
SHOW plots the shape on screen using data stored in matrix C. The shape
is transformed by applying a transformation matrix T using matrix
multiplication, e.g öT+.xCò. This is used in line 5 of the procedure
REPT which applies the transformation T a given number of times,
plotting the new shape each time.
4.9
The procedures TIN and CIN can be used to input new transformation and
shape matrices.
4.9
I am not trying to teach APL here, and so I will not explain the
operation of these routines in any detail. The strange symbols used by
APL are off-putting at first, but they are a powerful extension to the
familiar symbolism of mathematics and well worth exploring. Get hold of
a copy of the I-APL interpreter and an introductory book on APL and dive
in!
4.9
All the functions listed here, plus others for saving screens to disk
and making OSCLI calls etc, are in the workspace PLOT. I make no claims
for originality in anything I have done. Some of the examples are lifted
directly from Kenneth Iversonæs öIntroducing APL to Teachersò, others
are based on material from Howard Peelleæs öAPL, An Introductionò and
the I-APL manual.
4.9
Norman Thomsonæs book, APL Programs for the Mathematics Classroom, is an
excellent source of ideas and routines for using APL in mathematics
education. This book, as well as many others, and the I-APL interpreter
are available from, I-APL Ltd, 2 Blenheim Road, St. Albans AL1á4NR.ááA
4.9

4.9
DTP Clip Art
4.9
David Crofts
4.9
This article covers a variety of issues inherent in using Clip Art with
Impression and other DTP packages.
4.9
A few months ago I wrote to Paul requesting assistance with sources of
Christian Clip Art to use in Church publications. He placed a request in
the Help! section and help duly arrived. My grateful thanks to all who
responded. I hope that this article will in some way provide assistance
for them in return.
4.9
I intend the text to be of general as well as specific interest, so all
DTP Clip Art users please read on!
4.9
Sources
4.9
Clip Art is available commercially and through Public Domain libraries.
Non-computer material is also available but will need to be scanned. A
large selection can be found outside the Archimedes world in PC format Ö
in fact the most comprehensive library is available, at a price, in PC
Vector (Draw) format. It is possible to translate some of these formats,
so I will include details of which format to choose later.
4.9
Formats
4.9
The two formats for Archimedes images are Paint or sprite format and
Draw or object-oriented graphics. In the PC world, these correspond to
Ébit-mappedæ and Évectoræ graphics respectively. Sprite/bit-mapped
images are much more widely available and cheaper than Draw or vector
format, but suffer from the problem of Éjaggiesæ Ö rough edges when
enlarged and printed.
4.9
Draw / Vector graphics images are much smoother and produce almost
infinitely scalable images, and correspondingly better results.
4.9
It is worth mentioning here that converting sprites into Draw format is
now possible with Midnight Tracer. Early reports suggest that it has
limitations, it may be worth waiting for reviews before trying. (See the
comments on page 14. Ed.)
4.9
Archimedes clip art
4.9
The first place to look for material is general clip art. Many images
with non-religious subject matter can be relevant. A great deal is
available through Public Domain libraries such as Archive Shareware and
Careware! APDL of Cleveland, in addition to a wealth of sprite and
scanned images include two religious sprite format discs. Midnight
Graphics publish a five disc set of Draw format Clip Art Ö non of it
specifically religious. Others of general interest are G.A. Herdman Ö
Draw and sprite; Micro Studio who are building up an impressive
collection library of Draw and Sprite pictures, many with education in
mind; and David Pilling who has some interesting sprite images, some in
colour.
4.9
Donæt be surprised when collecting Public Domain material to receive
identical files from different libraries! Public Domain seems to mean
that anybody can sell you anything so long as it is free of copyright.
4.9
PC material
4.9
Another valuable source of material is the PC world. Some PC clip art is
translatable into Archimedes format. I will detail my experience so far.
4.9
Firstly, by far the most comprehensive selection of religious Clip Art
available, as far as I have been able to ascertain, is from MGA Softcat
of Rye. Their Religious Special Edition Clip Art is available in
Micrografix.DRW and other formats. It converts into Draw / vector
images, but at a price! (ú149.95 +VAT) The selection would satisfy most
needs of most people for quite a long time. I have a photocopy of the
selection, but have not been able to afford to purchase it! At a more
realistic price is their set of Christian Symbols in bit-mapped format
at ú29.95.
4.9
Religious Clip Art is available on subscription from Beulah Graphics of
London SW8. It can be supplied in TIFF, PCX and IMG format, all bit-
mapped (sprite) images. The range of images is mixed, the majority
specifically religious or biblical. Their PCX files presented transla
tion problems, but fortunately they were able to provide TIFF as an
alternative format.
4.9
I have seen an advert only for Vector Clip Art from öWords and Picturesò
of Banbury.
4.9
Converting from PC format
4.9
To convert from PC to Archimedes format it is advisable to have to hand
PC Dir, Translator, a set-type utility and Paint.
4.9
In my (limited) experience, with advice courtesy of Jim Markland, it
seems best to try to obtain images in TIFF format.
4.9
1.áIf necessary, unpack these using the PC Emulator (with Beulah
Graphics at least).
4.9
2.áMove them across into Archimedes media using PC Dir (available on
Careware 7).
4.9
3. Use Set-type (Shareware 19 or 23) to change to TIFF type (always
assuming the file was a TIFF file in the first place!). This is filetype
FF0.
4.9
4.áLoad Translator (Careware 7) onto the icon bar.
4.9
5. Double click on TIFF file. The screen will probably change to a
strange grey mode and a box containing the converted image appears.
4.9
6. Click <menu> over the image. Run along the Save line to the list of
save options. I usually choose ÉWhole (scaled)æ as the images may well
need some alteration before saving (who needs an oval moon?).
4.9
7. Enter a filename into the box which appears, then, after <select> or
<return>, the mouse pointer appears with the image completely under your
power. A box giving the coordinates of the image you are about to save
is appended to the pointer for precise scaling. It is possible to alter
it to any shape size or scale you require (clever software Ö Translator)
before clicking <select> to save it. (If you have made a mistake with
the filename this is the moment of truth.)
4.9
8. GOTO 5 (who needs structured programming?) UNTIL all converted.
4.9
Using PC files in DTP
4.9
On conversion (not religious!), some filesæ whites are not ÉPersilæ
bright. They seem to have a grey dotted background which is indistin
guishable from white to the naked eye. Usually this only becomes evident
on printing, when the image, rather than merging neatly into the white
background of the paper, suddenly acquires a grey rectangular outline.
Nasty! The solution? Load Paint. Use the replace colour option (a
tipping up paint pot) to fill the Égrey whiteæ with real white. Now your
image is squeaky clean.
4.9
Other material
4.9
Pictures and features with a Christian theme, which could be scanned or
cut and pasted with real glue, are available on subscription from two
main sources: Church News Service and Christian Education Ltd. The
material includes monthly titles, headers, captions, articles for adults
and children, pictures, puzzles and jokes. (I preferred the CNS material
for a British audience; CEL is Australian and has a distinctly trans-
Atlantic feel.) Also Kevin Mayhew of Rattlesden produce three books of
öInstant Art for the Church Magazine.ò Again, these could be scanned.
4.9
One respondent sent in some clever cartoons his sister had drawn. So any
local artist may be pressed into service, even if the thought of a
computer terrifies them.
4.9
See other articles for those who have experience of scanners.
4.9
What next?
4.9
Now those magazines, posters, leaflets, publicity materials, childrenæs
worksheets, service cards hymn sheets will be enlivened and brightened
by illustrations. For an example of use, Charles Constantine sent in his
Church Magazine liberally illustrated with pictures and adverts. More
generally available are the Patterns for Worship sample service cards
from Church House Publishing which show how service material can be
vitalised with illustrations.
4.9
Sources
4.9
MGA Softcat, 41, Cinque Ports Street, Rye, East Sussex. TN31 7AD (0797-
226601)
4.9
Beulah Graphics, 276, South Lambeth Road, London. SW8 1UJ (071-622-8924)
4.9
Christian Education Ltd., Unit C, 41, Dace Road, London. E3 2NG
4.9
Church News Service, 37b, New Cavendish Street, London. W1M 8JR
4.9
APDL Public Domain Library, Mr Peter Sykes, 96, Lanehouse Road,
Thornaby, Cleveland. TS17á8EA
4.9
Kevin Mayhew Ltd., Rattlesden, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk. IP30 0SZ
4.9
Words & Pictures, 30, Parsons Street, Banbury, Oxon. OX16 8LY (0295-
258335)
4.9
Midnight Graphics from Dabhand Computing Ltd., 5 Victoria Lane,
Whitefield, Manchester. M25 6AL
4.9
G. A. Herdman Educational Software, 43, St. Johns Drive, Clarborough,
Retford, Notts. DN22 9NN (0777-700918)
4.9
David Pilling, PO Box 22, Thornton Cleveleys, Blackpool. FY5 1LR.  A
4.9

4.9
Minerva Business Accounts
4.9
Mick Burrell
4.9
The Archimedes computer is a highly sophisticated machine and there is
now a wealth of software available to utilise its capabilities to the
full, but it still has not found a large following in the IBM stronghold
of the business world possibly because of the lack of choice of business
accounts software. Enter Minerva with their new business accounts
package.
4.9
Initial impressions
4.9
Business accounts software, by its very nature, must be very complex but
Minerva have worked hard and have, I feel, been successful in making it
easy to use. Perhaps more than any other software, an accounts package
will be used by people with little or no interest in computers other
than as a tool. With this in mind, Minerva have presented the package
well with an easy to follow (if a little daunting) manual. It comes as
five separate modules Ö Invoicing, Sales Ledger, Purchase Ledger,
Nominal Ledger and Stock Management (as yet no Wages package) Ö each of
which will stand alone or integrate with any others you may have.
4.9
The manuals are well written in the now familiar style of tutorial and
Émainæ sections. Having read Paulæs comments about a reviewer who
admitted to not reading the manual, I dived straight in to the tutorial
section.
4.9
The programs seems to run quite happily from wherever you store them. I
have put them in a directory called Accs_Bus in the root directory of my
440És hard disc. Opening the directory and double clicking on the
applicationæs icon installs it on the icon bar. Clicking on the icon
takes you into the main menu where you accept the date taken from the
internal clock or enter another date (as is the case if you follow the
tutorial).
4.9
Each of the manuals follows the same format and often uses very similar
data so that if you have bought more than one module, the operations
soon become familiar. Minerva have included some mistakes for you to
type in and then they show you how easy it is to correct them! A good
start Ö I was quite capable of making my own mistakes and it was nice to
know already how to put them right. The manual is very insistent that
you work through the tutorial section before trying to tailor the
package to suit your own needs. This is well worth the effort, particu
larly if you are familiar with similar packages on PCs, as the tutorials
aim to explore most of the facilities available. In practice, I felt
that even having worked through the tutorials, this package offers so
much that I would still be discovering Énewæ facilities after quite
prolonged use. With this in mind, unless this review runs to a similar
length to the manual, it can only really be my initial impressions.
4.9
Invoicing
4.9
The main screen shows which module you are working in, the date and, in
this case, the invoice number you are looking at or working on. The
Écardæ itself is a smaller area which scrolls around quite happily under
this heading. This is not multi-tasking and does not use the conven
tional windows but this presents no problem (to me at least!) and
returns you to the desktop when you have finished. Typing in data is
quite straight forward. From the name you put on the invoice (a minimum
of three letters is all that is required for the system to find the
customer) the system checks to see if it is an account that already
exists and offers you the choice of opening a new account, making it a
cash customer (meaning one you will probably only deal with this once),
one or more customers who fit the description you typed in or re-
entering the data.
4.9
For example, if you typed in ÉFreæ as your name, the system would offer
ÉFree Range Eggs Ltdæ as well as ÉFred Bloggs PLCæ if these were already
on file. You can then choose between them as they will be labelled ÉAæ
and ÉBæ. Had you typed in ÉFredæ then only ÉFred Bloggs PLCæ would have
been selected. The option to re-enter data is provided just in case you
have made a mistake! One small problem occurred here Ö pressing <R> to
re-enter details worked fine, but pressing <r> left me with a blanked
screen which I could not get out of. This aside, entering invoice
details is quite straight forward.
4.9
When you print an invoice, multiple copies are available, labelled
Invoice, Despatch Note, Office Copy etc. depending on your requirements.
These are set up when you get round to designing your own invoice. If
you do not require a despatch note, you can set up the system so that
you do not have one! One or two things are fixed however. For example,
the system uses things like Invoice Number and so each invoice must have
one! Not a serious limitation I hope. For the system to work properly,
you should have two drives or a hard disc. Again, I would not imagine
anyone prepared to buy and use this kind of software not having that
hardware.
4.9
Setting up your own invoice system is not a task to be undertaken
lightly. This has nothing to do with the software Ö it should be
approached with the same care and attention you would use to design any
of your business forms. You do, however, need to consider how the system
will work best for you. Can I add to Minervaæs plea Ö work through the
tutorial first. I did, and yet I still made a few errors and had to
start my design again. Only time will tell if a design is perfect once
set up. An ÉInvoice Reformatæ option is, however, provided which will
allow minor modifications even after the files have been in use. The
system seems to be so versatile that it will probably cater for most
needs with very little work.
4.9
Sales and purchase ledgers
4.9
Whilst these can again be stand alone packages, they will link to the
others and, by their very nature, are similar to each other in task and
operation. The tutorial sections are again very informative and take you
through finding a particular customer/supplier by both account number
and name, both methods being very fast. As with invoicing, a very
detailed analysis is possible to keep track of the flow of goods into
and out of your business (but see stock later) and leads to very
detailed management reports (again see later). Movement around the files
is similar to invoicing, although purely as a personal preference, I
would like to use one key to gain access to the individual accounts and
another to return to the menu. The <escape> key is used for both, but I
have to admit to getting used to it even in the short time I have used
the package.
4.9
One feature I liked particularly was the possibility of using of a small
negative discount (2p in the example) to correct for a small over
payment by a customer. I have never really understood why customers do
this, but they do! In some accounts programs, you have to use the
positive/negative adjustment procedure to make things balance. This
effort is rarely worth 2p!
4.9
All of the usual features are here allowing simple reports of who owes
you what and for how long (or vice versa!) but it can go far beyond
this. (The manual has four pages devoted to explaining how reports can
be produced.) One important report menu option is ÉSecond Criteriaæ
which is set as default for a balance greater than zero, but is used
with variables like Élimæ (the current credit limit) to produce reports
of customers whose balance exceeds their credit limit by an amount you
specify.
4.9
Reports generally can be short, medium or long, referring to the amount
of information given. The short gives you the basic facts, i.e. the
account number, name and amounts outstanding currently, for 30 days, 60
days and over 90 days. The long report prints in addition to this,
details like the full name and address, your contact within the company,
their credit limit, turnover and details of each transaction. In short
this exploits what a computer is good at Ö fast accurate data retrieval
to enable you to keep track of your business.
4.9
Nominal ledger
4.9
The nominal ledger program carries on this theme. In it you can record
every transaction your business makes but this can, of course, be
automatically taken from the sales and purchase ledgers if you have
those modules. The ledger will allow over 8000 accounts (I have taken
Minervaæs word for this!) and comes with some of these set up to help
get you started. You can print a profit and loss, balance sheet or a
trial balance at any time. Comprehensive report facilities are available
as well, and your accounting period can be set up to be anything from 12
to 18 months, so that if you are setting up a new business and will have
your accounts on computer from day one, then this package can handle the
first year trading being longer than one year.
4.9
Assuming that more people will have access to the computer than you
would wish to have access to your accounts, a password facility is
provided.
4.9
The tutorial is again well laid out and first of all introduces you to
some accounts which, being used as headers for profit and loss reports,
cannot be altered. They are a black card with white text to distinguish
them from the normal blue card with white text. (Anyone using a
monochrome monitor may find that this difference is not so obvious.)
4.9
Making alterations is much the same as in the other modules. Entries to
the cash book are quite straight forward, as are the journal entries. As
you would (probably) expect, the credit and debit totals for journal
entries are shown at the bottom of the screen and must balance before
you leave the posting.
4.9
It is, however, the reporting facilities that make this module really
worthwhile. If you do your own trial balance manually or have watched
your accounts clerk do it, you will know that hours can be spent looking
for tiny amounts which stop the ledger balancing! To have this available
at the touch of a key must make computerising your accounts worthwhile
on its own! Period end and year end accounts are just as easily produced
making it possible to have complete financial control over your
business. I know of some businesses (no names naturally!) where the end
of year figures their accountant produces are always a surprise. With
this package you can produce these simply and quickly whenever you
require them.
4.9
Stock management
4.9
At first sight, this module may not seem to fit in with the other four
but Minerva are at pains to point out that they have called it Stock
Management rather than Stock Control. The difference is in the amount of
information this module is designed to supply when compared to more
mundane stock control programs. The facilities you would expect are all
here Ö stock levels, valuations, minimum levels etc but it also provides
facilities to print out orders to send to suppliers and what is,
according to Minerva, a unique facility to produce a pareto graph to
Éhighlight those stock items which account for a majority of your
cashflow and hence require careful monitoring to maximise efficiency of
your financesæ.
4.9
In use, the program not only gives you accurate details of the items you
currently hold in stock but makes suggestions as to what should be
ordered and in what quantity. These are based on things like maximum and
minimum stock levels you have supplied, as well as stock movement and
delivery lead times. A nice touch is that the manual tries to explain
how the computer makes these predictions so that you can tailor it to
suit your own business and its way of working. At all times, you still
retain control over what the computer is about to do. For example, when
it suggests an order to a supplier, you can manually adjust the amount
if you wish to. This allows you to deal with seasonal fluctuations, new
product launches, sales variations due to the weather or a thousand
others things that a computer could not possibly predict but which you
have to cope with to run a successful business.
4.9
If your business is in buying and selling items then this information
will be vital and, of course, the computer will keep accurate records
and not rely on the tapping your head öitæs all up hereò approach. This
is a good stock management program and it will do the job admirably.
4.9
Conclusions
4.9
It is likely that anyone interested in this package will be considering
computerising their manual accounts or possibly starting a new business.
Readily available information on performance gives you extra control
that over your business Ö the value of this cannot be over stated.
Minerva have made this their main objective in producing these packages
and have succeeded. Together, they will make your accountantæs audit
much simpler and quicker which will, of course, save you money Ö
probably more than the cost of the package on the first audit! If you
are currently using a similar package on a P.C., then I doubt that there
are useful facilities you will find missing in Minervaæs version.
4.9
A package of this complexity cannot be learned from scratch in five
minutes and to get the most out of it will require time and a little
effort. If you have experience of similar packages, the transition
should be relatively painless. A well written and presented piece of
software in which I found very little to complain about.
4.9
Well done Minerva!  A
4.9

4.9
Shareware Disc N║39
4.9
Geoff Scott
4.9
Shareware N║39 has two sections; an educational one and a Évarious
utilitiesæ one which occupies about twice as much space.
4.9
Algorithms
4.9
In a directory called Algorithms are four mathematical programs.
4.9
The first, GraSort, demonstrates to the user in a visual manner four
popular algorithms for array sorting. It demonstrates the RISC-OS
HeapSort SWI, a simple shellsort routine, an inefficient but useful
SelectSort routine and the fastest known QuickSort routine.
4.9
PatMatch is a program holding three routines which were specifically
designed to search for a text string within a piece of text. For those
of you who are interested, the three search routines are a brute force
method, a Knuth-Morris (KMP), and a Boyer-Moore.
4.9
The third program, Travels, claims that it will ödemonstrate the modern
simulated annealing techniqueò to attack the Étravelling salesmanæ
problem. This type of problem is said to fall into the category of what
a mathematician would call NP-Complete Ö taking a long time for a
realistic number of variables. In English, this program will attempt to
find the shortest route from the start, through several cities and then
home again.
4.9
ZerFunc is said to search for the complex zeros of an arbitrary function
of one variable using the Muller method. The Muller method was chosen
over the Newton-Raphson one as it is more robust. As supplied, the
program will graphically display the zeros of a polynomial, although
full instructions are contained within the program if you find it
necessary to change the function calculated.
4.9
The four programs within this section were all produced very well, with
graphics used throughout to good effect. The only bad point I can make
is the lack of multi-tasking, although all four return you safely to the
desktop.
4.9
Chemistry
4.9
This program is an A-level science tutor which concentrates upon the
building blocks and elements of matter Ö although to a far higher stage
than GCSE. I took a brief look at this program and it is written in a
way that makes it a pleasure in some ways to work with. However, the
lack of a quit option is a bit of a drawback, although one can be added
simply by altering the error handler. In short, if you are doing A-level
chemistry Ö or even GCSE for that matter Ö I would recommend this disc
just for the one program.
4.9
Desktop
4.9
The desktop directory is the holder of four draw files which are
intended to help the user to access a menu option several layers deep by
providing a reference chart which may be printed. The files can be
printed out using the standard printer drivers, although on the screen,
I noticed that they looked slightly cramped and confusing Ö a fact that
would be replicated on paper. The use of these files would depend upon
how confident you are with the Archimedes desktop and the Welcome suite
of software Ö they could be ideal in an educational establishment or
while introducing someone to the machine.
4.9
Economics
4.9
The two programs within this directory are for calculating compound
interest and retail prices. The two programs have been written with many
functions and if a use exists for them then they would be perfectly
adequate.
4.9
Graphs
4.9
If you are fed up of graphs with very strange scale intervals then this
program is for you! After looking at the values of the data, the program
will fit the graph neatly onto a mode 0 screen.
4.9
Maths
4.9
7K worth of a mathematical routines library, with many functions
including part-arrays, hyperbolic functions, sines, cosines, cartesians
and virtually anything else you could ever need.
4.9
Photo
4.9
Two programs: Flash aids you in setting a close up exposure and DofField
which aims to provide information about the depth of field of a shot.
4.9
BackSpr
4.9
The first application in the utils directory is BackSpr which takes a
sprite and scales it to fill the screen and places the picture within a
window at the back of the desktop, creating a backdrop effect.
4.9
Copier
4.9
This is an update of the disc copier on Shareware disc 2. It has a more
colourful and graphical layout than the original version. It would
appear that the workings of the program have been left alone, apart from
making changes to recognise ÉEæ format discs and forcing the target disc
to be formatted.
4.9
Compacted screens sequence creator
4.9
This program appears to have been written to facilitate the construction
of sequences of pictures which have been compressed in some way. After
looking at the modules provided, it is a shame that the front end for
creating the sequences is such a violent beast to tame, but the effects
I created were outstanding.
4.9
FileUtils
4.9
Fileutils is an application which provides many different utilities for
file handling and various other file-associated operations. Operations
currently supported are: change file type; a file search which will also
search in any archives it encounters; a find space routine, the purpose
of which is to find if enough space exits on a disc to hold the intended
program.
4.9
FontConv
4.9
Amongst my collection of discs I knew that I had a font or two which
came from a PC and, after digging them out, I left the machine to
convert one of them. Firstly, the program informed me that every byte
was an un-known command, and then it wouldnæt let me return to the
desktop Ö forcing a reset. (It could be useful if you had the right type
of PC fonts. Ed.)
4.9
FPEcalc
4.9
A floating point calculator which does not multitask, requires system
sprite memory and appears not to do anything I tell it. This program is
in fact a 19 digit reverse-polish notation calculator with many
functions.
4.9
STtoRhap
4.9
When I bought Tracker and found that it had no printout option, turned
to the PD world looking for something to enable me to print the contents
of my sound tracker file. STtoRhap appears to be the answer. Sound
Tracker files Ö not Tracker Ö can be converted into a format that
Rhapsody will understand so that they can then be printed. I wouldnæt
however recommend trying to play the music from Rhapsody without making
a number of changes to the score first.
4.9
Help reader
4.9
This program can be used to prepare help applications for other
programs. It has many features such as jumping position using menus or
buttons and multitasking in its own window. Excellent for anyone new to
a program.
4.9
Overall
4.9
This shareware disc has been carefully compiled and, for ú3, you canæt
really afford to miss it if you like the look of the programs on it.
They are all thoroughly documented and can all be used with relatively
little experience.ááA
4.9

4.9
Risc User Compilation Disc
4.9
Edward Hollox
4.9
When the RU icon is double clicked from the filer window, the icon
installs itself on the icon bar and so provides information and a way of
loading the selection of programs.
4.9
!ADPC
4.9
Which stands for öAdvanced Desktop Presentation Creatorò. This utility
installs itself on the icon bar and allows you to sequence numbers of
sprites using different methods, such as scroll, explode and bounce, by
simply dragging the files to the program window. You can then save the
sprites, in a compressed form, in an application directory so that
double clicking that application gives you the series of sprites
interconnected by the different display methods.
4.9
However, you can only sequence mode 12 or mode 13 sprites, which limits
the program. Not only this, but the program also tended to spout errors
when saving which led me to believe that the program was not thoroughly
tested. Well tried, but could do better.
4.9
!aMaze
4.9
The only game on the disc provided welcome respite from the disappoint
ment of the previous program. The game is difficult to describe, but is
basically a sliding block puzzle where up to four players can slide and
then move their piece around the maze to collect various objects. The
first person to collect the objects and return to base has won. Objects
can be selected to be either from a dungeon, food, computer equipment or
detective equipment. There is also a help facility.
4.9
Although simple, this game has good graphics and is certainly a break
from shoot-æem-ups. Very good indeed. This game is also included on the
Risc User Games Disc, which was reviewed in the January edition of
Archive.
4.9
!Appmaker
4.9
A simple application which creates a basic sprite file and a !run file
for a application of a specific size. Could be useful, but definitely
nothing special.
4.9
!BEdit
4.9
Yawn! Yet another desktop front-end for the BASIC Editor. This one is no
different to the millions of other ones Iæve seen in the Public Domain.
4.9
!Clipart
4.9
Draw files of a computer, the Union Jack, a guitar and some bells for
inclusion in DTP.
4.9
!CMOSEdit
4.9
Double clicking this, results in a window full of numbers which
apparently can be altered to change various CMOS settings. Although
there is a help window, Iæd stick to !Configure on Applications Disc 1.
4.9
!Encode
4.9
A desktop utility which, by simply dragging files to its icon, can code
and decode files using a password system. Simple and very useful.
4.9
!Index
4.9
Only the index files for Risc User volume 3 for use in Arcscan.
4.9
!KeyStrip
4.9
A non-desktop utility which prints fully labelled keystrips on a 9 or
24-pin printer. Useful if, like me, you donæt like making your own.
4.9
!Music
4.9
A selection of music for use with !Maestro, including pieces from
Gilbert and Sullivan, Debussy and Bach.
4.9
!Newfonts
4.9
Three outline fonts, Chancellor, Katyo and Chinese, which are a useful
addition to any DTP package. The fonts are high quality, though they
would tend to be used for fancy headings rather than body text. Good,
and far cheaper than elsewhere.
4.9
!Palettes
4.9
Colour palettes for better output on colour printers.
4.9
!PC_Disc
4.9
This program, very similar to the program !PCDir on Careware 5, allows
the user to read, write, and format MSDOS discs on the desktop. If you
have !PCDir, this is nothing special, but is certainly handy if you have
the PC emulator and nothing like this program.
4.9
!StickyBD
4.9
This program allows the user to put icons on the background of the
desktop, and to change that normally grey background to a pretty
picture. A very good program, but it is in the Public Domain, so if you
want it, it is bound to be on a Shareware disc or in any PD libraryæs
catalogue.
4.9
!Textprint
4.9
This allows text to be printed on an Epson FX-80 compatible printer in
the background on the desktop, and is similar in presentation to the
Acorn printer drivers. Could be useful.
4.9
!Watchdog
4.9
This excellent utility allows the computer to be vigilant for viruses on
a hard or floppy disc. It has three levels of operation, selected from
the desktop icon. Grey is no watch, amber stops *Wipe operations and red
prevents all disc write operations. There is also an option for cleaning
the free space of discs to stop viruses hiding there.
4.9
Conclusion
4.9
Although this is a reasonable disc with some good programs, ú12.95 seems
rather expensive. If you do not want the outline fonts, you could try a
disc from a good public domain library or a Careware or Shareware disc
from Archive. They would have programs of equal qualityand you can pass
PD discs on to your friends.  A
4.9

4.9
Chess Revisited
4.9
Tord Eriksson
4.9
There is one game that has become a classic for computer simulations Ö
and is classic in itself Ö chess. From the long gone days of ZX80s and
IBM 360s to todayæs supercomputers and IBM SPARCstations, there has
always been a chess program around. Surprisingly few have been available
for the RISC-OS user and only one has had a wide distribution Ö C.
Granvilleæs !Chess, available from David Pilling, P. O. Box. 22,
Thornton Cleveleys, Blackpool, FY5 1LR, UK. The price is ú5.99, VAT and
p&p inclusive.
4.9
Not perfect
4.9
Version 1.00 of !Chess played a competent game of chess but could not in
any way be called perfect. It did not realise that, when considering
promotion, the option of turning a pawn into something other than a
queen is sometimes desirable. Neither did it count the time elapsed very
well as a two hour game easily ended up with two minutes or less on the
clock!
4.9
If it got into a tight spot, it started to play like a randy young lad
on his first date: The grand moves only made the prospects of success
even more remote. Looked at positively, it certainly made the game-
playing shorter but things were to change...
4.9
Enter version 1.28
4.9
The latest version looks exactly like its predecessors, fully multi-
tasking, fully WIMPy etc, but it certainly is a different kettle of
fish.
4.9
I did not have too much difficulty in beating the earlier versions but
this version is too much for me. It under promotes, it doesnæt loose its
marbles when in a tight spot and it seems to me play more quickly. As
the clock now functions as advertised, it really can get your adrenalin
flowing, as the computer is always miles ahead of you!
4.9
No field test
4.9
I have tested the earlier version of !Chess against chess programs run
on Amstrad CPC 6128 and a Spectrum but I have not done it this time as
the conclusion is all too evident:  a massacre!
4.9
The verdict Ö unbeatable!
4.9
There are still a few things that could be added to make it perfect Ö
3D-view, maybe battling pieces as in Battle-Chess (probably
copyrighted!) etc, but at the price it is offered I must say that it is
surely unbeatable!
4.9
As usual, David Pilling will upgrade your version, if it has been
legally obtained, to the latest version, by just sending him a blank
disk and an SAE, with enough stamps on! That is better service than that
by any other software producer I know of!  A
4.9

4.9
Maddingly Hall
4.9
Gareth Bellaby
4.9
Maddingly Hall is a text adventure game from Minerva. The game is set in
1932 and you take on the ÉBertie Woosteræ character of Bertie Hall who,
having lost money betting on the horses, decides to pay a visit to
Maddingly Hall and his rich Aunt Agatha. Also currently staying at
Maddingly is Veronica, the young woman Bertie loves. Bertie hopes to win
the heart of Veronica and persuade Aunt Agatha to part with a little of
her money. Apart from these two general objectives, the aims and puzzles
of the game are only revealed as the game is played.
4.9
Maddingly Hall needs 544K to start up. It is run from the desktop and
will not disrupt existing programs if enough memory is available. The
game is written in BASIC and is copy protected.
4.9
The game includes a picture for every location in the game. However, the
graphics are occasionally inconsistent with the text, for instance
displaying a non-existent window, and there is no facility to turn the
graphics off.
4.9
The game is not that difficult and, in that sense, could be suitable for
even a novice text adventure player. I say Écould beæ because the game
is let down by some extremely poor programming.The first failing of the
game is in its treatment of the many independent game characters. For
instance, one game character somehow managed to sit down to dinner
whilst simultaneously being trapped in a secret passage and a second
game character went through a locked door. Such anomalies completely
undermine the spirit of the game.
4.9
Secondly, Maddingly Hall is let down by its often infuriating parser. No
synonyms are given for nouns, although a few abbreviations are allowed.
The parser unreasonably rejects certain words so that, for instance, you
may be informed that you are wearing some öcasual clothesò but the
parser will only accept the word öclothò. Most importantly of all, the
parser demands certain words which are not given in the game text. For
example, at one point during the game you will need to refer to a
öbrickwallò but this word is not used anywhere in the text.
4.9
The game employs a reasonable level of humour, is based on a good
scenario and has a number of interesting puzzles and frustrating red
herrings. In particular, I like the way in which the nature of the game
unfolds only as it is being played.
4.9
However, I cannot really recommend the game because I found it extremely
annoying to be forced to struggle with the parser instead of getting on
with the game.ááA
4.9

Another new Archimedes?
4.10
Rumours are continuing to grow of an impending launch of a major new
product from Fulbourn Road. However, Acorn are so tight in their
security about new computers (quite rightly) that all I have been able
to find out for certain is that the new machine(s) can read 1.44Mbyte PC
format discs. (Wow! What startling news!!!) Sorry I canæt tell you any
more but as soon as I find out anything more definite, Iæll let you
know. Watch this space.....
4.10
Happy holiday!
4.10
Despite the fact that itæs July already and Iæve only had my shorts on
one day so far this ösummerò, it is the holiday season. In the four
years of the life of Archive, weæve never had more that a weekæs holiday
at a time. (Big öAhhh!ò for Paul!) We wanted to visit our friends in
North Carolina but felt we couldnæt afford the time... but then came
Impression II. What we are hoping to do is get the August Archive
finished in the next three weeks (contributors, please send your
articles in as soon as possible!), dash over to the States for three
weeks, dash back and try to get the September issue out as quickly as we
can... but it might be a bit late. Please bear with us. Oh, and please
be patient with Adrian and Ali as they hold the fort while Iæm away.
Thanks very much.
4.10
Hope you have a good holiday, too!
4.10

4.10
Products Available
4.10
Å    A4 paper trays Ö We can now get hold of spare A4 paper trays for the
Laser Direct (Qume) at ú66, the Laser Direct Hi-Res (Canon LBP8) at ú54
and the Canon LBP4 at ú57. It makes life much easier not to have to keep
taking headed note paper and plain paper in and out of paper trays Ö
just pull out one tray and replace it with another. This includes
putting A5 paper in an A4 paper tray which is explained in the Hints &
Tips on page 8.
4.10
Å    A4 flatbed scanner GT-4000 Ö Clares have produced an interface and
software support to run an Epson GT4000 from an Archimedes computer. The
main features are: 50 to 400 d.p.i., 24 bit colour, 256 grey scales, max
size 214 x 295 mm, uses serial and bi-directional Centronics interface,
full RISC-OS application. The prices are ú1799 +VAT for the full system
or ú715 + VAT for the software and interface board if you already have
the GT4000 scanner. (ú1955 and ú660 respectively through Archive.)
4.10
Å    A3000 Special Access Ö Acorn are now providing a package based on the
A3000 with Special Needs users in mind. It consists of an A3000 upgraded
with serial port and Morley User/Analogue ports, a disc of utilities to
facilitate access to the computer for physically disabled users and
people with visual impairment, Special Needs overview booklet and a copy
of the Special Needs Computing Handbook. You can buy it without a
monitor (ú679 +VAT) or with an Acorn monitor and a PRES stand (which
allows the computer to move about independently of the stand) for ú899
+VAT. There is a special price for registered charities or those who are
registered disabled Ö ú695 and ú953.50 respectively including VAT.
Applications forms for these special prices should be available for your
local dealer Ö Archive also has forms and can supply these SA packs.
4.10
Å    Arc Recorder Ö Oak Solutions have produced a very cheap system for
sound sampling (ú29.95 +VAT or ú33 through Archive). It consists of a
hand held condenser microphone linked to the computer via the printer
port(!) and software that generates samples in Armadeus file format. It
is also designed to link in with Genesis II and comes with a support
module to allow samples to be used within Genesis applications.
4.10
Å    ARCticulate Ö The current spate of Archimedes speech generators
continues.. 4th Dimension have produced an öanimated speech synthesiserò
which includes, as well as voices, four faces that speak the words! It
can read text files and word processor documents and can be used within
your own programs. ú24.95 from 4th Dimension or ú23 through Archive.
4.10
Å    ARM3 price drop Ö There seems to be a bit of price war going on with
ARM3æs and so weæve been able to bring down the price of the Aleph One
ARM3 to ú420 inc VAT.
4.10
Å    Careware N║13 Ö We have put Jonathan Martenæs improved Draw program,
!DrawPlus which was reviewed last month, page 19, as the major item on
Careware 13. We have made it a DTP type disc by adding the latest
versions of !CGM Ö>Draw (v2.1) and !Translator (v6.45) and two utilities
to convert the other way: !DrwCgm (v1.0) which converts Draw files to
CGM files and !Creator (v1.13) which converts sprite files into GIF,
TIFF, AIM, PBM files. There is also some Draw clip art: under the
heading of biology are 4 week old & 8 week old embryos, digestive
system, ear, paramecium, respiratory system, resuscitation, teeth; under
the heading of people are cobbler, eskimo, footballer, girl reading,
girl riding, magician, painter, singer; and then the rest... bed and
breakfast, house, King George V battleship, long ship, Pink Panther,
snowman, tree.
4.10
Å    ClassROM is a new networking product from Oak Solutions. Anyone trying
to run an Econet system with Archimedes computers will realise the
problem of a class full of pupils trying to load, say, Impression all at
the same time. Oak Solutionsæ solution(!) is to provide a box to attach
to each, or as many as possible, of the Archimedes on the network. This
box looks, to the user, like a read-only ROM. In fact, it is a 20M (or
bigger if you prefer!) SCSI hard drive which can only be read by them
but which can be written to, via the Econet, using special software
which, presumably, only the network manager would have access to. You
can use this software to put whatever files and applications you want
onto whichever stations you want. So, while the kids are out of the way,
you could load up various applications onto different stations so that
they would be ready at the start of the day for the pupils to use. The
pupils would save their data either on their own floppies or via the
Econet on the file-server. There is no limit to the number of stations
on the network that can have a ClassROM installed and so as you expand
(well, as money becomes available) you could add ClassROMæs to more and
more of the Archimedes so that fewer stations would have to load their
applications via the network. Prices are ú150 (+VAT) for the management
software plus ú344 for each 20M classROM unit or ú445 for the 45M
version. Archive prices (inc VAT) are ú160, ú375 and ú485 respectively.
4.10
Å    Creator Ö Alpine Software have produced a program to enable you to
create your own arcade game. It comes with an object designer, a screen
designer, a path designer, an event manager and a run-time system. You
also get a collection of sprites and sound samples to incorporate in
your own games. The price is ú38.95 from Alpine Software or ú36 through
Archive.
4.10
Å    Digital Storage Oscilloscope Ö Armadillo Systems Ltd have produced a
digital storage oscilloscope using the Archimedes to do the capture,
processing and display of the data. It comes in single and dual input
formats priced at ú323.10 and ú445.50 +VAT respectively. The inputs are
1Mohm, 30 pF, 30MHz, 5V to 10mV with a resolution of 256 steps on
channel 1 and 128 on channel 2. This system makes good use of the
processing power of the Archimedes to give a range of ways of interpret
ing and displaying the data collected.
4.10
Å    Fine Racer Ö Race your buggy around various circuits avoiding various
obstacles, picking up various bonus points which can be converted into
things to upgrade your car provided you come in the first three in the
race itself. Oh, and watch out for Mad Max who drives like a maniac.
Produced by Eterna in France and marketed in this country by Vector
Services. Price ú19.95 inc VAT.
4.10
Å    Imagine is not just another art pack Ö Topologika refer to their new
product as a design pack because it has applications right across the
curriculum. It has a twin-screen facility and built-in maths facilities
and an on-line help facility. The price is ú39.95 inc VAT or ú37 through
Archive. Separately available are packs of images for ú9.95 +VAT each
including Pirates, Victorians and Romans.
4.10
Å    Impression Business Supplement Ö Computer Concepts have produced a set
of utilities which make Impression II into a powerful business/profes
sional DTP system. The supplement includes Expression-PS (also available
separately), a mail-merge utility, a sort utility for use with the merge
program plus four loader modules: RTF (as used with Microsoft Word on PC
and Mac), WordPerfect, PipeDream and WordStar. The price is ú49 +VAT or
ú53 through Archive.
4.10
Å    MiG29 Ö a new flight simulator from the originators of Interdictor Ö
SIMIS. For full details of this, see the review on page 24. The price is
ú40.85 inc VAT or ú38 through Archive.
4.10
Å    New PC Emulator is (almost!) here! Ö A press release of 19/6/91
confidently predicted the release of the new PC Emulator on 21st June.
Itæs not actually available yet as I write (2/7/91) but it should be in
öabout three weeksò. Version 1.6 of the emulator allows you to return to
your desktop and find it intact and, on machines with 2M or more, it can
run concurrently with RISC-OS within the multi-tasking environment. DOS
files can be accessed directly from RISC-OS and it provides öfull CD-ROM
support via CDFS and MSCD extensionsò. It is supplied with MS-DOS 3.3
including a mouse driver and has an emulation of the Intel 8087 maths
co-processor which increases floating point calculations by a factor of
fourteen. The emulator runs in CGA, EGA or MDA graphics modes with
partial support for VGA for software, such as Windows 3, which accesses
the video hardware directly. The price is the same as the old emulator,
ú99 plus VAT or ú96 through Archive, and there is an upgrade for
existing users for ú29 (+VAT presumably) and as soon as we know how you
can get the upgrade, we will let you know. (I suggest you check the back
of the Price List which is printed later than the magazine itself.) (See
the screenshot below.)
4.10
Å    PrimeArt is Minervaæs new 256 colour art package aimed at primary and
special needs children. Amongst other things, it allows sprites to be
pasted into a picture, has tailorable menus and allows text of any
available font to be used. The cost is ú79.95 +VAT or ú87 through
Archive.
4.10
Å    Removable drive prices down again Ö This time itæs the Atomwide
removable drive with the high power fans Ö they are now down to ú555 inc
VAT or ú755 with an Oak podule.
4.10
Å Rhapsody II is available now for ú61.95 inc VAT (or ú57 through
Archive) and there is an upgrade through Clares for ú15.50 inc VAT Ö
just send the original disc back (not the packing) to Clares. The main
extra features of Rhapsody II are: drag notes from panels onto the
score, MIDI thru and MIDI beat added, multiple MIDI ports supported,
MIDI program changes possible within the score, capture notes in step
time directly onto stave, octave transposition, transcribe triplets,
block re-tail, improved sprites for better printout, formatted scores
can be exported in Draw format to a new program called ScoreDraw which
will allow professional quality printouts. (ScoreDraw will be available
ölater this yearò.)
4.10
Å    Swedish Impression Ö If you want a Swedish version of Impression 2.1,
contact Information Technology Services, Sj÷tullsg. 3, 602 27
Norrk÷ping, Sweden (11Ö127758, fax 11Ö126545). Most programs on the
Applications Discs are also available in Swedish, as is PipeDream 3.
4.10
Å    Wonderland is an impressive new adventure game occupying four floppies
(which can be loaded onto hard disc). It is based on Alice in Wonderland
and runs in its own (non-RISC-OS) window environment. It costs ú32
through Archive.
4.10
Å    UltraSonic Sound System Ö Alpine Software claim this to be the only
fully RISC-OS compliant, multi-tasking sound and music system. It
produces music files that are compatible with Creator, their new Arcade
Games Designer Ö see overleaf. It comes with an application to convert
samples from various formats as well as Soundtracker files into its own
format. It also comes with a PD playback application to play UltraSonic
files and a disc of almost 150 sampled instrument sounds. The price is
ú30 from Alpine Software or ú28 through Archive.
4.10
Review software received...
4.10
We have received review copies of the following software and hardware:
Fine Racer, Animynd Life, DrawAid, House of Numbers, UltraSonic.ááA
4.10

4.10
Government Health Warning Ö Beware of flabby Christians!
4.10
Those of you living in the U.K. get a very distorted view of Christian
ity. Why? Well, it would be easy to blame the media for the caricature
they present of vicars with funny sing-song voices or ladies in big
flowery hats singing boring hymns. But that view is based, unfor
tunately, on an element of truth.
4.10
The church in this country is flabby! It contains many people (though,
thankfully, the proportion is decreasing) for whom Christianity is just
a chance to dress up in fine clothes and parade around showing people
how religious they are. They think that going to church makes you a
Christian. Rubbish! Itæs not surprising that people reject what I call
öChurchianityò.
4.10
The church also, sadly, contains a number of people for whom Christian
ity is a social circle with mildly altruistic aims Ö a bit like a
religious version of the Round Table Ö ödoing good to the poorò and all
that. They think that makes them a Christian. Rubbish! Thatæs not true
Christianity either Ö itæs what I call öDogoodianityò.
4.10
Donæt get me wrong, I think Christians should get together (notice that
I didnæt say ögo to churchò) to worship God Ö I really enjoy going to
church on Sunday. Mind you, the church I go to isnæt your average Church
of England church! I do enjoy church social activities Ö there are some
lovely people who go to our church and I enjoy spending time with them.
We do try to go around helping people Ö locally, nationally and
internationally. But none of these things makes me a Christian.
4.10
Anyone can be negative but what is true Christianity? Itæs nothing less
than a life-changing experience of meeting with the Living God. Sounds
radical! It is. You may not feel that your life need changing but thatæs
because, in this country, we lead such öcomfortableò lives.
4.10
I could take you to some countries (which I cannot name because copies
of this magazine go there) where to become a Christian and to say so
openly would mean you would lose your job and be rejected by your own
family. Also, if you tried to share your new-found joy with others, you
could find yourself in prison. People are, today, being hanged for
trying to share their Christian beliefs. I tell you, there are no flabby
Christians in those countries!
4.10

4.10

4.10
Norwich Computer Services 96a Vauxhall Street, Norwich, NR2 2SD. 0603-
766592 (764011)
4.10

4.10
4th Dimension    P.O. Box 4444, Sheffield. (0742Ö700661)
4.10
4mation    11 Castle Park Road, Whiddon Valley, Barnstaple, Devon, EX32
8PA. (0271Ö25353) (Ö22974)
4.10
Abacus Training    29 Okus Grove, Upper Stratton, Swindon, Wilts, SN2
6QA.
4.10
Acorn Direct    Studland Road, Kingsthorpe, Northampton, NN2 6NA.
4.10
Acorn Direct    13 Dennington Road, Wellingborough, Northants, NN8 2RL.
4.10
Acorn Computers Ltd    Fulbourn
Road, Cherry Hinton, Cambridge, CB1 4JN. (0223Ö245200) (Ö210685)
4.10
Ace Computing (p16)    27 Victoria
Road, Cambridge, CB4 3BW. (0223Ö322559) (Ö69180)
4.10
Aleph One Ltd    The Old Courthouse, Bottisham, Cambridge, CB5 9BA.
(0223Ö811679) (Ö812713)
4.10
Alpine Software     P.O.Box 25, Portadown, Craigavon, BT63 5UT.
(0762Ö342510)
4.10
Armadillo Systems Ltd    17 Glaston
Road, Uppingham, Leicester, LE15 9PX. (0572Ö82Ö2499)
4.10
Arnor Ltd    611 Lincoln Road, Peterborough, PE1 3HA. (0733Ö68909) (Ö67299)
4.10
Atomwide Ltd (p 6)    23 The
Greenway, Orpington, Kent, BR5 2AY. (0689Ö838852) (Ö896088)
4.10
Beebug Ltd    117 Hatfield Road, St Albans, Herts, AL1 4JS. (0727Ö40303)
(Ö60263)
4.10
Clares Micro Supplies    98 Mid
dlewich Road, Rudheath, Northwich, Cheshire, CW9 7DA. (0606Ö48511)
(Ö48512)
4.10
Colton Software (p15)    149Ö151 St
Neots Road, Hardwick, Cambridge, CB3 7QJ. (0954Ö211472) (Ö211607)
4.10
Computer Concepts (p30/31)    Gaddesden
Place, Hemel Hempstead, Herts, HP2 6EX. (0442Ö63933) (Ö231632)
4.10
Data Store    6 Chatterton Road, Bromley, Kent. (081Ö460Ö8991)
(Ö313Ö0400)
4.10
DT Software    13 Northumberland Road, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, CV32
6HE.
4.10
DT Software    FREEPOST, Cambridge CB3 7BR. (0223Ö841099)
4.10
Electronic Font Foundry    Bridge
House, 18 Brockenhurst Road, Ascot, SL5 9DL. (0344Ö28698)
4.10
Eterna    4 rue de Massacan, 34740 Z.I. Vendargues, France. (010Ö33 +67 70
53 97)
4.10
Ian Copestake Software    10 Frost
Drive, Wirral, L61 4XL. (051Ö632Ö1234)(Ö3434)
4.10
IFEL (p23)    36 Upland Drive, Plymouth, Devon, PL6 6BD. (0752Ö847286)
4.10
Intelligent Interfaces    43B Wood
Street, Stratford-on-Avon, CV37 6JQ. (0789Ö415875) (Ö450926)
4.10
Lingenuity (Lindis) (p12)    P.O.Box 10,
Halesworth, Suffolk, IP19 0DX. (0986Ö85Ö476) (Ö460)
4.10
Longman-Logotron    Dales Brewery, Gwydir Street, Cambridge, CB1 2LJ.
(0223Ö323656) (Ö460208)
4.10
Minerva Systems    Minerva House, Baring Crescent, Exeter, EX1 1TL.
(0392Ö437756) (Ö421762)
4.10
MJD Software     13 Burnham Way, London, W13 9YE. (081Ö567Ö4284)
4.10
Oak Solutions (p11)    Cross Park
House, Low Green, Rawdon, Leeds, LS19 6HA. (0532Ö502615) (Ö506868)
4.10
P.R.E.S.    6 Ava House, Chobham, Surrey. (0276Ö72046)
4.10
RESOURCE    Exeter Road, Doncaster, DN2 4PY. (0302Ö340331)
4.10
Safesell Exhibitions (p5)    Market
House, Cross Road, Tadworth, Surrey KT20 5SR.
4.10
Sherston Software     Swan Barton,
Sherston, Malmesbury, Wilts. SN16 0LH. (0666Ö840433) (Ö840048)
4.10
Silicon Vision Ltd    Signal
House, Lyon Road, Harrow, Middlesex, HA1 2AG. (081Ö422Ö2274) (Ö427Ö5169)
4.10
Simtron Ltd    4 Clarence Drive, East Grinstead, W. Sussex, RH19 4RZ.
(0342Ö328188)
4.10
Soft Rock Software    124 Marissal
Road, Henbury, Bristol, BS10 7NP. (0272Ö503639 evenings)
4.10
The Serial Port    Burcott Manor, Wells, Somerset, BA5 1NH. (0243Ö531194)
(Ö531196)
4.10
Topologika    P.O. Box 39, Stilton, Peterborough, PE7 3RL. (0733Ö244682)
4.10
Vector Services Ltd    13 Denning
ton Road, Wellingborough, Northants, NN8 2RL.
4.10
VisionSix Ltd (p10)    13 Paddock
Wood, Prudhoe, Northumberland, NE42 5BJ. (0661Ö33017) (Ö36163)
4.10
XOB    Balkeerie, Eassie by Forfar, Angus, DD8 1SR. (0307Ö84364)
4.10

4.10
Safesell
4.10
NEW
4.10

4.10
Hints and Tips
4.10
Å    *Count command Ö In Archive 4.6 p8 the hint about *Count, is only
partly right. The *Count command only counts data. This means that
directories indeed donæt contribute, but also that only the amount of
data in a file is counted. However, all files must be an integer
multiple of the block-size (1k for D and E format), and for short files
this makes a huge difference. My 46Mb hard disc has about 8Mb difference
between space used from *Free and from *Count for these reasons!
4.10
One implication of this is that when you archive a large number of small
files with !Spark you can save much more disc space than you might
expect. One thing I would suggest for hard disc users is to copy the
directory tree using *Copy :4.$ :0 T R, and then archive it, which will
compress it down to almost nothing. Think of all the time you spend
setting up the directory structure; this may be more important than
losing files, most of which you will (should?), after all, have on
floppies. As an added bonus this also gives you the location of all
applications, as these are just directories. If (perish the thought) you
have a disc crash, you can just drag the tree out of the archive and
onto a new hard disc.  Stephen Burke, Liverpool.
4.10
Å    DataLoad problems? Ö The PRM says that if a DataLoad message isnæt
acknowledged, the sending task should delete <Wimp$Scrap> and give an
error. However, I think this is wrong. You arenæt guaranteed that the
scrap file used is, in fact, <Wimp$Scrap>. One case where this must
happen is with an application which can both load and save files of the
same type at the same time; it must not use <Wimp$Scrap> for both, or it
might get very confused! However, there might be other reasons. I
therefore think you should remember the name of the file you saved, and
delete that Ö you get told that it wasnæt a secure file, so this should
be safe.  Stephen Burke, Liverpool.
4.10
Å    Hard Drive problems Ö BEWARE!!! If you have a fairly old computer Ö a
310 or a 440 or even a vintage 410/1 or if you are working in a dusty
environment and you are putting in a new hard drive, check/replace the
fan filter. Why? Well, drive suppliers tell us that on more than one
occasion they have had a computer where the fan filter was blocked up
with dust, the customer has installed a new drive and not changed the
filter and, as a result of the lack of airflow, the drive has suffered a
fatal head crash. So, you have been warned. (Fan filters should be
available öfrom your local Acorn dealerò or they can be bought from
N.C.S. as part of an öAnnual Service Kitò Ö including a new pair of
batteries Ö priced ú3.)
4.10
Å    How long is a line? Ö While editing an old program which I was
converting from the BBC Master to run on the Archimedes, I came across
some features of Basic line lengths which may be of interest. The
program was originally written for the BBC-B with the longest possible
lines to save space.
4.10
On Page 16 of the ÉBasic User Guideæ issue 1 dated 1988, it says ÉA line
of Basic can contain up to 238 characters...æ but on page 386 it says
that ÉAs in a Basic program, the length of a line is limited (by the
Basic Editor) to 251 characters..æ. This implies that the system has two
different ideas of what the maximum line length should be, instead of
one. Unfortunately, the one it uses seems to depend on what you are
doing.
4.10
My module ARMBasicEdit (version 1 21 August 87) allows the insertion of
many more than 238 characters in a line. I can get up to 369 before
there is a warning bell, but then neither <Escape> nor <Return> nor SAVE
work until there are only the 251 characters left. Programs containing
lines of length between 239 and 251 apparently run without problems.
However, if you try editing the lines with Basic loaded, just using the
Copy key, you find that there is a warning bell after 239 characters,
(excluding the line number), not after 251.
4.10
Programs with lines longer than 239 characters can be converted to ASCII
using *SPOOL. However, when you attempt to read them back into a Basic
program using *EXEC, the lines are truncated to 239, so that the program
no longer runs. There is a warning bell but the *EXEC process does not
stop, so not allowing me to find which lines are at fault. I find this
very frustrating. The file Btest, on the monthly disc, is an example of
such a program. The file ÉCHECK240æ is a small program which reads a
file made using *SPOOL which cannot be successfully read back using
*EXEC. It lists the line numbers which are too long, allowing me to edit
them with the Basic Editor.
4.10
CHAINöBtestò to see that it runs. Then try
4.10
*SPOOL TEMP
4.10
LIST
4.10
*SPOOL
4.10
*EXEC TEMP
4.10
CHAIN öCHECK240ò
4.10
and reply öTEMPò at the prompt. Kate Crennell, Didcot.
4.10
Å    Printer drivers Ö Further to recent tips about altering the PrData
file within the printer driver, you can also alter the title of your
preferred driver and make it the default driver on loading. For example,
the amendments to !PrinterDM in Archive 4.8 could be made to read öStar
LC24-10ò by altering the line before the line öprinter number:2ò. The
default loading is achieved by amending the line öprinter:01ò to
öprinter:02ò. This line is found towards the end of the data file
immediately before the line ölocation:1ò. Note that the printer number
must be padded out with a zero (0). Pressing <select> after loading the
driver will confirm if your amendments have been correctly made.  Ted
Lacey, Southampton.
4.10
Å    Printing A5 on an A4 printer Ö If you ask the manufacturers, they say
it is not possible to put A5 paper through either the Qume (300 d.p.i.)
or the Canon (600 d.p.i.) Laser Directs Ö or the LBP4æs for that matter
Ö but it is possible. All you need is a pile of A5 sheets of scrap paper
sellotaped up into a solid block about ╜ö thick (or ╛ò thick for the
Canons). You put them at the back of the A4 paper tray and put the A5
paper, sideways, of course, at the front. The paper usually goes through
OK but does occasionally stick. All you have to be careful of, presum
ably, is that you donæt print on the lower half of the (A4) paper that
is not actually there. Having said that, I have been using A5 paper on
Qumeæs, Canons and Mac Laserwriters for years and have occasionally left
the öA5ò tray in when printing A4 without any obvious damage to the
printers.
4.10
We can now get hold of spare paper trays for Qume (ú66) and Canon LBP4
(ú57) and Canon LBP8 (ú54)
4.10
(A possible alternative to the paper is a block of wood the same size
and thickness but I havenæt actually tried it.)
4.10
Å    Psychedelic sound-to-light Ö Whilst playing a Tracker module, it is
possible to obtain some interesting effects on your monitor by typing
the following Basic command:
4.10
SYS öOS_UpdateMEMCò,768,1792
4.10
The screen can be returned to normal with either a MODE command or with:
4.10
SYS öOS_UpdateMEMCò,1536,1792
4.10
Rob Swain, Kent
4.10
Å    Render Bender on SCSI hard disc drives revisited Ö In Archive 3.11 p6,
Neil Berry explains how to use Render Bender on SCSI hard disc drives
but leaves us with the problem of how to use *KILLADFS. This can be
achieved by changing all references made to SWI ADFS_Drives (&40242) to
SWI SCSI_Drives (&403C6). i.e.
4.10
In the ÉRenderæ Basic listing: change the SWI &40242 to &403C6 in line
15810
4.10
In ÉAnirouteæ Basic listing: change the SWI &40242 to &403C6 in line
6670
4.10
Atle Mjelde Bσrdholt, Norway
4.10
Å    Running one application inside another Ö The comment in Archive 4.9
page 6 seems to need some amplification. As explained on page 11 of the
May/June 1991 issue of öThe Archimedeanò from Computer Concepts, if you
want to run one application from inside the !Run file of another, you
should first enter the command
4.10
*Desktop Run <sibling task name>
4.10
and then repeat the *Wimpslot command from earlier in the !Run file to
ensure that there is enough memory available for the main application
before you run it.
4.10
Thus, for example, to make Impression automatically load a printer
driver whenever it is run you should edit the !Impress.!Run file by
inserting two extra lines immediately before the last so that the last
three lines read:
4.10
Desktop Run [...path...].!PrinterXX
4.10
Wimpslot Ömin xxxK Ömax xxxK
4.10
Run ö<Impression$Dir>.!RunImageò %*0
4.10
The xxxK in the Wimpslot command should be exactly the same as used
earlier in the !Run file Ö the precise amount of memory needed will vary
from one version of Impression to another. Hugh Eagle, Horsham.
4.10
Å    Sound improvements Ö A much improved sound, which is also more
controllable, can be obtained using the standard colour monitor supplied
with the Archimedes. A 3.5mm jack (Archimedes) to phono (monitor) cable
is required, and the speaker on the Archimedes should be turned off
using *SPEAKER OFF.  Sean Kelly, London
4.10
Å    Sound voice changes Ö Among the (many) things that annoy me are those
professional programmers who alter your Sound Voice for their games
which otherwise claim to be öRISC-OS Compatibleò. They return you to the
desktop with their Sound Modules set up as ChannelVoice 1. Not everyone
likes the WaveSynth-Beep as default voice, and as for some of the sound
modules or digitised Voice Modules which are then sounded when an error
occurs, YUK!
4.10
It is quite a simple matter to find out what ChannelVoice the user has
set up and the program could very easily, before exiting to the desktop,
restore it using the following code which is available for all program
mers to use, professional or amateur (please!).
4.10
REM Find the Useræs ChannelVoice 1
4.10
SYS öSound_AttachVoiceò,1,0 to ,user_voice%
4.10

4.10
REM Because ChannelVoice 1 now equal to 0, reset
4.10
SYS öSound_AttachVoiceò,1,user_voice%
4.10
REM Rest of program, Wimp Interface, whatever
4.10
*ChannelVoice 1 Totally Fantastic Voice
4.10

4.10
REM Program at end, restore user voice
4.10
SYSöSound_AttachVoiceò,1,user_voice%
4.10
David Shepherdson
4.10
Å    Toolkit Plus update Ö Claresæ Toolkit Plus usually produces a ÉBad
disc addressæ error when you try to edit E format floppy discs. This can
be rectified by performing the following:
4.10
1    RMLoad the Toolkit Plus module.
4.10
2    Type: *Modules <return> and take note of the Épositionæ address of the
Toolkit Plus module.
4.10
3    Use *WFIND &EF060240 <return> and ignore the first occurrence (i.e.
press <ctrl-tab> to go on to the next occurrence).
4.10
4    Locate the instruction seventeen lines down which reads BCC xxxxx.
4.10
5    Select Éword modeæ and zero this instruction.
4.10
You should now be able to edit E format discs.
4.10
S Edwards, Wordsley
4.10
Å    Toolkit Plus with SCSI Ö Claresæ Toolkit Plus provides a disc sector
editor, which refused to work on my SCSI hard disc. A modified Toolkit
Plus may be produced by using !Edit on the Toolkit Plus module to
replace all occurrences of ÉADFSæ with ÉSCSIæ before saving the module
with a new name e.g. SCSITools.
4.10
A drawback is that the modified version will not cope with ADFS
floppies. Changing the module name (e.g. from ÉToolkit+æ to ÉSCSIToolsæ)
using !Edit allows the modified and original modules to be present at
the same time, and changing the disc edit command names allows both ADFS
and SCSI discs to be edited Ö for instance, !Edit could be used to
replace ÉAEDITæ in Toolkit+ with ÉWEDITæ in SCSITools.
4.10
Sean Kelly, London
4.10
Impression HintsáandáTips
4.10
Å    Abbreviations Ö I use abbreviations quite a lot such as öimpò for
Impression and just örò for Archimedes but I often want to say, for
example öá...using DrawPlus (Careware 13)...ò and although öcaò and öCaò
are both set up to expand to öCarewareò, using ö(caò doesnæt work. There
is no easy way round it as far as I know Ö you just have to put ö(caò
into the abbreviations dictionary to expand to ö(Carewareò.
4.10
Å    Bullets Ö Weæve mentioned that <ctrl-shift-H> produces a bullet but
since <backspace> (immediately below <F12> and above <\>) produces the
same ASCII code as <ctrl-H>, you will find that <shift-backspace>
produces a bullet. Touch typists may well find it somewhat more natural
than <ctrl-shift-H>.
4.10
Å    Creating tables Ö The release notes issued with Impression II describe
the new features of version 2.12 but they do less than justice to one of
those features, namely the capacity to create tables. It is possible to
vary the width of individual columns and individual rows in a table as
well as the thickness of the vertical and horizontal lines which form
the table.
4.10
In addition, the many editing facilities of Impression can be used to
modify text which has been entered into the table so that the style and
size of the characters in any öcellò of the table can be varied as
desired.
4.10
Moreover, in the manner usual with Impression II, another frame can be
superimposed on any selected part of the table with the effect that
lines of the table can be covered and will ödisappearò permitting text
of any size and nature to be introduced and adjusted to appear to be a
part of the structure of the table.
4.10
In addition to text, any of the superimposed frames can be made graphics
frames permitting illustrations to be introduced. You can use left hand
tabulation in the some columns, right hand tabulation in others and
decimal point tabulation in others.
4.10
Practical matters: First construct the empty table. Then determine which
cells will be visible in the completed table and enter text into those
cells, Finally, superimpose other frames as required. Proceeding in this
order prevents interference with tabulation.
4.10
The usual procedure will be to construct a table of this kind within a
frame of its own so that it can be moved as a whole to any desired
position within the document of which it will form a part. Therefore, on
completion of the table, the various frames of which it is composed
should be Grouped so that the table occupies a single frame. George
Foot, Oxted.ááA
4.10

4.10

4.10

4.10
Oak
4.10
From 4.9 page 12
4.10

4.10
Lindis International
4.10
From 4.8 page 16
4.10

4.10
Computer Concepts
4.10
New artwork
4.10
Coming direct to you, hopefully!
4.10
If not, use old one.
4.10

4.10
Computer Concepts
4.10
New artwork
4.10
Coming direct to you, hopefully!
4.10
If not, use old one.
4.10

4.10
Graphics Galore on the Cheap!
4.10
Tord Eriksson
4.10
Reading with amazement about the latest version of Ventura Publisher Mac
that costs a cool ú695 (exclusive VAT!) and so-called Ébudgetæ DTP
programs for IBMs weighing in at ú70 to ú160, I wonder if we Archimedes
users really know how fortunate we are when it comes to good, cheap
software.
4.10
The öbudgetò DTP programs for IBMs canæt even word-process Ö you have to
use a separate editor, just as you have to do if you do some DTP with
!Draw....
4.10
Of course, the latest version of Ventura Publisher Mac can print fonts
in 23╜ size instead of just 23 or 24 point size Ö a revolution no doubt
but one that almost all DTP and word-processors for our Archimedes
machines manage easily!
4.10
Archimedes Ö no master of colours!
4.10
There is a difference between modern IBMs and Mac IIæs that puts all
Acorn computers at a disadvantage, even if it was once hailed as an
advance over said computers: Colours!
4.10
In terms of colour, both Mac II computers and IBMs with VGA are better
than Archimedes and the sky is the limit as there are hundreds of
graphics cards that can be bought that improve things further Ö 24-bit
colours are available.
4.10
RISC-OS has an upper limit of 8 bits per pixel, 256 colours Ö 24 bits
per pixel gives 16,777,216 different colours, quite a lot more!.
4.10
For the Archimedes range, the limitations are built-in, through RISC-OS
and the fixed hardware. (There are some improvements possible with
hardware add-ons, but nothing major).
4.10
Serious DTP is black & white!
4.10
Fortunately, colour printers are very rare in everyday printing, mainly
due to the fact that such printers are very costly and/or requires
skilled staff to attend to them.
4.10
So, for practical purposes, DTP will continue to be a mainly black &
white affair, maybe with some colour thrown in for good measure on
covers etc.
4.10
The woes of illustrating....
4.10
Being a former technical illustrator, I am painfully aware of the amount
of work needed to set text in a circular fashion as on a coin or an
official seal or make the logo on a fluttering flag look like the real
thing. Hours and hours of work, or in the case of the flag, take a photo
of the real thing and trace that with tracing paper....
4.10
If the logo is new, you canæt print it first on a flag, so you try to
make do with crinkling a piece of paper upon which you put your text or
logo and take a photo of that....
4.10
All this is now of the past, as long as your logo or text can be
transformed into a !Draw file.
4.10
First Ö !FontFX
4.10
Let us try an example: There used to be an oil company around this part
of the world called Caltex. Let us say we are going to do a drawing with
a flag fluttering with that name on it.
4.10
First we have the text, set in Pembroke:
4.10
To make it more interesting letæs add a shadow, with the shadow in the
north-east, and make the text itself a black outline filled with a light
grey and behind it, the dark grey shadow:
4.10

4.10

4.10

4.10
Both these operations are very easy to do with !FontFX as you just click
on the buttons needed, no previous know-how needed!
4.10
To make this flutter we have to use a couple of other utilities:
!DrawPlus (or !Draw) and DrawBender.
4.10
Warped universe
4.10
A normal picture is plotted in our brain according to the angle we watch
the picture from: If we fly above a square field the corners are right
angle corners (a so-called birdæs-eye view) and if we stand just outside
the field the angles get very odd indeed Ö their sum is still 360,
though!
4.10
If a square is wrapped around a cylinder things get much more compli
cated, especially when seen at an angle Ö an illustratoræs nightmare!
Not even all CAD programs seems to be able to solve it correctly....
4.10
Secondly Ö make a mould!
4.10
DrawBender manipulates !Draw files by plotting them inside each other:
Any text that is going to be manipulated has to be in !Draw format. The
coordinate system öinsideò a square is still square but inside a circle
it takes on the characteristics of a text printed on a balloon like
this:
4.10

4.10

4.10

4.10

4.10
The first (the circle) is called the mould and the second (the square
inside a frame) is called the object.
4.10
Due to the way DrawBender works, a real circle couldnæt be used Ö it had
to be substituted it with a 32-sided polygon and it had to be flipped
over because paths have to be clockwise to work as moulds in DrawBender
whereas !Draw and !DrawPlus draw counter-clockwise Ö itæs all very well
explained in the DrawBender manual!
4.10
Wonderful results!
4.10
Taking the text, we put it on rectangular background, to make the
outline of the flag as the outline of the mould doesnæt show up on the
finished result:
4.10
This is now our object! A öflapping flagò is our mould:
4.10
Conclusion
4.10
As the end result shows the effect is quite stunning. This amount of
manipulation is available to IBM users of course Ö I could recommend
Express Publisher (ú159.95) as the ölow-costò alternative!
4.10
For Archimedes users the cost is just ú21, including two manuals and
lots of sample files (available from Ian Copestake Software).ááA
4.10

4.10
Caltex
4.10

4.10
+
4.10

4.10
=
4.10

4.10
Colton Software
4.10
From 4.9 page 18
4.10

4.10
Ace Computing
4.10
From 4.8 page 4
4.10

4.10
Comment Column
4.10
Å Acornæs ölook and feelò Ö Software for a computer like the Archimedes
has to be developed in accordance with a certain set of rules so that
the same operations (like saving a file or searching a string) can be
performed in the same way in every program; however, to become accep
table to all those different programmers, the guidelines have to be
selected very carefully and this, in my opinion, Acorn has failed to do!
4.10
When I bought my new Archimedes at the end of 1990, it came equipped
with Impression, so that I got acquainted simultaneously with the
different ways of handling text which are used in Edit and in
Impression.
4.10
As Impression was quite new, whereas the version of Edit on my appli
cation disc was already one year old, I took it for granted that the
much more efficient methods used in Impression constituted the new
accepted style which would also appear in new versions of Edit.
4.10
For those not acquainted with Impression (or Ovation): What I am writing
about is, most of all, the way in which selected areas are used as a
kind of giant caret Ö effects like a new font appear either from the
current cursor position onwards or, if a selection was made, in the
selected region; new text is inserted either at the cursor position or
in the place of the selected text, which vanishes to the clipboard; if
you wish to select a large text area, you can position the caret at one
end, then use the scroll bar to find the other end, where you click
adjust Ö the caret has stayed where it was.
4.10
Now I have read with dismay that, on the contrary, Acorn in their new
guidelines for programmers have still upheld the style used in Edit as
compulsory Ö and thatæs a shame!
4.10
What I will do is write a letter to Acorn urging them to reconsider and
I very much hope that all those who agree with me that Impression (and
to a lesser extent also Ovation) employs methods far superior to those
found in Edit, will do the same. (In the words of the old Hudson Bay
Company: If you like it, tell the Queen; if you donæt, tell us!)
4.10
Jochen Konietzko, Koeln, Germany
4.10
Å    Arcscan III Ö I was pleased to see a review of ArcScan III in Archive
4.8; and particularly pleased that what your reviewer called his öfirst
niggleò turned out to be his only adverse comment about the package.
4.10
The feature which niggled your reviewer also niggled me for the same
reasons. In response to your comments, version 6.1 (released in May) has
a new öSave findsò option which allows you to drag a text icon to a
printer driver icon for printout of your finds under full control of the
Acorn drivers, with all the advantages which this confers. Alterna
tively, you can drag the icon to a directory viewer to save your finds
for subsequent use or for editing as required.
4.10
Since the last version of ArcScan which you reviewed (0.5) was released
in Nov/Dec last year, a number of other enhancements have also been made
to the package in response to feedback from its wide user base,
including an extended wildcard option. Additionally, there is now an
ArcScan Library Disc containing data from Acorn User and Micro User from
1987 (the year of the Archimedes) to the present. This will be updated
on a regular basis.
4.10
By the way, your reviewer did not mention the price of ArcScan. It costs
ú18 from Norwich Computer Services. Lee Calcraft, Beebug Ltd.
4.10
If you want to upgrade to version 6.1, send your master disc with a
covering letter either to Lee or to the Magazine Department who will, I
gather, be pleased to upgrade it for you free of charge. In case you
were wondering, thatæs not a typographical error, Lee has developed
Arcscan III from version 0.5 to version 6.1 in just six months.
4.10
Å    ArcScan III again Ö I enjoyed Eric Ayersæ article on ArcScan III
(Archive 4.8 p 21) because I too have been frustrated by some of its
features, and I should like to share my experiences with your readers. I
agree with Eric that despite the poor operation of the PRINT command, it
is a very useful program. Early versions of ArcScan III had a problem
with the printer driver when used with some printers, e.g my Taxan Kaga
KP810. Although ArcScan II printed, ArcScan III claimed the printer was
not online! The latest version, (number 0.52 dated 20 Feb 1991) has
cured this problem for me.
4.10
Enhancements I should like to see are:
4.10
1.áBetter handling of punctuation, preferably ignoring it all. My
experiments show that the current version of ArcScan III ignores both
ö.ò and ö,ò as word separators but not ö;ò or ö É ò.
4.10
2. Selective printing of the results of a search in a multi-tasking
manner, (as requested by Eric), and easier options to leave the selected
entries in a file. (See above!)
4.10
3. An option to set the printer line length. This is currently set to
40, the number of characters visible on the screen. This wastes half the
paper on most printers which can easily take 80.
4.10
4. Allowing the search to continue over multiple databases, e.g. to
search both RISC User and the Acorn manuals for all occurrences of a
string such as ÉFormEdæ. This would be even more useful now that some
Acorn and Micro User bibliographies are available. (See Risc User May
1991 for details of entries since 1987.)
4.10
5. Allow repeated searches, with new search strings which operate only
on the previously selected entries. This might be done by making new
temporary databases in files with an option to delete or keep the files
on exit of the program. This would make it easier to make our own
special interest databases.
4.10
6. Restriction of the search to particular article types, this was a
ÉMagScanæ feature lost in the translation to ArcScan. I donæt want my
search slowed down by looking through hundreds of ÉGamesæ when I only
want ÉProgramming Articlesæ.   Kate Crennell, Didcot.
4.10
Å    Assembler speed confusion Ö In answer to the question in the Archive
4.6 p5 about why removing an instruction from an assembler program can
slow it down, basically itæs to do with the way memory access is
optimised by the ARM and MEMC. The upshot is that you can access four
sequential words in memory in five cycles but only if they start on a
quad-word boundary (i.e. the address is divisible by 16); otherwise it
takes 6 cycles. This can obviously make a big difference in a loop. This
also applies to LDM and STM, so the most efficient transfers involve a
multiple of four registers, with the base address aligned to a quadword
boundary. The magic number of four words was chosen because MEMC holds
up DMA requests (e.g. video update) during these fast sequential cycles,
and you canæt do that for too long. DMA access itself always uses
quadword chunks. The ARM doesnæt know anything about the four word limit
and normally thinks itæs doing sequential access all the time; itæs MEMC
which forces a non-sequential access whenever bits 2 and 3 of the
address are zero.  Stephen Burke, Liverpool.
4.10
Å    Clares Ö I use Pipedream regularly in my office but, although I find
it very efficient, it hasnæt got the prettiest of screen displays and is
not particularly easy to use for other people in the office who complain
about having to use <adjust> to select a box and not being able to only
use the cursor keys to move around the sheet so with this in mind I
approached Clares about a demonstration copy of Schema.
4.10
Clares sent me a full working copy on one monthæs evaluation and for
this I would like to thank them as this is the only real way to test
software.
4.10
I found the program very easy to use and there was a lot Colton Software
could look at to improve Pipedream especially the highlighting of the
current cell.
4.10
The only reason I couldnæt use it was because each sheet took up too
much memory and as I need up to 13 sheets in memory at once even 4meg
wasnæt enough. I recommend that anyone wanting to purchase a spreadsheet
give Schema a look.
4.10
Å    IDE drives from Ian Copestake Ö Having had my A3000 for a little over
a year now and getting well öintoò public domain software and starting
to get the hang of RISC-OS and the Wimp, I decided that I would like to
have a hard disk, even if it was only to clear a little room and get rid
of the piles of floppies that had built up! I took my time and looked at
the adverts, compared prices and decided to wait! Then, Ian Copestake
advertised a series of hard drives for the A3000 which, although
external, could plug in internally at no extra cost! (Most important)
However, I wanted to be able to upgrade easily with anything bought for
my A3000. The 20 Mbyte internal was OK, but 20 Mbytes is only 25 öEò
format floppy disks, so I looked at a larger drive. Archive were
offering 45Mbyte removables for about the same price as Ian was selling
80 Mbyte drives, PLUS if I ever did need further storage, I could simply
plug in a second drive for about ú400 giving me a massive 160 Mbytes of
FAST storage. (MR45æs run at 590 kbytes/second which could hardly be
called slow and extra 42M cartridges are only ú75 each so we are not
really comparing like with like. Ed) So, I counted up the pennies and
rang up. Ian was kindness itself and spent quite a bit of time explain
ing the ins and outs of the idea of hard disks and the ideA interface
itself and promised to despatch one as soon as they came off the
production line.
4.10
Next thing I knew, Risc User did a very negative review of the drive.
The end of the month came and so did my drive, VERY well packed.
Although I am not a total beginner at fitting expansion boards, I would
have preferred a little clearer information on just which board I had.
But a few minutes more spent reading the leaflet cleared up which bit
went where and which way up, and I had my new drive installed.
4.10
Now came the big test Ö put the cover back on and switch on. Having done
so, I was very pleased to find an IDE 4 icon on the icon bar, though to
the right of the floppy icon, and clicking on this displayed the hard
disk directory with a few files shown Ö formatter and such like which
had to be transferred to floppy as the drive was supplied formatted.
4.10
Clicking on the FREE entry on the menu gave me what works out at just
under 81.5 Mbytes available. I then spent several hours and had great
fun setting up my drive as I wanted it with !System, !Fonts and a !Boot
application in the root directory and everything else in directories
such as Utilities, Applications and so on. I made a back up at 20 Mbytes
and carried on, wiping the disks as I went. (MISTAKE!) I carried on and,
by the time the next day dawned, I had over 30 Mbytes of software on,
loads of blank disks ready for the next back up and then, öBroken
Directoryò. What a blow! I was, however, able to get most of the
programs off, though I did lose about half a dozen in the end. I
salvaged what I could and ran the formatter. I then put the 20 Mbyte
backup back on and catalogued the disk and, again, öBroken Directoryò. I
even lost access to the floppy drive at one point.
4.10
I rang Ian Copestake who asked me to ring the service department which I
did. It turns out they are öjust over the hillò from me, so they
arranged to pop over that evening and sort me out. They duly came and
got me sorted out in short order. Just what was wrong I am unsure, I
donæt know if the interface board was at fault or if I hadnæt worked it
into the internal expansion socket correctly or not, but it works
perfectly now. Apparently Acorn have not gold-plated the contacts in the
A3000 internal expansion and sometimes it does not make full contact.
4.10
The gentleman from Baildon Electronics even gave me a copy of a speed
test routine. This gives a 21ms access time with 696 kbytes transferred
per second. This may be a little slow compared with the A410 or
whatever, but the A3000 ideA interface is an 8bit as against a 16bit
interface as on the bigger machines. Mind you, compared with floppy, it
is fantastic!
4.10
Anyway, since that evening, just over a month ago, I now have a hard
disk with some 47 Mbytes of software on and still quite a bit of space
available. Yes, I take regular backups onto 50 odd floppies! In use, I
find it a little noisy, but you can configure it to switch itself off
after a time using *IDEPOWERSAVE which helps mute the noise a little,
also I have put it on a cork floor tile, which again helps muffle the
noise.
4.10
Other commands available are *IDEPROTECT which prevents any writing to
the disk, ideal when you first examine a floppy from a new source as any
virus cannot access the hard disk!  David Shepherdson, Ilkley.
4.10
Å    PC Emulator Ö I read with great interest the article on setting up the
PC Emulator written by Richard Wheeler in Archive 4.8 p56. With regard
to the speed of the emulation, on an A540 Ésubjectivelyæ the speed is
much improved. In fact, I donæt find it much slower than the 386SX PCæs
that I use at work.
4.10
The emulation is very good and I find that most programs will run
without problems. I have a Canon LBP-4 Laser Printer which I use with a
Laser Direct card, a superb combination. The Canon printer comes with a
program called LaserTwin which enables the Canon to emulate a HP
LaserJet printer. I installed LaserTwin to run under the PC Emulator on
the A540, it worked first time and I enclose a copy of the test printout
(which looked very impressive Ed). Quite an achievement Ö an Archimedes
pretending to be a PC, running a program which makes a Canon Laser
Printer think it is an HP LaserJet!
4.10
I should point out though that this runs very slowly Ö particularly
compared with the Laser Direct. However, Laserjets do run rather slowly
anyway.
4.10
Incidentally, what has happened to the new PC Emulator from Acorn that
you mentioned in Archive last July? It was meant to run in a window on
RISC-OS, support EGA/VGA graphics and offer a worthwhile increase in
speed. Indeed, I even heard that beta test versions were being tested.
Why go to the trouble and expense of developing this new version of the
Emulator, if it is never going to be released. Michael Lowe, Loughton.
(See the Products Available. Ed.)
4.10
Å    Schema Ö (Re: Archive 4.9, p 14) With the greatest of respect to
Clares, that company really has very little clue as to how spreadsheets
are used to do a real job of work in the real world.
4.10
The whole point and joy of a spreadsheet is the ability to arrange and
re-arrange information, to continually update and modify, to present and
re-present sets and subsets of that information. In fact, to continually
tune the content and presentation of information.
4.10
It is positively insulting to suggest that a user ö... sets up a badly
designed spreadsheet...ò and that ö... inserting and deleting rows and
columns ... is only needed if you make a mistake in the design of your
sheetò. Balderdash, Clares! Who are you to decide if users are ögoodò or
öbadò designers of spreadsheets. Why canæt we change our minds if we
wish?
4.10
The important point you overlook is that we, the customers, are users of
spreadsheets. If a particular spreadsheet has an insert or delete
feature, or any other feature, it is there to be used and used repeat
edly.
4.10
Can we, the users, have our (so called) upgrade i.e. de-bugged first
useable version, soon please?  Michael Green, Sidmouth.
4.10
Å    Spreadsheet comparisons Ö A feather in your caps for being the first
Archimedes magazine to realise that no spreadsheet review is complete
without a comparison of speeds and sizes of operation of the competing
packages. Well done!
4.10
The table given in the June issue compared loading, saving and recalcu
lation for Logistix, PipeDream 3 and Schema. Readers may be surprised to
find that Logistix came out best for speed and worst for file size. Much
of this difference is due to Logistix not being designed for the multi-
tasking desktop world. To illustrate this I have added a column to the
table for PipeDream 2. Using David Scottæs figures for the other three,
here is the expanded table:
4.10
        Logistix    PD 2    PD 3
Schema
4.10
    Load time    4s    10s    20s
70s
4.10
    Save time    4s    5s    9s
10s
4.10
    Recalc time    4s    2s    13s
90s
4.10
    File size    130k    44k    44k
90k
4.10
    Memory    c.700k    c.500k    800k
832k
4.10
Several interesting observations can be made about these figures.
PipeDream 2 is twice as fast as PipeDream 3 at loading and saving and
yet they are using the same code to perform these operations. The
difference in speed is due to the overheads involved in PipeDream 3
being a desktop application. We believe Logistix is faster at loading
but has a larger file size because it saves on disc a dump of its memory
contents. It can save and load very quickly by using the equivalent of
*SAVE commands, but at the expensive of large indecipherable disc files.
However, a more sophisticated approach has to be taken in the desktop
world because memory management is far more complex. Both PipeDream and
Schema have to process the data on saving and loading and both save
ASCII files which can be processed readily by other applications.
4.10
The degradation in recalculation speed from PipeDream 2 to PipeDream 3
looks surprising. About half is due to running PipeDream 3 in the
desktop environment. The other half is due to PipeDream 3æs background
recalculation which enables users to carry on using the computer whilst
it is working away. PipeDream 3 is alone of the four in providing this
facility.
4.10
PipeDream 3 has very sophisticated memory management and is able to give
back to RISC-OS memory it no longer uses. Mostly this happens automati
cally but at any time can be forced by use of the öTidy Upò command. In
the example given above I find that Tidy Up reduces PipeDreamá3æs memory
to only 736k.
4.10
Robert Macmillan, Colton Software.ááA
4.10

4.10
Help!!!!
4.10
Å    Archimedes artwork Ö I want to start my own business using Impression/
Poster to provide an artwork service for posters, leaflets etc. I am not
getting into typesetting neither am I doing this just for pocket money.
Any help / suggestions would be much appreciated, including likely
prices charged for such work. B Edwards, 31 New Horse Road, Cheslyn Hay,
Walsall, W Midlands  WS6 7BH or phone 0922Ö418923 any time except 8 a.m.
to 6 p.m. Tues to Sat.
4.10
Å    Colour separations Ö I have heard that there are colour separation
programs to enable, for example, the Deskjet 500 to print a cyan,
yellow, magenta and black version of a !Draw or sprite file, overprint
ing to get a whole coloured picture. Does anyone know of such an
application? John Oversby, Middlesborough.
4.10
Å    Fortran friends wanted Ö I am looking for fellow Fortran programmers
with a view to swapping utilities, libraries and tips on using Fortran77
on the Archimedes. Contact [e-mail]. RL.DE or snail mail @
K.M.Crennell, Greytops, The Lane, Chilton, Didcot, OX11 0SE.
4.10
Å    High resolution greyscale monitors Ö We have been trying (without a
lot of success) to find a good greyscale monitor for use with the
Archimedes Ö especially with DTP in mind. One reader is using a Viking
II 20ö in mode 23 on the A410 and is quite pleased but has anyone found
anything else that works? If so, can you give us some details of price
and supplier? Ed.
4.10
Å    Star LC-200 colour printer Ö I use a Star LC-200 with my A320-SCSI but
very often when I print a page with !PrinterDM or !PrinterLC, I get a
mysterious ö:Aò on the right hand side of the page. Can anybody help ?
A.M.Bσrdholt, Storgt 89, N-3190 Horten, Norway.
4.10
Help offered
4.10
Å    Laser printing Ö If you want Impression documents laser printing,
Graham Whitehead will do it for a small fee. Contact him at 44 Elm
Terrace, Westfield, Radstock, Bath  BA3 3XS or phone him on 0761Ö431800
after 6 p.m.ááA
4.10

4.10
Credit where itæs due
4.10
Å    Computer Concepts Ö I had bought a copy of Impression Junior (1.05)
and found a fault in the software where if I tried to get rid of a blank
line in a frame on page 2, the program crashed completely! I wrote to CC
and found that I was the only person to have written at the time about
this. I was informed that the problem would be corrected in due course
and an upgrade would be available at a cost of about ú15.
4.10
In the latest issue of Archimedian a free upgrade to 1.11 was offered. I
sent off my Junior disk and, by return of post, not only got a corrected
version (1.12!) but also the latest versions of !PrinterDM (2.46) and
!PrinterLJ and !SysMerge which is something Iæve only heard about until
now! Many thanks CC! David Shepherdson
4.10
Å    Datafile PD Ö I have sent off for catalogues and demo disc from quite
a few PD companies and have ordered software from some of them but
certainly the fastest and cheapest Iæve found to date is The Datafile PD
in Northern Ireland. All the discs have been sent by return of post and
all are almost full with good PD software. Alan HighetááA
4.10

4.10
Competition Corner
4.10
Colin Singleton
4.10
A packaging problem this month, loosely based on a real-life situation.
4.10
You and your Archimedes are in charge of the despatch department of a
large company. Packages are coming to you along a conveyor belt. They
range in weight (clearly marked on each) from 1 to 10,000, with an
average of about 100. You have in front of you ten packing cases, each
of which may contain packages to a maximum weight of 10,000.
4.10
As each package arrives, you must direct it into one of the ten cases
before you even see the next package. It cannot then be moved. If there
is no case with sufficient remaining capacity, you must despatch one
case and then introduce a new empty one in its place.
4.10
The object of the competition is to write a program to make the
necessary decisions with the aim of using the minimum number of packing
cases for a sequence of 10,000 packages.
4.10
The sequence of weights is generated in Basic by X%=RND(-seed) followed
by repeated calls to
4.10
DEFFNRND : X=RND(1) : X%=1+63 *SQR(X/(1ÖX)):=X%.
4.10
This ensures (I hope) a realistic range with about 70% of the numbers
less than the average, but a small number very much larger.
4.10
When you have developed your strategy, please send me your program,
designed so that I can introduce my chosen seed, which will ensure that
each entry is given the same sequence of 10,000 numbers. The program
should count and display the number of cases used.
4.10
N.B. Although the function can generate numbers over 10,000 (about once
in 20,000) the test sequence does not contain such a number.
4.10
Entries and comments please, either via Paul at NCS, or direct to me at
41 St Quentin Drive, Sheffield S17 4PN.
4.10
There are no winners to be announced this month. The May (Eulerian
Square) and June (Queens) competitions are still open.
4.10
Puzzle addicts might also be interested in Public Key Cryptography,
reviewed elsewhere in this issue (page 44). ááA
4.10

4.10
Small Ads
4.10
Å    A3000 1mb upgrade (Morley expandable to 4mb) ú50. Phone Fred Bambrough
on 081Ö 885Ö1034.
4.10
Å    A3000 (no monitor) ú300. Owner upgrading. Phone 0702Ö586536.
4.10
Å    A310M RISC-OS, PC emulator, 2 slot BP, 5╝ö interface, ROM/RAM board
with 170k RAM, joystick, software, Archive and Risc User. ú650 the lot.
Phone Bill on 0752Ö845214.
4.10
Å    A410/1 Ö 4 M RAM, 20M drive, ú950. Phone Glen on 0932Ö567614.
4.10
Å    ABC Compiler ú45, GammaPlot ú27.50, System Delta Plus ú27.50, Twin
ú10, Voltmace joystick ú12, Wordwise Plus (disc) ú10, Digisim circuit
simulator ú12, Interdictor 2 ú12. All as new. Phone 0782Ö771914 after 8
p.m. weekdays.
4.10
Å    Archimedes 2nd floppy with cables & 2 slot fascia ú60, System Delta
Plus 2 ú30, InterWord disc ú15, SpellMaster disc ú25, PC emulator unused
ú50. Phone Howard Wilcox 0446Ö743770.
4.10
Å    Archway 2 complete, unregistered ú75. Would prefer to swap for PRMæs.
Bob Harding, 40 Bremhill, Calne, Wiltshire, SN11 9LD. Phone 0249Ö813209
evenings.
4.10
Å    Beebug A4 Scavenger scanner plus sheetfeeder for A300/400 ú350 o.n.o.
Phone Douglas on 0324Ö38816 after 6 p.m.
4.10
Å    Chocks Away 2, Interdictor 2, UIM, Wimp Game, Napoleonic Battle
Simulator. ú9 each or ú40 for all five. Phone Chris on 0256Ö467574.
4.10
Å    Computerware hard disk podule. Atomwide 4-slot BP. Acorn 2nd floppy
drive for A310. Morley Teletext decoder + power supply. Offers to Chris
Walker on 0953Ö604255.
4.10
Å    !DeskAAsm Ö Desktop front end for Acorn Assembler. Send ú5 to Darren
Sillett, 43 Kingfisher Walk, Ash, Aldershot GU12 6RF.
4.10
Å    MEG Nuffield Coordinated Science Ö Admin software to produce all the
necessary forms plus class lists for internal use Ö ú10 from Paul
Pibworth, 2 Pine Tree Drive, Hucclecote, Gloucester GL3 3AJ.
4.10
Å    NEC P2200 printer ú140, Multipod digitiser sampler V2.20 ú75, printer
stand ú15, floppy drive adaptor ú20, FWPlus ú25, ArcComm 1.48 ú20,
Enthar 7 ú10. ú275 the lot. Phone Chris on 0272Ö256196 day or
0271Ö850355 evenings.
4.10
Å    Original software Ö Hearsay ú28, Knowledge Organiser ú26, French
Correspondence (unused) ú12, Fads (unused) ú15. Des Woon on 0255Ö
882057.
4.10
Å    Programmers! Ö If you can program the Archimedes, we may be able to
put some work your way. Royalties or flat fee. Contact Brian Kerslake
(Topologika) 0733Ö244682.
4.10
Å    Qume Sprint Professional daisywheel printer, spare daisywheels, sheet
feeder, wide carriage. ú120 o.n.o. Phone 0742Ö745209.
4.10
Å    Technoscan II handscanner ú100. Phone Mark on 0384Ö455066 after 6 p.m.
4.10
Charity Sales Ö The following items are available for sale in aid of
charity. PLEASE do not just send money Ö ring us on 0603Ö766592 to check
if the items are still available. Thank you.
4.10
(If you have unwanted software or hardware for Archimedes computers,
please send it in to the Archive office. If you have larger items where
post would be expensive, just send us details of the item(s) and how the
purchaser can get hold of them.)
4.10
Watford 5╝ö disc interface (old type) ú10, User Guides ú1 + ú3 postage,
Genesis 1 ú20, Herewith the Clues ú10, Apocalypse ú15, First Word Plus 2
ú35, ArcWriter ú3, PC Emulator 1.34 ú35, Serial Interface/buffer for
Epson FX80 ú12.ááA
4.10

4.10
IFEL
4.10
New Artwork
4.10

4.10
MiG29 Flight Simulator
4.10
Ian OæHara
4.10
MiG 29 is beautifully packaged. It comes on a bright red disc in a large
box together with a manual and a glossy coffee table book on the
aircraft. The latter is spoilt by having some quite nice photos split
between two pages which ruins them. With all the flashy packaging, it is
easy to see why the game cost ú40.
4.10
The disc is unprotected and so the game can be copied onto your hard
disc. It uses overlays, so if you have the memory, it is even better to
copy it to ramdisc. Waiting for graphics and scenarios to load from
floppy is tedious. Protection is provided by having to type in words
from the manual in much the same way as for games such as Corruption and
The Pawn.
4.10
Once the game is loaded you are presented with a view of Krasna Ploshad
and the Kremlin being buzzed every few minutes. If they really flew that
low over the square then poor old Lenin would have his bones shaken.
Pressing <space> takes you through to the briefing room where you pick
your scenario. There are six of these including a training area, buzzing
a U.S. sub trapped in the ice, a night time session zapping terrorists
and a full scale attack on a certain dictator not so far away from the
Straits of Hormuz. All except the last one can be attempted at any time
you like but, until you can fly the MiG properly, itæs not a good idea
to tangle with an opponent.
4.10
The graphics are very similar to Interdictor II though the colours are
better and the animation smoother. The cockpit layout is different but
it does not look much like that of the MiG. It is always a problem
trying to fit all the dials, etc. in a real cockpit into the bottom half
of a computer screen. If you were presented with all the dials it would
make the game unplayable. All the instruments you need are there, such
as altimeter and artificial horizon. There is also a very useful meter
to tell you when your mouse is centred.
4.10
As armament, your plane carries a mixture of 23 mm cannon, unguided
rockets, AA-8 and AS-7,  the number of the last two depending on the
mission. If the threat comes from the air then more Aphids are carried.
4.10
Having picked a mission in the briefing room, you get a pretty picture
to illustrate it. When you are bored with looking at this, you press
<space>, don a g-suit and strap in. Start the engine, light the after-
burner, release the wheel breaks and the plane accelerates down the
runway. At around 3-400 km/hr back comes the stick and you are airborne.
Then itæs up with the landing gear and check the direction to the first
way point. Gaining height, you reduce the throttle and turn towards the
first target. Wings vertical, pull back the stick, you feel your g-suit
inflating and you are into a 6-g turn. (As yet I havenæt managed to go
above 6-g.) Unloading g, you line up on the target, select your weapon
and keep a sharp lookout. If you have a guided weapon selected, you can
use the helmet mounted sight to locate the target. Spotting tanks, guns
and planes from several thousand metres is not easy. At 200 metres per
second you need good eyesight and fast reactions. Engage and destroy the
target and home to the O Club for a bottle of ice cold Stolichnaya.
4.10
If youære unlucky and are hit by triple A, SAMs or a boggie then you can
punch out. A simple key press and you lose a few cm in height as the
ejection forces compress your spine. You can watch your aircraft fly
away, bits falling off, as you slowly drift down and ponder on your
first meal in the Bagdhad or Peking Hilton.
4.10
No longer are you restricted to the cockpit. Press <V> and you can view
the aircraft from outside. Press <M> when a guided weapon is in the air
and you can see what it looks like to fly up the tail-pipe of a Shenyang
F-7M. If you have ever wondered what it is like to ride a weapon as in
Doctor Strangelove here is your chance. Be careful though. Make sure
that your plane is safe. I have flown into the cumulo-granite clouds
while riding a Kerry down to an oil rig. You can also watch yourself
take off from the control tower or buzz a US sub from the sub. It all
adds colour.
4.10
The one thing I really do like about the game is that you can fly about
without being shot down in the first few minutes or having to achieve
high scores to visit another scenario. I like flying round and exploring
the world. In MiG 29, you can do this. You can also take an aggressive
role and kill everything in sight. It is the best flight simulator I
have yet seen on the Archimedes though I have not played Chocks Away.
4.10
There are one or two slight niggles. The packaging is very glossy. I am
sure it displays well and adds to the price but it does nothing for the
program. After going through title screens for the third time they get
boring and after the tenth, positively annoying. After being shot down,
all you want to do is to get back in the hot seat again with the minimum
of delay. However, the wait is not as bad as in some games. When looking
out the cockpit it would be nice to be able to look up and down. With
your wings vertical, you need to be able to look up to see where you are
going. Left and right are useless in this situation.
4.10
My Éidealæ flight simulator has yet to be written. For example, it would
be nice to get a skeleton into which one could drop different aircraft
and scenarios. Until such a program comes along, I would recommend MiG
29 even with its high price Ö about ú40 depending on the dealer you buy
it from. (ú38 through Archive.) ááA
4.10

4.10
Multi-Media Column
4.10
Ian Lynch
4.10
News
4.10
Multi-media is continues to gain momentum, with Commodore launching
CDTV, a system built around the Amiga and targeted on home users.
Windows M will improve the capability of Windows 3 to run multi-media
application on MS-DOS based systems and Apple have recently released
System 7 which provides the Mac with some of the facilities we have been
used to with RISC-OS for over two years.
4.10
Unfortunately, I have to write this column before the multi-media show
in Olympia, but I know that Acorn have one or two exciting things to
show. I will give a full report in next monthæs column.
4.10
Avanti
4.10
One piece of software I saw recently on a visit to Fulbourn Road was
Avanti, developed by Westland (of helicopter fame). They are using
Avanti to author training materials for use by themselves and other
industries. I must say that the demonstration was very impressive, as is
the price Ö about ú5,000 to non-education users and ú1,000 to education.
Before you all fall about laughing, Authorware which is possibly the
biggest name in Mac and PC multi-media authoring is similarly priced.
4.10
Cost-effective?
4.10
I talked to a company a few months ago and watched Authorware being used
on a Mac to generate applications for use in medical and scientific
training. They told me that the software saved its purchase price on the
first application since they previously wrote things in Pascal. Avanti,
on first sight has a lot of features similar to Authorware and the demos
were just as impressive. It isnæt the sort of application most Archive
readers would buy, but a question I am going to try and find the answer
to, is whether or not it is better value than Genesis II. I suspect that
anything that can be done in Avanti can be done in Genesis II, but the
main criteria will be whether or not it is much easier to achieve with
Avanti and whether applications run more speedily or take up less memory
and disc space. With applications as complex as these, it will probably
take some time to find out.
4.10
Genesis II reference guide
4.10
I have now received a copy of the Genesis II script language guide.
Personally, I have found it to be a model of clarity. If anyone wants to
learn programming gently, a copy of Genesis II and this book will take
some beating. Genesis scripts are very straight forward to understand
and since a lot of the code is automatically generated, it is far easier
to get satisfying results quickly than it is with Basic or C.
4.10
Languages
4.10
One thing which is quite interesting about both Genesis II and Avanti is
their relationship with Basic. Genesis II, and as far as I know Avanti,
are both largely written in Basic. Whereas Genesis II generates its own
script language, Avanti generates Basic V which can then be edited. C
programmers, particularly those not familiar with Archimedes Basic will
no doubt scoff, but it is a tribute to Basic V that such sophisticated
applications are possible. Indeed, it is outcomes which matter not the
process by which these are realised and I, and most other users,
couldnæt care less if the application is written in Chinese as long as
it does the job it is intended to do.
4.10
Correspondence
4.10
Letters have been somewhat thin on the ground recently, so come on,
letæs hear from you!
4.10
Michael Roscoe recently bought a copy of Genesis 1 second hand and
although pleased with it he was surprised by its lack of capability when
used as a conventional database. I think that it is fair to say that if
you want a conventional database manager with standard report genera
tion, fast indexed searches etc, then Genesis is not the right tool.
!Squirrel, Flexifile or Junior Database are far more geared towards this
type of work. Genesis is also quite capable as a simple type setter and
you can do some reasonable DTP, but donæt expect the sophistication and
speed of Impression!
4.10
Strengths
4.10
Genesis I is really best for making short presentations which involve
graphics, sound, text and films linked in arbitrary ways (hence multi-
media). It does have some pretty severe limitations, particularly on a
1Mb machine without a hard disc, since, as Michael points out, it is
pretty memory hungry.
4.10
Data galore
4.10
Genesis II gets round these problems to some extent by compressing all
the files, but unfortunately the nature of the multi-media game is lots
and lots of data. In fact, a öholy grailò of the multi-media industry is
to achieve full screen motion video with at least TV quality. Imagine
mode 15 screens, each of 160k being displayed 30 times a second. Thatæs
4.8 Mb per second Ö more if you want audio too. At this rate, a hard
disc doesnæt last long. Of course files can be compressed, but there are
limits if quality is not to suffer and all the compression/decompression
takes quite a bit out of the processor.
4.10
Genesis II is also a lot more flexible to use than Genesis I, because of
the script language. It is quite feasible to write RISC-OS applications
in Genesis II but, again, the price to pay for speed and ease of
generation is usually relative slowness and a lot of code to achieve
relatively little. Take for example Acornæs desktop calculator which is
8k of code. The calculator written in Genesis 2 as an example takes 17k
of disc space, but over 300k of application space in RAM. Admittedly,
the Genesis calculator is better presented than the Acorn one, but it
does take over 15 seconds to load from the hard disc on my 540. Both
calculators perform pretty well as quickly as each other.
4.10
I suspect that one of the reasons for the memory overhead is that the
routines for playing films and sound samples will be loaded even though
the calculator does not make use of them. In this case, a considerably
more sophisticated application may not take up very much more memory so
the relationship between memory overhead, speed of operation and
application complexity is not a straight forward linear function.
4.10
Horses for courses
4.10
The last paragraph should not put you off. What I am trying to illus
trate is the fact that there is no such thing as a free lunch. You need
to consider what tasks are most appropriately tackled using ARM code,
Basic, C, Genesis etc and choose the appropriate tool. Further, as
processing power increases and storage costs reduce, programs like
Genesis II will be able to realistically tackle more complicated tasks.
4.10
It is very satisfying to generate professional looking applications and
Genesis II brings this within the reach of ordinary mortals. It is
increasingly the case that the really time-consuming part of generating
applications is planning the layout and editing the graphics or
producing animations. An eye for layout and presentational impact is
coming to be as important, if not more so, than technical expertise in
coding.
4.10
Finally...
4.10
Genesis II is definitely a useful tool for serious work of certain types
but, for the hobbyist, it is also immense fun. I hope I have managed to
convey some of the advantages and limitations for those who have not yet
had an opportunity to use the software themselves.
4.10
Hopefully, over the next few months, I will be able to make more
comparisons between Genesis II, Avanti and Magpie. Some of this will
depend on access to the latter two and the time it takes to explore
them.ááA
4.10

4.10
Hardware Column
4.10
Brian Cowan
4.10
First I must apologise, particularly to my regular readers, for my
absence for the last few issues. This time of year is pretty hectic for
the universities, and together with other commitments I was unable to
produce the column.
4.10
Dongle dangers
4.10
My position on dongles is well known (as the politicians say!) Ö
especially to readers of the Hardware Column. However, I have to be
somewhat measured in any public criticism of commercial products. As it
is, my postbag frequently contains letters from aggrieved vendors (not
C.C. I hasten to add).
4.10
Double dongles
4.10
I discovered some time ago that when my computer had both an Impression
dongle and a WorraCad dongle connected, printing of First Word Plus
files became garbled. I spoke to the people at Oak, whose reply was
öimpossibleò. However they told me one potentially useful piece of
information: the dongle must be attached close to the computer because
of critical timing requirements. I ascertained by experiment that this
was not actually as important as all that; the problem remained
unresolved.
4.10
New problems
4.10
My solution, albeit a tedious one, was to disconnect the dongles
whenever they were not in use. However, the problem re-surfaced recently
and I now think I have discovered what is going on. With just an
Impression dongle attached to my Archimedes in my office at work, I
found that First Word Plus documents were being printed with a random
distribution of spurious characters. I gave that up as a bad job and
converted entirely to Impression but my documents were being printed
with a random background of fine dots Ö a sort of black snow. In
desperation, I tried different printer drivers and I even telephoned the
Archive Help Line! With a little detective work, all became clear.
4.10
The solution
4.10
Clearly some of the data going to the printer was becoming corrupted.
These were manifested as characters in First Word Plus and dots in
Impression, because of the different printing methods. I thought that,
perhaps, the printer had a malfunction or a connector was loose. On
removing the dongle, the problem went away, eliminating the above
possibilities but then I could not use Impression! It was time to sit
down and think. (Others might have resorted to prayer!) Then it became
clear. I was using quite a long printer cable; it was over two metres
long. This could be the culprit, especially when combined with the
additional attenuation of one or more dongles Ö and so it turned out to
be. Using a shorter printer cable, all the problems disappeared.
4.10
Conclusion
4.10
The conclusion, then, is simple. The use of dongles reduces the drive
capability of the computeræs printer port. It seems that you then have
to have the printer placed adjacent to the computer for reliable
operation.
4.10
Portable Update
4.10
News of a possible Archimedes Portable has got some people rather
excited. Latest rumours are that the Acorn portables will use an ARM3
processor. This raises the question of precisely who these machines will
be aimed at. An ARM3 machine will not be cheap, so we must be talking
about the business market rather than education. Where does UNIX fit
into all this? Only time will tell. With these new rumblings, I
understand that Mike Harrison has put his A3000-based portable on öholdò
until it becomes clear what the opposition are up to.
4.10
ROM News
4.10
First some observations on the ROMs in the 540 machines. It seemed to me
that some of the modules in the ROMs were different from the standard
RISC-OS release. For a start, the 540 modules were smaller. However,
when I used Basic, it claimed to be the old Basic V version 1.04. Also,
a reader pointed out to me that in a 540, the Basic always seemed to be
RmFasteræed. The explanation for all this is that certain of the modules
are compressed in the ROMs and expanded into RAM when the machine is
booted up. With the extra code required for supporting the ARM3 cache
and the new screen modes space was short in the 512K of ROM available.
4.10
That leads us nicely into the question of the new release of RISC-OS Ö
all two megabytes worth. Here, I must emphasise that I have no concrete
information; if I did have privileged information, I would be sworn to
secrecy and breaking such a trust would have no benefit in the long run.
I am speculating: connecting various rumours, putting two and two
together and making twenty two! One pointer is the fact that the 540
machines have EPROMS; clearly Acorn do not regard it worthwhile to make
new ROMs for the machines containing the old RISC-OS.
4.10
My suspicion is that the new RISC-OS will be released fairly soon,
although I hear it is still rather bugged at present. However, I donæt
think it will be as earth-shattering, as was the original RISC-OS. The
upgraded modules will have some improvements Ö for instance, disk
operations will be multi-tasking. And a newer version of Basic V is
likely, with a few minor improvements. The real question is what will be
in all that extra space in the ROMs. A safe bet is that the ROMs will
contain (updated) versions of Edit, Draw and Paint together with,
possibly, a few fonts. It would then need some sort of ROM filing system
and a ROM filer on the icon bar.
4.10
ROM speedup
4.10
I donæt think that the ROMs in the 540 can run fast enough for the old
speedup trick to work. No one I know with a 540 has managed that. This
is a pity, so I suppose we will have to wait for the real ROMs to appear
rather than the present EPROMs.
4.10
I discovered, when examining the ever-expanding !Boot file on my 410 in
my office, that I had disabled the ROM speedup even on that machine.
Some programs were giving some trouble when running in fast mode and
sometimes the screen would ödisintegrateò. I have since re-enabled the
speedup, but the lesson is to beware and slow down if problems appear.
So far, luckily, I have not lost any data.
4.10
Printed Circuit Boards
4.10
Now for a real Hardware topic: the production of printed circuit boards.
In the past, I have reviewed ARC-PCB from Silicon Vision. They have
brought out a new version which I hope I might review in the future. For
making relatively simple PCBs I have discovered that !Draw is quite
adequate. Having produced the Draw file it can be plotted, on an HPGL
plotter, using WorraPlot. Of course, using a plotter makes it difficult
to fill areas for earth planes etc. But there is a solution...
4.10
Laser printer
4.10
I am now the proud owner (well guardian really) of a Cannon LBP-4 laser
printer driven by Computer Conceptsæ Laser Direct card. It is absolutely
superb Ö but that is another story. I have discovered that it is
possible to print out Draw file PCBs onto tracing film from the laser
printer. The quality is superb and the line density is perfectly
adequate for the UV process which we use. Of course, flood fills may be
done trivially. This has really made life easy for us. For double sided
boards, conventionally the tracks on either side are drawn in different
colours. Using Draw Plus (Careware Disc 13) one can separate the two
colours to produce the masters for each side.
4.10
Schema Graphs
4.10
That brings me to an interesting hint on printing obstinate graphics
files. Using Schema, it is possible to produce nice-looking, although
only rather primitive, graphs. These are generated in Draw format but
when I tried to print them they hung the machine up. After much
thinking, I came up with a solution: drop them into an Impression frame.
The Impression document can then be printed out with ease. I donæt know
if any other readers have had this problem with Schema graphs, but the
solution works a treat.
4.10
If there are any readers using Schema for graphs then you will know that
the macro language can be used to produce much better graphing facili
ties. Has anyone done anything along these lines? Perhaps we could do a
Shareware disc of Schema macros.ááA
4.10

4.10
VoiceBuilder
4.10
Jeremy Mears
4.10
VoiceBuilder, which is not to be confused with Archimedes Voice
Generator, is the second package from MJD Software for creating
Archimedes voices. One drawback with the original AVG package was its
complexity, and presumably in response to this criticism, MJD has
released Voicebuilder, a much simpler, yet surprisingly versatile,
package.
4.10
VoiceBuilder derives its name from the system it adopts for creating
voices. Instead of drawing your own envelopes and waveforms as you would
with SoundSynth, AVG and similar packages, with VoiceBuilder all that
has been done for you, leaving a few vital Éblocksæ which can be
combined to produce a range of sounds.
4.10
Not being able to draw your own waveforms certainly limits the packageæs
usefulness and there are no advanced features such as echo and transpose
to be found on the more sophisticated packages. However, there are bound
to be Archimedes users who have no need for this sophistication and
would prefer the simpler, Élego-likeæ method of VoiceBuilder.
4.10
There are three types of building-block; volume envelopes, waveforms and
pitch envelopes, of which 16 are supplied of each. The volume envelope
plays over the duration of the note, fading the volume in and out, the
waveform affects the actual qualities of the sound (distinguishing a
trumpet from a violin, for example, and the pitch envelope allows the
pitch of the waveform to be scaled up and down while a note is playing.
On top of the 163 (= 4096) permutations of block-built voices that can
be created, there are also options to further alter the volume and pitch
envelopes through the parameters attack, repeat and release. Finally,
there is the parameter, Pitch Span, which exaggerates or reduces the
extent to which the pitch envelope affects the waveform, which is
excellent for creating siren sounds.
4.10
Once you are content with your combination of blocks and parameters, the
waveform can saved as a module or a VB/AVG specific file or played
either by clicking on an icon in the top right of the window or via the
Archimedes keyboard Ö offering limited musical possibilities. In fact,
while writing this review I was running Voicebuilder in the background
to interesting effect, as it responded to key-presses with notes of my
last waveform!
4.10
The manual comes as a text file on the disc giving just the essentials
for you to get started, and the application itself installs on the icon
bar and takes only 200K of application memory. Therefore this package
can easily be run alongside Maestro, for example, and waveforms may
continuously be altered as the music is playing. Given the relative
simplicity of the package, a text file manual is quite adequate and I
was able to master the package in about twenty minutes.
4.10
For serious users wishing to edit samples and have precise control over
the waveform, this package cannot be recommended. However, the low price
of ú19.95 + ú1.50 UK postage, and the packageæs simplicity of use, makes
it ideal for less experienced users who just want something to produce
sound effects to use with Maestro and in their own programs.ááA
4.10

4.10
PipeLine
4.10
Gerald Fitton
4.10
Firstly, some of the matters arising from your correspondence and then a
tutorial showing how to calculate complex numbers in a PipeDream
spreadsheet.
4.10
Science attainment targets
4.10
Malcolm Cowell has brought out version 1.2 of this PipeDream appli
cation. The version I have is a demonstration version which allows the
setting up of an extendable database for recording and reporting pupil
performance against the Science National Curriculum Attainment Targets.
Entries can be made up against each pupil in a tutor group for each of
seventeen Attainment Targets for all ten levels and the various
statements within levels. I can send you a copy of this demonstration
version; the full version is obtainable from Malcolm for about ú3.00.
(Write to him c/o Abacus Training.)
4.10
Dedicated time calculator
4.10
Bob Ames has written to me to let me know that there is a dedicated
portable Time Calculator available that he strongly recommends to anyone
needing to add up (or do other arithmetic calculations) where the values
are measured in Hr Min Sec format (rather than decimals of an hour or
minute). Please write to him at Ayton House, Ramsey Heights, Huntingdon,
Cambs, PE17 1RJ for more details.
4.10
!Help bold expressions
4.10
Stephen Gaynor would like to know the best way of using printer
highlight codes to highlight expression slots. Perhaps the simplest
example is to try to change into bold the slot that contains the sum of
a column of figures. Stephen has a method which, he says, works rather
inelegantly. In the past Iæve tried and failed. My method is even less
elegant. What I have had to do is to use Snapshot to turn the numbers
into text and then embolden the sum as text. Stephen uses two separate
highlight codes, both of which are not turned off at the end of the
slot. The first code turns on bold and the second turns it off. If the
first code (the turn on code) is placed in a slot just before the sum
then its effect continues through the slot containing the sum. The
second code is placed in a slot just after the slot containing the sum.
Has anyone a better method?
4.10
Public transport calculations
4.10
Peter Stoner is a Senior Public Transport Assistant based in Carlisle.
He uses PipeDream as a tool to help him with many aspects of bus route
planning. His disc contains over 200 kbytes and, amongst other interest
ing files, there is an 11 kbyte macro which will reverse a list of
places. Such a list forms part of a timetable for travelling in one
direction. Reverse the list before timetabling in the other direction. I
can see a use for a time difference calculator which, having written out
one set of times, calculates a similar set of times backwards as a
starting point for the reverse route. If you would like a copy of
Peteræs disc or have anything you would like to contribute to his use of
PipeDream this way then send it to me and I will pass it on to him.
4.10
File conversions
4.10
If you have files that you want converting, out them on a disc and send
them to me in the first instance and I will pass them on, probably to
Ian Williamson who has volunteered to coordinate this area of interest.
In the more specialised field of Masterfile to PipeDream conversion,
Betty Mines has written a BASIC program that has been most useful to her
and might be to you. David Holden has sent me an Interword to PipeDream
converter which he describes as being a temporary measure until he
produces a new all formats converter.
4.10
PipeLine in Berlin
4.10
Reinhard G Giesder, Krefelderstr 20, W-1000 Berlin 21 asks if there are
any PipeLine readers in Berlin (or Germany) Ö if you do then he would
like you to write to him.
4.10
Spark
4.10
Let me try to clear up some confusion I might have caused. Spark is a
program which compresses and decompresses files. The compressed program,
application, document, etc, is not corrupted in any way but is coded so
that the information within it takes up less bytes. File compression has
the advantage that more files (or files which are more than 800 kbytes
long such as huge sprites from an A4 scanner) can be squashed onto an
800 kbyte floppy disc. If data is communicated electronically then it is
usually quicker to transfer a compressed file than the original.
4.10
If you have a file which has been compressed using Spark then you need
to expand it back to its original size before trying to use it. David
Pilling, who wrote Spark, has made a PD version of Spark, called
Sparkplug which just contains the expander routines. This is freely
available but he (rightly in my view) charges for the purchase of Spark.
Because SparkPlug has been made freely available, Spark has become the
standard compression format for Archimedes files.
4.10
Norwich Computer Services is a typical user of file compression. NCS has
a copy of the Spark compressor which they use to compress files on many
of the discs they sell. On each of the discs of compressed files they
include a copy of the PD program needed to expand the compressed files Ö
Sparkplug.
4.10
On this monthæs Archive disc you will find a compressed version of
Daniel Dorlingæs bibliography. It is in the directory called DataBase.
Because of its size it has been impossible to include this large
PipeDream application in its uncompressed form. People vary in their
reaction to finding compressed files on discs they have bought. Some
feel they have got more bytes for their money, some donæt like the extra
Éhassleæ of unpacking the files. As an experiment on the July 1991
PipeLine disc I am going to use Spark to compress some of the largest
files. A copy of SparkPlug will be included on the disc. None of the
ReadMe files will be compressed.
4.10
Please write to me and let me know if this use of compression is
acceptable to you and, more generally, how you feel about compressing
PipeDream applications. I have other large databases to which similar
considerations apply.
4.10
Editing macros
4.10
In Pipedream @ is a rather special character. If you need what is called
a Éliteralæ @ (i.e. a real live printed @) then you must press <@>
twice. If you donæt do this, the single @ will tell PipeDream that what
follows is not to be printed literally (i.e. as you see it) but must be
interpreted as a PipeDream command. A typical example is the inclusion
of a graphic by using a command such as @G:MyGraphic,50@. This command
will include the graphic file MyGraphic at 50% of full scale. More
common is a key definition which includes a sequence which starts with
ö@ and ends with @ò.
4.10
The two lines below form part of my Ékeyæ macro (which is automatically
loaded when PipeDream starts up). My default printer font is Trinity and
so I have arranged that pressing the three keys <Ctrl-Shift-F1>
simultaneously invokes the insert font command. By the way, the sequence
\FQ|m in the second line ensures that a blank default document is not
called up as PipeDream is installed.
4.10
\Cdf|i öCtrl-Shift F1ò |i ö@F:Homerton.Bold@ò |m
4.10
\FQ|m
4.10
If you create a macro which includes some command such as the font
ö@<command>@ò above, then, when you load it into PipeDream, you will not
see the command unless you place the cursor in the line containing the
command. For example, you must place the cursor in the line containing
ö@F:Homerton.Bold@ò to see it. Most of you get this far and understand
what is going on. Now hereæs the tricky bit. If you save the macro as it
now appears, the command bracketed by the @ signs, and the @ signs
themselves, disappear! The result is that the macro doesnæt work any
more. If you reload it to find out why, you will see the lines below.
The first of these lines does not change when you put the cursor in that
line because the @ signs have gone!
4.10
\Cdf|i öCtrl-Shift F1ò |i öò |m
4.10
\FQ|m
4.10
If you get to this point where the @ signs are gone, you have to start
again. However, letæs go back to the earlier macro with the @<command>@
present but only visible when the cursor is in that first line. What you
have to do is <ctrl-BSE>, (Block SEarch and replace) to substitute @@
for @ wherever it appears. Do this before you save the macro and it will
still work after saving. What happens is that the double @@ is replaced
by a single @ during the saving process; you start the save with two @
and you finish the save with one @.
4.10
If you are totally confused by this (I hope not), I suggest that you
will have to revert to using Acornæs !Edit to edit macros rather than
PipeDream since @ signs in Edit are always treated literally.
4.10
Complex numbers
4.10
Complex numbers are part of most GCE A level maths courses as well as
being obligatory for BTEC engineering and many other courses. The
paragraphs below might prove of particular interest to those of you
teaching complex numbers and who need to generate interesting and
instructive numerical examples. If you are an educationalist, you will
be interested to know that I have found that getting students to use
actual numbers gives them a much better Éfeelæ for what is going on than
when they manipulate algebraic formulae. ÉHands onæ learning is
particularly effective for the practical engineer, the teaching (or are
they called learning?) objectives are grasped much more quickly. I have
received comments such as öIæve never understood complex numbers beforeò
from mature engineers (with a decade of field work behind them) after
only a couple of hours of entering actual numbers into a spreadsheet
such as an extended version of the spreadsheet Complex01 described
below.
4.10
First an introduction to complex numbers for those of you unfamiliar
with them.
4.10
I have yet to find a hand calculator which will let me find the square
root of Ö4 or the logarithm of Ö1 even though, in the domain of complex
numbers, both of these exist. Perhaps the most famous complex number is
the square root of Ö1. Sqr(Ö1) is represented in two ways. Mathemati
cians use the symbol i and engineers use j (because they use i for
electric current) for the positive square root of Ö1. The other square
root of Ö1 is Öi. I prefer to say that iá*áiá=áÖ1 rather than talk about
i being the square root of Ö1.
4.10
Complex numbers can be considered to have two parts, a Real part and an
Imaginary part. These may be visualised as the x and y coordinates of a
point on a two dimensional sheet of graph paper. A complex number such
as (3á+á4i) is said to have a Real (x) part of 3 and an Imaginary (y)
part of 4 and may be plotted as x and y coordinates on the so called
Argand Diagram (named after its inventor).
4.10
After addition and subtraction, perhaps the simplest thing that can be
done with a complex number is multiplication. For example, the square of
(3á+á4i) is (3á+á4i)(3á+á4i) which becomes 9á+á24i +á16i2. Now, remember
that i2 is really Ö1 and you get 9á+á24iáÖá16 as the answer. This can be
simplified to Ö7á+á24i, a Real part of Ö7 and an Imaginary part of +24.
I think that a better way of looking at complex numbers is as pairs of
Real numbers for which the symbol i is used as a separator and, for
which, iá*áiá=áÖ1.
4.10
As an example this month I shall show you how to raise a complex number
to any power, even a complex power (later, try to find eÖip Ö it
evaluates to Ö1). The spreadsheet application I have called Complex01
has, as input, two complex numbers called z and w and I find zw. The
file Complex01 is on the Archive monthly disc. Figure 1, shown below, is
a screenshot showing the sheet Complex01 being used with zá=ái and wá=á2
to find i2á=áÖ1. The intermediate steps are to find the logarithm of z,
multiply the logarithm by w and then use the exponential function to
find the inverse logarithm. For those of you more familiar with Real
numbers, try out the formulae given in text form in cell A13 of Figure
1, zw=e(w*ln(z)), on your calculator (using a positive Real for z and a
Real for w) and convince yourself that it works. Multiplication (as we
have seen) can be used on complex numbers; the two other very basic
functions are exponentiation (exp) and its inverse, the logarithmic
function (ln Ö not log). The formulae for evaluating these functions as
functions of complex numbers are in the cells of the sheet.
4.10
All these Écleveræ formulae (e.g. for ln and exp) are in the cell block
B11C13. They appear as text in Figure 2. If you want to follow through
this tutorial then either type them in as expressions or load the file
Complex01 from the Archive monthly disc.
4.10
When you have Complex01 spreadsheet, you can show that Real powers of
negative Real numbers work out correctly. Figure 3 is a snapshot of the
spreadsheet correctly evaluating (Ö2)3á=áÖ8. The intermediate results
show that ln(z) has an Imaginary part which, to 4 decimal places, is
3.1416. Do you recognise this number? Try using the spreadsheet to prove
that ln(Ö1)á=ái*p by entering Ö1 into B8 (the Real part of z).
4.10
Figure 4 is a shot that shows that (1á+ái)4á=áÖ4. You can work this out
by using the usual algebraic multiplication formulae (or the binomial
expansion) and replacing i2 with Ö1 whenever it occurs.
4.10
Division of complex numbers is executed by multiplying by a reciprocal.
Division (or finding reciprocals) is a common GCE A level problem which
is solved numerically by using the value wá=áÖ1. Put wá=á0.5 to find the
principal square root; the second root is a bit harder to find but it
can be deduced from the principal root.
4.10
If you have an interest in complex numbers then please write and let me
know what sort of numerical examples you would like to see in spread
sheet format and Iæll see what I can do for you. On the July 1991
PipeLine disc I have included more common functions of complex variables
such as the trigonometrical and hyperbolic functions (and their
inverses) so that you can use them, get numerical results (only the
principal values) and see how the functions are implemented. I have
found that electrical engineers particularly get highly addicted to this
spreadsheet and find it a most worthwhile learning experience.
4.10
I would like to hear from anyone who has done (or wants to do) a complex
numerical integration application (e.g. to find values of the Gamma
function).
4.10
PipeDream V 3.14
4.10
It looks to me as if Version 3.14 of PipeDream is fairly Éstableæ. My
information from Colton Software is that there is no further upgrade
planned at present. So, if you havenæt yet upgraded from an earlier
version then you might as well do it now rather than wait for the next
upgrade. For those of you with a current subscription to PipeLine I have
an official upgrade kit from Colton Software; if you send me your master
disc together with a label and a stamp I will get an upgrade back to you
by return post. For those of you who are not PipeLine subscribers, you
can get an upgrade in the same way from Colton Software direct but it
may not be by return of post.
4.10
In conclusion
4.10
Once or twice a month, I get letters which have been forwarded to me
from Norwich Computer Services. I have no connection with NCS other than
writing this monthly column. Letters should be addressed to me at the
Abacus Training address given on the inside rear cover of Archive.
Incidentally, I have no connection with Colton Software either. Apart
from the help which Colton Software give me with your problems, we
operate completely independently of each other. My Éday jobæ is as a
Lecturer as Swindon College of F.E. where I teach mainly Maths and Stats
(and their applications). To me, at college, the computer is a tool
(which I employ considerably as a student centred teaching resource)
rather than an end in itself. We have nothing as powerful as an
Archimedes there Ö the standard is the 286 PC.
4.10
I created Abacus Training about ten years ago as a way of keeping my
personal accounts separate from anything I might earn Éon the sideæ as a
private tutor. A year ago, when I started selling the quarterly PipeLine
discs, it seemed to me that using Abacus Training for this would keep
the accounts of PipeLine together so that I could keep track of the loss
(or profit) I was making. We are not a corporate body and our turnover
is not sufficient to push us over the VAT threshold.
4.10
I am pleased with the way that PipeLine has developed a sort of User
Group Éfeelæ. I do enjoy reading your letters and trying out the
programs and applications which you send in. I get a kick out of being
able to share the knowledge I have gleaned from you (and my own efforts)
about PipeDream and the Archimedes or when I can help someone overcome
what to them is an insuperable problem. I suspect this secret thrill
rather than the money is why Paul set up Norwich Computer Services in
the first place. Like Paul, I donæt always succeed, but when I do help
somebody it feels good. Iæm sure it is that which motivates me more than
anything else so please keep your letters and discs coming in.ááA
4.10

4.10
Figure 1
4.10

4.10
Figure 2
4.10

4.10
Figure 3
4.10

4.10
Figure 4
4.10

4.10
Archive Mugs for Sale!
4.10
Now that we have got the Archive mugs back from the manufacturers, I can
report that they really are rather attractive. If you imagine the top
couple of inches of the front cover (but without the date, issue number
and price!) in blue and black on a white mug, you will get the picture
of what the new Archive mugs look like.
4.10
I was hoping that someone would write in saying how nice they were so I
could give an unsolicited testimonial but no such luck. All I can do is
offer a money-back guarantee if you are not absolutely satisfied.
4.10
ú3 each (+ ú1 p&p)  or  four for ú10 (+ ú2 p&p)
4.10
(We normally quote prices inclusive of p&p but in this case it is such a
large proportion of the cost, I think itæs better to see it separately.)
4.10
Why not pop into the Archive office and pick up some mugs? Ö It saves
you the postage!
4.10

4.10
RISC-OS Spreadsheet Ö !Calc
4.10
Edward Naish
4.10
After my wife bought her Archimedes and I had learned to use it, I set
about collecting a suite of basic utility programs Ö wordprocessor,
spreadsheet, accounts, database etc. RISC-OS was hot off the press then
and there was not a lot of choice especially in terms of proper multi
tasking applications. I noticed in the Help! section of Archive 3.2 p27
a reference to ö!Calc, a spreadsheet for the Archimedesò. I sent off for
more details and ended up buying it.
4.10
!Calc is a fairly simple and easily understood multi tasking spread
sheet. It installs itself on the icon bar in the usual way and selecting
it brings up two movable windows: the sheet itself and the command
window which takes all the input. Clicking on the sheet moves the cursor
around the 56 columns and 100 rows as you want. Clicking <menu> pops up
a conventional list. The menuæs first label, Éoptionsæ allows altering
cursor movement, justification of text, filing and column order. The
next three labels refer to the palette. You can alter background colour,
text colour and cursor colour using any of fifteen different colours.
These choices can be saved. The original sheet was a very colourful
arrangement of a royal blue background with white text and a red cursor.
I have always found light text on a dark background to be rather tiring,
so a little experimenting soon showed me how to change the Éupsetæ file
in the application so that the colours matched with ÉEditæ. This I find
to be much more restful.
4.10
ÉPrintæ is done using its own built in printer driver, although the use
of the RISC-OS drivers are promised in future. ÉExportæ allows the
export of a complete or partial sheet as an ÉEditæ file. (This enables
you to use the RISC-OS printer drivers if you wish). ÉSaveæ is a
conventional operation, both on complete and partial sheets. Clicking
<menu> on the command window produces a screen full of Help in case you
have forgotten what command you want next.
4.10
!Calc makes use of the < / > symbol to enter commands, hence < /. > with
a number in the range 0-7 gives the number of decimal places in the
current column. </W> sets the column width in the same way. Use < \ > if
the command is to be global. Relative and absolute replication is
supported. Column order can be rearranged as you develop a sheet but row
order is fixed. Setting the justification as you want makes it possible
to change a cell width so you may use the top row or the first column
for long labels or titles.
4.10
The command window has an input slot where all the typing is done.
Underneath is a red box which gives the co-ordinates of the current
cursor position and next to it another slot where the content of the
current cell is displayed. Pressing <Insert> will copy the content slot
to the input slot for editing. The content slot shows the current cell
formula, if there is one, rather than the current value displayed on the
sheet. Double clicking on a cell loads its co-ordinates into the input
slot. Double clicking <Adjust> on a cell wipes it clean. At the bottom
of the window is a Écalculateæ button and a note of the amount of memory
left. <Escape> will toggle the command window on and off so as to give
an uninterrupted view of the sheet when required. It also moves the
input focus from sheet to command window and vice versa as required.
This allows use of the cursor keys to move the sheet cursor and also to
edit the input slot as required. If the input focus is on the sheet and
you wish to enter characters into the input slot, there is no need to
alter the focus, typing the first character does this automatically.
4.10
The first eight function keys are used, some of them being duplicates of
menu items.
4.10
The manual is a very high quality 15 page spiral bound A4 laser printed
document. As a registered user your name and address is printed on the
first page.
4.10
The main weakness of !Calc at the moment is the small number of
functions provided (seven at the moment) but three more are promised
soon. Upgrades come frequently, two in the last twelve months. (V2.18
now). What I value most about it, apart from ease of use, is that if you
have a problem, or a suggestion for a new feature or improvement, a
letter to the author produces an explanation, or the upgrade suggested,
in a very short time. I find it very enjoyable to be directly involved
in the development of a program in this manner. Surely this is only one
step removed from bespoke software. I find it rather puzzling that the
previously quoted reference to !Calc in Archive is the only mention that
I have seen of it anywhere. This is really hiding your lantern under a
bushel. How many more programs are there out there that I want and donæt
know about?
4.10
!Calc is written by Colin Turnbull and is available from him at 13,
Woodhall Terrace, Juniper Green, Edinburgh, EH14 5BR, price ú20.  A
4.10

4.10
Concept Designer
4.10
Diane Hobson
4.10
I presume that anyone interested in this review will already know what a
concept keyboard is but in case you donæt, I will give a brief explana
tion.
4.10
A concept keyboard can be attached to your computer, usually via a user
port (on the Acorn I/O expansion card) or less commonly via the Serial
Port. It is made up of 128 touch sensitive squares, or cells, and can be
used as an alternative input to the normal keyboard. Each cell, or a
group of cells, can be set up to enter, for example, text into a word
processor or to move the cursor or pointer around the screen.
4.10
Its main use is in schools for children whose written vocabulary can be
greatly enhanced enabling them to write words they may otherwise not use
for fear of spelling errors and for the physically handicapped who may
not be able to use an ordinary keyboard.
4.10
The review
4.10
When I offered to review Concept Designer (from Longman Logotron price
ú24 + VAT) all I expected was a concept keyboard design program and the
utility to use it with RISC-OS applications. However, the disc contains
much more than that!
4.10
As well as the expected programs namely !CKDriver and !CKDesign there
are two further utilities, !TouchData (similar to Touch Explorer Plus on
the BBC) and !SoftTouch, a concept keyboard Emulator enabling you to
test or even use overlays without a concept keyboard attached!
4.10
The disc also included a ReadMe file which contained details of an
important feature added since the documentation had been printed;
several example overlays and the relevant sprite files for these; six
Drawfiles to aid overlay design; some highly technical text files for
the use of developers of concept keyboard aware programs.
4.10
The versions under review are: !CKDriver v.1.50, !CKDesign v.1.51,
!TouchData v.1.50    , !SoftTouch v.1.50
4.10
All the applications appear fully RISC-OS compliant. The disc is not
copy protected and installs easily on to a hard disc. (Thankfully, you
do not need the öKey Discò as with Longmans other programs, which I find
the most irritating type of protection.) !CKDriver can be distributed
freely for educational use provided no charge is made. The other
programs may not.
4.10
The manual
4.10
The manual is an A4 booklet which is well written and easy to follow.
There is a contents page which is almost as comprehensive as an index
but there is no separate index. Also included are copies of the example
overlays, although I feel these would have been better supplied as
separate sheets because you either have to photocopy them or cut them
out to use them on the concept keyboard.
4.10
Be sure to read any ReadMe files on your disc as there may be an
addition to the manual, as there was with my version.
4.10
!CKDriver
4.10
When this is installed, any overlay files can be loaded by double-
clicking or dragging to the !CKDriver icon (on the left hand side of the
icon bar). Alternatively just double click on the overlay file and
!CKDriver will load automatically (provided it has been seen). The
amount of memory used is only 32k, so you should have enough memory
available even on a 1M machine. You cannot quit the driver to reclaim
the memory and carry on as if it were loaded.
4.10
The concept keyboard can then be used with any multitasking RISC-OS
program. It does not work at the command line or with a non-multitasking
program. This is a shame Ö but then all programs should be multi-tasking
Ö although it would be useful to be able to use it with the command line
or in BASIC.
4.10
If you wish to change overlays, just drag the new one to the icon bar or
double click on it. This will then be the current overlay. Clicking the
<menu> button over !CKDriver produces eight options:
4.10
Info Ö tells you the version you are using.
4.10
Overlay Ö tells you the current overlay name.
4.10
On/Off Ö allows you to switch concept keyboard input on/off. (This does
not switch off the power to the concept keyboard, just the ability to
use it). The menu option will be ticked if on.
4.10
Keyboard Ö to select the type of concept keyboard you are using i.e.
Parallel, Serial, Concept PC(!) or Alternative. (Alternative is used for
special situations e.g. !SoftTouch although this will set öAlternativeò
automatically).
4.10
Delays Ö to select the timing of keypresses and repeats etc.
4.10
Emulation Ö Keyboard or Mouse (or both).
4.10
Save Settings Ö Once you have set the other options, you can save your
setting so that they will be correct next time you load !CKDriver.
4.10
Quit Ö Remove !CKDriver.
4.10
!CKDesign
4.10
This application only uses 64k of memory.
4.10
Making the overlays for use with !CKDriver is fairly simple. Just double
click on !CKDesign and it will load onto the icon bar (on the right hand
side). When you click on this icon, two windows will open. One is a grid
representing the cells on the concept keyboard and the other shows the
strings or commands that you are using. This will of course be empty at
present.
4.10
It is easier if you decide on and enter the data before choosing the
layout of the overlay on the grid, but it can be done after if you wish.
4.10
Entering the strings
4.10
The data strings can be entered in two ways.
4.10
1) Click <menu> over either window and move the pointer across on the
option Enter. You are given a dialogue box into which you can enter your
text string or command, press <return> and the string will then be shown
in the data window and will be automatically numbered as they are
entered. However, if you have lots of separate strings to enter, this
method can be rather tedious, so it would be better to choose the second
method.
4.10
2) The second method involves using a text editor (e.g. !Edit) or a word
processor. The text file icon (type &FFF only) is just dragged to one of
the !CKDesign windows. When preparing the text file, pressing <return>
twice between strings means !CKDesign will treat them separately and
give them separate numbers.
4.10
Strings can be plain text or include the special top bit characters or
can be *commands or represent a special key such as <return> or
<delete>. These are entered by the key name surrounded by square
brackets i.e. [RETURN] or [DELETE]. Some of the more common ones are
already programmed into the function keys when !CKDesign is loaded and
these can be altered in the !Run file if you wish.
4.10
Do not make the mistake I did and enter [SPACE] as a special key. It can
only be entered by just pressing the space bar although it does look
like a blank numbered entry. You can of course enter spaces at the end
of your text strings, rather than nominate its own cell(s), but I always
feel its better for children to enter the spaces themselves.
4.10
If you need to edit or delete any of your data, this can be done by
clicking <adjust> over the item to be edited. This then activates the
edit and delete options on the menu.
4.10
*Commands can be entered in a string so you can even load an application
from the concept keyboard. You could even set up an overlay to automati
cally load the word processor you wish to use it with.
4.10
You can assign areas to represent mouse or cursor movements or mouse
clicks. The commands for these are given in the manual and example
overlays are included. This together with some *commands to load
programs all on one overlay could enable a disabled person to use their
computer unaided.
4.10
You can allocate more than 128 cells if you wish by using the Shift
option on the menu. If you choose to do this, each cell in the window
will be divided in half, the top half representing the shifted key.
4.10
Also, you can have several layers of overlays. You assign an area on
each of the layers that when pressed will take you to the required
layer. The instructions on how to use and design these are well
documented.
4.10
Once you have completed your overlay you can save it by using the menu
option Save, into which you can enter the path or simply drag the icon
to the directory viewer. The overlays are given their own filetype (C84)
and icon and can be renamed after saving without this being affected.
4.10
Unfortunately, and I feel this is the only criticism I have for this
package, you cannot automatically print out your overlay. This is a
great shame because, after spending time designing it, you should not
then have to spend much more time in creating a draw file to get a
printout. Some draw files are included to help with this, but they are
not very satisfactory as the grids go over the paper limits and this
should not be necessary. For now, I think I will stick to entering the
data by hand on a blank photocopy. No blanks are provided incidentally.
4.10
Editing
4.10
If you wish to edit a previously saved overlay this is done by just
dragging the file to the !CKDesign icon on the icon bar. The windows
will open and can be edited using the same features as you did when
designing. Only one overlay can be loaded at a time so you cannot
transfer data between overlays. If you have an unsaved overlay loaded
you will be warned before it is replaced.
4.10
!SoftTouch
4.10
This provides emulation of the concept keyboard and uses only 32k of
memory. You do not even have to have a concept keyboard attached! It
loads to the icon bar and when you click on its icon a window opens
showing a grid representing the concept keyboard cells. The öcellsò can
then be clicked on with the mouse pointer to produce the input that the
real concept keyboard would if you pressed the same cell.
4.10
When an overlay is loaded into !CKDriver and !SoftTouch is loaded, it
will automatically take over from the real concept keyboard. You can
change this by selecting parallel again in the !CKDriver menu. Even when
an overlay is loaded, the !SoftTouch grid will be blank, although a
sprite can be loaded onto it to represent the input. An example of this
is included.
4.10
The grid can be shown in different colours and four different sizes.
These can be chosen from the menu. If you prefer not to use the mouse,
the grid cell number can be entered instead (from the menu option Key).
Shift Lock can also be chosen from the menu if your overlay requires.
4.10
!SoftTouch is a good idea and very useful for testing out overlays.
However I do wish the cell representation was shown automatically as
designing a sprite overlay takes (me anyway) much longer to make than
the overlay file.
4.10
!TouchData
4.10
This application is similar to Touch Explorer Plus on the BBC and uses
just 32k of memory. Any overlay files can be used and when the cell is
touched, a window opens displaying the contents.
4.10
A picture overlay can be used (an example is provided) and when a part
of the picture is touched the corresponding text displayed on screen or
a text overlay used and !TouchData could display the picture. An example
is provided where several layers are used and one shows a picture of a
musical instrument and another gives full information about it.
4.10
The menu gives you six options relating to the display. You can change
the size, font, where the window appears on screen, foreground and
background colours.
4.10
The design of your overlays really depends on the extent of your
imagination. A section in the manual öAdvanced Overlay Designò deals
with many ideas. I know that on the BBC Touch Explorer Plus, files have
been designed for many topics and used as software teaching aids in
their own right. This utility should enable the same to happen for the
Archimedes.
4.10
Whether !TouchData is as comprehensive as Touch Explorer Plus, I am
unable to say as I am not familiar with Touch Explorer Plus, but I know
you can print out the overlay!
4.10
Conclusion
4.10
This package is extremely good value. It contains all the applications
someone with a concept keyboard could want and, because of !SoftTouch,
even someone who has not! All the programs are easy to use.
4.10
The main omission I feel is not being able to print out the finished
overlay automatically. If this facility could be added it would be a
great bonus.
4.10
The overlays I had been using previously, provided by the very few
programs that could be used with a concept keyboard (mainly !Stylus),
are not compatible with this package and the !CKDesign overlays are not
compatible with !Stylus (in fact when I tried to use one it crashed the
machine). So you will have to re-design any overlays you may have been
using before. However, I feel this is worth it for the greater compat
ibility this package offers.
4.10
All in all I can recommend Concept Designer.ááA
4.10

4.10
LOGO and Algebra
4.10
Alan Angus
4.10
The language Logo is widely used in school mathematics and, almost
always, it is used for geometrical work using turtle graphics. This is
good in itself but turtle graphics represents only a tiny part of the
potential of Logo.
4.10
I am interested in using computers to explore elementary algebra, and
list processing languages such as LISP, Logo and EdScheme are well
suited to this. Over the last year I have been teaching myself Logo
programming using Brian Harveyæs excellent three volume work, Computer
Science Logo Style published by the MIT Press. Anyone seriously
interested in programming with Logo and similar languages should get
hold of this.
4.10
Using routines taken from Harvey I have developed some simple workspaces
(listed at the end of the article). The one I am going to discuss here
is about number sequences. The variables öS1 and òS2 contain lists of
numbers and when the routine SEQ is initiated, the user is presented
with a display like this;
4.10
ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ
4.10
 Try to write a formula for the
4.10
 sequence in terms of N, where N is
4.10
 the integer giving the position of
4.10
 the number in the sequence.
4.10

4.10
 An example of a formula is
4.10
     2 * N * N + 3
4.10
 (* is the multiplication sign)
4.10

4.10
 You can have a two more attempts if
4.10
 you get the formula wrong the first
4.10
 time.
4.10

4.10
 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
4.10
ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ
4.10
In this case, the formula is obviously N+1. When the formula is typed
in, the routine SEQ_SUB tests it by forming a sequence of numbers called
INSEQ by mapping the formula FORM over the integers 1 to 10 stored in
variable I. If the sequence is correct then FORMTEST outputs öGOODò,
otherwise it returns öBADò. The output of FORMTEST is used by SEQ to
control what happens next, e.g. moving on to the next number sequence or
giving the user another go at the present sequence.
4.10
All the clever work is done by the routines MAP, STUFF etc. that are
taken from Harvey volume 1. Get hold of a copy and look this up, then
try experimenting for youself with the real power of Logo.
4.10
The routines are in the workspace SEQ and once this is loaded, you start
up by typing SEQ :S1 to use the first list of number sequences, or SEQ
:S2 for the other list.
4.10
I originally implemented SEQ in APL, and this was quite easy as the
mapping of functions over lists of numbers is built in to that language.
However, when I demonstrated the program to other maths teachers, they
were not too keen on using it because of APLæs önon standardò rules of
precedence. For example, with 2*N+1, the addition would be done first
because of APLæs öright to leftò rule. In Logo, the precedence order
used is the same as that normally taught in the mathematics classroom.
4.10
If your use of Logo has been limited to simple turtle graphics, you
should get hold of a good book and learn a little bit about list
processing. It can be hard going at first, especially if you are
unfamiliar with recursion, but before long you will find yourself toying
with ideas that are far from BASIC.
4.10
Fairly recently, the EdScheme version of Scheme has become available to
Archimedes users. I have started to experiment with this and, in many
ways, it is superior to Logo, having many powerful functions built in to
the language and a much better way of grouping together subroutines and
controlling local variables. If you donæt have Logo already, this new
language is probably a better buy and it certainly is if you are a
student aiming at studying computer science at a reasonably high level.
4.10

4.10
TO MAP :TEMPLATE :INPUTS
4.10
IF WORD? :INPUTS [OP MAP.WORD :TEMPLATE :INPUTS]
4.10
OP MAP.LIST :TEMPLATE :INPUTS
4.10
END
4.10

4.10
TO STUFF :THING :TEMPLATE
4.10
; from Harvey vol.1 Using N instead of ? in templates
4.10
IF EMPTY? :TEMPLATE [OP []]
4.10
IF EQUAL? FIRST :TEMPLATE öN [OP FPUT :THING STUFF :THING BF :TEMPLATE]
4.10
IF WORD? FIRST :TEMPLATE [OP FPUT FIRST :TEMPLATE STUFF :THING BF
:TEMPLATE]
4.10
OP FPUT (STUFF :THING FIRST :TEMPLATE) (STUFF :THING BF :TEMPLATE)
4.10
END
4.10

4.10
TO FORMTEST :TS
4.10
IF EQUAL? :TS (FIRST :SEQUENCES) [OP öGOOD] [OP òBAD]
4.10
END
4.10

4.10
TO SEQ_SUB
4.10
PR [The sequence is]
4.10
PR FIRST :SEQUENCES
4.10
PR []
4.10
MAKE öFORM RL
4.10
MAKE öINSEQ MAP :FORM :I
4.10
PR :INSEQ
4.10
PR []
4.10
IF EQUAL? (FORMTEST :INSEQ) öGOOD [PR [Good]]
4.10
END
4.10

4.10
TO SEQ :SEQUENCES
4.10
; some sequences stored in öS1, òS2
4.10
IF EMPTY? :SEQUENCES [(PR öFinished) STOP]
4.10
PR [] PR []
4.10
PR [Try to write a formula for the sequence in terms of N,]
4.10
PR [where N is the integer giving the position of the number]
4.10
PR [in the sequence.]
4.10
PR [An example of a formula is 2 * N * N + 3]
4.10
PR [(* is the multiplication sign)]
4.10
PR [You can have a two more attempts if you get the formula]
4.10
PR [wrong the first time.]
4.10
PR [] PR []
4.10
SEQ_SUB
4.10
IF EQUAL? (FORMTEST :INSEQ) öBAD [PR [Have another go] SEQ_SUB]
4.10
IF EQUAL? (FORMTEST :INSEQ) öBAD [PR [Last chance!] SEQ_SUB]
4.10
IF EQUAL? (FORMTEST :INSEQ) öBAD [PR [That one was too hard for you,
4.10
 note it down and think about it]]
4.10
SEQ BF :SEQUENCES
4.10
END
4.10

4.10
TO MAP.WORD :TEMPLATE :INPUTS
4.10
IF EMPTY? :INPUTS [OP ö]
4.10
OP WORD (RUN STUFF QUOTED FIRST :INPUTS :TEMPLATE) (MAP.WORD :TEMPLATE
4.10
 BF :INPUTS)
4.10
END
4.10

4.10
TO MAP.LIST :TEMPLATE :INPUTS
4.10
IF EMPTY? :INPUTS [OP []]
4.10
OP FPUT (RUN STUFF QUOTED FIRST :INPUTS :TEMPLATE) (MAP.LIST :TEMPLATE
4.10
 BF :INPUTS)
4.10
END
4.10

4.10
TO QUOTED :THING
4.10
IF LIST? :THING [OP :THING]
4.10
OP WORD öò :THING
4.10
END
4.10

4.10
MAKE öS2 [[0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18] [1 4 9 16 25 36 49 64 81 100]
4.10
 [Ö1 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17]]
4.10
MAKE öI [1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10]
4.10
MAKE öS1 [[1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10] [2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11]
4.10
 [2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20] [Ö4 Ö3 Ö2 Ö1 0 1 2 3 4 5]]
4.10
MAKE öFORM [N Ö 4]ááA
4.10

4.10
Matters Arising
4.10
Å    Acorn SCSI podule problems Ö One reader (well, it was Ian Lynch,
actually) who uses a removable drive on an A540 reckoned we had over-
stated the complaints about the Syquest (MR45æs) drives önot working
with the new Acorn SCSI cards as used on A540æsò. They do work most of
the time. Itæs just that if you are copying lots of files it hangs up,
sometimes, in the middle of the copying procedure. Acorn are still
working on a solution to the problem. In the meantime, a reader has
written a patch which he is selling for ú20 which solves the problems
but it comes as a machine code routine with (surprise, surprise) no
source code and a strict prohibition against trying to disassemble the
code. This is available through N.C.S. for ú23.50 inc VAT.
4.10
If you have problems on an Acorn SCSI card with not being able to get
the cartridge out of a removable drive, try using a *RMREINIT  SCSIFS.
4.10
Å    Hard Drive problems Ö Following on from Tord Erikssonæs öSilent
Computingò article last month, Oak Computers say that you must NOT fit a
thermostatic switch on the fan and you most certainly WILL invalidate
your warranty (as Ed suggested!) if you do so. They are not just being
awkward, there is a logical reason. Let me explain. Obviously, if a
drive gets up to 70░C or more then it is quite likely to cause cause
damage but that is not the main problem. The real danger is that if the
fan is not used, the drive may heat up too quickly. Apparently, itæs the
rate of rise of temperature that is critical because it causes differen
tial expansion and this can cause a head crash. So please do not start
disconnecting your fans Ö silence is golden, maybe, but in this case it
could also be very expensive. This was also discovered, the hard way, by
another Archive reader so itæs not just suppliers being over-sensitive.
His drive was U/S as a result, so you have been warned.ááA
4.10

4.10
Public Key Cryptography
4.10
Colin Singleton
4.10
Sometime in the late seventies I was intrigued by an article in, I
think, Scientific American, describing a new Éunbreakable codeæ. We have
all seen Ésecret codesæ for sending messages, most of which can be
cracked very quickly with ingenuity and intelligent guesswork. This one
was different. It could not be cracked, they said. Furthermore, it did
not rely on secret methods or parameters agreed in advance, which could
be intercepted by enemy intelligence. The method, and the parameters
necessary to encode a message (or encrypt it, in the preferred jargon)
can be public knowledge! Indeed they must be, for the system to work.
4.10
The method was discovered in 1977 by Rivest, Shamir and Adleman and is
known by the letters RSA. At that time the technique was regarded by
most as little more than an interesting novelty, since you would have
needed a computer the size of a removal van to carry out the necessary
encryption and decryption! Now, however, it is well within the scope of
Archimedes.
4.10
Enter George Foot and Roger Sewell. In January this year, they published
a magazine called The Public Key, reviewed in Archive 4.5 by Brian
Cowan. Issue N║ 2 of this occasional series is now available, as
reported in Archive last month. For those who already have N║ 1, the new
issue costs ú1.50 (EC ú2.50, Rest of the World ú3.50). For newcomers,
both issues plus the software on disc are available for ú5.00 (EC ú6,
Rest ú7). These charges are to cover costs (which they do not quite do)
Ö this is not a commercial venture. Please send cheques to George at
ÉWaterfallæ, Uvedale Road, Oxted, Surrey RH8 0EW.
4.10
What fascinated me originally was the mathematical simplicity of the
technique. Each person wishing to use the facility must calculate for
himself three parameters, which I will call M (modulus), E (encryption
key) and D (decryption key). If the text of the message (or part of it)
is represented numerically as T, then the corresponding cryptic text, C,
is calculated, using the published M and E parameters for the intended
recipient, by
4.10
C = T^E MOD(M)
4.10
The recipient derives the original text by
4.10
T = C^D MOD(M)
4.10
Of course, the values M, E and D must satisfy a certain mathematical
relationship for this to work. This is not secret, and is explained,
briefly, in The Public Key N║ 1. I hope Roger will explain in a future
issue the technique by which suitable trios of values are obtained. For
the moment, suffice to say that the software will generate suitable
numbers for you.
4.10
The parameters M and E for each person are published (in the magazine,
and on the disc) so that anyone can encrypt a message to send to anyone
on the list. Each person must keep his decryption key secret, since only
with this can a message encrypted using his M and E be decrypted.
4.10
The beauty of the system is that although each personæs M and E
parameters are published, and D is linked to them mathematically, it is
not possible (or rather not practical) to calculate D from M and E. This
works because M is the product of two large prime numbers, each
typically around 1077. Finding the prime factors, given only the
product, is fiendishly difficult. The Public Key (N║ 2) reports the
latest estimate that a network of 2,000 processors, specially designed
for this purpose, and costing $50,000 each, could crack one key per year
(between them, not each)! I have used the software to send and receive
messages and, to my delight, it worked first time! That in spite of the
fact that I decided to be clever and use the Édigital signatureæ
feature. This double-encryption technique relies on the fact that the
keys E and D are interchangeable. Used correctly, the process enables
the recipient of a message to be absolutely certain that the sender of a
message is indeed who he claims to be. Signature authentification is of
vital importance in the prevention of fraud in private and business
transactions alike.
4.10
How does the program find a guaranteed prime number of the order of
1077? There is a tantalising insight into this in The Public Key N║ 2. I
have analysed the technique from the program coding, and found it most
interesting. This aspect will, I have no doubt, be covered in a later
issue.
4.10
Software to provide these facilities needs to process rather large
numbers (up to 10154). So, as an added bonus, the program contains a
comprehensive multi-length arithmetic package. The functions available
are explained in detail in The Public Key N║ 2, in the form of commands
which can be used in Écalculatoræ mode. The coding requirements to use
them in other programs, however, are not given. This is the carrot to
entice us to order issue N║ 3. I have already done so.
4.10
Issue N║ 2 also contains an interesting article on the time taken for
encryption related to the size of the data blocks, which in turn relates
to the degree of security. I got a little bogged down with the O()
function, though I suppose I must have Édoneæ it at school at some time.
My interpretation of it as proportional to earned a rebuke from Roger
Sewell, but for most of us this conveys the right general concept.
4.10
What The Public Key needs is support, principally in the form of comment
and discussion on the techniques and scope of Public Key Cryptography.
Even if you foresee no need for the ultimate data security offered by
this encryption technique, perhaps you would be interested in its
capabilities. Also, even though the calculations appear so simple, the
study of the mathematical background is fascinating.
4.10
Send your cheque off to George right away!ááA
4.10

4.10
Prism versus Other Art Packages
4.10
Victor Russell
4.10
(We have had criticisms that some of our reviews have been too superfi
cial but we have to balance that against the need to make best use of
the number of pages available. This is a rather longer review than usual
but I thought I would publish it as it is and see what people thought.)
4.10
I am sure that we all agree that programs for our favourite micro should
be properly RISC-OS, the action taking place in resizeable windows Ö no
nasty Mac/Windows menus across the top, etc, etc. Fair enough, but what
about art programs? Should they be a special case, officially exempt so
to speak, from standard RISC-OS menu requirements? The point is that,
whereas with a WP program you only occasionally have to access menus to
change styles, with painting programs you do it all the time, especially
when choosing colour. So one can reasonably argue that full-blooded
RISC-OS is unreasonable.
4.10
Here is a thought as an alternative to sheep-counting some sleepless
night: if you were designing a painting program, how would you organise
the various menus? I have been looking at four programs with a view to
buying for my school and it is interesting to see how each goes about
its basic design. Only Revelation works in RISC-OS windows: the other
three take over the entire screen. They install on the icon bar and can
be exited temporarily to allow work with other programs. You press
<menu> to get menus as expected and, when drawing, no menus are on
screen. With Atelier, you just move off to remove current menu, with
Artisan2 you move off and start to draw, with Prism it depends on the
type of menu.
4.10
Atelier works in mode 15 (256 colours). When you have a menu (in words)
you press <select> to choose or to move up and down the menu tree. If
you press <menu> again when you are on one of these menus you get the
colour choice box so that it is never more than two mouse presses away.
Sub-options (flags) are clicked off and on from the colour or certain
other boxes. Confusingly, the same flag can have different effects with
different tools: this is one of Atelieræs weak features, at any rate for
beginners.
4.10
Artisan2 is a 16-colour (mode 12) program. (I meant to get Pro-Artisan
but ordered the wrong Artisan by mistake, and have been too lazy to get
the right one yet.) It is entirely icon driven, in what one might call
the classic way. There is a master menu and just one level below that
which makes moving around easier than with Atelier. The colour box icon
is on every sub-menu, so again it is easily accessible. Sub-options, if
they exist, are obtained by pressing <adjust> rather than <select> on
the appropriate icon. This makes the program very easy to use but it is
fair to remark that although it is a capable program, it is less
powerful than Atelier.
4.10
Revelation is quite different. For a start, it works in any screen mode
and in one of two ways, RISC-OS or öSpecialò. The latter is a sort of
super-RISC-OS in that you can persuade most menus to stay on screen by
tearing them off the master menu. This includes the colour box. If you
are happy working with a less than screen size drawing window then life
is very easy, but these menu windows are a bit of a nuisance if you are
working on the whole screen. When you choose a particular tool, its sub-
options drop down. This is probably a good idea, although it can be
irritating if you are used to a program like Atelier in which a
particular painting style can be applied with any tool.
4.10
Prism
4.10
What about Prism, the subject of this review? Like Atelier, it only
works in a full mode 15 screen. When you press <menu> (or first click on
the icon-bar icon), you get a standard mouse pointer and an elegantly
mounted menu at the top, with nine choices in writing, namely Prefs,
Brush, Drawing, Options, Screen, Prism, Lines, Curves and Desk. As you
slide along the menu, sub-menus drop down and if you slide down the sub-
menus, those with a further sub-menu, shown by an arrow, open up. (Is
the author a Mac fan? You can even set a Pref to make it yet more Mac-
ish.) You click on your chosen one, and all menus disappear (or a fancy
editing box appears). To make a further choice, you have to press <menu>
again to call up the menu, slide across and down and choose again. This
can all be an infuriating process!
4.10
The colour choice box is accessed from one of the sub-menus: it has no
special status. It can also be called up by pressing F1. F-keys with
Shift, Ctrl, Alt or on their own mostly have actions mapped onto them.
So has the Print key (but it is not for printing!). This makes for a
much too complicated key strip. If I do buy this program for general
school use, I shall certainly not issue key-strips, but merely explain
the functions of <F1> and <Print>. There is no on-screen help, no change
of pointer, no status display of any kind. (Atelier and Artisan have
help windows, and Revelation at least shows current colour, tool and
sub-option(s).) You can call one up, but not all that easily, and anyway
it is far too complicated, showing the condition of irrelevant flags and
dormant options as well as current ones.
4.10
It is a notable feature of Prism that it never attempts to anticipate
your next action. Say that you are drawing in a red using circular
pencil and go into the brush menu and select a particular brush
(sprite). When you start drawing again you are still drawing red
circles: you have to actually choose to use the brush. Or suppose you
want to restrict drawing to a window within the screen and you find the
Window sub-menu and choose Define. That is easy enough Ö you just click
on one corner and widen out the window rectangle as you would expect.
One more click and all visual reference to a window has gone. Alas,
drawing occurs anywhere on screen Ö it appears that your attempt at
defining a window has been unsuccessful. What you should have done was
to go back into the Window menu and choose Turn On. There is still no
visual difference but now attempts to draw do only occur within the
window. When you have grown used to it, you realise that this is not a
bad idea: you always know where you are. In contrast, Atelier at times
attempts to anticipate your thoughts: for instance, if you set the style
of the fancy Range Fill that you want, it automatically selects Range
Fill as your next action, which is probably but not necessarily what you
want to do.
4.10
Options for any particular kind of action are for it alone, as in
Artisan and Revelation, a better scheme than Atelieræs.
4.10
Documentation
4.10
The manual is OK, with the expected tutorial and reference section, but
it is printed rather poorly. You do get an audio tape for training
beginners, and even a video Ö which I have not seen Ö if you buy a site
licence. If you were feeling unkind you might say that more on-screen
help would be better! The tape would probably be quite helpful for a
complete beginner: I found it boring, but I think that was my fault.
4.10
Colours
4.10
All art programs have specialities unless they are free. Revelationæs is
its sophisticated colour processing of images and Atelieræs its ability
to wrap images round Ébottlesæ and other 3-D surfaces. (I do not myself
particularly like either of these, the former because I have not found
it all that useful, the latter because like a few other of the programæs
features it is so painfully slow.) Prismæs best claim to fame is
probably its selection of colours.
4.10
When you first call up Choose Paint, a sub-menu of Drawing, you get 512
(no, I have not worked out why!) solid colours in one rectangle, current
colour in another quite large window, and nine choices Ö Colour, Dither,
Artist, Shades, Pattern, Cycles, Tinter, Brush and CLS, plus an arrow
that allows the menu to be flipped to bottom or back to the top of the
screen, to allow colours under it to be sampled. <Select> produces the
colour-choice window for each of the eight Écoloursæ, <adjust> an edit
mode.
4.10
When you are in choice mode, as you roam around the colours, you see the
colour under the pointer displayed in the large window at the side of
the colours rectangle. You just press <select> on the colour you want.
As you continue to move, the colour in this window continues to change,
but when you move onto the menu surround it solidifies to your chosen
colour. You pick a colour off the screen in the same way. This is an
excellent feature, for you can see for certain what the colour is, even
if it is just a thin line or part of a dither. (To pick a colour off
screen in Revelation you have to select and use a special tool, in
Atelier an F-key, but only when no menu is on view: both of these
methods are rather fiddly.) This does take a little while to get used
to: at first I tended to choose a colour from the menu, go down off the
menu and try to draw: nothing happened, for in fact I was just re-
selecting a colour off the screen, black in this case! When you have
chosen your colour you have to press <menu> to get rid of the colour
menu before you do anything else.
4.10
Dither gives you a choice of 512 dithers (two colours in a chequerboard
pattern) and Shades likewise, but with Shades, each solid colour is
dithered with 16 shades of grey. Cycles gives you a choice of 64 cycles,
usually of one colour dithered with grey shades. This is for use with
sprays etc, not range fills which use their own cycles. Artist is an
interesting idea: you build up a selection of 512 colours, chosen in
various ways, that particularly suit the current picture. You might
build up a selection of flesh tones for instance. Patterns presents you
with 32 patterns, 16 of them begging to be edited. Tinter presents the
256 colours (not 512 this time!) and, when used, it just deposits the
colour on half of the screen pixels (always the same half of course).
4.10
Pressing <adjust> on any of the first seven choices (not Tinter or
Brush) produces a different, editing menu. The Dither and Shade editors
are great fun! You roam around a vast chequerboard of dithered colours
and press <select> on your chosen rectangle of 512. Your selection is
referenced by co-ordinates so that you can choose the same ones some
other day if you want. (You can use dithers in the other programs of
course, but you have to make them up yourself as patterns or sprites:
this is not nearly so good as Prismæs ready-made method.) The Colour
edit menu allows changing of any one or more colours on screen for any
other set and is very easy to operate. The Cycles editor is also easy to
use: you can choose any one colour and have it automatically dithered
with grey shades or you can manually build up a cycle from any of the
other menus. The Artist editor allows you to build up a set of colours
in various ways.
4.10
Editing patterns
4.10
The Pattern editor is a joy to use Ö Prism at its stylish best. It takes
up about three-quarters of the screen area, symmetrically placed, and
divided into five windows with six action buttons in writing. The
separate windows are all framed in Prismæs typical soft rounded style
(buff at centre, shading to black at the edge giving a raised effect).
The top window shows all 32 patterns, each two Éunitsæ wide, where a
unit is 16 pixels by 16. The bottom window shows the colours (512
again!) and the last three are across the middle. The left one shows a
large tessellation of the current pattern, the right hand one shows the
current colour and the middle one is the editing window, 16 by 16 small
outlined squares. You can choose a colour from this window with <adjust>
as well as from the main colour rectangle. The six action buttons are
Flipx, Flipy, Mirror, Repeat, Wipe and Grab.
4.10
Mirror mirrors the top left quarter both ways to create a doubly
symmetrical pattern and Repeat translates the top left into the other
three quarters, Grab shows the current screen with a fair-sized window
on top-left or bottom-left Ö move around the screen, with the area under
the cursor showing under the window, and press <select> when you have
something you like. Some quite young children happened to be in one day
when I was using this editor and loved it! They found it exciting that
they could create patterns so easily, see them proper size as they were
created, and then just press <menu> to get back to the usual colour
menu, and finally CLS to clear whole screen to their pattern. One press
of <adjust> and they were back in the editor ready to create more
patterns. You can create patterns in the other programs that I have been
looking at but they are not nearly as pleasant to use or as efficient.
4.10
Drawing
4.10
Having chosen a colour Ö which remember can be any one of a pattern, a
dither, a solid colour etc Ö we want to use it. Main menu offers three
choices that lead to painting tools, Drawing, Lines and Curves. Lines
and Curves are easy to use; your chosen one is a Shape. They can be
Single (straight) Line, Rubber (straight) lines, Square, Rectangle,
Parallelogram, Polygon (which offers a further choice between Circular,
Elliptical and Define), Single Curve, Rubber Curve, Circle, Ellipse,
Arc, Sector and Segment.
4.10
Pressing <select> on Shape Details produces one of Prismæs fancy editing
windows, with four buttons and a window with a dot in it. Pressing the
first button toggles between Line and Fill, the second between Move and
Fix. If you choose Fix then one point of the shape is fixed: you can
draw concentric circles etc. The other two buttons are for enlarging or
decreasing the dot in the window: it becomes a larger or smaller circle
which sets the size of the outline of the shape if it is Line rather
than Fill. None of the other programs offers this shape drawing with
lines of variable thickness. Shape Repeat allows drawing with the last
shape you selected, which can be a very useful feature at times. It
applies even if the last shape you drew was a line segment (and even if
you drew with shapes some time ago: there is always a current shape
defined, even if it is dormant).
4.10
The remaining options are fairly obvious. Rubber Curve draws É3-point
curvesæ: click on two end points and then pull out the line anywhere
between them to create a curve. Absence of curve drawing like this is a
notable omission from Revelation and Artisan2. Atelier does have this
feature but with one small but irritating difference from Prism Ö when
you have drawn your curve segment the cursor is left free, whereas the
second end point of the curve becomes the first of a new curve in Prism,
i.e. you can draw a continuous twisting line fairly accurately.
4.10
The Drawing menus are more complicated: on offer are Choose paint, Paint
fill, Range fill, Pencil, Spray brush, and Pixel editing. Pixel editing
does what it says, rather stylishly (for brush or screen). (Atelieræs is
similar, but shows less of the screen at once and lacks Prismæs Undo and
Fill. Revelation has no pixel editing per se: instead, you can just have
another view in a different RISC-OS window, at a different magnifi
cation. This sounds better, for you can use all tools in either window
but pixel editors are nice to use, with scrolling automatic in the
second window: it is a nuisance in Revelation that you often have to
scroll manually to make the windows match.) Pencil and Spray brush have
similar sub-choices.
4.10
Spray brush offers Points, Squares, Circles, Shape, Brush, Mask, Spray
size and Point size. Point size alters the size of Circles and Squares Ö
nice that you can spray more than just dots. Spray size alters the size
of the circular outline. The rest are the things you actually spray.
Mask is the solid shape of the outline of the current brush (i.e.
excluding any bits you have masked out). They all work in the current
colour except Brush. When you spray with a Brush, you actually spray
complete brushes, an eccentric idea. If, on the other hand, current
colour happens to be Brush and you spray say circles, you will just
spray part of the brush onto the screen. Sorry if this confuses you!
Logically, you should be able to spray or use pencil with Mask using
Brush as colour, but itæs one of several bugs that this will not work:
colour reverts to last chosen solid colour.
4.10
Range fills are to my mind an important feature of computer art
packages, and both Atelier and Prism offer a vast array of them. Prism
has fills at an angle and rather finer control over the amount of
dithering between colours but it lacks one of Atelieræs excellent
features, Radial fills. (Artisan2 calls these Écircle fillsæ.) Both have
rather weird editing boxes, Prismæs being marginally worse. One button
cycles through Line Graded, User Graded, Auto Graded and Auto Shaped: I
herewith bet my life savings that you cannot work out in advance what
these all mean! Revelation has no range fills of any kind, a serious
omission.
4.10
Brushes
4.10
Prism calls sprites Ébrushesæ, α la !Paint. (Atelier calls them sprites,
and Revelation calls them motifs, which have a dual existence as
patterns.) Brush is one of the main menu options, with sub-menus Select
(choose between different brushes in memory, each shown full size as you
cycle through them), Pick up (obvious), Transparency, Drawing, Rotate,
Brush, Mask, EffectsX, EffectsY. Transparency is handled very well: you
just click on the colours you want to mask out and click on Create. You
can even Invert, masking out the colours that you have not clicked on.
Also, you can undo masked-out colours. This is one of Prismæs best
features. It is much less easy in Atelier, and you cannot do it in
Revelation. Drawing allows choice between Single and Multiple. Using
Multiple, the brush (or its transformation) is drawn continuously to
screen when you press <select>. Atelier calls this Sprite Blit, but fast
drawing only occurs with the basic sprite: rotations in particular are
painfully slow and none of the Atelier transformations can be repeated.
Revelationæs can, but there are no really fancy ones, just rotations and
enlargements and combinations thereof.
4.10
The rest of the options are to do with selection of a transformation
(distortion) of the brush. (Mask uses current colour within the brush
outline, suitably transformed.) Brush and Mask allow various rectangular
enlargements. The Effects are very striking. You can choose from Shear,
C bend, S bend1, Sbend2 and Distort. The S bends are particularly
unusual: you bend the rectangular brush outline into an S bend. Then you
can draw as many of these as you want, as with all the transformations Ö
and these are drawn really fast. It makes a sprite look as if it is
drawn on a scroll. Distort (not mentioned in the manual) squashes the
brush into any enclosed space (called Copy Fill in Atelier, not
available in Revelation). Sadly, the transparency mask is not respected
in Distort, nor in Rotations, and neither is it anywhere within the
program when Brush is used as the current colour.
4.10
Other main menu items
4.10
Prefs allows mostly rather frivolous changes: you can choose how menus
open for instance!
4.10
The Options allow Co-ordinates to be displayed (like Atelier, but
without the help), Mouse lock, Grid lock, Clock (a periodic alarm to
remind you to save), Window (to restrict drawing to a window), Colour
Logic (EOR etc), and Undo action. To undo in Revelation you have to call
up and select from a menu, which is a nuisance, and it does not always
seem to work. In Atelier you press an F-key: this restores the screen to
just after the last menu was called up (i.e. a menu press fixes the
screen.) For my money, Prism and Artisan2 have the best method: you just
press <adjust> to undo the last action: this is the sole function of
that mouse button within the main drawing screen, and it works with all
operations. Prism also allows you to change from the default Single undo
to Multiple: now <adjust> returns you to the screen that was last Fixed,
which is done from the next main menu option or by pressing Print. (Why
Print I wonder?).
4.10
Screen offers Fix screen, various Area transformations (a subset of the
Brush ones) and Colour Cycle. The latter is the most mysterious of
Prismæs functions. Its sub-menu offers various ways of doing this colour
change. The manual says that it changes each colour of the colour cycle
to the one above but why you should want to do that I cannot think.
Anyway, what it does is amazing, if not very useful. Try it if you have
a chance to use Prism at an exhibition. You can create rather unsettling
pictures, or transform existing ones, very quickly. They tend to look
rather like organic Mandlebrot sets, or perhaps dissected Martians.
4.10
Prism offers Colour fixing, Sketch pad, Text, Magic colour, Page
details, Free memory, Prism status, Prism credits. Page details allow
you to extend the screen a bit, but I found this difficult to use. Free
memory restores this memory (for sprite storage). Sketch pad is a good
idea gone wrong: if you have no brushes stored, you can flip to a
secondary drawing area. But since it cannot co-exist with brushes and
you cannot save or use any of it, it is a pointless facility. Now if you
could design a brush on it . . . Revelation has a Écolour paletteæ for
creating motifs, one of its best features.
4.10
Colour fixing allows one or more colours to be fixed on screen so that
you cannot draw over them. You can Invert so that only those colours can
be drawn on.
4.10
I was disappointed by Text: it uses a resident bit-mapped font, in just
a few selectable sizes. There is a very good editor (you can even have
outlined text), but who wants to mess around with a font editor these
days? To change fonts, you have to exit to the desktop and load in a new
one: there are a dozen not very exciting ones supplied. Contrast
Atelier: it accepts any outline font available and allows you to widen
out a rectangle for your text to fit into. Artisan2 also uses bit-mapped
fonts. Revelation uses outline fonts but size has to be set by altering
point size in the font dialogue box: this is fine in WP or DTP programs,
less appropriate than Atelieræs method for a freehand art package.
4.10
Magic colour is special. When anything is drawn using Brush or Pattern
as colour, or if a region is to be Range filled, it is first filled in
the Émagic colouræ. The algorithm scans the screen and uses all area(s)
of magic colour to fill in. Nothing exceptional about that you say? Here
is the fancy part: you can draw one or more shapes in the magic colour,
draw another in a plain colour and Range fill or Distort a Brush into
it: the fill is spread across the disconnected regions! Just think: you
can scan in a photograph (or digitise) yourself, pull this into Prism as
a brush and then spread your image round several circles (or rectangles
or triangles or sectors or ...). Artisan2 allows this distorting into
disconnected shapes as well, although it can be difficult to get
accurate fitting because of the way it works.
4.10
Desk is the final main menu option: as expected you exit to the desktop
and, if you subsequently return, you find everything exactly as you left
it (as with Atelier).
4.10
Bugs!
4.10
The program crashes fatally if you create disjoint regions using the
magic colour and then try to fill on the magic colour. There are several
other non-fatal bugs associated with magic colour and there is the
disappointing fact, already noted, that sprite transparencies do not
work in all circumstances. In Atelier, pressing <escape> aborts partly
completed operations (very desirable since some of them take an age to
complete). In Prism, <escape> takes effect only when the current
operation is complete and then always restores to plain line drawing.
4.10
Input/Output
4.10
This is all done from the desktop. Screens and sprites can be saved in
ordinary Ésystemæ form or compressed. This is very efficient Ö I have
tried a number of screens and they all saved in compressed format very
much faster than in Atelier, and used less memory. Typically, a screen
saved as 40 or 50K for a quite complex screen in two or three seconds,
against Atelieræs 50 or 60K and thirty seconds plus. Patterns, colour
sets, preferences and fonts can also be saved. You can print full size
or enlarged by factors 2, 4 or 8, with cut marks printed, using your own
screen dump printer driver. Prism co-exists happily with any other
installed programs and you can change mode at any time but must manually
change to mode 15 before actually using the program. Atelier selects
mode 15 itself and on exit returns you to the previous mode, a
friendlier scheme, but it does one very, very naughty thing: it unplugs
a relocatable (International keyboard), and fails to RmReinit it Ö very
puzzling for beginners who try subsequently to use <Alt> to get top-bit-
set characters in a WP package. Revelation works in any screen mode, a
very strong recommendation, but you cannot change mode once it is
installed on the icon bar: no doubt there is a technical reason for this
but it can be very irritating.
4.10
Best buy?
4.10
Artisan2 is protected by using a colour chart whereas Revelation
requires the insertion of the key disc every time it is loaded. (This
key-disc protection does not apply, however, when a school buys a site
licence.) Revelation is nice in that it is RISC-OS compliant and it can
make sense of sprites created in one mode but loaded into another.
However, it also has some notable weaknesses: you cannot Range fill, nor
mask out parts of a sprite, nor use many geometrical shapes. The first
two of these are key parts of modern computer art packages. I personally
do not like the program, which may well be my fault. I think that it is
because it deliberately departs from the conventions that have grown up
around computer art programs and almost hides some of its features in an
effort to create an air of simplicity.
4.10
As between Atelier and Prism and Pro-Artisan which I have yet to use
seriously I am still not sure. All three use unprotected discs which is
a good start. What Prism does well, it does very well. It is often very
stylish, and using the soft rounded menus is pleasant, as working in
good conditions is pleasant. However, it is also irritatingly self-
indulgent at times. As to the actual features of the packages, Atelier
certainly wins. It lacks the dither colour selections of Prism, some of
its shape drawing features, its fancy ready-made sprite transformations
and its colour-changing but there are far more facilities of Atelier
that Prism lacks Ö radial fills, text any size, the wrap-round-3D-image
transformations and a whole range of useful ways of interacting with the
screen. There is Éintensity paintæ (reading intensity from the screen
and re-doing in the correct shade of the current colour), Émixing paintæ
(a feature of Revelationæs as well), Éwashingæ (more sensibly called
Éblurringæ in Revelation, a sort of anti-aliasing of boundaries),
pixellation (lowering resolution Ö an interesting computer effect when
applied to areas of a finished picture), to name but a few. So is
Atelier the best? I suppose it is really but the fact is that I prefer
to use Prism where possible. Its menus and editing boxes are very
pleasant and, above all, it is really easy to choose colours. It is
probably true to say that Prism is better at creating pictures, Atelier
(or Revelation) at editing them. It is also true that none of these
programs is perfect: none gives even the vaguest help with perspective
for instance.
4.10
Other opinions
4.10
Let us hear what some other people think Ö shortened and paraphrased:Ö
4.10
Art teacher unused to computers of any kind: I prefer Paint! Actually I
do like what I have seen of Prism, but for pupils it is too complicated.
Revelation is too ugly: letæs go for Atelier Ö I like its Help box.
4.10
Able pupil who is an Archimedes lover: Revelation! Ö itæs the only one
thatæs RISC-OS.
4.10
Artistic computer-literate pupil, unused to Archimedes: Prism is hard to
get used to, but I do like its menus and some of its functions. Its wide
choice of colours gives it the edge over Atelier even though it lacks
some features.
4.10
Younger pupils: Artisan is easiest. We like Prismæs pattern editor, but
the whole program is too difficult. Atelier is difficult too, but at
least you get some help. Revelation doesnæt seem to do enough.
4.10
So, you pays your money... ! (ú61.20 +VAT from XOB or ú200 for a site
licence, to be exact.)ááA
4.10

4.10
Developing a RISC-OS Utility Ö Part 2
4.10
Darren Sillett
4.10
The aim of this article is to provide a collection of routines for
manipulating RISC-OS menus. The program code presented with this article
together with that from Part 1 (Archive 4.8, May 1991) will produce a
working application. This utility enables the user to change the
settings of some of the system variables by means of a simple menu
structure.
4.10
Menus
4.10
The RISC-OS menuing system provides a multi-level menu structure. This
means that any menu item can itself have its own menu. To accomplish
this in your own programs, you need to set up a fairly complex data
structure to pass to the window manager. I have tried to simplify this
by providing two routines to create the menu.
4.10
The first routine (FNcreate_menu) creates a single level menu by parsing
a string which describes the desired menu. The string takes the form:
4.10
öTitle,First option,Second Option,Last Optionò
4.10
This creates a single level menu with three options.
4.10
Each option can be followed by a special character to achieve effects
such as ticks and dotted lines.
4.10
These characters are:
4.10
# Ö menu item is ticked,
4.10
$ Ö menu item is followed by a dotted line,
4.10
% Ö menu item is shaded,
4.10
^ Ö menu item is writeable.
4.10
Lines 235 Ö 255 illustrate this routine.
4.10
The second routine (PROCmenu_attach) attaches two menus together to form
a multi-level menu. The first parameter is the parent menu, the second
is the menu item number that the child menu is to be attached to, and
the third parameter is the child menu. See lines 260 Ö 275 of !RunImage
for an example of this.
4.10
Other routines
4.10
There are several other routines provided in the extended Wimplib which
are used to query and manipulate the menu structure.
4.10
The most important ones are PROCshow_menu and PROCdecode_menu which
enable the application to display the menu and work out what has been
chosen once the menu is displayed. PROCreshow_menu is used whenever
<adjust> is pressed to select an item so that the same menu is
redisplayed.
4.10
Additions and amendments to !RunImage
4.10
To incorporate the menus into the application which we created in Part 1
you will need to delete lines 40, 50 from that published in May and add/
amend the following lines:
4.10
 86    WHEN 6 : PROCmouse_click (wimp_block%!8)
4.10
 89    WHEN 9   : PROCmenu_select
4.10
205 DIM buffer 40
4.10
225 task_id% = FNinitialise_wimp (öUltimate utilityò)
4.10
230 bar_icon% = FNcreate_bar_icon (ö!ultimateò,bar_icon_left)
4.10
235 icon_menu% = FNcreate_menu (öUltimate,Info%,Options,Quitò)
4.10
240 options_menu% = FNcreate_menu (öOptions,Copy,Count,Wipeò)
4.10
245 copy_options_menu%=FNcreate_menu (öCopy,Access,Confirm,Delete,
4.10
Force,Look,Newer,Prompt,Quick
4.10
,Recurse,Stamp,Structure,
4.10
Verbose$,Defaultò)
4.10
250 count_options_menu% = FNcreate_ menu(öCount,Confirm,Recurse
,Verbose$,Defaultò)
4.10
255 wipe_options_menu%=FNcreate_menu (öWipe,Confirm,Force,Recurse
,Verbose$,Defaultò)
4.10
260 PROCmenu_attach(icon_menu%,2, options_menu%)
4.10
265 PROCmenu_attach(options_menu%,1, copy_options_menu%)
4.10
270 PROCmenu_attach(options_menu%,2, count_options_menu%)
4.10
275 PROCmenu_attach(options_menu%,3, wipe_options_menu%)
4.10
400 DEF PROCmouse_click(click%)
4.10
410 CASE click% OF
4.10
420  WHEN menu_button :
4.10
430   IF wimp_block%!12 = icon_bar THEN
4.10
440    PROCupdate_menus
4.10
450    PROCshow_menu(icon_menu%, !wimp_block%-64,FNmenu_height
(icon_menu%))
4.10
460   ENDIF
4.10
470 ENDCASE
4.10
480 ENDPROC
4.10
500 DEF PROCmenu_select
4.10
510 LOCAL adjust%,menu_text$
4.10
520 adjust%  = FNadjust_pressed
4.10
530 menu_text$ = FNdecode_menu
4.10
540 CASE FNfield(menu_text$,ö.ò) OF
4.10
550  WHEN öQuitò : finished% = TRUE
4.10
560  WHEN öOptionsò :
4.10
570   CASE FNfield(menu_text$,ö.ò) OF
4.10
580    WHEN öCopyò :
4.10
590     PROCset_options(menu_text$, öAccConDelForLooNewProQui
RecStaStrVerò,öACDFLNPQRSTVò ,öCopyò, copy_options_menu%
4.10
,öA C ~D ~F ~L ~N ~P ~Q
4.10
 ~R ~S ~T Vò)
4.10
600    WHEN öCountò :
4.10
610     PROCset_options(menu_text$, öConRecVerò,öCRVò,öCountò,
count_options_menu%,
4.10
ö~C R ~Vò)
4.10
620    WHEN öWipeò :
4.10
630     PROCset_options(menu_text$, öConForRecVerò,öCFRVò,öWipeò
,wipe_options_menu%,
4.10
öC ~F ~R Vò)
4.10
640   ENDCASE
4.10
650 ENDCASE
4.10
660 IF (adjust% AND NOT finished%) THEN PROCreshow_menu
4.10
670 ENDPROC
4.10
700 DEF PROCset_options(option$, options$,sys_options$,system$
,menu%,default$)
4.10
710 LOCAL count,option,set,set$
4.10
720 option = INSTR(options$,LEFT$ (option$,3))
4.10
730 IF option > 0 THEN
4.10
740  PROCmenu_tick_toggle(menu%, (option DIV 3) + 1)
4.10
750  set$ = öò
4.10
760  FOR count = 1 TO (LEN(options$) DIV 3)
4.10
770   set=FNmenu_ticked(menu%,count)
4.10
780   IF set THEN set$ += ö ò ELSE set$ += ö ~ò
4.10
790   set$ += MID$(sys_options$, count,1)
4.10
800  NEXT count
4.10
810  OSCLI öSET ò + system$ + ö$Options ò + set$
4.10
820 ELSE
4.10
830  IF option$ = öDefaultò THEN
4.10
840   OSCLI öSET ò + system$ + ö$Options ò + default$
4.10
850   PROCupdate_menus
4.10
860  ENDIF
4.10
870 ENDIF
4.10
880 ENDPROC
4.10
900 DEF PROCupdate_menus
4.10
910 PROCset_menu_ticks (copy_ options_menu%,öCopyò, öACDFLNPQRSTVò)
4.10
920 PROCset_menu_ticks(count_ options_menu%,öCountò,öCRVò)
4.10
930 PROCset_menu_ticks(wipe_ options_menu%,öWipeò,öCFRVò)
4.10
940 ENDPROC
4.10
1000 DEF PROCset_menu_ticks(menu%, system$,valid$)
4.10
1010 LOCAL option,option$, tick_value%
4.10
1020 option$ = FNread_system_ variable(system$ + ö$Optionsò ,valid$ +
ö~ò)
4.10
1030 WHILE option$ <> öò
4.10
1040  IF LEFT$(option$,1) = ö~ò THEN
4.10
1050   tick_value% = FALSE
4.10
1060   option$ = RIGHT$(option$, LEN(option$) - 1)
4.10
1070  ELSE
4.10
1080   tick_value% = TRUE
4.10
1090  ENDIF
4.10
1100  option = INSTR(valid$,LEFT$ (option$,1))
4.10
1110  IF option > 0 THEN PROCset_menu_tick(menu%, option,tick_value%)
4.10
1120  option$ = RIGHT$(option$, LEN(option$) - 1)
4.10
1130 ENDWHILE
4.10
1140 ENDPROC
4.10
1200 DEF FNread_system_variable (variable$,match$)
4.10
1210 LOCAL option$,bytes,loop
4.10
1220 option$ = öò
4.10
1230 SYS öOS_ReadVarValò,variable$ ,buffer,40,0 TO ,,bytes
4.10
1240 buffer?(bytes + 1) = 13
4.10
1250 FOR loop = 0 TO bytes
4.10
1260  IF INSTR(match$,CHR$ (buffer?loop)) > 0 THEN option$
4.10
 += CHR$(buffer?loop)
4.10
1270 NEXT loop
4.10
1280 =option$
4.10
Additions and amendments to Wimplib
4.10
To add the menu routines to the Wimplib program the following additions/
amendments should be made to the program published in Part 1.
4.10
 25 LOCAL task_id%,version%
4.10
 30 DIM wimp_block% 512,menu_block% &1000,data_block% 64
4.10
 35 menu_free% = menu_block%
4.10
 61 adjust_button=1 : menu_button=2
4.10
 62 select_button=4 : icon_bar = -2
4.10
 65 current_menu% = -1
4.10
 66 menu_x% = 0 : menu_y% = 0
4.10
105 LOCAL icon%
4.10
140 wimp_block%!12 = 68
4.10
160 wimp_block%!20 = &3002
4.10
300 DEF FNcreate_menu(menu$)
4.10
310 LOCAL menu_ptr%,width%,title$
4.10
320 menu_ptr% = menu_free%
4.10
330 title$  = FNfield(menu$,ö,ò)
4.10
340 IF LEN(title$) > 12 THEN
4.10
350  $(menu_ptr%) = LEFT$(title$,12)
4.10
360  width% = 12
4.10
370 ELSE
4.10
380  $(menu_ptr%) = title$
4.10
390  width% = LEN(title$)
4.10
400 ENDIF
4.10
410 menu_ptr%?12=7 : menu_ptr%?13=2
4.10
420 menu_ptr%?14=7 : menu_ptr%?15=0
4.10
430 menu_ptr%!20=44 : menu_ptr%!24=0
4.10
440 menu_item_ptr% = menu_ptr% + 4
4.10
450 WHILE menu$ <> öò
4.10
460  menu_item_ptr% += 24
4.10
470  menu_item$ = FNfield(menu$,ö,ò)
4.10
480  !menu_item_ptr% = 0
4.10
490  menu_item_ptr%!4 = -1
4.10
500  menu_item_ptr%!8 = &7000021
4.10
510  WHILE INSTR(ö#$%^ò,RIGHT$(menu_ item$)) > 0
4.10
520   CASE RIGHT$(menu_item$) OF
4.10
530    WHEN ö#ò : ?menu_item_ptr% = ?menu_item_ptr%  OR %00000001
4.10
540    WHEN ö$ò : ?menu_item_ptr% = ?menu_item_ptr%  OR %00000010
4.10
550    WHEN ö%ò : menu_item_ptr%?10 = menu_item_ptr%?10 OR
4.10
 %01000000
4.10
560    WHEN ö^ò : ?menu_item_ptr% = ?menu_item_ptr%  OR %00000100
4.10
570   ENDCASE
4.10
580   menu_item$ = LEFT$(menu_item$)
4.10
590  ENDWHILE
4.10
600  IF LEN(menu_item$) > width% THEN width% = LEN(menu_item$)
4.10
610  $(menu_item_ptr%+12) = menu_item$ + CHR$(0)
4.10
620 ENDWHILE
4.10
630 ?menu_item_ptr% = ?menu_item_ptr% OR %10000000
4.10
640 menu_ptr%!16 = (width%*8+6)*2
4.10
650 menu_free% = menu_item_ptr% + 24
4.10
660 =menu_ptr%
4.10
700 DEF PROCshow_menu(menu%,x%,y%)
4.10
710 current_menu% = menu%
4.10
720 menu_x%    = x%
4.10
730 menu_y%    = y%
4.10
740 SYS öWimp_CreateMenuò,,menu%,x% ,y%
4.10
750 ENDPROC
4.10
800 DEF PROCreshow_menu
4.10
810 PROCshow_menu(current_menu%, menu_x%,menu_y%)
4.10
820 ENDPROC
4.10
900 DEF FNdecode_menu
4.10
910 LOCAL menu_text$
4.10
920 SYS öWimp_DecodeMenuò,, current_ menu%,wimp_block%, STRING$
4.10
(200,ö ò) TO ,,,menu_text$
4.10
930 =menu_text$
4.10
1000 DEF PROCmenu_attach(menu%, position%,attachment%)
4.10
1010 menu%!(28 + 24 * (position%-1) + 4) = attachment%
4.10
1020 ENDPROC
4.10
1100 DEF FNmenu_height(menu%)
4.10
1110 LOCAL height%,menu_item_ptr%
4.10
1120 menu_item_ptr% = menu% + 28
4.10
1130 height%    = 0
4.10
1140 WHILE (?menu_item_ptr% AND %10000000) = 0
4.10
1150  menu_item_ptr% += 24
4.10
1160  height%    += 1
4.10
1170 ENDWHILE
4.10
1180 =96 + (44 * (height% + 1))
4.10
1200 DEF PROCmenu_tick_toggle (menu%,position%)
4.10
1210 menu%?(28 + 24 * (position%-1)) = menu%?(28 + 24 *
4.10
(position% - 1)) EOR 1
4.10
1220 ENDPROC
4.10
1300 DEF PROCset_menu_tick(menu%, position%,ticked%)
4.10
1310 IF ticked% THEN
4.10
1320  menu%?(28 + 24 * (position% -1)) = menu%?(28 + 24 *
4.10
(position% - 1)) OR 1
4.10
1330 ELSE
4.10
1340  menu%?(28 + 24 * (position% - 1)) = menu%?(28 + 24 *
4.10
(position% - 1)) AND %11111110
4.10
1350 ENDIF
4.10
1360 ENDPROC
4.10
1400 DEF FNmenu_ticked(menu%, position%)
4.10
1410 LOCAL result%
4.10
1420 IF (menu%?(28 + 24 * (position% - 1)) AND 1) > 0 THEN
4.10
1430  result% = TRUE
4.10
1440 ELSE
4.10
1450  result% = FALSE
4.10
1460 ENDIF
4.10
1470 =result%
4.10
1500 DEF FNadjust_pressed
4.10
1510 SYS öWimp_GetPointerInfoò,, data_block%
4.10
1520 = (data_block%!8 AND 1)
4.10
1600 DEF FNfield(RETURN menu$, separator$)
4.10
1610 LOCAL result$
4.10
1620 result$ = LEFT$(menu$, INSTR(menu$+separator$,
4.10
separator$) - 1)
4.10
1630 menu$ = RIGHT$(menu$, LEN( menu$) - LEN(result$) - 1)
4.10
1640=result$
4.10
What next?
4.10
Next month, I hope to look at template files and how to incorporate a
simple window into the application. It would be beneficial if you got
some practice at using the !FormEd (On Shareware 20, ú3, or as the more
developed WIMP Template Editor, ú8) application released by Acorn to
create template files. You could, for example, make a copy of the
templates used by !Edit and have a go at changing those!
4.10
As before, if anyone has any ideas, problems, suggestions (or offers of
vast sums of money) I can be contacted either through Archive or at 43,
Kingfisher Walk, Ash, Aldershot, Hampshire GU12 6RF.ááA
4.10

4.10
Using FontEd
4.10
Robert Chrismas
4.10
FontEd is an outline font editor produced by Acorn. It is public domain
(Shareware 7). There is no printed documentation but the application
includes a !Help and a ReadMe file.
4.10
The ReadMe file says that FontEd is Éonly really useful for exporting
characters to Drawæ which understates the powers of this valuable
program. In fact, it can also be used to examine outline fonts, to alter
characters, or to create new characters.
4.10
Examining fonts
4.10
FontEd will display all the characters in an outline font. First load
FontEd; then look inside a !Fonts directory (you must use <shift double-
click> to open an application directory like !Fonts), and work down
through the directories until you find an outline file (easy to
recognise because it is called ÉOutlinesæ). Drag the outlines file onto
the FontEd icon. A window with a table showing all the characters in the
font should appear (the ÉFont Index Windowæ Ö see overleaf). To examine
a character in more detail double-click <adjust> on the character Ö this
produces the Éfullæ window. If you double-click <select> the Éskeletonæ
window will open and you will see how the letter is constructed.
4.10
Saving a character in Draw format
4.10
Each character is defined as a series of lines and curves, and you can
export theses line and curves as a draw object. Once the character has
been saved in this form you can use !Draw to rotate it, alter its fill
colour or outline colour or, with !DrawBender or !Poster, it can be bent
or distorted. To save a character, drag it on to a filer window. You do
not get a proper save window Ö the character is always saved as
ÉDrawFileæ so be careful not to overwrite something important.
4.10
Creating/altering characters
4.10
It is not unusual to find that a font lacks a character you require.
Some PD fonts omit less common punctuation marks. You might wish to
create an additional character, a foreign currency symbol, a trade mark
or perhaps just an open box to make creating forms simpler. Many
magazines use a special character to mark the end of each story (for
example Archive uses ÉááA  æ).
4.10
To produce your own character, first print out the FontEd !Help file and
read it. The text has a rather austere style but it does contain all you
need to know to operate the program. It is worth reading carefully
because the mouse buttons are given about six functions depending on the
context.
4.10
If you are creating a new character, you must first decide which slot in
the font index it will occupy. Now find the character which has a shape
most like your new character. For punctuation a full stop, a colon or an
inverted comma might be suitable, or for more geometrical shapes you
might try É+æ or É=æ. Drag this character into the slot where your new
character will go. The shape may be some help creating your new
character but, more importantly, you will transfer the scaffolding which
will help you to make sure that your new character lines up with the
others. Now you can double click <select> on the new character to open
the skeleton window.
4.10
The light blue lines are scaffolding; as well as ensuring that the
characters line up, they are used when the font manager converts the
outline to a bit map font. For our purposes, it will be sufficient to
treat them like guide lines.
4.10
Look for a red horizontal line with a cross at each end. This is the
base line, only descenders go far below this line. The crosses at each
end control the width of the character. The left hand edge of the
character should fall on, or just to the right of the left hand cross.
The right hand cross determines the space which the character occupies,
so the right hand edge of the character may be well inside the cross to
allow for some space before the next character. You may be unlucky
enough to choose a character which seems to have just one red cross and
no line. This means that the character has zero width Ö use the menu for
the skeleton window to increase the width.
4.10
The outline for the character will be shown in black with dark green
squares marking the control points. There may also be skeleton lines
within the character which are shown in the same way.
4.10
When you edit a character in the skeleton window, it is important to
remember that there are two editing Émodesæ, one to edit scaffolding,
the other to edit outlines. If a scaffolding line is selected (high
lighted in red) you can move scaffolding lines and link points to lines
but you can not move the control points to alter the outline. You can
change from editing outlines to editing scaffolding just by clicking on
a Écontrol blobæ (the light green circles), but it is not as easy to get
back to editing outlines. You must point to a blank area where there are
no lines and click <shift-select>.
4.10
You need to outline the shape you require. It may be possible to do this
just by dragging a few points with <adjust>. If that is all you need,
breath a sigh of relief make the adjustments and save the font from the
font index window in the usual way.
4.10
If you have to get involved in more strenuous editing, be careful
because just clicking <select> for too long is enough to create a new
line segment. Any drag with <select> will create a new line. You can
select a line segment with <adjust> which will allow you to delete
unwanted lines using the skeleton menu. If you create a line segment
which has an end near the loose end (1-node) of another segment, the
lines will automatically be linked.
4.10
If you select a straight line, two Écontrol pointsæ will appear on the
line which you can drag to make a curve. You can turn curves into lines
by using the Éstraightenæ option on the skeleton menu.
4.10
The program automatically decides which areas to fill. It treats all the
segments as a single path and uses the same öeven-oddò rule as Draw.
4.10
The font index window is updated as you edit the skeleton window, so
when you have finished editing you just save your work from the index
window.
4.10
Reservations
4.10
It does not seem unreasonable to make modifications for your own use,
but you should think carefully before distributing a modified font. It
is of course illegal to take a copyright font, modify a few characters
and the pass it off as your own. Public domain fonts are not protected
in the same way and it might seem reasonable to pass them on with a few
changes. However each font is someoneæs personal creation, on which he/
she has spent many hours. At the least his/her reputation is threatened
by the addition of a few amateur blobs.
4.10
It is just about possible to create a font from scratch using FontEd but
I would not recommend it. It would be hard work using FontEd.
4.10
In the ReadMe file there is a reference to Éa complete editor ...
available in due courseæ, but even with a better editor you should still
hesitate. If you are already interested in font design, you may wish to
experiment, but if all you want is a few more fonts then resist the
impulse to do it yourself. Archimedes owners have available a beautiful
range of professionally designed fonts at very reasonable prices. Many
of these are copies of fonts created for publishing by people who have
devoted their lives to designing good quality fonts. Learning to operate
an editing program is not even beginning to master this art.
4.10
Font names Ö a warning
4.10
You cannot change the name of a font simply by renaming its directory.
The name is also stored inside each file and it is this copy which is
used by the font manager. If you try to use a renamed font then every
time it has to be redrawn on the screen, the font manager will examine
the fonts cached in memory, it will fail to find a font with the right
name so it will load a copy from disk. The result is that redrawing the
font will take ages and your font cache, be it ever so big, will fill up
in no time at all. To rename the font, you must also change the name
inside each outline file, each IntMetrics file, and, for all I know each
Bitmap file if one exists. The easiest way is to use FontFix, on
Shareware 38 which will correct font names automatically.ááA
4.10

4.10

4.10
Protext 5 Wordprocessor
4.10
Peter Jennings
4.10
New word processors for the Archimedes have been disappointingly few,
compared with the DTP programs which have appeared in the last few
years. So, the decision by Arnor to produce an Archimedes version of
their successful Protext word processor was very welcome.
4.10
Protext, which has been under continuous development since 1984, is
described as a fully integrated word processing system, comprising word
processor, spelling checker, mail merge and file conversion and sorting
programs. The latest version, Protext 5, gives Archimedes owners the
chance to join users of IBMs and compatibles, Atariæs and Amigas. So,
does the Archimedes version live up to Protextæs reputation on the other
machines?
4.10
Protext arrives looking reassuringly business-like in a large, impres
sive, box containing three unprotected discs and a mass of documentation
including three manuals. The main one of these is nearly an inch thick
with a daunting 380 pages. The other two are a 48-page tutorial guide
and 22 pages on printer drivers.
4.10
The size of the main manual may deter some inexperienced computer users
but the tutorial offers an easy guide into the program and the bigger
book can be put aside for later reference. There is also on-screen help
and anyone familiar with word processing will be able to make an start
before opening either book. Of course, the main manual will soon be
found essential for discovering the rich variety of features the program
contains.
4.10
Compatibility between machines
4.10
Protext has been designed to work in the same way for all the machines
it supports and there is only one version of each manual, with machine-
specific paragraphs where necessary. If you use, say, a PC version at
work, you can move to your Archimedes at home with little if any
adjustment and can even work on the same files and possibly with the
same discs on both. When I tried Protext for the first time, I was
surprised for a moment to find the delete key was deleting the character
at the cursor instead of the one before it. Having used a PC, I soon
realised that the backspace key (the left-pointing arrow next to the
insert key) was the one to use and, of course, it was mentioned in the
manuals.
4.10
Customising
4.10
One of the great strengths of Protext is the extent to which it can be
customised. Any keys except shift and lock can easily be changed to suit
the individual user. So I quickly had the delete and copy keys set to
backward and forward deleting respectively, as I prefer.
4.10
The keyboard comes configured for US English. This is correct for the
Archimedes so do not make the mistake of changing it to UK English or
you will find that some of the keys are not behaving as expected.
4.10
At present, the program does not use the Archimedes WIMP system or
multi-tasking, although a RISC-OS version is promised for later this
year. Surprisingly, it does not even have its own icons and Protext
files appear on the desktop with blank squares. It does, however, return
correctly to the desktop when you quit the program.
4.10
The actual program is on just one of the three discs. The other two hold
a massive set of dictionaries and the printer drivers. Everything is
easily copied into a single directory on hard disc and will all load by
clicking on the application icon.
4.10
As well as spell-checking, the dictionaries can suggest a range of
likely alternatives to misspelt or mistyped words, list anagrams and
find word patterns. Other dictionaries are available for foreign
languages. The keyboard can be configured for ten different national
layouts and there is an enormous range of accents and characters for
nearly 30 languages including Welsh, Esperanto, Lithuanian, Slovene and
Flemish, with more to come.
4.10
The latest version, 5.08, has cleared up some odd bugs I found in an
earlier one but there is still a quirk when the program is loaded. It
starts up with some strange washed-out colours until the screen mode is
changed, or even reset to the same mode, when the configured colours
appear. In practice, this is no problem as the program can be configured
to do it automatically when starting up.
4.10
Pull down menus
4.10
At the top of the screen there is a ruler which can include tab marks, a
decimal point to line up any figures entered and a ÉCæ to centre the
text from anywhere in the line. Above that are two lines of information,
including the name and size of the current file, the cursor position and
selected options such as insert or overwrite mode, whether markers are
set and the caps lock condition. There is also an unobtrusive digital
clock (which can be switched off if not wanted) and a reminder that <F3>
produces a menu bar. This appears as a line of headings with pull down
menus similar to Inter-Word or the early versions of PipeDream. Escape
toggles between editing and a command line, set up in a window in the
lower third of the screen, allowing commands to be given to Protext or
to the Archimedes operating system.
4.10
Although the function keys are used, no function key strip is provided.
The commands are all duplicated in the menus or with key strokes but the
function keys are usually quicker to use. One exception is to press
<adjust>, instead of <F3>, to call up the menu bar.
4.10
Line drawing
4.10
Two of the function keys provide a novel facility. Pressing <ctrl-f7>
enables <alt> plus any of the four cursor arrow keys to draw a line in
the arrowæs direction. <Ctrl-f8> allows the choice of any character
(such as a full stop or a dash) to be used for lines drawn in the same
way.
4.10
Basic features
4.10
Protext 5 is very fast and powerful, with all the facilities expected in
a major word processor and some good unexpected features. They include
automatic reformatting, spell checking as you type or later, auto-
indent, find and replace, footnotes and indices, justification of text
to make a straight right-hand edge, word count and automatic saving at
preset intervals, all optional. There is background printing from a
buffer set up in memory, so that you can carry on with a new document
while your finished work is printed out, and a backup is made of the old
file when you save a new version. Up to 36 documents can be held in
memory and displayed on screen separately or two at a time, allowing
text to be moved between them. Two files shown on a split screen can
even be locked together to scroll simultaneously, making it simple to
compare similar documents. Roman numerals can be used.
4.10
Sophisticated features
4.10
The sophistication of some of its features is often a delight. You can,
for example, delete single letters or words, either forwards or
backwards, and delete to the start or end of a line and to the start or
end of a sentence. Deleting a word will, usefully, leave any punctuation
mark which follows it. There are keystrokes to produce half and quarter
signs and to swap adjacent letters which may have been mistyped. Place
markers can be inserted into a text so that you can move quickly between
sections, perhaps to make later additions. Directories which do not
already exist are created automatically when saving. Rows or columns of
figures can be added up and the total printed into the text if wanted,
simply by clicking on the figures to be included. Other calculations can
be made, enabling invoices to be typed with VAT added and totalled. The
facilities offered for mail merging take 40 pages of the manual to
detail.
4.10
Macro files can be used to program the function keys and the keys for
any letters of the alphabet, to store text or codes. Pressing the
appropriate function key or <alt> and the chosen letter then has the
same effect as typing in the programmed characters. So, for example, you
can have <shift-alt-f> programmed to add öYours faithfully,ò at the end
of your letters and <shift-alt-t> for öYours truly,ò and so on, each
followed by a number of blank lines and your name. The addition of the
shift key is not essential but worth using are there as some useful
commands already programmed for some alt and letter combinations, such
as <alt-d> to insert the date and <alt-t> for the time. There are also
exec files, which are typed in as text, containing commands and codes.
One can be run automatically when the program starts, to carry out any
desired instructions, such as changing mode and directory and turning
off caps lock (using *FX202,48). Templates can be saved containing
letter headings and page layouts, with stored commands for the printer
in Protextæs own programming language.
4.10
Printing is carried out using the printer font, including bold, italic
and underline styles which are shown on screen and also have optional
changes of colour. Text can be printed in columns but not shown on the
screen in this way. External fonts can not be loaded and it is necessary
to use one of the 48 printer drivers provided. The printer driver manual
lists suitable drivers for nearly 150 printers. There is a choice of
drivers for Epson compatibles, shown in order of features to make it
easy to find the best one for your printer if it is not listed by name.
4.10
Additional programs are provided to customise the Protext configuration,
to convert between different file types and for file sorting. The latter
can be used with other programs and is particularly useful. One of its
options is to sort by the last word on a line so that files of names and
addresses can be relisted alphabetically by surnames. There is a problem
with the present version making it sometimes necessary to quit and
reload Protext to use the convert and sort programs.
4.10
Should you buy it?
4.10
The advice when choosing a word processor (or any other program) must be
to check that it does what you want. Protext is not a DTP program and
anyone who needs to use a variety of fonts or lay out pages of text and
illustrations would find a DTP package more suitable. It is not fully
wysiwyg (what you see is what you get) and does not yet multi-task or
use RISC-OS windows. Otherwise, it seems to have everything anyone could
want from a word processor plus a variety of less-expected but very
useful features.
4.10
I think the promised RISC-OS version could make it a real winner for the
Archimedes but should you buy one now? If you can afford to wait you may
prefer to go for the RISC-OS Protext later this year but if you need a
word processor now, and you like the sound of Protext, it is still worth
getting the present version. The cost, including the new rate of VAT, is
ú152.75 (ú138 from Archive). Arnor say the RISC-OS upgrade may be issued
on its own at a nominal price or could come as part of a general upgrade
costing less than ú30.ááA
4.10

4.10
Contact Box
4.10
Å    Lancashire Archimedes Group Ö Anybody interested in forming an
Archimedes user group please contact Ian Rhodes, 864 Manchester Road,
Rochdale OL11 2SP (0706Ö31810).ááA
4.10

4.10

4.10

4.10
MEMORANDUM
4.10
Screenshot
4.10

4.10
PC Windows 3 in a RISC-OS window on the new PC-Emulator
4.10

4.10
- Includes MEMC1a upgrade
4.10
- Large capacity OS ROM sockets
4.10
- No soldering required
4.10
- Four layer printed circuit boards
4.10
- Courier collection of your machine
4.10
  2nd Mb - ú225  4th Mb - ú299
4.10

4.10
23 The Greenway  Orpington  Kent  BR5 2AY  Tel [phone]  Fax 0689
896088
4.10

4.10
The Complete Upgrade Solution
4.10

4.10
- New series Aleph One ARM3
4.10
- 3 to 4 times performance increase
4.10
- Surface mount technology
4.10
- Four layer printed circuit board
4.10
- Courier collection of your machine
4.10
  ARM 3 upgrade - ú399
4.10

4.10
- Uses only eight RAM devices
4.10
- Suitable for A440, A400/1 & R140
4.10
- Fully RISC OS compatible
4.10
- Four layer printed circuit boards
4.10
- Courier collection of your machine
4.10
  8 Mb upgrade - ú749
4.10

4.10
- Increases resolution with all Multiscan monitors
4.10
- Doubles desktop work area
4.10
- Custom modes for Taxan and Eizo monitors
4.10
- Suitable for all Archimedes computers
4.10
- Free with any multiscan monitor from Atomwide
4.10
  Atomwide VIDC Enhancer - ú29
4.10

4.10
- All products are cross-compatible
4.10
- Combination deals available on all products
4.10
- Typical combination A310 4 Mb and ARM3 ú675
4.10
- Dealer enquires welcome
4.10
- Phone for full details on all products
4.10
  All prices exclude VAT at 17.5% but include delivery
4.10

4.10
- 400 series RAM upgrade kits
4.10
- Supplied with full fitting instructions
4.10
- 410/1 to 420/1 requires 1Mb
4.10
- 420/1 to 440/1 requires 2Mb
4.10
- 410/1 to 440/1 requires 3Mb
4.10
  1Mb - ú35  2Mb - ú65  3Mb - ú99
4.10

4.10
- Syquest removable disk systems
4.10
- Including One cartridge, drive unit and all cables
4.10
- 42Mb removable cartridges
4.10
- High-flow fan fitted for improved cooling
4.10
- Please phone for prices on other SCSI related products
4.10
  Atomwide Syquest drive unit - ú470  42Mb disks - ú64
4.10

4.10
- Uses only eight RAM devices
4.10
- User upgradeable from 1 to 4 Mb
4.10
- Four layer printed circuit board
4.10
- Low power consumption
4.10
- Available without RAM devices
4.10
  Bare card - ú35  2nd Mb - ú56  4th Mb - ú159
4.10

4.10
Safesell Exhibitions (p5)    Market
House, Cross Road, Tadworth, Surrey KT20 5SR.
4.10
Sherston Software     Swan Barton,
Sherston, Malmesbury, Wilts. SN16 0LH. (0666Ö840433) (Ö840048)
4.10
Silicon Vision Ltd    Signal
House, Lyon Road, Harrow, Middlesex, HA1 2AG. (081Ö422Ö2274) (Ö427Ö5169)
4.10
Simtron Ltd    4 Clarence Drive, East Grinstead, W. Sussex, RH19 4RZ.
(0342Ö328188)
4.10
Soft Rock Software    124 Marissal
Road, Henbury, Bristol, BS10 7NP. (0272Ö503639 evenings)
4.10
The Serial Port    Burcott Manor, Wells, Somerset, BA5 1NH. (0243Ö531194)
(Ö531196)
4.10
Topologika    P.O. Box 39, Stilton, Peterborough, PE7 3RL. (0733Ö244682)
4.10
Vector Services Ltd    13 Denning
ton Road, Wellingborough, Northants, NN8 2RL.
4.10
VisionSix Ltd (p10)    13 Paddock
Wood, Prudhoe, Northumberland, NE42 5BJ. (0661Ö33017) (Ö36163)
4.10
XOB    Balkeerie, Eassie by Forfar, Angus, DD8 1SR. (0307Ö84364)
4.10

Thanks again!
4.11
Hereæs a typical example of the öspirit of Archiveò Ö I mentioned last
month that I was going off to the States for three weeks and asked if
people would send articles in early. Within days of the magazine going
out, I was deluged with articles. Many thanks! Iæm just sorry that they
wonæt all be published this month Ö after the special effort you have
made. Still, when I get back, Iæm going to have to produce the September
issue fairly quickly (though it may be a little late) so itæs great
having extra articles ready to öpaste inò. Thanks again for all your
help and interest in Archive.
4.11
Cheaper Removable Drives!!??!!??
4.11
Each month, or at least every other month, I seem to be saying that the
price of the 42M removable drives has dropped again. Last month, I
foolishly said I didnæt think they would be dropping again for a while.
Well, I think Iæve found another supply of these drives Ö which could
involve another price drop. So, if youære thinking of buying a removable
drive, hold off for a few days and give me a ring Ö I should be back in
the Archive office on Friday 16th August.
4.11
We have moved!
4.11
No, donæt get too excited, weære not moving again. Itæs just that some
people are still sending letters and orders to 18 Mile End Road which we
left in November last year! Itæs usually öthe computeræs faultò because
it prints out the address label the way it has always done. Please tell
your computers we have moved! Thanks.
4.11
Bye for now,
4.11
         Paul B.
4.11

4.11

4.11
Products Available
4.11
Å    Arc Recorder Ö Hybrid Technology have produced a very cheap system for
sound sampling (ú27.95 + ú5 p&p +VAT). It consists of a microphone with
a switch and desk stand linked to the computer via the printer port and
desktop software that generates samples which can immediately be used in
other desktop applications. (This is NOT the same product as produced by
Oak Solutions despite the same name.)
4.11
Å    Cartoon collection is the title of a four disc set of cartoon type
paint format clipart from Micro Studios. The price is ú19.95 or ú18
through Archive.
4.11
Å    DeskJet 500 Ö Weæve had so many good reports from readers about the HP
DeskJet 500 printer that weæve worked out a special deal with our
distributors. We can offer them to Archive subscribers at ú395 inc VAT &
carriage.
4.11
Å    Econet test box Ö ALSystems have produced an Econet test box which
should greatly reduce the time and effort needed to rectify faults on
Econet networks. It can detect broken cables, short circuits, cross-
connected cables. It measures cable resistance. It has LEDæs for
monitoring clock & data signals, a terminator tester and a filestore
clock test facility. The price is ú75 +VAT (+ú2.35 p&p).
4.11
Å    Eizo 9080i utility Ö If anyone has an Eizo 9080i and wants to use it
on the Archimedes, GL Consulting Ltd produce a utility for just ú10
which makes it possible. For more details, see the 9080i review on page
39.
4.11
Å    JISys is a journal indexing system (also available for IBM and BBC B)
which allows you to create your own journal article database. It allows
search & retrieval and cross-referencing. It has an on-line manual,
password for data protection and will cope with an index of up to 10,000
articles and authors. The price is ú75 inclusive from KAS Software.
4.11
Å    LBP4 laser printers Ö There was a huge response to the special offer
last month on LBP4 laser printers (on the back of the Price List). We
had bought two printers from the distributor on their end of year
clearance but these were sold by about 10.00 a.m. on the day after the
magazines left this office! We could have sold them several times over
that day and the next. The good news is that, because of all the
interest, weæve been able to arrange a semi-permanent special deal with
the distributor. We can now sell the LBP4 with an extra 1Mbyte ram
(useful when not using the Laser Direct interface) for just ú875. This
price does not include the 250 sheet paper feed tray, but the printer
already has a 50-sheet tray, so itæs not essential. If you do want a
paper feed tray at the same time, add ú90 (instead of the normal price
of ú105).
4.11
When you add the CC Laser Direct interface at ú380 to the LBP4 at ú875,
you get ú1255 (my arithmetic was ú100 out last month!) which is not that
much more than the cost of the 300 d.p.i. Laser Direct Qume and as well
as having the advantage of 600 d.p.i., you get a printer that will run
on other computers and can even be connected via the serial or parallel
interfaces (all standard on the LBP4) to other computers Ö or indeed to
the same computer. You can then use the front panel switches to select
which interface you use. This is useful if you want to use the printer
in direct printing mode from, say, First Word Plus or from Basic.
4.11
So, by comparison, why should anyone want to pay ú1560 for the LBP8
Laser Direct since it can only be used with the Archimedes and not on
other computers? Well, it is faster in terms of pages per minute (8
instead of 4) even though the page preparation time will be the same on
both. Secondly, it looks to me to be a more robust printer which could
be useful, say, in a school situation.
4.11
The third point is that it has a straighter paper path. The LBP4 has an
S-shaped paper path feeding into an output hopper but you can open a
flap and make it C-shaped though it doesnæt then go into the hopper. The
LBP8 on the other hand normally has a C-shaped path. (This is useful
because it drops the sheets face down so that page 1 of a multi-page
document is at the top of the pile when you take it out of the hopper.)
If you fold out the catch tray at the opposite end to the input tray,
you get a completely straight paper path, if you are printing onto
labels or card so there is less chance of jamming and if you are
printing acetates, thereæs less danger of them getting curled up. The
advantage of the S-shaped path though is that the printer is more
compact as a result. (See diagrams opposite.)
4.11
Paper trays are a little confusing with the LBP4 but I think I have got
it sorted out now. Provided, as standard, with the printer is an
integral tray which takes about 50 sheets at a time. As an alternative,
you can buy a paper feed unit and cassette (Archive price ú105). This
forms a base under the printer and takes a removable paper cassette
which carries about 250 sheets of paper. You can also get spare
cassettes for the paper feed unit so that you can have different types
of paper in different cassettes. (Archive price ú57)
4.11
Å    Mandelbrot Set Ö Explore Mandelbrot sets in mode 15 with this C
program which goes to magnifications of 100 million. Partial or
completed sets can be saved and re-loaded. The price is ú12.95 inclusive
from KAS Software.
4.11
Å    PC Connect Ö DT Software have produced an interesting new piece of kit
for the Archimedes. It consists of a podule plus a board to go in a PC
(or compatible) plus the appropriate high speed interconnection. The
idea is that the two computers can then share peripherals including
comms, printers and hard drives and you can even run the PC from the
Archimedesæ keyboard. The cost is just ú169.95 +VAT.
4.11
Å    PC Emulator upgrade Ö To get your PC emulator upgraded to version 1.60
which we mentioned last month, you need to send the PC emulator disc to
Acorn Direct in Wellingborough with a cheque made payable to ÉAcorn
Directæ for ú34.08 (ú29 + VAT). However, Learning Curve owners can get a
free upgrade! If you talk to the dealer from whom you bought your A3000
or Archimedes Learning Curve, he should have a form you can fill in and
send, with serial number and proof of purchase, to Acorn Direct and they
should send you a free upgrade to 1.60. (However, as I write (19/7/91)
it hasnæt actually appeared as a stock item!)
4.11
Å    Panasonic printers Ö The KXP1124 printer has now been superseded by
the KXP1124i which we can sell at an Archive price of ú299 inc VAT &
carriage. We still have a couple of the older KXP1124æs which we can
sell at ú235. (The Archive price was ú281.)
4.11
Å    Saloon Cars is here! 4th Dimensionæs new racing simulator is available
now Ö Archive price is ú23.
4.11
Å    SCSI hard drive price drop Ö The prices of most of the Oak Computers
hard drives has dropped Ö see the Price List for full details. There
will also be some big reductions to clear existing stock. These are
listed on the back page of the Price List.
4.11
Å    Shareware N║41 Ö Under the heading of Éeducationæ are an animation of
a four stroke engine, a control language for use in GCSE and a biology
program relating to Mendelian inheritance. There is a floating point
assembler Basic library and a desktop assembler test bed. The range of
utilities includes: a comms utility, a utility which reads BBC tapes via
an RS423 link to a BBC micro, a converter between ArcText, DOS, VAX and
FWP files, a disc cataloguer, an Edword- ASCII converter, a utility that
displays the current filing system, a filetype guesser and a desktop
file loader. Finally, there is a superb golf game which, on its own,
makes the disc worth the ú3.
4.11
Å    STEbus interface Ö Intelligent Interfaces have produced an interface
which allows the connection of up to four STEbus interfaces to fitted to
be an Archimedes computer (only 2 on an A300 series or 3 on an A540)
providing access to a wide range of I/O devices including A/D, D/A,
parallel I/O, serial I/O, networking interfaces, stepper & servos
controllers etc, etc. The interface costs ú495 +VAT.
4.11
Review software received...
4.11
We have received review copies of the following software and hardware:
!ReaderS, !MapIT (Genesis II application), Guardians of the Labyrinth
(Soft Rock Software), Animynd Life, OutLook for Eizo 9080i.ááA
4.11

4.11
And now a word from our Sponsor....
4.11
If you ask a committed Christian what it was that first attracted him or
her to the Christian faith, I think you will find that the vast majority
will say something like... öWell, I knew some Christians and was
impressed by their attitude and life style and so I decided to look into
it.ò Thatæs certainly what started me on my search for the truth back in
the mid 1960æs.
4.11
On the other hand, if you find someone who is a firm non-believer who
just ödoesnæt want to knowò when the Christian faith is mentioned, it
often stems from a bad experience they have had with someone who öcalled
themselves a Christianò or of a church which was anything but the
öliving testimony to the love of Godò that it ought to be.
4.11
If you are someone who, like me, professes to be a Christian then the
way you live your life is absolutely vital. If your faith is real, it
will show in the quality of your life and people will be attracted to
the Christian faith through you. But if itæs not real and you just go to
church and wear the ömaskò of being a Christian, people will see through
it. The effect will be that non-believers will look at you and say, öIf
thatæs what being a Christian is all about then I donæt want to know,
thanks.ò
4.11
So, my appeal this month is to those of you who call yourselves
Christians but who know in your heart of hearts that your faith isnæt as
alive and active as it could be. Do you read your bible? Do you pray? Do
you meet with other Christians? If not, that might be part of the
problem. If you do and yet you are still not full of life and love, why
not go and see a Christian leader or even drop us a line Ö we might be
able to help.
4.11
If not for your own sake, then for the sake of those who donæt yet
believe in Jesus, resolve to find out what is missing in your life and
get it sorted out as soon as you possibly can.
4.11

4.11

4.11
Norwich Computer Services 96a Vauxhall Street, Norwich, NR2 2SD. 0603-
766592 (764011)
4.11

4.11
4th Dimension    P.O. Box 4444, Sheffield. (0742Ö700661)
4.11
4mation    11 Castle Park Road, Whiddon Valley, Barnstaple, Devon, EX32
8PA. (0271Ö25353) (Ö22974)
4.11
Abacus Training    29 Okus Grove, Upper Stratton, Swindon, Wilts, SN2
6QA.
4.11
Acorn Direct    13 Dennington Road, Wellingborough, Northants, NN8 2RL.
4.11
Acorn Computers Ltd    Fulbourn
Road, Cherry Hinton, Cambridge, CB1 4JN. (0223Ö245200) (Ö210685)
4.11
Acorn Training Centre    Unit 5,
Cambridge Technopark, 645 Newmarket Road, Cambridge CB5 8PB.
(0223Ö214411)
4.11
Ace Computing    27 Victoria Road, Cambridge, CB4 3BW. (0223Ö322559)
(Ö69180)
4.11
ALSystems    47 Winchester Road, Four Marks, Alton, Hampshire, GU34 5HG.
(0420Ö87213.)
4.11
Arnor Ltd    611 Lincoln Road, Peterborough, PE1 3HA. (0733Ö68909) (Ö67299)
4.11
Atomwide Ltd (p7)    23 The Greenway, Orpington, Kent, BR5 2AY.
(0689Ö838852) (Ö896088)
4.11
Avisoft     11 Meadow Close, Wolvey, Hinckley, LE10 3LW.
4.11
Clares Micro Supplies    98 Mid
dlewich Road, Rudheath, Northwich, Cheshire, CW9 7DA. (0606Ö48511)
(Ö48512)
4.11
Colton Software (p14)    149Ö151 St
Neots Road, Hardwick, Cambridge, CB3 7QJ. (0954Ö211472) (Ö211607)
4.11
Computer Concepts (p30/31)    Gaddesden
Place, Hemel Hempstead, Herts, HP2 6EX. (0442Ö63933) (Ö231632)
4.11
Cygnus Software    11 Newmarke Street, Leicester, LE1 5SS.
4.11
Dabhand Computing    5 Victoria Lane, Whitefield, Manchester, M25 6AL.
(061Ö766Ö8423) (Ö8425)
4.11
David Pilling    P.O.Box 22, Thornton Cleveleys, Blackpool, FY5 1LR.
4.11
DT Software    13 Northumberland Road, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, CV32
6HE.
4.11
DT Software    FREEPOST, Cambridge CB3 7BR. (0223Ö841099)
4.11
Eterna    4 rue de Massacan, 34740 Z.I. Vendargues, France. (010Ö33 +67 70
53 97)
4.11
GL Consulting Ltd    8 Agates Lane, Ashtead, Surrey, KT21 2NF.
(0372Ö272937) (Ö279362)
4.11
Intelligent Interfaces    43B Wood
Street, Stratford-on-Avon, CV37 6JQ. (0789Ö415875) (Ö450926)
4.11
Irlam Instruments    133 London Road, Staines, Middlesex TW18 4HN.
(0895Ö811401)
4.11
ITV Software    6 Paul Street, London EC2A 4JH (071Ö247Ö5206)
4.11
KAS Software    74 Dovers Park, Bathford, Bath  BA1 7UE. (0225Ö858464)
4.11
Longman-Logotron    Dales Brewery, Gwydir Street, Cambridge, CB1 2LJ.
(0223Ö323656) (Ö460208)
4.11
MicroPower Ltd    Northwood House, North Street, Leeds LS7 2AA.
(0532Ö458800)
4.11
Micro Studio Ltd    22 Churchgate Street, Soham, Ely, Cambridgeshire.
4.11
Northwest SEMERC    ?????????????????????????
4.11
Oak Solutions (p19)    Cross Park
House, Low Green, Rawdon, Leeds, LS19 6HA. (0532Ö502615) (Ö506868)
4.11
Paul Fray Ltd    4 Flint Lane, Ely Road, Waterbeach, Cambridge CB5 9QZ.
(0223Ö441134) (Ö441017).
4.11
P.R.E.S.    6 Ava House, Chobham, Surrey. (0276Ö72046)
4.11
Racing Car Computers    1 Mulberry
Cottage, Tye Green, Elsenham, Bishopæs Stortford, CM22 6DZ.
(0279Ö812496)
4.11
Ray Maidstone (p4 & 21)    421
Sprowston Road, Norwich, NR3 4EH. (0603Ö407060) (Ö417447)
4.11
RESOURCE    Exeter Road, Doncaster, DN2 4PY. (0302Ö340331)
4.11
Safesell Exhibitions (p13)    Market
House, Cross Road, Tadworth, Surrey KT20 5SR.
4.11
Sherston Software    Swan Barton, Sherston, Malmesbury, Wilts. SN16 0LH.
(0666Ö840433) (Ö840048)
4.11
Techsoft UK Ltd (p8)    Old School
Lane, Erryrs, Mold, Clwyd, CH7 4DA. (082Ö43318)
4.11
The Serial Port    Burcott Manor, Wells, Somerset, BA5 1NH. (0243Ö531194)
(Ö531196)
4.11
Topologika    P.O. Box 39, Stilton, Peterborough, PE7 3RL. (0733Ö244682)
4.11
Vector Services Ltd    13 Denning
ton Road, Wellingborough, Northants, NN8 2RL.
4.11

4.11
LBP4 has ÉSæ and ÉCæ shaped paper paths
4.11

4.11
LBP8 has ÉCæ shaped and straight paper paths
4.11

4.11
Hints and Tips
4.11
Å    Running applications Ö Carrying on from Hugh Eagleæs tip about running
one application from inside another, on a A310, if you only have
floppies and have, say, a DTP !Impression disc with !PrinterDM ,
!FontDraw and !DrawPlus all at the same level, you can tailor the !run
file of, say, !Impression to load other applications at the same
directory level, dependant on memory, by using the command
4.11
*desktop <obey$dir>.^.!second_
4.11
application_name
4.11
the <obey$dir> sets the filing system into the first selected appli
cation (!Impression.) and the .^. takes it back up to the level you were
at first! The next application then loads on the desktop ready for use.
Repeat the line with ö!third_ application_nameò and so on.  Ned Abell
4.11
Å    Colour separations Ö Last month, there was a question from John
Oversby about a colour separation program for !Draw or sprite files. One
solution is to use DrawPlus (Careware 13), actually drawing different
colours on different ölayersò. Another possible solution revolves around
the Impression Business Supplement which provides colour separation for
PostScript files. However, the ideal solution is a simple öfilterò
program which takes in a !Draw file and selects all objects of a
particular colour and puts them into a new !Draw file. Does anyone know
of such a program? I would be interested in using this for producing
double-sided printed circuit boards using !Draw. It is easy to write a
Basic program to do this starting from the !Draw format as specified in
the PRM Ö I could even do this myself Ö but making it RISC-OS-ified is
another matter. Brian Cowan
4.11
Impression H & T
4.11
Å    Business Supplement Ö Like many of you I was excited about the release
of more software for serious users of Impression II. The addition of the
mail-merge facility is particularly useful. However, I have noticed that
it suffers from a problem that early versions of Impression had. Namely,
using the * print facility causes the print to crash after the first
document with öInvalid number of output bitsò in multiscan mode. The
problem is resolved by switching to mode 15. Also, beware of forgetting
to load your RISC-OS printer driver before requesting a print from
!Importer. This is because it wonæt warn you that you will receive a
draft copy Ö and worse, you have to close everything down and start
again.
4.11
Another word of warning to those of you planning to buy the supplement
thinking that the WordStar loader will solve all your translation
problems Ö it doesnæt (not on my version, anyway)! If I had thought
about it, the result one gets is obvious. All the ASCII spaces that mess
up justification are stripped Ö but this is at the cost of losing a
space at the end of a line. Consequently, numerous words are joined
together. If you are prepared to use the spellchecker to separate the
words again the utility is fine and it does stop those messy spaces
appearing whenever you make an alteration to the text. However, itæs
still hard work!  John Brocks
4.11
Å    Font usage Ö Is there a product or would someone like to write an
application which takes an Impression document and tells you what
fontsáare required? The reason for this is that some PD software
includes documentation prepared in Impression format. This is a great
idea but sometimes strange fonts are used. If you are using Adrian
Lookæs !FontDir (Shareware 36) then you need to know which fonts are
needed before Impression is booted up. Brian Cowan
4.11
That should be easy enough. If you want to do it manually, you can save
the text of an Impression document with styles and look at it in Edit.
You can search for öfont  ò and look through all the references to
particular fonts as they occur in the style definitions and as effects
within the text. Mind you, that will give you the fonts that appear
within the style definitions regardless of whether those styles have
actually been used in the document. Anyone want to have a go at writing
such an application?
4.11
Is anyone interested in / able to convert between the Impression
Document Description File format and TeX? I think it should be possible
since both contain the same sort of information. This would be useful
for scientific applications where many journals accept material on disc
or by wire in TeX format. Brian Cowan
4.11
Å    Labels and tickets Ö When I was printing video cassette labels onto a
roll of adhesive labels they were printing too far to the right. I
failed to understand that !Impression is smart and says, öright, you are
printing a document 165mm wide. I will print it 82.5mm to the right and
left of the centre line of the printerò. I have a mark on the case of my
Citizen 120D printer to align the left hand side of A4 paper, when
putting in individual sheets but I canæt centre different rolls of
labels accurately without putting several marks on the case which would
be confusing so I got round the problem by designing new master pages
that are always A4 width (210 mm) and creating a frame on that page that
is the right width for the labels and off centred to the left. I
continue to put the label roll edge to the mark.
4.11
I then had to change the !Printer DM page size to one 102mm by 210mm
wide which gives me the the right ögreyingò on the screen as I have
öPreferencesò, öShow page bordersò, switched on. This prints two perfect
sets of labels but I still get unwanted form feeds at the end of the
page! (Example supplied on monthly program disc.)  Ned Abell
4.11
Å    Retaining styles Ö Hugh Eaglesæs question about setting a style in a
blank Impression frame (Archive 4.9 p11) can be answered in terms of
ÉPlace holdingæ in the same way as my hint on re-aligning lines starting
with a different font (Archive 4.8 page 11). Just set the style and type
a Énullæ character in the frame (i.e. one which is not defined in the
font you are using) by using Alt and the keypad numbers. (EFF fonts are
rapidly filling up, making null characters harder to find, but try 136
or 139.) Bruce Goatly
4.11
Å    Un-deleting Ö As you probably know, you can highlight a passage, type
over it and thereby replace it. Well, if you have second thoughts
immediately afterwards, you can restore the original by highlighting the
replacement passage and typing <ctrl-V>. This deletes the replacement
altogether rather than cutting it to the clipboard; the clipboard still
contains the original version. Bruce GoatlyááA
4.11

4.11
Help!!!!
4.11
Å    Mac Scanner Ö Does anybody know of software to use a Mac AppleScanner
with a SCSI interface on an Archimedes? Brian Cowan
4.11
Å    Podule expansion Ö Does anyone know of an expansion box which allows
more than 4 podules to be attached to an Archimedes computer at any one
time? A G Duckett, Telford.ááA
4.11

4.11

4.11
Unbeatable value!!
4.11
A540
4.11
just
4.11
ú2400
4.11
+vat
4.11

4.11
Tel. [phone]
4.11

4.11
Atomwide
4.11
Separate sheet to replace this one
4.11

4.11
Techsoft
4.11
From 4.7 page 20
4.11
unless they get some new artwork to you by Wednesday.
4.11
(Please phone 082Ö43318 if in doubt)
4.11

4.11
Hardware Column
4.11
Brian Cowan
4.11
By all accounts, the October Acorn User Show at the Wembley Conference
Centre will be an exciting event (Wembley Conference Centre, October
11th Ö 13th Ö Weæll be there! Ed.). There should be a number of new
hardware products for the Archimedes range, some of which we have been
anticipating for quite some time. Also, there might even be new machines
from Acorn. But first a history lesson!
4.11
Floppy disc capacity
4.11
Before the Archimedes 300 range was released to the public, way back in
the summer of 1987 (was it really that long ago?) there was a pre-
production model produced for software developers and other lucky
people. A striking feature about this machine, I think it was called the
A500, was that it had a disc controller chip and a floppy disc drive
capable of supporting the high density 2 megabyte (unformatted) discs.
4.11
As we all know, when the production machines appeared, starting with the
model 305, we were back to the 1770 family controller chip running an
ADFS not exceeding 800 kbytes. In the DOS emulation environment, the
maximum floppy disc density was then 720 kbytes. These days that is
pretty prehistoric; Acornæs decision was a retrograde step.
4.11
I think that the only area where this is of crucial importance is in
reading and writing DOS discs Ö and DOS compatibility is vital Ö but
more on that later. So what would we like on the floppy drive front?
Ideally some enterprising company would produce a new floppy disc drive
interface and a high density drive which would replace the machineæs
internal disc drive. Then we would need a modified ADFS supporting 1.6
megabyte capacity and the facility to access high capacity DOS format
discs as well. I understand that one of the öqualityò companies is
working on just such a product. So look out at the Show.
4.11
PC emulation
4.11
By the time you read this, the new PC emulator should be available. This
is the multitasking all-singing all-dancing version we have been waiting
for. Apart from the facility of operating in a window (if you have
sufficient memory for this), other improvements are support for up to
four hard disc partitions, EGA and MDA graphics modes and öpartial
support for VGAò.
4.11
The old version of the emulator provided only CGA graphics. As I
understand it, the reason for this was the speed constraint. Emulating
the DOS screen was a serious speed bottleneck. So one waits in fear as
to the speed of this new emulator operating in the fancy screen modes. I
think things may be speeded up through the use of the Acorn font manager
to supervise writing to the screen under emulation but we will have to
wait and see. What speed increase can be obtained from an ARM3?
Presumably the emulator code has been written with the ARM3 cache in
mind. The turbo RAM of the Archimedes 540 will also give a modest speed
increase; I will have to run some benchmark tests.
4.11
There are some other questions concerning PC emulation. What actual CPU
is being emulated? Is it really still an 8086 or might it now be a æ286?
The emulator will emulate the presence of an 8087 maths coprocessor; a
really good idea.
4.11
DOS cards
4.11
Continuing with the topic of the (anticipated) poor speed of the PC
emulator, brings us to the sore point of DOS ösecond processorò cards.
Again rumours abound, but we all know what happened to Mach Technology
(but do we really know what really happened?). The time and the place to
look must be the October Show. I hope to see at least one company
exhibiting a DOS card.
4.11
There is real potential for some clever design here, so balancing
performance and price could be quite tricky. Although two years ago we
would have been öover the moonò with a æ286 card which made our
Archimedes simply pretend to be an IBM AT, things have now moved on Ö
particularly with the new multitasking emulator. When you consider that
even with a real DOS CPU there is still the problem of screen emulation,
you will realise that a DOS card will need to use a lot of code similar
to that of the software emulator. The DOS CPU could even öhook inò to
the emulator software....Letæs wait and see what the boffins come up
with.
4.11
A few further points to ponder. If the DOS card has a floating point
æx87 chip then this could be commissioned, in the background, to help
the ARM chip in doing its floating point work. Or DOS peripherals could
be accessed by the Archimedes. There are some very exciting possibili
ties for cross-CPU cooperation.
4.11
New machines?
4.11
In past Hardware Columns I have noted the fact that, frequently, third
party add-ons presage features of new Acorn machines. The Aleph One ARM3
add-on was a good example of this as was the Atomwide VIDC enhancer.
4.11
Since Acorn already publish the format specification for high density
ADFS floppy discs in the PRM, it seems likely that if new machines are
to be released, they will incorporate high density floppies. Add to this
the fact that at least one university was reluctant to purchase a suite
of Archimedes machines precisely because high density discs could not be
used. It must be good sense to move in this direction. (Take it from me,
2M floppies are a pretty safe bet. Ed.)
4.11
However, I doubt that we will ever see an Archimedes with an on-board
DOS CPU. I sympathise with the Acorn view of wanting to go forward
rather than backward, but one must be realistic. I think that one of the
advantages of a DOS card will be that confirmed DOS users might be
encouraged to purchase Archimedes machines because it is then an
adequate PC plus a whole lot else.
4.11
Things seem to have gone quiet on the portable front but rumours abound
concerning a new översionò of the A3000 with an ARM3 and 4M of ram, to
be sold at a competitive price. I donæt quite see who this is aimed at;
I would much prefer to see the existing A3000 reduced substantially in
price, together with an extensive and aggressive marketing policy.
4.11
If there are new machines on the way then one might speculate as to
their features. I have already mentioned high capacity floppies but
letæs think about hard discs. ST506 is becoming obsolete and IDE drives
are getting cheaper and cheaper. However, SCSI remains the most
versatile interface. So, at the low end of the market it is possible
that a new A3000-type machine might well incorporate an IDE interface,
possibly with space for fitting an internal drive. If Ethernet were
available at a reasonable price then such a remodelled A3000 could sell
like hot cakes to the öseriousò user.
4.11
Scanning Ö the hard way
4.11
Although I have been lucky in having a chance to try out many hardware
products for the Archimedes, a scanner has not been one of these. I
recently had the need to scan an image for a DTP application, but I had
no scanner. However, a Mac in my laboratory was equipped with a very
sophisticated flat bed scanner. Actually, the scanner had a SCSI
interface as does my office Archimedes (I know what you are thinking! Ö
but the software would be prohibitive).
4.11
This is what I decided to do: I would scan the image on the Mac and
store it in TIFF format on the Macæs hard disc. So far so good; that
worked. Next, I used a product called Apple File Exchange to write the
file, using the Mac, onto a DOS format disc. Eventually that worked. The
problem was that a full A4 page required just over a megabyte whereas
the DOS disc could only hold 720k. (Now you see my interest in high
capacity DOS discs!) I had to content myself with half a page and then I
was able to fit the image file on the disc. Next I loaded up MultiFS on
my Archimedes, inserted the disc and opened up the directory viewer.
There was my file shown on the disc as a PC file. I simply dropped this
file on ChangeFSI and there on the screen was my scanned image ready to
be exported as a sprite into Impression.
4.11
I learned quite a lot from this ordeal. They say that the Mac has the
best user interface going. Rubbish! Using a Mac is like trying to drive
to work on a lawn mower. It is slow, non-intuitive and highly annoying.
I came away fully appreciating the staggering power of my old Archimedes
310. I know that our secretaries become frustrated with the difficulties
they encounter with their Macs; now they certainly have my sympathy.
Unfortunately, I fear that my colleagues would regard it as but another
eccentricity if I were to suggest wholesale conversion to Archimedes.
However, a DOS card just might tip the balance my way.
4.11
ROM speedups
4.11
Last month I wrote of a few potential problems concerning the speeding
up of ROMs by reprogramming the MEMC chip. My 540 has EPROMs and these
certainly wonæt run faster; hopefully the release ROMs will. I thought
there was a problem with one of the 410/1 machines. From time to time
the screen would try to ödisintegrateò. I thought that speeding up the
ROMs was the problem, but it now appears that a marginal VIDC chip was
the culprit. So I have encountered no problems with the ROM speedup.
4.11
Programming EPROMs
4.11
About a year ago there was an announcement from a company calling itself
Racing Car Computers. They were advertising an EPROM programmer for the
Archimedes. In my laboratory all we have is a rather feeble programmer
purchased many years ago for the grand sum of ú20 from a company called
Solidisk (remember them?).  It seems that Racing Car are having
production difficulties so my programmer has not arrived. However, they
did send me a demonstration disc of their software and it looks good.
4.11
It is amazing, but if software follows Acornæs RISC-OS guideline, the
most complex of things can become quite simple to become familiar with.
I looked at the Racing Car code which at present is mostly in Basic. It
certainly is impressive, providing a full range of programming algo
rithms for the various EPROM manufacturers. If you are desperate for an
Archimedes-based EPROM programmer then there is an RS232 driven device
available from Farnell Electronics which has software for driving it
from an Archimedes. However I shall wait for my racing car!ááA
4.11

4.11
CC
4.11
From 4.10 page 30
4.11

4.11
CC
4.11
From 4.10 page 31
4.11

4.11
Matters Arising
4.11
Å    IFDD? Ö The launch of the promised Citizen IFDD drives (Archive 4.7
p57) is a bit up in the air at the moment. Iæm told that the launch of
the 20M drives is being delayed due to discussions in Japan with
competing manufacturers who wish to come out with drives that conform to
a standard. Thatæs good news!
4.11
A 4M drive seems to be coming on stream in that öEDò drives are
appearing in products Ö for example a new jingle player from Soniflex
which stores 16bit audio on 2M (öHDò) or 4M (öEDò) discs. Iæm not told
who the drive manufacturer is but the discs are from Verbatim and are
ú6.15 retail for a 4M formatted disc. Ned Abell
4.11
Å    Public Domain confusion Ö Last month, Robert Chrismas referred to
FontEd as öpublic domainò software. We should point out that this is not
strictly true. Acorn Computers Ltd have allowed us, along with other
Acorn dealers, to distribute FontEd to customers and have allowed us to
make a charge for supplying it but they have not released it into the
public domain Ö it remains the intellectual property of Acorn Computers.
The reasoning behind this is to try to maintain some degree of control
about which version number of the software is available. Newer versions
are made available to those who are doing the distribution.
4.11
(Also, we said that FontEd was available on Shareware 7 Ö itæs not Ö
itæs on Careware 7. That was Edæs fault!)
4.11
Å    Toolkit Plus Ö Following the hint last month (p9) about modifying
Toolkit Plus to make it work on E-format and SCSI, Dave Clare from
Clares Micro Supplies, points out that (a) the modification will not
work correctly in all circumstances and (b) it is not necessary anyway
because version 1.01 of Toolkit Plus, which has been available for about
a year now, deals with E formats and various filing systems. To obtain
your free upgrade, send the original program disc plus an S.A.E. to
Clares.
4.11
Å    Virus Target Ö On this monthæs magazine disc there is a target
application which will report if it has been attacked by a virus and so
help to catch any infection a little earlier. The author also recommends
that users attempt to modify the program themselves to reduce detection
by an invading (and therefore possibly an evading) virus.ááA
4.11

4.11
Chocks Away Extra Missions
4.11
David Markland
4.11
This is a new exciting upgrade to the original Chocks Away flight
simulator from The 4th Dimension. You need the original Chocks Away to
run it and it is copy protected so cannot be used from hard disk. It
contains 16 new maps which includes one that enables you to take off
from underneath a pier. There are new flying conditions which include
blizzards and night flying. The digitised sound has been much improved.
There are over 1000 new targets which include Zeppelin Airships and
extremely large Super-Tankers.
4.11
The vector graphics are improved and you can opt for more detailed, but
slower, graphics while flying which is useful for identifying planes and
taking reconnaissance photos. For long distance flights there is a Fast
Forward option which makes you go 5 times faster, but this can only be
used when there are no enemy targets or planes around. There is also a
graphics outliner which highlights various targets.
4.11
You now have a wide range of views from enemy targets or from the
phantom plane which you can control while watching recorded flights. The
enemy have clever pilots now which make them harder to tail and shoot
down. Some of the missions take a bit of practise but are more fun than
the old Chocks Away ones.
4.11
Chocks Away permits two player games and is easier to use than either
Interdictor 1 or 2. Chocks Away is, however, fairly primitive until
Extra Missions is added. Chocks Away with Extra Missions is not a game
to get bored of quickly and is fairly realistic. My review copy has seen
hours of Éfield testingæ ! If you have the original Chocks Away then you
really should get a copy of this add on since itæs well worth ú20,
although I would recommend taking a look at MiG-29 if you donæt already
have Chocks Away. MiG-29 appears to be a cross between Chocks Away and
Interdictor.
4.11
The serial link option enhances two player games to full screen mode and
is a good idea if you have two Archimedes next to each other. I think
that its a bit bad though that the A3000 doesnæt have a serial port;
unless you buy extra hardware (ú21 per machine) the link up is not
possible. There is an ARM3 option for those who have an upgraded machine
or an A540.
4.11
If I had to give it marks, it would get:
4.11
Sound    8/10
4.11
Graphics    9/10
4.11
Playability    10/10
4.11
Life Span    9/10
4.11
Overall    9/10
4.11
On the whole these look rather good but I have to say that the best
flight simulator I ever played was the one by MicroSoft which I ran on a
386 with a VGA screen and it is miles better than any Archimedes
game.ááA
4.11

4.11
Safesell
4.11
From 4.10 page 5
4.11

4.11
Colton
4.11
From 4.10 page 15
4.11
unless you get some new artwork by Wednesday
4.11
(Or phone them on 0954Ö211472)
4.11

4.11
PipeLine
4.11
Gerald L Fitton
4.11
The most substantial Ématter arisingæ out of last monthæs PipeLine
column is calculating times in hours minutes and seconds (time has not
yet been decimalised!) so that subject, and hence integer arithmetic,
comes in for extensive treatment this month. But first...
4.11
National Curriculum
4.11
Ron Pearcy is the Principal of Irongate School, 17 Donegal Crescent,
Napier, New Zealand. He is still requiring National Curriculum files for
use with PipeDream. In particular, he needs the files for Maths, IT,
Social Studies and English Language. Now, here I have a confession to
make. I remember that someone wrote to me letting me know that all the
National Curriculum files were available through NERIS (an on-line
database which can be accessed directly or through a Prestel gateway). I
filed the letter so carefully that I now canæt find it! I donæt have any
telephone communications equipment which works with the Archimedes (and
Iæve cancelled my subscription to Prestel). I vaguely remember asking
whoever it was if they would download the files and let me have a copy.
I have looked through all the discs I have but I canæt find any NatCurAT
or similar. Anyway, what Iæm getting round to slowly is that, if you do
have a means of accessing NERIS (can they by contacted by post?) and
feel able to help Ron Pearcy then Iæm sure he would like to hear from
you Ö and so would I.
4.11
Ronæs PipeDream samples
4.11
Included on the Archive monthly disc are about a dozen files from Ron
which will be of interest to those of you in education. If only in
return for these files, can you help Ron with his National Curriculum
information?
4.11
Error Ö Filecore in use
4.11
William D Hine runs both Ovation and PipeDream simultaneously and
transfers files from one to the other. This Ébugæ is annoying him and he
would like to hear from anyone else to whom it happens, particularly if
you have even a partial solution. Send your letters to me at Abacus
Training and I will pass them on to William.
4.11
FontMenu module not found
4.11
If you get this error then I have a copy of the module and I can help
you. Drop me a line (or a disc).
4.11
Highlight 3
4.11
See Archive 4.8 p36 for details of this gripe by Peter Nye. Stephen
Gaynor reports that highlight 3 can be used as a general extended
sequence. As an example, suppose öEò is underline on and öRò is
underline off, then 3Eabcdef3R will print abcdef. Note that, in
PipeDream the 3s will appear in inverse video (white on black) when, and
only when, the cursor is in that line.
4.11
Recalculate & print
4.11
Alan Highet complained that, when running a macro which contains
recalculation and printing, the printing sometimes starts before the
recalculation is complete (not what he wants). Stephen Gaynor says this
point was covered by Albert Kitchensideæs article on the January 1991
PipeLine disc. My recollection is that Albert introduced pauses but I
canæt remember how!
4.11
Linking files
4.11
Colton Software insist that linking files are a hangover from before the
days of dependent documents. Although 3.14 is considered Éstableæ and no
upgrade is likely in the near future, how would you feel if V 3.15 did
away with linking files? I shall be interested in your views. Stephen,
like me, thinks that there are some things you can do with linking files
that canæt be done with dependent documents. Have you got any examples
that I can send on to him for his research into this? I will show your
examples to Colton Software if I get enough good ones.
4.11
Macro$Dir
4.11
If you write a macro which needs to find a file which is in the same
directory as your current files, then using the path name <Macro$Dir>
will allow you to copy the whole directory of files to another disc
without having to rewrite the file names within the macro. I need a few
examples of how to implement this idea. Can you help?
4.11
Base 60, 24 and others
4.11
Now to the tutorial but, as usual, please bear with me whilst I build up
to it slowly with a digression or two.
4.11
Most of the sums we all do these days are in base 10, denary. Most of
the sums done by computers are done in base 2, binary. I know quite a
few people who can do sums in base 16, hexadecimal, in their head and,
as youæll see from the next paragraph, not all of them have a degree in
computer studies!
4.11
Hereæs a simple problem in base 16. You have two parcels, one weighs
1lbá14oz and the other weighs 2lbá6oz. What do the two parcels weigh
together? Answer 4lb 4oz.
4.11
You might be one of my more Ématureæ readers who used to do mental
arithmetic in a system which used both base 12 and 20 (or even octal Ö
base 8)! Hereæs a sample question in such a mixture of bases that will
be familiar to our more mature readers. What would have been the cost of
12 gallons of petrol when it was 5sá10d per gallon? The answer is ú3/10/
0d!
4.11
I hope that these two examples show that number bases other than 10
(denary) have been around for some time and that you donæt have to have
been steeped in computers to have used them and to understand them.
4.11
Iæd like to build up gently to a question for the expert. Letæs start by
considering a few properties of numbers in base 10.
4.11
Any fraction can be expressed as either a terminating decimal or as a
recurring decimal. Examples of terminating decimals are 1/4á=á0.25 and
3/20á=á0.15. Examples of recurring decimals are 1/3 which is 0.3333....
and 1/7 which is 0.142857á142857á142857á.... With recurring decimals the
series of numbers goes on for ever. It is possible for you to predict
which fractions will terminate and which will not by resolving the
denominator (the 4, 20, 3 or 7 of the above examples) into their prime
factors. The prime factors of 20áareá2*2*5. Now, here is the rule. If
the prime factors of the base (in our case, base 10, these prime factors
are 2 and 5) are the only factors which occur in the denominator (e.g.
20 which can be made up out of multiplying 2s and 5s) then the decimal
terminates. Because 17 can not be made up out of 2s and 5s the fraction
1/17 does not terminate (1/17 is a recurring decimal having a 16 digit
cycle).
4.11
Now hereæs the first question for the expert. Can the number one tenth
(0.01 in decimal) be stored accurately in a computer which Éworksæ in
binary? Too hard? Hereæs an easier one. Does the fraction one tenth
terminate when expressed in binary? The answer is öNo!ò because 10 is
not a power of 2, one of its factors is 5. Only numbers such as: 1/2, 1/
4, 1/8, 1/16, etc terminate in binary. So, the answer to the expertæs
question is that 0.1 can not be held accurately on a computer which
stores numbers in binary because the non terminating representation has
to be truncated (cut off) somewhere. Look at figure 1 below. I have
added 100 lots of 0.1 in cell A102, in A103 I have subtracted 10 from
A102 and you will see that the Archimedes is short by about
0.00000000000002. This small error, called a truncation error, is the
effect of working in base 2 instead of base 10!
4.11
How then would you prevent a truncation error (in base 2) such as that
of figure 1 which would not occur if you worked in base 10? The answer
is to use binary coded decimal instead of binary! Of course, whatever
base you use, there will always be some fractions which can not be held
exactly. Isaac Newton wanted us to change from a base of 10 to a number
base of 12 for all scientific numerical calculations because he knew it
would reduce truncation errors (12 is divisible by 3). The ancient
Egyptians understood that it would be a good idea to use a base which is
the product of many of the lower value primes. They chose 60 as their
number base because it can be divided exactly by 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12,
15, 20 and 30. It is because the Egyptians chose 60 as their number base
that we, like them, have 60 seconds per minute and 60 minutes per hour.
Whatever other decimalisations occur, I believe it will be a long time
before we change to a decimal system of say 100,000 seconds in a day.
Maybe by then, with everything worked in binary, we will have 64ksec in
a day (ie 64*1024 seconds). Until that binary coded day arrives we will
have to use integer arithmetic with base 60 if we want to preserve
perfect accuracy when doing sums in hours, minutes and seconds.
4.11
Integer arithmetic
4.11
As well as the PipeLine disc contributors Dr Mike Clark and David
Turner, I have had a succinct letter from J V Parker about time
calculations. The tutorial which follows uses many of their ideas plus a
few of my own.
4.11
Figure 2 shows a spreadsheet designed for the addition of times
expressed in hours, minutes and seconds; they are the playing times of
tracks on one of my compact discs. Iæm sure that, when youæve worked
through the tutorial, you will see that the principle employed, of using
only integers in every cell (called integer arithmetic), can be extended
to multiplication, division and even to evaluating functions such as
inverse sine (with the answer in degrees, minutes and seconds of arc).
4.11
If you have the Archive disc then load the file HrMinSec. If not then
you will have to work from figure 2.
4.11
The block C6E9 is made up of numbers (entered as expressions with <F2>).
The formula in cell D12 is sum(D5D10) + D11. Although the numbers to be
added are in rows 6 to 9, I have summed rows 5 to 10. The advantage of
including the two dummy rows (5 and 10) is that you can insert or even
sort the rows 6 to 9 without affecting the sum(D5D10) formula. Dummy
rows of this type are Égood practiceæ in a spreadsheet. The formula in
cell D12 can be replicated to C12 and E12. Cell D11 contains int(E12/
60). The 77 seconds in cell E12 is divided by 60 to convert it to
minutes and decimals of a minute. The function int is the integer part
of the value of (E12/60), i.e. the integer number of minutes, 1, which
has to be carried over into the minutes column. The formula in D11 can
be replicated into C11.
4.11
The formula in cell E14 is mod (E12,60). The function mod is the integer
remainder after dividing E12 by 60 i.e. it is the number of seconds left
from E12 after carrying the minutes over into D11. The formula in E14
can be replicated into D14 and C14.
4.11
As a check, I have used column G to convert the minutes and seconds of
columns C, D and E into seconds (I remember that this is the way I had
to do it at school when I was about 7 years old). Column G is summed in
cell G12 and converted to seconds, minutes and hours in cells E15, D15
and C15 respectively.
4.11
The important concept to grasp is that 77/60 is not stored as
1.28333333333333... minutes (which has to be approximate in both decimal
and binary because of truncation errors) but exactly, by splitting it
into two parts (shades of complex number pairs Ö but more of that
another month), the two parts being 1 minute and 17 seconds where the
numbers 1 and 17 are found by using the PipeDream functions int and mod
(as in the example). The everlasting calendar application which I
devised some years ago (included on the October 1990 PipeLine disc) uses
integer arithmetic in this way but the functions are more complicated.
By the way, Iæm sorry but, on the first few October 1990 discs I
dispatched, the year 2000 (but no other year) is one day out due to an
error in cell W6. In October 1991 I shall be issuing a revised version
of this disc so, if you can wait until then, you can get the corrected
version (plus other Éupgradesæ).
4.11
In conclusion
4.11
If you have an interesting example of integer arithmetic then I shall be
most pleased to hear about it. Please write to me at the Abacus Training
address on the inside back cover of Archive. I would prefer you to send
your application on a disc rather than as printed text. You will get
your disc back, honest!ááA
4.11

4.11
Figure 1
4.11

4.11
Figure 2
4.11

4.11
Arc for the Anxious
4.11
John Oversby
4.11
Resource is an organisation presently supported by the Local Education
Authorities of Humberside and South Yorkshire. In its time it has
produced educational software of a very high standard, aimed at children
from Primary to Sixth Form. Sadly, it is about to be closed down because
of lack of funding and öArc for the Anxiousò will be one of its last
publications. Its loss will be a big blow in the educational world.
4.11
Alison Tyldsley has aimed this booklet at newcomers to the BBC A3000,
although most of the contents will apply to any of the Archimedes range
of machines. It starts from basics such as: This is how to join all of
the equipment together and This is where the mouse fits in, or, This is
what a filer window looks like.
4.11
About half of the booklet is devoted to starting off on the A3000 and
Archimedes machines, in simple language. It received an initial warm
welcome from both adults and pupils in my school. I was surprised to see
that the illustrations, particularly those of screen displays, had been
drawn especially and were not the more realistic versions captured
directly from the screen. I prefer the latter. In seven A4 pages, it
covers connecting things up, windows, disc filing (which it strangely
calls disc structure), resetting the computer, formatting and copying
discs (but not using the RAMdisc) and printing. The section on printing
was, I felt, too brief to be really useful. There were many useful
sections I felt ought to have been included, such as ways of copying
parts of discs and using directories to provide simple screen displays
and saving display time.
4.11
The rest of the booklet is about !Draw and PenDown for the Archimedes.
We use PenDown throughout the school but this package comes with an
excellent User Guide aimed at the right level for beginners, so I do not
think I will be using the Resource version. In place of !Draw, we
frequently use !Draw+ (Careware 13), which we find much better. I have
had to produce my own booklet for this so I think I will stick to that.
4.11
Summary
4.11
If you really are new to the Archimedes then I would choose !Help from
Sherston Software with its helpful disc and sections on !Draw and
!Paint. A good try from Resource but I feel they should try again. It is
certainly not in the same category as its öIT for the Terrifiedò for the
BBC range which was comprehensive and very useful.
4.11
Arc for the Anxious ú4.95 from Resource.ááA
4.11

4.11
Oak
4.11
From 4.10 page 11
4.11

4.11
Chess on the Archimedes
4.11
Rajan Bedi
4.11
After the long awaited arrival of Chess 3D by MicroPower (the authors of
the infamous Dr Who have returned), a comparison between this package
and the popular package marketed by David Pilling could be useful for
potential buyers.
4.11
Chess 3D by MicroPower (v.1.33)
4.11
Chess 3D is packaged in a nice mega sized container, about the size of
two VHS video tapes. My initial reaction to this was, Éthis should be
goodæ, and you can just imagine my horror after opening the packaging Ö
all I found was a disc and a registration card (a severe case of over-
packaging). ÉWhere are the instructionsæ, I thought until I noticed the
small print on the disc label stating that the instructions were present
on the disc.
4.11
The program installs and runs like any standard multitasking application
(RISC-OS required) and will run on a 1Mb machine. The screen display is
quite impressive with most of the screen been taken up by a large three
dimensional traditional chess set. A small overhead view is also
provided which proved to be very useful.
4.11
As is the norm nowadays, you have the option of playing against the
computer or against another homo sapiens. You can even get the computer
to play itself and not only is this fun to watch (particularly with a
three dimensional view), it is also very educational. Micropower have
used a sort of a Étraffic lightæ structure to control the software which
really only becomes obvious after having read the instructions.
4.11
You move by clicking (on the 3D display or the overhead display) on the
square you wish to move from, which then becomes highlighted, and then
on the square you wish to move to. If the move is valid the pieces will
change position and the opponents clock will start. If the move is
invalid a two-tone beep is heard. The computer plays a mean game with
the level being set by allocating how much time the computer has to
respond. Conventions such as ÉEn Passantæ, Castling, Scholaræs Mate and
all piece promotion are catered for.
4.11
The package is excellent for beginners and improvers as well as advanced
players of chess. An edit option is provided allowing imaginary
scenarios to be set up and played. The game can be paused and play can
be resumed from an earlier move or edited and play resumed from this new
position. The user can also force the computer to move as well as having
the option of getting the computer to help in providing suggested
replies.
4.11
As the computer plays, it uses a book of standard openings and moves
which it will follow as long as you match its moves as it expects. If
you donæt, the book icon closes and the computer starts Éthinkingæ about
its next move. MicroPower have left room for more moves to be added to
this book by using the disc drive icon. Both the original or the
customised book can be printed, as can the list of moves of any game.
4.11
On machines with at least 2Mb, up to three games can be played
simultaneously (good for school chess clubs). The program makes full use
of the speed of the Archimedes, although, with three games running
simultaneously, the clocks run slower. Sometimes it can be difficult to
study the three dimensional board, so a lot of use is made of the
overhead view. However, the main board can be rotated by 90░ or 180░ to
overcome this. The program disc is copy protected and the program
functioned incorrectly when my backup copy was executed. However,
Micropower explicitly states that they will replace the disc if you
experience loading problems.
4.11
Conclusions
4.11
Overall, this is an excellent product which has been very professionally
produced and should be a part of your library. I look forward to the
next exciting instalment to be offered by Micropower.
4.11
Chess by David Pilling (V.1.27)
4.11
This chess program marketed by David Pilling installs and runs like any
other multitasking application. Both programs allow you execute some
other task while the computer is Éthinkingæ of a response and will
inform you when it is time for your next move by beeping. It runs on a
1Mb machine and the display is a very good overhead view. The program is
controlled using the standard intuitive menus provided by the Wimp
resulting in software which is very easy to use.
4.11
The game offers the same options as Chess 3D. You can play against the
computer, another human or have the computer battling it out against
itself. Once again, the standard of play is very good with the level
being set by controlling the time in minutes the computer has to make
sixty moves and the number of moves ahead the computer can think.
4.11
Beginners and improvers are also catered for with the same editing
facilities provided by Chess 3D also present in this package. The moves
list can be saved to disc and printed and, like Chess 3D, a game can be
saved and returned to at a later date.
4.11
Conclusions
4.11
This is a very good product and at ú5.99 represents excellent value for
money offering nearly all the facilities provided by Chess 3D.
4.11
Chess 3D vs Chess
4.11
Overall, both products are very good, fully RISC-OS compatible and
suitable for all ability levels. Both packages compare very favourably
with IBM (yuk!) equivalents such as ÉBattlechessæ by Interplay and
ÉChessmaster 2000æ by The Software Toolworks. For value for money, Chess
by David Pilling is unbeatable, and for a few small extras and some nice
graphics then Chess 3D is a good one for your collection.ááA
4.11

4.11
ProTips
4.11
Peter Jennings
4.11
This is a column of hints and tips for users of Protext 5. It is not
intended as a regular feature to rival PipeLine as there are probably
not yet enough users of the Archimedes version of Protext to support it.
Arnor have promised to keep me informed of developments to Protext,
particularly the eagerly awaited RISC-OS version, and I will pass the
details on in future issues of Archive, along with any hints or tips
that pioneering users of this exciting new word processor may care to
send by way of Paul Beverley.
4.11
In the meantime, here are a few hints of my own plus advice on an
irritating bug that has emerged from the software since I completed the
review in last monthæs Archive.
4.11
First the bug, which has suddenly appeared after lying dormant during
three monthsæ constant use of Protext. It shows itself during attempts
to save a file, either manually or automatically, with two messages, one
saying that the file öPROTEXT!Xò or öPROTEXT!Tò cannot be found and the
other: öError creating fileò. More alarmingly, the text sometimes
disappears from the screen. Any further attempt to save brings a öFile
openò message. My description of this as öirritatingò may seem rather
inadequate but, in fact, it is not disastrous and can be dealt with
quite easily. When the message about PROTEXT!X appears just type öcloseò
at the command line, followed by ösò (for save). Your original file name
will then be offered and pressing <return> will duly save it.
4.11
Arnor have not given me any fix for this fault but have just said,
rather uncertainly: öWe think we may have solved the problem in the next
version of Protext.ò Let us hope they have.
4.11
Omissions
4.11
Two strange omissions from Protext, so far, are a function key strip and
an icon. If you dislike the boring default applications icon, or the
blank squares representing files, you can always design your own icons,
using !Paint. First create a directory for them, called !Sprites, inside
the main !Protext directory. Then design an application icon named
!protext and a files icon called file_cdf, with additional small
versions if wanted. Finally, add an initial line to the !Boot file:
öIconSprites <Obey$Dir>.!Spritesò. If you are not sure how to create
icons there are instructions in the chapter on öPaintò in the User Guide
or you can find a set of ready-made sprites in a !Sprites directory on
this monthæs program disc. You can just copy !Sprites into the !Protext
directory but do not forget to add the IconSprites line to the !Boot
file. The ready-mades have a simple öP5ò design, with a border round the
files sprite, but are colourful enough to be readily identified in a
desktop directory.
4.11
A do-it-yourself function key strip is also easily made, either using a
program which provides a template or by starting from scratch with
Protextæs excellent line drawing facility. One made this way is also on
this monthæs disc. It has to be printed in two sections, one below the
other, as Protext can not print down the paper in landscape form. Anyone
who has a wide-carriage printer can copy the second section beside the
first by using the Protext öboxò marking facility.
4.11
Line drawing
4.11
When making a grid by line drawing, the natural way is to begin by
drawing either the horizontal lines or the outside box shape and then
adding the verticals afterwards. If you do it this way, however, you may
find the vertical lines going slightly beyond the outside boundaries. To
correct this, draw the uprights with the up or down arrow key, as
normal, but use one of the horizontal, left or right, arrow keys for the
final stroke before reaching the horizontal boundary. The line will then
turn the corner to make a neat join instead of an intersection. Corners
are drawn in the same way.
4.11
Although Protext comes with 48 printer drivers, there isnæt one for the
very popular Panasonic KX-P1081 printer, which I use. The FX80 printer
driver is suitable for it but will not print line drawings. So the
function key strip needs to have the IBM9 printer driver loaded and one
of the printeræs tiny DIP switches changed. These can be found below and
immediately to the right of the printer head when it is in its öhomeò
position on the extreme left. Lift up the thin strip of clear plastic
covering them and use a small screwdriver or similar implement to push
switch number one, on the extreme left, down (for off). The other
switches can probably be left as set but if you still have a problem try
putting either switch six or seven up (for on).
4.11
Hopefully, Arnor will produce a key strip and their own official icons
when the RISC-OS version of Protext finally appears.
4.11
Obvious when you know
4.11
Finally, a few brief tips of the öitæs obvious when you knowò variety.
You can find your version number of Protext by pressing <escape> and
reading the bar above the command line. This also shows you the current
directory and the selected printer driver.
4.11
The öSwapò line at the top of the colour configuration menu puzzled me
for a time as it does not seem to be explained anywhere. I eventually
discovered that selecting it and pressing <return> shows the colours
used for alternate documents when more than one is loaded.
4.11
It is a good idea to lock the files of templates, such as letter
headings, to prevent them being overwritten if a document you are
working on is automatically saved with the templateæs name. If, for any
reason, you cannot lock the template, load it with the command ömò for
merge instead of ölò for load. The bar at the top of the screen will
show öNo fileò and you will be asked for a name before the document is
saved.ááA
4.11

4.11
Using a Second Floppy Drive
4.11
Tony Colombat
4.11
For those who have strived to purchase a wonderful and powerful computer
such as the Archimedes, with only the minimum of memory and single
floppy disc drive, it is soon apparent that to fully utilise fonts and
several multi-tasking applications that expansion is desirable to
overcome the need to constantly swap discs or copy !System and !Fonts
onto numerous application discs. A second megabyte of memory at around
ú80 (from Archive) is certainly worthwhile and is easy to fit. This
permits an increase in the number of applications to be installed on
Icon Bar, but the disc swapping remains unless memory is traded for a
RAM disc.
4.11
Hard disc versus Second drive
4.11
The purchase of a hard disc is the ultimate desire, and although the
cost for hard discs is coming down, its purchase remains a considerable
investment especially for an A3000. An alternative is to consider
attaching a second drive which can store the main !System modules and
permit the reading BBC DFS or PC format files. This is especially an
attractive proposition if you already have access to a 5╝ö 80 track
double sided disc drive with power supply. If however, you have to
purchase a drive then the ú100 for a 5╝ò drive, or ú138 for a 3╜ö drive
might be better saved towards a hard disc. (We still have a couple of
20M Oak A3000 drive available on special offer Ö see the back of the
Price List for details. Ed.)
4.11
External disc drive interface
4.11
To attach the drive to your Archimedes you will need to purchase a Disc
Interface which is available from various manufacturers ranging from ú12
to ú50. I have not had any success with the ú12 extension on any A3000 I
have tried it with, so be prepared to pay around ú30. It is also
necessary to check that the interface you are about to purchase is
suitable for your machine. My experience has been that the original A310
interface does not work with A400, and A3000 interfaces are different
again. Do check carefully.
4.11
Remember that having added an interface and second drive, the Archimedes
must be re-configured to utilise this drive with;
4.11
   <f12>
4.11
* configure floppies 2  <Return>
4.11
followed by <Ctrl-Break>.
4.11
If any difficulty is experienced in accessing the internal floppy drive,
then it may be necessary to open up the added drive and change the links
from the ö0ò to ö1ò setting. Also, some of the interfaces have a number
of link settings to aid configuration of the various drives, so read the
instructions carefully.
4.11
Using a second drive
4.11
Some people express surprise to find out that a 5╝ö can format 5╝ò discs
to 800k capacity. This is so and I have not found new 5╝ö discs fail any
more regularly than ordinary 3╜ò discs. Older 5╝ö discs will probably be
all right, but I would treat them with more caution and check they are
double sided and double density, i.e. DDDS. Providing these discs format
without difficulty to 800k, I usually use these discs as a means of
backing up my more important 3╜ò discs.
4.11
Use only one !System and !Fonts
4.11
Having formatted a 5╝ö disc to 800k E format for speed, then copy the
!System onto this disc. It will be necessary to check that the !System
has within it all the modules for all the different applications which
you possess and are probably on your separate applications discs.
4.11
Acorn have produced a useful utility called !SysMerge which will do all
the hard work for you of transferring the latest version of modules onto
your main !System. I believe this is available from SID or your local
Acorn Dealer and hopefully may appear on a future Shareware/Careware
disc? Once you are sure that you have your !System sorted out, the
!Systems on your work discs can be deleted. Please note that I said
öwork discsò not the öoriginalsò.
4.11
!Fonts is more difficult as the original !Fonts supplied with the
Archimedes has now been superseded with outline fonts as used by all the
DTP packages and many other applications. These later fonts require a
new Font Manager and other modules. If you do not possess the new
outline !Fonts then the easiest way to obtain them is to purchase a
demonstration DTP disc as supplied by Beebug for öOvationò or Clares
öTempestò. An alternative way is to purchase such software as !Phases
for ú10 from NorthWest SEMERC which will also give you a cheap but
effective DTP package with their version of the Trinity.Medium Font, or
!Draw-Help at ú16 from Sherston Software which comes with two outline
fonts. Additional fonts can be purchased from a variety of sources, most
notably Electronic Font Foundry. Longman Logotron are offering some 12
fancy fonts for ú18. Beware, however, of purchasing fonts and then
realising you are likely to purchase a more expensive DTP application
which will supply !Fonts as part of the package.
4.11
Having obtained a number of fonts, these can be placed within the !Fonts
directory. However, on an 800k floppy disc which also houses !System,
only four families of fonts can be stored. I include the families of
Trinity, Homerton and Corpus plus one fancy font. I find this is
adequate for most DTP requirements but designing posters using fancy
fonts requires more organisation.
4.11
I am not sure that it is a good idea to add your printer driver to this
main System Disc, as by now it is becoming crowded and some space is
necessary to permit the correct transfer of data between multi-tasking
applications.
4.11
Operating with the second drive
4.11
Having set up the System Disc, keep it in the second drive and, on
starting up your machine, click on the second drive icon and then
immediately close the viewer window. The Archimedes now knows where to
find the !System and !Fonts so that other applications can be loaded as
required. Without !System and !Fonts on each of your applications discs,
more space is available for storing your files and far less disc
swapping is required.ááA
4.11

4.11
Scan-Light Junior 256
4.11
Robert Chrismas
4.11
(It is convenient to talk about scanning Épicturesæ but in this article
Épicturesæ includes cartoons, printed and written text.)
4.11
The Scan-Light 256 is a hand held grey scale scanner produced by
Computer Concepts. The complete package costs about ú260 and includes
the MHá105AL scanner, an expansion board, a disk and two manuals.
4.11
The manuals
4.11
The Scan-Light Plus manual (34 A5 pages including index) deals with the
Scan-Light software and the general principles of scanning. It also
includes some excellent advice on getting the best out of your scanner.
4.11
The Scan-Lightá256 manual (16 A5 pages) covers fitting the expansion
board and details specific to the MH105ALá256 scanner.
4.11
Both manuals are clear and together they cover all you need to know to
use the scanner successfully.
4.11
The scanner
4.11
The chief difference between this scanner and all the other hand held
scanners I have seen is that this one can produce true grey scale scans.
4.11
Scanners which do not produce grey scale scans can still be used to
reproduce pictures with grey scales. The scanner represents different
shades of grey as patterns of black and white dots. This is called
Éditheringæ. Additional software, usually provided with the scanner, can
then average the patterns of dots to produce grey scales. This is called
Ésamplingæ. Since it takes a number of black and white dots to produce
each grey scaled dot there is some loss of definition, but if the
picture is also reduced in size, the result can look acceptably sharp.
4.11
The Scan-Light 256 can scan a strip up to 105 mm wide. The length of the
strip depends on the memory available. It can be set to scan from 100 to
400 dots per inch.
4.11
Scanning modes
4.11
There are four scanning Émodesæ.
4.11
The ÉMæ mode scans all shades as either black or white. It is useful for
scanning text and black and white line drawings. Computer Concepts says
ÉMæ stands for Émonochromeæ Ö an unusual use of the word Émonochromeæ
which usually describes a picture with many different shades of the same
colour. Strictly speaking, all the modes produce a Émonochromeæ scan.
4.11
The ÉDæ mode produces a dithered image. This is how most hand held
scanner represent greys. There is no reason to use this mode since the
grey scale modes produce better results.
4.11
The É4æ and É8æ modes produce 16 and 256 grey scale images respectively.
4.11
The É8æ mode is not able to use the full width of the scanner at 300 or
400 dots per inch. At 400 dots per inch it can only scan a strip 52mm
wide.
4.11

4.11

4.11

4.11

4.11

4.11

4.11

4.11
Quality of the image
4.11
For some pictures, the Scan-Light 256 does not produce better results
than a cheaper Éditheringæ scanner. Provided the resolution is the same,
both types of scanner will produce identical results from black and
white images. Pictures with grey scales can be reproduced perfectly
satisfactorily with a Édithering scanneræ if the size of the picture can
be reduced significantly but the sampling values may have to be set more
carefully.
4.11
For pictures with a wide range of grey scale which must be reproduced
without significant reduction in size, the Scan-Light 256 produces
significantly better results than comparable Édithering scannersæ.
4.11
The software
4.11
So far as I can tell, the software is common to all Scan-Light scanners.
4.11
Most scanned images benefit from some form of processing, even if only
to crop the image. You often need to change the size and even grey scale
images can benefit from sampling to increase the range of the grey
scales. Despite the care you take in setting the brightness, the image
may be too dark or too light or you may wish to increase or reduce the
contrast.
4.11
The Computer Concepts software is easy to use and it offers a wide range
of facilities. It allows repeated attempts at sampling a scanned image
so you can alter the size of the sampling areas or adjust the number of
grey scales in the Éoutputæ sprite.
4.11
One of the most useful facilities is the ability to control the Égrey
mapæ. When an image is sampled, a number is calculated which represents
the average brightness of each small area of pixels. The grey map gives
you complete control over the grey shades onto which these numbers are
mapped. So you can easily change the contrast or make the whole picture
lighter or darker. You could even invert the picture to produce a
photographic negative effect.
4.11
The software also includes the facility to use this scanner and a Laser
Direct printer as a kind of photocopier. I have not tested this.
4.11
Possible problems
4.11
To get the best results with a hand held scanner, you need a steady
hand. Motor driven scanners remove this problem but most can only scan
single sheets of paper so you cannot scan an image directly from a book.
4.11
All scanners suffer from patterning. Printed pictures which use grey
scales or colours are made of patterns of tiny dots. These dot patterns
can create interference patterns when they are scanned. The manual
offers helpful advice for avoiding patterning. Incidentally, photographs
do have continuous grey tones and the results of scanning photographs
are usually excellent.
4.11
All the scanners I have seen seem to use a green light. Because of this,
faces which have pink shades tend to become darker when they are
scanned. Careful adjustment of the grey map usually corrects this.
4.11
If you have never fitted an extension board you may be a little hesitant
about fitting. The whole job takes less than five minutes though this is
assuming the computer has a backplane fitted Ö only A310æs do not have
one as standard. My worst problem was unplugging enough leads from the
back of my Archimedes to slide it out from under its shelf.
4.11
High resolution grey scale sprites need lots of memory, I would not
recommend using this scanner with computers of less than 2Mbytes.
4.11
Conclusions
4.11
It is worth thinking about what you want to use a scanner for because
you may find that a motor driven scanner (e.g. A4 Scan-Light Plus +
Sheet-feeder, Archive price ú434 + ú107), or a cheaper Éditheringæ
scanner (e.g. Scan-Light Junior, Archive price ú209 Ö but see below)
meets your requirements more closely. If, like me, you want to be able
to produce acceptable scans from a wide variety of types of picture this
scanner is good value at an Archive price of ú245.
4.11
This scanner is very versatile and it has produced excellent results
with everything I have used it for so far. It seems to be reliable, it
works as specified and the software which accompanies it is excellent.
4.11
(We have rather over-stocked on Scan-Light Juniors so weære selling them
off (both A300/400 and A3000 versions) for ú195 on a first-come-first-
served basis. Ed.)ááA
4.11

4.11
Most hand held scanners scan greys as dithered black and white dots.
Sampling then converts back to grey scales.
4.11

4.11

4.11
The Scan-Light 256 scans greys as greys.
4.11

4.11
The picture on the left was produced with the Scan-Light 256, the
picture on the right was produced with the Scan-Light Junior, a 400 DPI
dithering hand held scanner.
4.11

4.11
The Scan dialogue window
4.11

4.11
PRES Disc Interface and DFS
4.11
Graham Evans & Tony Colombat
4.11
Somewhere along the line I ended up with two reviews of these products
so Iæve started with the one that arrived first (Grahamæs) and then
added extracts from Tonyæs where it added something to Grahamæs review.
4.11
The package under review consisted of two items which are available
separately: PRES A3K6 (ú48. 95), a disc interface expansion card which
allows up to three extra 3╜ö or 5╝ò drives to be connected to an A3000
and PRES A3K12 (ú19.95), a 65Host DFS and a DFS Filer which consists of
a ROM and disc. The ROM is fitted to the A3K6 card so you cannot buy it
separately. In my case, the ROM had already been fitted.
4.11
Fitting the card
4.11
The Disc Interface Card came with two pamphlets, one of eight A5 pages,
the other a single sheet of A5 but the latter proved to be important
during fitting. The card came with the standard warning about fitting
and invalidating your warranty but I decided to try it myself.
4.11
The instructions were clear and concise and the fitting was straightfor
ward. Bear in mind that this was only the second time I had opened the
computer. After reassembling, I typed in *H. Modules as instructed in
the manual and saw that several new modules had been installed,
including Drivelatch.
4.11
I connected my double, 5╝ö drives to the mains and the ribbon cable to
the new connector at the back of my A3000 and typed in *CO. Floppies 3
and I had three floppy drive icons on the left hand side of the icon
bar.
4.11
Two drives called 0?
4.11
I clicked on Drive 0 and was greeted by the error message ÉDrive emptyæ.
I tried the other drives but got the same message. I rang PRES who were
most helpful. They explained that my double disc drives were set as 0
and 1, so the computer now thought I had two drives with the same name.
I had to change the links on the drives. They explained what to do and
it didnæt seem too hard so I tried it. I opened the disc drives and
looked for links with the numbers 0, 1, 2 or 3 by them. I soon found
them and changed my drives to 1 and 2. Ready to try again!
4.11
Links on the interface board
4.11
The drives were reassembled and I tried again, but got the same error
message. Another phone call to PRES and they suggested changing the
links on the board. I referred to the single sheet of A5 Ö there were
four links that could be changed. I opened the computer up again and, by
following the instructions plus a bit of by trial and error, I got the
drives to work. I changed the setting on link 34 so that all drives give
a ready signal and used link 4B which means that all external drive
lights come on when any drive is accessed Ö but at least it works!
4.11
The good news
4.11
The Drivelatch module allows any drive to be configured as Drive 0. The
default is Drivelatch 0123 8. Eight meaning 80 track, the other numbers
referring to drive numbers. Typing *CO. Drivelatch 2 0 1 would have the
effect of configuring Drive 2 as 0, Drive 0 as 1 and Drive 1 as 2. This
would be useful for running discs that have to be in Drive 0, but there
are numerous possibilities for this feature. The double stepping
features are implemented by adding 4 after the drive numbers and this
worked very well. The manual explains the many possibilities of these
features.
4.11
A3K12 and DFS software
4.11
This comes as a ROM and a disc but it was already fitted to the card I
had Ö thank goodness!
4.11
The disc had version 1.04 of !65Host and !DFSFiler on it. I also used
version 1.06, the most recent, but could not see any differences.
4.11
The DFSFiler is multitasking and is very good. It allows you to drag
part or all of a DFS disc to an ADFS disc and the whole process takes
seconds. I also dragged View files directly into PipeDream.
4.11
The Filer assigns programs with the appropriate SETTYPE code so that the
various parts of a program do not appear as little white squares. There
were occasions when this did not work but I prefer this method to
leaving the programs blank and expecting me to *SETTYPE each square.
4.11
!65Host starter
4.11
This provides a 65Host icon on the right hand side of the icon bar,
initially it will be grey. Opening a directory viewer with !65Host
changes the colour, clicking on the icon provides a full DFS on DFS
Drive 0 Ö in my case with three drives it was Drive 2 but with two
drives it would be Drive 1. If you are not happy with this arrangement
you can assign DFS Drive 0 to any of the drives with a simple * command.
Double stepping is available within the DFS by typing *STEP40.
4.11
Running BBC software
4.11
Having my Drive 2 as DFS Drive 0 worked very well. The majority of
software I use in the primary school where I teach runs including
4Mation and Sherston software. I also loaded in ROM images such as Logo,
Edword and View using the *SRLOAD command and all the programs could be
loaded from <shift-break> as on the BBC.
4.11
Conclusion
4.11
The Disc Interface Expansion Card seems sturdy and easily fitted. Had I
any prior knowledge of disc drives being assigned numbers, I could have
saved a lot of problems for myself. Also, if the possibility of having
to change the links on the interface card had been documented, I would
again have saved time and effort. If in doubt, have it fitted by a
dealer but donæt forget to get them to check the settings on the
additional disc drives. The Drivelatch module is extremely useful as is
the double stepping feature and I would not like to be without it for
lots of reasons.
4.11
The !65Host and DFS Filer were most welcome. I can run most of my school
software and the method of loading the program is identical to that used
in school i.e. <shift-break>.
4.11
The Filer is very good Ö dragging View files into Pipedream and seeing
the text exactly as it was, is quite a relief! I was also pleasantly
surprised that I could convert a lot of programs to 3╜ö ADFS by simply
dragging them over. Both items are well worth the money but remember
that you cannot use the DFS ROM unless you have the board fitted.
4.11
(Caution Ö I wanted to have an internal IDE hard drive fitted but, with
the PRES interface fitted, there is no room.)
4.11
And now, here are some comments from Tony Colombat....
4.11
Using the interface
4.11
The interface may be used to access an extra 800k drive whether this be
5╝ö or 3╜ò. This is very useful for those without a hard disc and
warrants an article in itself. (See the separate article written by Tony
on page 23.) However for many educationally/business institutions, the
value of the attachment of a 5╝ö drive is to enable them to read BBC B
DFS or PC discs and transfer their files to Archimedes ADFS format. Any
public domain software such as the DFS reader supplied by NCS (Shareware
2 or 31) or !PCDir (Careware 7) can be used to transfer files. Here,
however, a word of warning, for I have yet to find PD software which
reads 40 track discs correctly. Even if the drive is a switchable 40
track, or if the PRES DriveLatch command is used Ö the disc is not read.
The moral appears to be, ensure the files are on an 80 track disc or
order PRES DFSFiler software which will read 40 track DFS discs
correctly. (Öánot all 40 track discs, in our experience. Ed.).
4.11
The DFSfiler software
4.11
........ The limitation of the software is that discs can only be read,
and not written to, so if you wish to swap a file from ADFS to DFS
format this is not possible. To achieve this transfer, the ArcDFS
software from Dabs Press would be more useful.
4.11
With the new ROM fitted to the disc interface card, then on starting up
the computer, a greyed out BBC Icon appears on the right side of the
icon bar. This turns to its correct colours when the !65Host is spotted.
From now on, clicking on this icon will run the !65Host and the BBC
Emulator takes over the A3000. The claim from PRES is that protected
software may now be run on the A3000. Certainly my attempts at running
some old protected BBC öBò games did work without problem. I did
experience two difficulties, however. The first was that 40 track
software would not work without using the BBC Master command ö*drive 0
40ò. This was despite using a switchable 40/80 track drive and the
DriveLatch command to force double stepping. Only the above command
would work. Pressing <Break> resulted in having to retype the command
and so discs could not be started with <Shift-Break>. The second problem
was that I could not write to a disc and therefore the ability of using
BBC öBò original software which must write to a disc at any time under
the emulator was lost.
4.11
Conclusion
4.11
At over ú50 the disc interface buffer appears expensive but it is very
well made. For those people who wish to use their old BBC Software then
the DFSfiler at over just ú20 enhances the interface bearing in mind the
limitations mentioned. I have used the interface and software a great
deal and found it far more reliable than other such similar interfaces
so I feel I can recommend it.
4.11
PRES A3000 Disc Interface ú48.95 + VAT and PRES DFSfiler ú19.95+VAT.ááA
4.11

4.11
Multi-Media Column
4.11
Ian Lynch
4.11
The first thing I would like to do in this monthæs column is correct a
mistake in last monthæs piece about Avanti. The price of Avanti to non-
education users is ú2,150 not ú5,000 as I stated. The ú5,000 figure is
the price for Authorware Professional on a Mac, but even this may have
been revised recently. My apologies to Westland.
4.11
While on the subject of Avanti, I have been invited to Westland to have
a more detailed look at the product and so I should be able to give you
some ideas about its potential next month.
4.11
The Multi-Media Show
4.11
The Multi-Media Show was a little disappointing in that most of the
offerings were very similar to each other. The main thing which struck
me about the show as a whole was the increasing presence of presence of
Unix and X-windows.
4.11
One of the multi-media öbuzz wordsò is öparticipativeò activities and
these are supposed to make the user participate with the application
rather than simply interact by giving simple responses to options. I
suppose virtual reality is the ultimate participation. I did not see
much participation at Olympia Ö just the same tired salesmen trying to
catch the eyes of prospective customers with some flashy animations.
4.11
High quality video in a window
4.11
Every stand seemed to have a Unix X-Server running live video in a
window with the ability to digitise frames and resize the windows
distorting the image. On Sunæs stand I asked one of the demonstrators
about the product and he said that it involved adding a special
interface which did most of the work and so the machineæs processor was
relatively free to do other things. The price? ú8,000. öNot my most
immediate priority for an add-onò, thinks Ian. The system should be
portable to the R260 but when I went onto Acornæs stand I was in for a
pleasant surprise. Jim Irlam of Irlam Instruments had what looked like
an identical system running in a RISC-OS window. öShould be able to
retail at about the ú1000 markò, says Jim.
4.11
Without a detailed review, it is difficult to make comparisons but this
strikes me as another example of non-Archimedes users having to öpay
through the noseò for their add-ons. Well, such is life.
4.11
So what good is live video in a window? First, I must point out that the
quality of the image is superb and far better than the usual digitiser
images one usually sees. Secondly, it would be possible to run the video
and sequence other applications in other windows around it since, unless
the window is rescaled, the ARM is free from any overheads in displaying
the pictures. This is just another step towards the integration of video
technology and computer graphics applications at steadily lower prices.
4.11
Colour scanning
4.11
Another interesting new item from Irlam is an A4 colour scanner. This is
a Sharp device like their A6 scanner and produces higher quality
pictures more quickly. Clares also produce an A4 scanner based on Epson
technology and rumour has it that Iota are working in this direction
too. All these scanners are expensive (around ú2,000) but they can
produce 24 bit colour images which means that each of red, green and
blue has 255 possible levels giving umpteen million possible shades
instead of being restricted to 64 colours each with 4 levels of tint as
is the case with the current RISC-OS display. If the Archimedes is to
compete with the Mac and high-end PCs in applications involving colour
graphics, some inexpensive solutions to the Archimedesæ rather limited
(by current standards) graphics capability will be needed.
4.11
At this point, you may be wondering why companies are producing 24 bit
scanners for a computer with an 8 bit display. Perhaps they know of
developments we donæt, but in any case, obtaining a best fit 8 bit image
from 24 bit data generally gives better results than trying to match 8
bit data to 8 bit data. ChangeFSI and Translator both do a good job of
converting 24 bit data to 8 bit images.
4.11
Colour scanning and digitising is becoming increasingly important in
presentation applications which make use of still and animated graphics.
4.11
Eidos
4.11
Another interesting development on the Acorn stand was the Eidos project
Ö a video editing system which digitises and compresses video, storing
25 frames a second onto an optical drive. Any particular frame can be
retrieved in under a second with any amount of the recording cut and
pasted between windows rather like a word-processor but using video
frames. Over an hour of video can be saved to a single removable disc.
4.11
Eidos will be of use primarily as an off-line system which can be used
to experiment and quickly version a final film. The film on tape can
then be run and edited on the basis of the digital version. Unfor
tunately, the quality of the pictures after being digitised and
compressed is not high enough to use Eidos as a direct method of editing
video Ö well, not yet. The principle is, however, established and all
that is needed is more processing speed and greater storage in order to
make broadcast quality editing a reality.
4.11
New names
4.11
I now read that multi-media should be referred to as integrated media. I
suppose that a system which supports audio, video, text etc is multi-
media even if the various applications run separately. Integrating the
media is probably a better description of how to make a machine with
multi-media capability really useful. The key to doing this is through
software, and RISC-OS provides many advantages which make life easier
for the media integrationists.
4.11
Next month, I will be able to give a much better account of Avanti and I
have been trying to contact Logotron about Magpie. I will also get back
to Genesis II and explain some of the script language. Please write in
if you have any views. If you donæt, I will have to just follow the
lines which interest me!ááA
4.11

4.11
Language Column
4.11
David Wild
4.11
It is interesting to see that the debate about ÉCæ is springing up again
in some of the American magazines such as Byte. The June issue had a
letter claiming that difficulties with the language were at the bottom
of some of the famous debacles such as the original version of dBASE IV
and release r of Lotus 123.
4.11
At the same time, Paul has passed on to me a letter complaining about an
article in Archive 4.9 p32 which appeared to press the claims of Basic
as against ÉCæ. In the letter was the phrase öanti ÉCæ bigotsò but, to
be fair to the writer, he did refer to öpro ÉCæ bigotsò further down.
4.11
As regular readers will know, I am not enthusiastic about ÉCæ but I
would like to make it clear what the case against the language is. It is
not that ÉCæ cannot be made to do things; the work of David Pilling and
Hugo Fiennes shows that very good work can be done by dedicated
programmers. The complaint is that you need to be a very good programmer
to be able to use it properly. This is because of the flexibility that
is, rightly, seen as one of the main advantages of the language.
4.11
I feel that an appropriate analogy is with the activities of Motor Rally
drivers. They can do all sorts of things with high-powered sports cars;
including turning them over at high speeds and walking away from the
wreckage. The fact that they can do this doesnæt mean that their sort of
car, and driving, is suitable for the majority of drivers that use the
ordinary roads.
4.11
A language as flexible, and with as few restraints, as ÉCæ needs very
careful checking; and my own experience together with that of reviewers
in both Archimedes and PC magazines tends to suggest that checking of
programs is often very much neglected. It is tedious work whereas
writing programs is very much more interesting.
4.11
There was an article related to this in the July issue of öComputer
Shopperò where the writer complained of the uselessness of Beta testing.
His complaint is that the testers donæt dare to let ordinary users get
at the programs or dare to use it on the data that matters to their
company. This tends to mean that one or two interesting bits are looked
at, but it doesnæt get the sort of test that matters.
4.11
This problem applies to programming in all languages but my feeling is
that, in an ideal world, a programmer wouldnæt be allowed a ÉCæ licence
until he or she had proved his commitment to proper testing and checking
of all programs.
4.11
I recently visited the Unix Show at Olympia and was given a copy of an
American magazine called öComputer Languageò which I found to be very
interesting, but Iæm not sure how it can be purchased in this country.
An amusing touch is that two of the main articles in the June issue are
öHow to reverse engineerò and öProtect your code from Hackersò. I donæt
know if the authors have read one anothersæ work.
4.11
!Charm
4.11
I have just received an updated disk from David Pilling with the latest
version of this interesting language. Peter Nowosad, the author of the
program, has produced a tutorial which makes access to the language very
much easier. At only ú5.99 it is very well worth buying.
4.11
Smalltalk
4.11
At last there is an advertisement for Smalltalk for the Archimedes, but
Iæm afraid that most of us will not be trying it for some time yet
because the price, in the August öAcorn Userò is ú795 + VAT! The
advertisers, IDEA/Magrathea of 6, Falcon View, Winchester SO22 4EP
mention educational discounts, so it might be a reasonable proposition
for a university or college. I shall be asking them for more details
when I come back from holiday at the beginning of August.ááA
4.11

4.11
Small Ads
4.11
Å    2nd internal drive and front panel for A310 ú60, and a Roland MT-32
multi timbre sound module ú250.  Contact John on 0902Ö674672.
4.11
Å    600 dpi laser printing service offered by North Norfolk Computer Club.
Phone Roy for details on 0263Ö70Ö669.
4.11
Å    A310 with Acorn 20M drive ú550. RISC-OS P.R.M. ú69. ANSI C rel 3 ú99.
Citizen laser printer ú350. Phone 0256Ö892008.
4.11
Å    Beebug Scavenger scanner with sheet feeder ú150. Panasonic KX-P3131U
daisy wheel printer ú60. Psion Organiser XM ú45, Acorn DTP ú25, Atelier
ú15, System Delta Plus ú10, The Real McCoy ú10, Ibix the Viking ú10,
Inertia ú5. Phone John on 0483Ö502507.
4.11
Å    Brother HR-15 daisywheel printer with 3 wheels + ribbons ú200,
Interword ú15, Intersheet ú15, Interchart ú10, Spellmaster ú25, all
original on disc for Archimedes. Phone William on 081Ö989Ö2666.
4.11
Å    Computerware hard disk podule, Atomwide 4-slot backplane with fan,
Acorn 2nd Floppy drive upgrade for 300 series, and a Morley Teletext
decoder for Archimedes with optional power supply for sale. Offers to
Chris Walker on 0953Ö604255.
4.11
Å Digitiser Ö Pineapple extended colour version, 16 bits per pixel,
512x256 pixels, full width podule. Cost ú362, as new, sell for ú225.
Phone Ned Abell  029922Ö249.
4.11
Å    Epson LQ1060 wide carriage 24 pin + Ace RISC-OS colour printer driver.
Parallel & serial interfaces. Offers please. Phone 081Ö642Ö3012.
4.11
Å    Free to anyone who can collect them Ö various issues of A & B
Computing, Micro User, Acorn User and Your Computer (1982 to 1990 about
80 issues in total). Michael Porter, 6 Summer Road, Thames Ditton,
Surrey. Phone 081Ö398Ö6401.
4.11
Å Genlock Ö Arvis videocontroller podule without plug-in encoder board
so takes RGB out and in. As new, cost ú339, sell for ú215. Phone Ned
Abell  029922Ö249.
4.11
Å    Oak SCSI 70Mb hard disc with interface card ú450 o.n.o. Phone
0276Ö20575 after 6 p.m.
4.11
Å    Plymouth User Group. Anybody interested in forming and A3000 or
Archimedes user group in the Plymouth area? If so please send an SAE to
David Heath, 26 Luxmore Close, Leigham, Plymouth, Devon, PL6 8NX.
4.11
Å    Presenter II with hot links ú30 (unregistered), Flying Start II ú15
(unregistered), Genesis ú35 (unused), PC Emulator (MS-DOS) ú40. Phone Mr
Thompson on 0332Ö701969.
4.11
Å    SF & Fantasy PD. 4M of data on 3 discs ú4. David Jones, 160 Hazelwood
Drive, St Albans, Herts AL4 0UZ.
4.11
Å    System Delta + ú30, Atelier ú45, Artisan 2 ú25, Impression Junior ú50,
Schema ú65, Orrery ú55, WorraCAD ú50, Poster ú50, GraphBox ú40,
GammaPlot ú25, Watford 400 dpi hand scanner ú75, Watford video digitiser
Mk 2 ú125, Morley 1Mbyte RAM (A3000) ú50. All perfect. Phone
09274Ö20651.
4.11
Charity Sales Ö The following items are available for sale in aid of
charity. PLEASE do not just send money Ö ring us on 0603Ö766592 to check
if the items are still available. Thank you.
4.11
(If you have unwanted software or hardware for Archimedes computers,
please send it in to the Archive office. If you have larger items where
post would be expensive, just send us details of the item(s) and how the
purchaser can get hold of them.)
4.11
User Guides ú1 + ú3 postage, Herewith the Clues ú8, Apocalypse ú12,
ArcWriter ú3, PC Emulator 1.34 (not upgradable) ú25, Serial Interface/
buffer for Epson FX80 ú12, Arcscan 2 ú4, InterWord (Disc) ú15, AlphaBase
ú18, Revelation ú35.ááA
4.11

4.11
Tracer Ö A First View
4.11
Ian OæHara
4.11
We are giving Ian a chance to öhave a goò at Tracer and then Ian Lynch
is going to act as referee Ö see the following article. Ed.
4.11
One of my main uses for my computer is to produce worksheets for school.
These need pictures and so I purchased a scanner. Fine, except for the
fact that bit-mapped graphics tend to use up vast amounts of memory.
Even 4Mb isnæt so large once one starts using 300-400k sprites. The
answer to this was Draw files. The problem then is how to convert
sprites into Draw files. One simple solution is to hand trace the
sprites but hand tracing is slow and tedious. Spending a whole evening
hand tracing sprites for a worksheet is marginally more interesting than
watching paint dry.
4.11
At the Acorn User show last Autumn, I thought I had found the answer to
all my prayers. Midnight Graphics were demonstrating a new program
called Tracer which would do the work for me. I was told it was only in
the development stages, but it looked very impressive. After various
pestering phone calls, I was finally told it would be available at BETT.
Along to BETT I went, official order clutched in my sweaty palm. A
demonstration was asked for and given. The program did all the things
asked of it. There was no manual available at that stage, but I was told
that it was so simple I didnæt need one. I parted with the schoolæs cash
and took a copy home.
4.11
The application was very easy to start. I simply double clicked on it
and it sat happily on the icon bar. Now to test it. Sprites are loaded
by dragging them onto the icon. Two windows opened, one for the sprite
and the other for the Drawfile-to-be. I remembered being told that
Tracer would only automatically trace monochrome images (that means just
black and white, no greys or anything else), so I loaded Paint and drew
a black box and a few black lines. Tracer made a real mess of these.
There were no right angles in the place. Time to try and remember what
the various options were.
4.11
The tracing is controlled by various parameters which can set and
altered. These are:-
4.11
1)    Sample rate Ö determines how close the trace will follow the
border of the sprite.
4.11
2)    Close Ö the distance between control points. The smaller the
value, the more closely it will follow kinky lines.
4.11
3)    Smooth Ö changes the angle at which tracer will smooth the joining
of two lines to make a smooth curve.
4.11
4)    Passes Ö the number of times Tracer will go over a sprite. The
greater the number, the more detail is picked up.
4.11
I changed these but never got Tracer to turn a sprite box into a draw
box. A simple shape and yet it couldnæt do it. I quote from the manual
öOne noticeable Éfeatureæ of Tracer is that it does not appear to
perform very well on the corners of rectangles.ò I havenæt found it too
good with straight lines either.
4.11
So it didnæt like boxes. The next task I gave it was tracing a mode 15
sprite of a care bear. I was told it would trace coloured sprites, but
they had to be done manually. This simply involves clicking on a
coloured area and just that area is traced. The computer was in mode 15
and I dragged the sprite into Tracer. Tracer decided it didnæt like the
colours and changed them. It appears that Tracer will only accept the
standard 16 colour desktop palette. As yet, I have not found anything in
the manual to tell me how to get real colours. Another bad start, but at
least the sprite had plenty of curves.
4.11
I clicked on the bear and Tracer went to work. The outline looked
reasonable. Next the sky and again Tracer went to work. Problem. The two
boundaries didnæt match and there were many large white gaps. OK, so the
manual tells me that the Draw files may need cleaning up, but what is
the point when the cleaning up takes longer than tracing the whole thing
by hand in the first place?
4.11
Tracer does have facilities to turn coloured and grey-scale sprites into
black and white images for automatic tracing. It even has a clean option
which removes odd pixels which cause noise and complicate tracing.
4.11
Just before Easter, I received the latest version of Tracer and the
manual. There was no appreciable difference in the results produced by
the two versions I have had. Having the manual was nice as it told me
what the various options meant and it admitted that the program did not
always do a perfect job by suggesting that one might need to take the
file into Draw to clean it up.
4.11
Tracer will cope with very complex black and white sprites quite well. I
traced some sprites from one of Beebugæs PD discs. These consisted of
images that looked as thought they had been scanned from a book on D&D.
The results were very good and I would never have attempted to trace
such sprites by hand. Unfortunately, the Draw files produced by this
were larger than the original bitmaps which isnæt too helpful!
4.11
I find it very difficult to recommend this package in the way some of
the magazines have done. The task it has to perform is not easy but for
ú50 or so I would have expected it to perform considerably better.ááA
4.11

4.11
Tracer Ö An Overview
4.11
Ian Lynch
4.11
Because of all the controversy over Midnight Tracer, I volunteered to
look at the letters that had been sent to Paul and then to use that
information, in conjunction with my own experience of the package, to
clarify certain points.
4.11
The manual
4.11
The manual I received certainly is not very professionally turned out.
The statement that it was printed at 600 dpi on a LaserDirect was
laughable Ö not to say that I disbelieve it, but the photocopying of the
laser copy has completely negated any advantage of hi-res printing. Also
the paper quality is not sufficient for this type of document. There are
6 sheets in the manual and using high grade paper such as Mellotex
should not have increased the price significantly. In fact, on a run of
600 it would almost be feasible to simply print the whole lot on the
laser printer if decent copying facilities were not available!
4.11
The content of the manual is reasonable and explains the procedures
quite well. Owing to the variability of results, more comment on
limitations would have been useful. The process of converting sprites to
vector graphics is certainly not trivial and there are control pro
cedures involved which, despite being reasonably well explained, require
a lot of time and practice to make the adjustments needed to get the
best results.
4.11
Sometimes, good results are just not achievable (I think) and in this
situation the user goes through self-doubt wondering whether it is the
software or lack of aptitude which is the problem. In one sense, the
software and documentation is at fault if this situation arises. On
modern computer systems, the user interface and documentation should be
good enough for an average user to obtain satisfactory results without
devoting the rest of his life to the task. On the other hand, there are
some applications which are complex and will take some learning. A
beginner would be unwise to buy ANSI C and expect to have it mastered in
an evening. Tracer is an inbetween product and it is not primarily the
content of the manual that is at fault or the user interface, but the
fact that Tracer is better on some subject matter than others which is
confusing to a new user.
4.11
The program
4.11
This brings me to the software itself. There have been a lot of
complaints about Tracer not being able to do what is claimed. Tracer
does indeed convert sprites into drawfiles and manages to do so quite
quickly and painlessly. I have found the best results with simple line
art of the type found in childrenæs comics. I have provided some
examples of drawfiles produced from images which originated using
Scanlight Plus. These were considerably reduced in the data space taken
up and allowed flood fills of some areas and other manipulation. I also
scanned my signature and turned it into a satisfactory drawfile.
4.11
Where I found Tracer pretty useless was in converting large complex
images with lots of half-toning. Tracer actually made a reasonable
attempt at some of these, but there were so many objects in the
resulting picture that it was virtually impossible to do anything with
it. Further, some very complicated sprites can generate drawfiles which
are nearly as data intensive as the original image. In fact, I have
reports of drawfiles which were bigger than the original though I
havenæt produced any myself. In conclusion, I have to say that I do find
Tracer useful in some areas of work, but I would only recommend it to
people who have a clear idea of what they are trying to achieve and a
clear idea of what Tracer can and can not do well.
4.11
Price
4.11
The final thing is price. A number of people have complained that Tracer
is too expensive. I think we have to appreciate the difficulties
suppliers have in pricing products, when they are unsure of sales
figures, but if we are to believe 600 sales at, say, ú30 to the company
it only results in ú18,000 of revenue to pay for distribution, advertis
ing, the programmer etc. Tracer is 26k long and development costs can be
as high as ú1 a byte depending on the method of writing. In the
Archimedes market, Tracer is quite expensive for what it does, but
currently it has no competition Ö another factor which determines price.
Certainly, at the price, I do not think that there is any excuse for a
shoddy manual or disc labelling that looks rather amateurish. Hindsight
is a wonderful thing, but suppliers need to be sensitive to customers
and should appreciate that many will take öturns sprites into drawfilesò
to mean that a sprite will become like the high quality clip art they
are used to. I do think there is some onus on the buyers to be careful
about their interpretation of advertising claims though I have found
some companies under-state their products.
4.11
Conclusion
4.11
I hope I have been fair to all concerned. Midnight Graphics need to
consider customer needs and aspirations more, particularly with
applications where the functionality can be interpreted differently. I
am pretty sure that they have released Tracer in good faith though a
little market research and öbeta testingò on non-experts would help
prevent these problems. Disappointed purchasers should perhaps try and
find local suppliers who will let them try things out before buying,
particularly if they are in any doubt about their understanding of a
product. Given that Tracer is not copy protected it is perhaps unfair to
expect a money back guarantee to dissatisfied customers as operated by
Computer Concepts.ááA
4.11

4.11
Competition Corner
4.11

4.11
I have caught Colin out this month by going to press early because of my
trip to the States, so this monthæs competition is set by me Ö so itæs a
silly one.
4.11
What you have to do is tell me what Schroeder (if thatæs the correct
spelling) is saying in the picture at bottom right of the opposite page.
Answers on a postcard, please!ááA
4.11

4.11
Archive Mugs for Sale!
4.11
Now that we have got the Archive mugs back from the manufacturers, I can
report that they really are rather attractive. If you imagine the top
couple of inches of the front cover (but without the date, issue number
and price!) in blue and black on a white mug, you will get the picture
of what the new Archive mugs look like.
4.11
I was hoping that someone would write in saying how nice they were so I
could give an unsolicited testimonial but no such luck. All I can do is
offer a money-back guarantee if you are not absolutely satisfied.
4.11
ú3 each (+ ú1 p&p)  or  four for ú10 (+ ú2 p&p)
4.11
(We normally quote prices inclusive of p&p but in this case it is such a
large proportion of the cost, I think itæs better to see it separately.)
4.11
Why not pop into the Archive office and pick up some mugs? Ö It saves
you the postage!
4.11

4.11
Eizo Flexscan 9080i Monitor
4.11
Martin Thorpe
4.11
GL Consulting Ltd
4.11
We donæt normally allow people to review their own products but in this
case, Martin is reviewing the monitor and, since his product, OutLook,
is what makes the monitor usable on the Archimedes, it seems natural for
him to mention it!
4.11
This article contains a review of the Eizo Flexscan 9080i monitor, and
gives more detailed information about the OutLook package provided by GL
Consulting, which we recommend for usage with the 9080i.
4.11
The Eizo Flexscan 9080i Monitor is a 16ö auto-scanning colour monitor
with a number of features that set it apart from its counterpart, the
9070SZ. The monitor has a micro-processor controlled screen adjustment
and a horizontal scanning range of 30kHz to 64kHz.
4.11
First Impressions
4.11
The first thing that you notice about the 9080i is its size. Closer
inspection reveals the micro-processor control panel below the display.
This panel controls the screen adjustments, the picture input and
colour, and brightness and contrast.
4.11
The panel has 6 LEDs and 2 push buttons. In any screen mode, if the
monitor can synchronise to the output signal, the green sync LED lights
and the display appears.
4.11
Pressing the Select control button turns on the yellow horizontal
position LED, inviting you to use the adjustment wheel to move the
picture. Pressing Enter confirms the adjustment. Further presses of
Select allow you to adjust the vertical position, the horizontal and
vertical sizes, and the pin-cushion distortion control. All the
adjustments are stored in non-volatile RAM inside the monitor.
4.11
The monitor has two sets of inputs. It has a D-Sub 9-pin input, which
connects to the Analogue RGB output on the back of the Archimedes. The
cable supplied is a high-density VGA cable, which is not suitable. The
correct cable to use is the Eizo MD-C18.
4.11
In addition to the D-Sub connector, five BNC inputs are provided. These
are used by the Archimedes to display high-resolution monochrome modes
such as 23 and 48 (1280 x 960, provided by OutLook) in their full
splendour. The Mono output on the back of the Archimedes should be
connected to one of Red, Green or Blue, depending on your personal
preference, and the sync output should be connected to the X (Composite)
sync input. To display these modes, the input selector should be set to
BNC and the colour selector should be switched to B/W.
4.11
In both cases, the Archimedes sync output should be set to Composite.
4.11
The quality of the display is truly amazing. The screen is rock-steady
and, should the display be slightly blurred, it can be focussed using
the screw on the back panel. Normally, you should be able to set up and
focus the monitor and then leave it.
4.11
OutLook
4.11
In order to provide support for higher resolution monitors such as the
Eizo 9080i and to enable the usage of even higher resolutions on A400
and 500 series Archimedes, we have developed OutLook. This package
provides support for Super VGA (800 x 600), 8514/A (1024 x simulated
768), 800 x 480, 1152 x 448 and 1280 x 960 monochrome modes on any
Archimedes with enough memory and a VIDC Enhancer, including the A540.
In addition, the VGA clock of the A540 is fully utilised to provide a
true VGA output. OutLook consists of a customised module for your
monitor and a WIMP front end, allowing the actions of OutLook to be
controlled. In addition, any mode may be selected from an informative
list and the pixel and OS-Unit resolutions, number of colours, memory
requirement, and screen and pixel frequencies of any mode may be
requested.
4.11
(OutLook is available from GL Consulting at a price of ú10. Site
licenses are also available.)
4.11
If anyone is interested, we can get the 9080i as we now buy direct from
Eizo UK! It costs ú1050 (list price ú1099 +VAT = ú1291) through
Archive.ááA
4.11

4.11
Iron Lord
4.11
Richard Forster
4.11
Iron Lord is one of the most delightful games I have played on the
Archimedes. It has plenty of well detailed and colourful pictures,
several atmospheric tunes and a general highly polished feel to it. What
is more, it manages to mix a variety of different game styles from
arcade to adventure and strategy. The game is easy to load and installs
onto hard disc without any problem. Even the manual is well done, with
an eight page introductory tale preceding fourteen clear, yet detailed,
pages of instructions.
4.11
You take the part of Iron Lord, a Crusader of Justice, who escaped a
massacre as a baby, during which his father, the King, was killed by his
evil uncle. After many years of being brought up in hiding, you have now
returned to the land to overthrow the oppression and injustice, and to
return it to the serene kingdom it once was.
4.11
The first part of the game has you wandering in search of armies so that
you can fight the forces of darkness, and is a public relations exercise
to get the people on your side. You begin the game with an overview of
the kingdom and a medieval tune. To move to one of the seven locations
you click on it and, as long as it is accessible from your present
position, you will be moved to it, accompanied by a small picture of
yourself riding towards it which moves along the screen, following the
route you travel.
4.11
When you get to your destination, the screen changes to display a
picture of the village etc where you are and a map at the top right,
above a text information screen. You can then move around this map using
keys or mouse until you encounter a building of interest, which you can
then enter. This was perhaps the only weak area in the game, as there
was no clear way of knowing which buildings could be entered despite the
information which would appear in the text.
4.11
Once inside, a picture of the inhabitant usually appears, and this is
accompanied by a different piece of music for each person. You then have
various options, from trading to talking. To talk, you simply cycle
through a list of conversation topics until you get the right one, then
click on it. Information gained in one part of the game usually adds new
topics, so for example, having been told by an irate farmer that he has
not been paid by a local innkeeper you can then go to the inn and ask
the innkeeper why.
4.11
Most people want something and, upon receiving it, usually become more
helpful, but the problem is that some of the things people want are not
easily accessible. Most are held by other characters (who generally want
something first), but a few can be gained by completion of the Éactionæ
sequences. These include arm wrestling, an event that involves quick
movement of the mouse and is exhausting, to several sword fights. There
is also gambling to be done (with an excellent sampled die roll), and an
archery contest. The archery relies on setting angles for varying
targets and is exceedingly difficult for the first few times, although
it becomes possible after a couple of hours practice.
4.11
Once you have gained the support of at least one band of people, you can
set off into the final battle. It is not advisable to go into battle
without all the possible groups because, even with them all, it is quite
difficult to win, and the enemy always starts with ten. The battle
itself is purely strategical, and involves programming your troops to
move around the battlefield. Once two enemy regiments move into each
other, a battle commences, the outcome of which depends on the amount of
energy each has and also the number of men, as well as points like
whether an enemy was surprised by being attacked from behind.
4.11
It took me quite a few goes to get past this stage, even with all ten
available troops and, somehow, whenever I was attacked, the enemy always
seemed stronger. However, after trying out various plans, I eventually
found one that won though and was rewarded by the final challenge of the
game Ö the labyrinth.
4.11
The labyrinth part of the game has six levels, each of which in two
stages. The first stage is a maze through which you move trying to find
various objects, opening doors and locating the entrance to the next
level. Once you have found the entrance, you must do an arcade phase
which is rather like space invaders, and then itæs onto the next level.
Unfortunately, I have not got to the final level because there is a time
limit on this part of the game and it is amazingly easy to get lost and
watch the time drain away. Fortunately, the game allows you to save
before you enter the labyrinth and so with a bit more persistence . . .
4.11
Overall, the game is well worth buying and there is plenty in it to keep
you occupied for a good while, wherever your gaming interests lie. The
nature of the game is such that you can solve it from various different
angles and, if you find a particular section too hard, you can easily
leave it to try for a different area first and, when you do finally
complete something, you can always save the game so that you do not have
to do it again if Iron Lord succumbs to the unknown.
4.11
ÉIron Lordæ is available from Cygnus Software or through Archive at
ú18.ááA
4.11

4.11
üüüüIn Search of Euleræs Constant
4.11
George McCavitt
4.11
The January Competition Corner was to generate and display an arbitrary
number of decimal places for e, Euleræs Constant. I used a Continued
Fraction to represent e as a vulgar fraction instead. I have adopted the
convention where the partial quotients are displayed as [a0; a1, a2, a3,
... an]; the semicolon separates the integer part of the fraction from
the rest. It is quite clever that such a list will regenerate both the
numerator and denominator.
4.11
A Simple Example
4.11
If you have access to a scientific calculator, or use !SciCalc (Share
ware 19), you can try the following simple example:
4.11
Select p = 3.141592653583238462643383279, to the accuracy of your
calculator.
4.11
Record and remove the integer part.
4.11
Take the reciprocal of the remaining fraction.
4.11
Repeat the last two stages for about five iterations.
4.11
The continued fraction for p is determined from the integer parts you
discarded, which should be something like [3; 7, 15, 1, 292, ...]. You
will see how this is used later on.
4.11
Surds can be shown to have a repeating part in their partial quotients,
which doesnæt terminate; they are infinite continued fractions. The
simplest is the square root of 2:
4.11
    SQR(2) = [1; 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, ...].
4.11
Taking eleven partial quotients gets me to the accuracy of my 12-digit
calculator, and this surd is a slow grower. Try it. Enter 2, take its
reciprocal; add 2 and take the reciprocal of this sum; repeat the last
until bored and then add 1.
4.11
Calculating Convergents
4.11
Luckily, to condense such a continued fraction back into a conventional
fraction (p/q), there is no need to solve from the right. This handling
of reciprocals can be avoided using the equations:
4.11
    p0 = a0        q0 = 1
4.11
    p1 = a1a0 + 1    q1 = a1
4.11
    pk = akpk-1 + pk-2    qk = akqk-1
+ qk-2,
4.11
both pk and qk use the same iterative formula but with different
starting conditions. Only one final division is necessary to form a
decimal fraction.
4.11
Proof of the Pudding (or Pi)
4.11
Using pk / qk for p from the above example, we get successive values of
3/1, 22/7, 333/106, 355/113, with decimal values of 3, 3.14, 3.1415,
3.141593.
4.11
The next value on is a better approximation to the true value. Check
that 355/113 is vastly superior to using 22/7 as a rational approxima
tion to p.
4.11
Back to Euler
4.11
e is known as the sum:
4.11
    1 + 1/2! + 1/3! + 1/4! + ....
4.11
but Euler also gave it as a continued fraction [2; 1, 2, 1, 1, 4, 1, 1,
6, 1, 1, 8, ...]. This recurring pattern can be used in an algorithm. In
Elementary Number Theory by D. M. Burton, Euler gave (e-1)/(e+1) as [0;
2, 6, 10, 14, 18, ...]. Using this gives e more quickly. The following
table and equations should explain how:
4.11
n    1    2    3    4    5    6
4.11
an    0    2    6    10    14    18
4.11
pn    0    1    6    61    860
17341
4.11
qn    1    2    13    132    1861
35298
4.11
pn + qn    1    3    19    193
2721    49171
4.11
qn - pn    1    1    7    71
1001    18089
4.11
Noting (e-1)/(e+1)=p/q, therefore e=(p+q)/(p-q)
4.11
so e can be condensed from the last two rows as:
4.11
1,  3,  2.7,  2.718, 2.718282  and  2.71828183.
4.11
Continued Fraction Procedure Description
4.11
As 32-bit arithmetic can only offer 10 decimal places of accuracy, an
alternative is needed for greater precision. A byte per digit would need
several lines of Basic. I instead chose to use the built-in features of
arrays. I use three, A%() to C%() all of length E%, set with the initial
conditions. Each element holds one digit. This fourfold trade-off is
faster as I presume they are C routines. Using parameters (3,1) and
(1,1) and setting an = 6, gave me my öfudgedò, iterative method, which I
coded as  PROCContFrac as:
4.11
DEF PROCContFrac(over%,under%)
4.11
A%()=0: B%()=0
4.11
A%(0)=over%: B%(0)=under%
4.11
N%=6: SIZE=1
4.11
REPEAT
4.11
C%()=N%*A%(): C%()=C%()+B%()
4.11
PROCcarries
4.11
B%()=A%(): A%()=C%()
4.11
N%+=4: SIZE+=LOG(N%)
4.11
UNTIL SIZE>E%
4.11
ENDPROC
4.11
PROCcarries and FNmin would have been faster in assembler, but in Basic
they are:
4.11
DEF PROCcarries
4.11
FOR I%=0 TO FNmin(E%-1,SIZE)
4.11
C%(I%+1)+=(C%(I%) DIV 10)
4.11
C%(I%)=C%(I%) MOD 10
4.11
NEXT
4.11
ENDPROC
4.11
DEF PROCmin(a,b)
4.11
IF a<b THEN =a ELSE =b
4.11
The remainder of the program can be coded to your own purposes. To be
more general, N% needs to be replaced by an a array (remember pæs
quotients).
4.11
Conclusion
4.11
Continued fractions are a fascinating subject in themselves. I hope I
have given an insight into their power. By using Basic V array routines,
I found a solution to a problem I had long wanted to solve. How I made a
vulgar fraction a decimal one is another story.ááA
4.11

4.11
PenDown Fonts Disc
4.11
Dave Morrell
4.11
Some time ago I reviewed PenDown (3.13 p48 + 4.1 p42 + 4.6 p54). In that
review I expressed the hope that Longman Logotron would support the
Archimedes version of PenDown in the way that they supported the
original PenDown with extra fonts and borders etc. They seem to have
started their support with a disc of twelve fonts. All these fonts are
what I would call fancy headline or poster fonts but in certain
circumstances they could be used as body fonts.
4.11
ACUTE is a similar font to ÉShiveræ which came with Poster. There are
208 defined characters in the font and they seem to be the same
characters as Acornæs Trinity. 158 of the characters contain scaffold
lines.
4.11
BRIX is a similar font to Jumbo which came out with PenDown but most of
the characters are placed on a cube much like childrenæs play bricks.
The characters which are not on a cube are made to appear as if they are
made out of a fairly thick piece of material. Again, the same 208
characters are defined, 191 of which have scaffold lines.
4.11
DIGITAL, as the name implies, looks like the letters and numbers
associated with a digital display. It is a clear font and much easier to
read than other attempts I have seen of this style. The standard 208
character set has been defined, 136 of which contain scaffold lines.
4.11
DRIFT is my own favourite from this set of fonts. It is in the same vein
as the ÉSnowballæ font in Poster. There are 209 defined characters of
which 156 contain scaffold lines. Some of the characters have been
defined as small pictures making a short ÉChristmas Dingbatsæ set. The
characters not defined as pictures all have a vaguely horizontal line
running through them. When printed out, this line joins up to look like
the top of a snowdrift from which the snow covered letters appear. Even
the space character has this line.
4.11
HORIZON is built up from horizontal lines. When printed out it looks as
if every other pin of a dot-matrix printer is not working. It is a very
clear font and is easy to read. It is similar to one which appeared for
the original PenDown. There are 208 defined characters, of which 200
contain scaffold lines.
4.11
KOSMO is another ultra-modern font. It is a slightly oblique, very
square font with extra thickening of some lines. This is another 209
characters set of which 139 contain scaffold lines.
4.11
LINEOUT seems to be the outline font which appeared with the pre-release
version of Archimedes PenDown but not the final release. Again it is a
clear, easy to read font with 209 characters, 180 of which contain
scaffold lines.
4.11
QUAD is a rather square script-type font similar in some respects to
Kosmo. There are 208 defined characters of which 157 contain scaffold
lines.
4.11
RAZOR is another font I particularly liked but it is difficult to
describe. It is a blocky font in which all the edges appear to have been
ground down and sharpened, hence the name. Like BRIX, it gives a 3¡D
effect. Razor has 208 defined characters of which 180 contain scaffold
lines.
4.11
The final three fonts are, I think, pure gimmick. They are BRAILLE,
MORSE and SEMAPHORE. I rather liked Semaphore which has all the letters
of the alphabet defined plus one other. There are no scaffold lines and
the only difference between upper and lower case is the addition of the
letter on the figure in the upper case version. Upper case Braille and
Morse also have the letter on show.
4.11
The small characters in the Semaphore font will brighten up anybodyæs
presentation and could even be utilised as a border.
4.11
The facts about scaffold lines came from FontFix.
4.11
From what I can tell by eye, both on screen and on paper, the fonts seem
to be well hinted.
4.11
PenDown fonts disc is available from Longman Logotron at ú18 + VAT or
through Archive at ú19 inclusive. This is very good value even if you
only like two or three of the fonts and donæt forget, these fonts are
not just for use in PenDown Ö they can be used with any of the appli
cations that can deal with outline fonts.ááA
4.11

4.11
ARCterm7 Ö and Pilling Terminals
4.11
Brian Cowan
4.11
In the time I have been an Archimedes owner I must have tried every
terminal emulator produced for that machine, including the old BBC
terminal emulators together with 6502 emulation. Mostly, I use such
terminals for communication, at work, with our DEC VAX ömainframeò
computers, though occasionally I use my modem to log on to various
bulletin boards. I had seen, and briefly used, ARCterm 6 and I was quite
impressed with it. The problem, as with all the older generation of
terminal emulators, was that they did not run in a window; in fact, many
of them were originally written pre-RISC-OS.
4.11
Multi-tasking
4.11
It was only a matter of time until multi-tasking terminal emulators
appeared. I was very impressed when I first saw Acornæs Ethernet
software, as this included a multi-tasking VT220 terminal. Subsequently,
other packages came along. Although I have probably seen and briefly
tried all the terminal emulators around, I will not discuss most in
detail but concentrate on two. There have already been reviews of the
others in Archive. The first subject of the review, ARCterm7, I would
describe as the best terminal emulator and the other, David Pillingæs
terminal suite, is certainly the cheapest and, to my mind, the best
value for money.
4.11
Both packages are fully RISC-OS compatible, installing themselves on the
icon bar and opening up a window when clicked on. The bare essential
which one would require from a terminal emulator is that it should
provide emulation of a computer terminal Ö obviously! As I mentioned
above, my particular application is in communicating with DEC VAX
mainframe computers. Here the DEC VT standard is what emulators are
aiming at. Both terminal emulators give a good implementation of the
VT100 standard. David Pillingæs terminal also provides a subset of the
VT220 standard as well. I should note in passing that the Acorn Ethernet
TCP/IP software package includes an essentially complete implementation
of VT220, which supports communication down the RS423 port as well as
the main objective of Ethernet.
4.11
Compatibility
4.11
There are a number of standard tests which can be run to test full VT
compatibility. None of the terminal emulators passed completely,
misinterpreting the odd control code, but then all non-DEC terminals
fall down on something or other. However, the number of misinterpreted
codes was small. The latest version of David Pillingæs VT100 terminal is
near-perfect, as is ARCterm7.
4.11
Features
4.11
Taking full implementation of the emulated terminal for granted, what
distinguishes the various packages around is the range of öextrasò
supported. Here, the list of ARCterm7æs features is almost endless. A
full collection of modem drivers is provided and there is implementation
of many file transfer protocols including X, Y, Z and Jmodem and my
favourite, Kermit. A powerful feature of ARCterm7 is its script
language. In structure this is a sort of cross between C and Basic, and
it allows the user to customise the program to his/her precise require
ments. A script file can be ödroppedò on the terminal window and its
contents will be executed. Scripts are provided for logging on to
various of the bulletin boards, including The World of Cryton. It works
beautifully and painlessly. Another feature is that the Intelligent
Interfaces multiple serial port is supported; one can select which port
is used.
4.11
Hidden extras
4.11
ARCterm7 is still being improved. So far, I have received three upgrades
since the original release 1.00. New features have appeared which are
not covered in the manual (they are covered in a readme file on the disc
though) including additions to the script language. I was very happy to
find that there is now the option to open up a öhistoryò window which
contains a copy of the last 256 lines of the session and which can be
scrolled up and down. This I found most useful. Eventually I discovered
that sections of this may be selected and saved as a file or copied,
perhaps to an Edit window. The odd thing about this was that to öselectò
one had to use the öadjustò button of the mouse. There turns out to be a
certain internally consistent logic to this as ARCterm7 often uses
<adjust> for öselectò functions.
4.11
It is equally easy to transmit files using ARCterm7. Files can either be
sent directly or they can be queued for later transmission.
4.11
Documentation
4.11
The ARCterm manual is quite comprehensive, with a large section covering
the details of the script language. You only need to use the manual when
difficulties arise, which is not very often. It is well laid out and
there is a good index. Also there is an extensive collection of
appendices covering such diverse topics as choosing a modem, RS423
connections (potentially problematic with the Archimedes), and adding
sound to ARCterm7.
4.11
Complaints
4.11
Complaints are few and relatively minor. The cursor is a caret rather
than the usual DEC block. Most other terminal emulators allow a choice.
Also, with ARCterm7 there is no smooth scrolling mode; the screen moves
up a line at a time. Finally, the full ARCterm7 window is slightly
larger than a standard monitor screen so you canæt see everything
together. Essentially, the text window fills the screen so that the
scroll bars etc. fall outside.
4.11
I mention these three problems particularly because David Pillingæs VT
terminal emulator does not suffer from them. You can select the form of
cursor you require: a block or a flashing block perhaps, and there is
the option for a smoothly moving scroll. This I find much easier on the
eyes, particularly when scanning a long document. A clever idea in the
Pilling terminal is a slightly shrunken screen option whereby the whole
emulator window can be viewed on the screen.
4.11
Pilling terminals
4.11
Most of the David Pilling software is sold at the bargain price of ú5.99
per disc as was the original version of his RISC-OS terminals. There is
now a new version known as RISC-OS Terminals Plus with enhanced
features, selling at the still attractive price of ú17.99. The new
version comes with a 40 page manual and it has a number of useful
enhancements. There are now some commands to control the modem from the
computer, and there is enhanced printer support: as well as straight
ASCII, one can configure the terminal to use Epson LQ or IBM X24 codes.
The main enhancement, however, is in the file transfer protocols. The
original terminals provided for only Xmodem and pure ASCII Ö Terminals
Plus adds Kermit and Zmodem.
4.11
Comparison
4.11
These are all first rate products. Pillingæs terminals also has a script
language for configuring the terminals automatically. This is good but
nowhere near as comprehensive and versatile as ARCterm7És script
language. The main important features which ARCterm7 provide and
Pillingæs terminals do not are the history window and the extensive
range of modem drivers. It is interesting that Pillingæs terminals are
written directly in ARM code making them very compact and fast while
ARCterm7 is mainly in C, using ARM code for the speed critical parts.
4.11
Conclusion
4.11
My conclusion is that David Pillingæs original terminal emulator suite
is excellent value for money at the remarkable price of ú5.99. The new
improved version, at ú17.99, provides some extra features which might
well be desirable (you can upgrade from one to the other for ú17.99). If
you need a terminal emulator and you donæt yet have one then I would
advise you to purchase the cheaper Pilling terminals to start with. If
you then decide that there are other features which you would like, then
you can decide whether to upgrade to Terminals+ or purchase ARCterm7.
Certainly ARCterm7 has the most features and it is a joy to use. It is
quite simply the best, but then at ú79.99 you would expect it to be.ááA
4.11

4.11
Audio Data Compression
4.11
Ned Abell
4.11
When you next sit down and listen to your favourite CD, spare a thought
for all the little electrons beavering away to make it possible. They
really are raising a lather as the audio data is fed off the disc at
44.1 thousand times a second at 16 bits for the two channels Ö thatæs
around 1.4 Megabits per second.
4.11
Put another way, a 20 Mbyte hard disc could store only about half a Top
Ten single. Some would say that was a good thing! There is also the
problem of reading and writing that speed of data to storage Ö hard
discs can cope but floppies are too slow to work in real time.
4.11
Research Departments in many companies have been working overtime to
squeeze the audio öquartò into a pint pot thus allowing smaller capture
and carrying media or longer recording times. However, if you reduce the
sample rate too much, or the number of sampled bits per second, it
sounds very poor.
4.11
Spotting the difference
4.11
Audio Processing Technology (APT) was formed in 1988 by students at
Belfast University who were working on digital telephone systems. Their
approach to the problem is now coming on to the market through their
parent company Solid State Logic.
4.11
What Steven Smyth and his colleagues have done is to compress the 16 bit
sample to 4 by splitting the audio frequency into bands. The encoder
then uses predictions based on samples of the audio thatæs gone through.
The differences between the 16bit input and the predictions are turned
into a 4 bit code and thatæs what is saved.
4.11
For example, a note could have a fast attack time, then a period of
sustain and then a long period of decay. The changes in the note would
be minimal whilst it was sustained and greatest during its attack. These
differences take up a lot less room than writing essentially the same
sequence of data each 44 thousandth of a second.
4.11
..and in practice.
4.11
There has been a lot of work done on these coding techniques and the
result is impressive. Itæs not only the data that is predicted but also
what the brain makes of it. For example, some sounds are judged
critically by the ear because of their smoothness but others, which are
sharp, can be received less favourably. Thus, the coding changes are
more critical at times when the ear expects it!
4.11
The coding software drives processor chips and APT sells the resulting
encoder and decoder boards as units to manufacturers and a range of
products is starting to emerge
4.11
Products
4.11
Several manufacturers have seen the promise in this type of technology,
for example in radio broadcast studios, jingles and adverts have often
been played in using endless loop quarter inch magnetic tape cartridges
with stop and start pulses on them. These are plugged into a player as
they are wanted. They are prone to wear and sometimes donæt cue up or
cycle properly mostly due to öfinger troubleò. Soniflex now use 4
Megabyte floppy discs and apt-x 100 coding to store the audio so the
operator feels he is using a familiar system, plugging in discs but the
audio quality is better and access quicker Ö and finger trouble is
reduced.
4.11
Digital Audio Broadcasting is being broadcast experimentally now in
Britain and coding techniques like apt-x to reduce bit rates will be
used. For example, linking television Outside Broadcast vehicles to base
involves microwave transmission for the vision circuits and apt-x is
being used to code the stereo sound into the vision circuits to reduce
cost in a new ösound-in-syncsò decoder and encoder from Vistek.
4.11
For the IBM, there is an expansion card called the ACE100 that allows
you real time direct-to-disc stereo recording and playback with analog
or digital input/output. Data can be stored as normal 16 bit or 4 bit
apt at a range of sampling frequencies between 16 and 48kHz. You can
store over 30 minutes of stereo music on a 60Mbyte drive. You can access
the software on the board to program fades and emphasis and up to four
boards can be linked which would give an 8 track hard disc recorder.
4.11
and the Archimedes...?
4.11
Well there isnæt a specific apt-x board for the computer yet but Iæm not
ruling out the prospect given demand. Ironically, it will be determined
by other manufacturers selling multi-media equipment, raising its
profile and Archimedes suppliers following suit. I think the market is
there but then Iæm not investing cash in the research. As Digital Audio
Tape gains ground and when Digital Compact Cassette is launched, öhome
computerò editors will mushroom. The Archimedesæ speed coupled with an
APT board and some windowing editing software could be of great use.
4.11
The bottom line is a suitable data compression system for audio and
video. Invent that and you have a blank cheque!
4.11
Audio Processing Technology Ltd. Begbroke, Oxford OX5 1RU are currently
moving to Belfast on 0232-662714 and publish a newsletter detailing APT
products.ááA
4.11

4.11
ArcLight and SolidsRender Ray-tracers
4.11
Malcolm Banthorpe
4.11
Ray-tracing can be broadly described as a method of generating computer
graphic images which exhibit the maximum degree of realism that can be
achieved within the limits imposed by the display hardware. To do this,
it is necessary to take into account, as far as is practicable, all of
the possible paths that each ray of light can take from each light
source to the viewpoint. For a fuller explanation of what itæs all
about, see my review of another ray-tracing program, RenderBender, in
Archive 2.9. Jim Markland has already written about his experience of
ray-tracing with ArcLight for a specific application, namely the
representation of geological data, in Archive 4.4. This review takes a
more general look at both Arclight and SolidsRender.
4.11
Unlike RenderBender, which is intended to be used as a stand-alone
application and therefore contains everything necessary to construct
simple scenes, both of the applications reviewed here are designed as
accessories to be used with existing 3D graphics editors. This review
will therefore make most sense to those who already have experience of
either Euclid or SolidCAD and who wish to generate more realistic-
looking images of scenes or of individual objects. It may also be of
interest if you are contemplating the purchase of such a rendering
system, particularly if read in conjunction with reviews of the 3D
editors which have appeared elsewhere. Both 3D editors already allow
lighting to be represented to a limited degree by showing the effect of
shading on the various facets of an objectæs surface. With ray-tracing,
it is also possible to include shadows (a factor which alone contributes
quite a lot to the realism), transparency, reflection and refraction. In
order to achieve some degree of smooth shading from the 256 colour
palette, both applications, like RenderBender, make use of dithering.
4.11
ArcLight, from Ace Computing, is the latest addition to the Euclid
family and is specifically designed for the ray-tracing of scenes
created with the !Euclid 3D editor. If you also have !Mogul then ray-
traced animations can be produced which in turn can be edited with
!Splice. SolidsRender, from Silicon Vision, works in conjunction with
SolidCAD and it, too, can produce animations if you also have Film-
Maker. The application comes with a built-in sphere-generating primitive
and also included on the disc are files for a number of other primitives
such as cubes, cylinders and cones. Limited stand-alone use is therefore
possible and is the manner in which this review was conducted, making
use also of the sample scene files on the disc.
4.11
SolidsRender
4.11
SolidsRender is supplied on a single unprotected disc and comes with a
30-page instruction booklet. The program is not multi-tasking but is, I
think, what Acorn would call RISC-OS compatible. That is, it installs
itself on the icon bar when first run but when subsequently selected
does not make use of the WIMP system. The Quit option return to the
desktop as it was previously set. The operating environment is very
similar to that of SolidCAD and indeed the instruction booklet assumes
that the user is already familiar with it.
4.11
The screen is divided into four viewports showing plan, front and side
elevations for design and a projection port for the 3D display. All of
the views are wire-frame at this stage. At the right of the screen there
is a menu selection area, while help and status messages are shown, and
data entry takes place, at the foot of the screen. As mentioned earlier,
the scene, or at least its component parts, would normally be generated
using SolidCAD, although with the primitives provided, it is possible to
construct a simple scene with SolidsRender alone.
4.11
Very comprehensive facilities are provided for setting the surface
characteristics of each object in terms of colour, specular and diffuse
reflection, transparency, refraction etc. This includes texture-mapping
whereby a sprite or bit-map may be mapped onto a surface. This could be
used, for example, to give a surface the appearance of wood grain. A
bit-map is a two-level (that is, one bit per pixel) sprite. Each of the
two levels may be assigned different characteristics. So, for instance,
an object could have a patterned surface in which one part was metallic
gold and the other was transparent to blue light. Whatæs more, there are
three different types of texture mapping to choose from: surface, shrink
and project. If you choose the shrink option, then the texture file is
wrapped around the object in both X and Y directions whereas shrink sets
the texture to wrap in the X direction but to be projected directly onto
the surface in the Y direction. The project option sets the texture to
be directly projected in both directions. Obviously, thereæs a vast
number of possibilities for defining surface textures and some experi
mentation is required to find out how best to exploit this feature.
4.11
There are more options to choose from when it comes to the style menu.
Mode 15, 24, 28 or 21 may be chosen for the final image. Fortunately, an
image size as small as 1/8 screen may be chosen for the image size if
you are in a hurry to get some idea of what it will look like. Texture,
shadows, reflection, transmission and refraction may all be either on or
off, as may soft-focus and anti-aliasing. The dithering copes quite well
with representing subtle shading but I found the overall image quality
to be disappointing. The edges of objects were generally ragged in
appearance. I assume that the reason for this is that arithmetic
precision has been sacrificed to achieve speed in the ray-tracing
process. The overall appearance is changed but not really improved by
selecting the anti-alias option which smoothes the edges to some extent
at the expense of making everything look slightly blurred Ö similar to
the soft focus option but less so.
4.11
ArcLight
4.11
ArcLight is supplied on a single unprotected disc and comes with a 14
page instruction leaflet. To ray-trace a picture, the following
procedure is followed, once ArcLight has been installed on the icon bar.
On dragging a previously prepared Euclid file onto the icon, a Échoicesæ
dialogue box pops up and, assuming for the moment that you are happy
with the default settings, ray-tracing can be initiated by entering a
filename with which the resulting picture will be saved and dragging it
to a suitable directory viewer. There will then be a wait of possibly a
few seconds or maybe an hour or more, depending on the size of the
sprite to be generated and the complexity of the scene, until the
picture is complete. As the program is fully multi-tasking, it is
possible to get on with some other computing activity, e.g. word-
processing, while this is happening as long as the other activity is
also multi-tasking. An occasional glance at the ArcLight sprite window
will show how it is progressing. Performing another task at the same
time will necessarily slow down the ray-tracing process to a greater or
lesser degree depending on the extent to which your extra task demands
processor time, but at least the computer is still usable while you wait
for the final result. For maximum rendering speed there is a Éfastæ
option which allows ArcLight to claim exclusive use of the processor.
The display is also disabled in this mode, but can be re-enabled
instantly by clicking a mouse button if you should wish to check on the
progress of the image.
4.11
In order to speed up the ray-tracing process, ArcLight uses a spacial
sub-division algorithm. Briefly, the way it works is as follows. Imagine
a box just large enough to contain the whole three-dimensional scene. If
there are too many polygons in the scene to be dealt with simply, it is
sub-divided into eight smaller boxes called voxels Ö a sort of three-
dimensional pixel. Each voxel is then examined and if it still proves to
be too complex, it is further sub-divided. The sub-division can continue
to a maximum value, settable from the choices menu and known as Édepthæ.
A voxel is considered to be too complex if the number of polygons that
it contains exceeds a certain value, also settable from the choices
menu, known as Ésimplicityæ. Some trial and error is required to find
the best setting to achieve optimum use of available memory and speed,
and I found it best, most of the time, to stick to the default values of
six and one respectively.
4.11
A number of other parameters can be set from the choices menu. Perhaps
the most important are the image size and the screen mode in which the
final picture is to be generated. For the dithering to work, this must
be a 256-colour mode. User-defined screen modes for over-scanned images
also seem to work OK as long as they are eight-bits-per-pixel. The
desktop mode in use during the rendering can be set independently
without restrictions Ö mode 0 for maximum speed. The final image size
may be larger than the screen if required. There may seem little point
in doing this, particularly as itæs going to take longer. The advantage
is that a large image may subsequently be reduced by a program such as
ChangeFSI, resulting true anti-aliasing and an improvement in those
jagged edges imposed by the 256 lines of vertical resolution on a non-
multisync monitor.
4.11
Arclight showed occasional evidence of the limits of its arithmetic
precision in the form of ragged edges but in general I found this to be
considerably less noticeable than with SolidsRender. The problem showed
itself mainly as single pixel pinhole gaps at the common edges of
adjacent polygons and occurred sufficiently rarely that the image could
be tidied up fairly quickly using !Paint.
4.11
A number of surface types, such as wood, metal, mirror, glass can
already be selected within the Euclid 3D editor. User defined materials
are also possible but, like Jim Markland, I was unable to get this
option to work properly and never reached a definite conclusion as to
whether it was me or the software that was doing something wrong.
4.11
Conclusions
4.11
It would be inappropriate to recommend one of these ray-tracers as being
better than the other as they are aimed almost exclusively at two
different groups of users who already use their parent products. Both
are reasonably fast. I got the impression that Arclight had the edge for
speed particularly for complex scenes but was unable to compare them
using a similar source file. A comparison using a very simple scene Ö a
cube Ö on both showed only a small difference. SolidsRender has the
major advantage of texture mapping although, for me, this was negated by
the overall image quality.
4.11
Ray-tracing certainly adds an extra degree of realism to 3D images but
it is arguable whether the term öphoto-realisticò can be truly applied
to the Archimedes until someone produces a 24-bit graphics add-on (or
possibly the necessary hardware will included in a future incarnation of
the machine) to enable the full range of colours to be achieved without
the sacrifice of spatial resolution which is inherent in dithering.
Nevertheless, the results from both of these ray-tracers do considerably
enhance the images obtained from their respective parent 3D editors.ááA
4.11

4.11
Fine Racer
4.11
Geoff Scott
4.11
There may be some who remember Jet Boat for the BBC in which you guided
a fast jet boat around a multi-directional scrolling river network
within a certain time limit whilst avoiding barriers, abandoned logs,
boats and other various scattered objects. Well, Fine Racer is a BBC
equivalent. It is a fast and challenging game from Eterna in which you
have to guide a rally buggy around a multi-directional scrolling
landscape littered with roadworks, credits, barriers, trees, walls, etc.
4.11
Iæm not sure what that is saying, but just as I was addicted to Jet Boat
so I have became addicted to Fine Racer.
4.11
The game is, sadly, protected in a way which prevents hard disc
installation and personal backups. Also, like many of the early
Archimedes games, it reconfigures the machine, making return to the
desktop impossible.
4.11
On booting the game you are presented with a screen depicting a garage.
It is here you are given the chance to equip your buggy with all of the
latest features, but to buy these you will need credits.
4.11
Starting the actual game, you are one of four racers, each out to cause
as much trouble as possible to the others whilst aiming to collect eight
Échecksæ, and then to win the race. Simple? No. To add to your problems
you have to worry about the state of your buggy. The engine and the
tyres are damaged with each collision and, to make matters worse, I
found that the lack of brakes could not be compensated for completely by
careful use of the accelerator. This means that you are likely to shoot
off into a wall which is detrimental to the car, leading eventually to
its destruction.
4.11
There are many different tracks, each of which is quite large, making it
a struggle to survive one track in a good enough condition to even
consider beginning the next. Luckily there is the provision of a
training mode, in which a track is picked at random and you are given
unlimited time to explore it without having to worry about the other
cars Ö unfortunately, the checks and the other bonuses are also hidden.
4.11
There is also a third mode of racing which is called the labyrinth race.
The idea is to build up extra credits before trusting your car to the
main race, or simply to gain some driving practice.
4.11
The time limit which is imposed on you is effectively set by the third
car to get completely around the track. This is because, if you end up
in fourth position, you have to turn around and race back to the start,
but itæs not that simple because another car homes in on you to cause
your eventual destruction Ö a car belonging to the tyrant Mad Max!
4.11
Your car is one of the latest in buggy technology(!) Ö upgrades may be
added which add a welcome boost to the car, and you do not have to
remain defenceless against the wrath of the others as you can buy, for a
mere 50 credits, a bomb which will halt them for a while. From the
garage you can also buy accessories which will make the catching ability
of your car increase, a return to the race option, a more or less
sensitive steering system and also the option of which mode to play in.
This is also where you are given the most welcome options Ö repairs.
4.11
I thoroughly enjoy playing this game. The graphics are good and the
sound is excellent. It is well worth the money Ö ú19.95 from Vector
Services or ú18 through Archive.ááA
4.11

4.11
Viewpoints
4.11
Paul Welbank
4.11
Viewpoints is an appealing little application which could be used in a
variety of contexts within the primary and secondary school curriculum.
Its chief attraction is the high quality of the countryside Éviewsæ and
the collection of over fifty colourful and realistic sprites of British
wildlife. These are in normal sprite format, so could be extracted and
used elsewhere, for example in DTP.
4.11
The program comes on three discs; the ÉStartupæ disc is uncopyable, in
true Sherston style, while the Exploration and Database discs can be
backed up. It demonstrated an irritating sensitivity to machine
environment; it would not run on any of our networked Archimedes, nor on
my own machine with a hard-disc, without reconfiguring the default
filing systems; not very friendly! The introductory sequence of flashing
screens of various grey/brown hues is somewhat disconcerting and
amateurish, but eventually progresses to some attractive countryside
graphics.
4.11
Using the Exploration disc; the idea is for pupils to explore the map
provided, seeking likely habitats for discovering an assortment of
British wildlife species. If they come across a likely area, pupils can
Éwatch and waitæ or Élook closelyæ at selected regions of the displayed
view. At this point, a species will undoubtedly appear and the explorer
has the opportunity to Éphotographæ the animal using the mouse buttons
and a frame which appears. This is quite nicely done because, if you are
not quick enough, you will as likely as not chop off the animalæs head
or snap its disappearing back-side. Quite realistic really; and fun. You
can discard unsatisfactory snaps and try again. Eventually, sets of
snaps must be saved to disc or deposited in the database.
4.11
The exploratory side of the game can be approached in different ways. A
class can be asked to find as many species as they can in a given time
or they can work on a points basis, with more points given for rare
species. All of this will require them to interpret the map. There is
also a built-in Étreasure trailæ where pupils follow clues to find the
golden statue. Just the job for the last week of term! All the alterna
tives are well documented in the manual and selectable on the ÉTeacher
Controlæ menu, so that the tasks can be made simple or complex according
to the age/ability of the pupils. I was not able to test Viewpoints with
a class as this would have required running off 32 disc copies. We look
forward to the Econet version appearing.
4.11
The Viewpoints ÉDatabaseæ disc contains a database system which can be
used alongside the exploratory activities mentioned above, or indeed
independently as a simple database comprising text, numeric or picture
fields. In conjunction with the exploration, pupils can use the supplied
database format or create their own. As animals are photographed, the
pictures can be transferred into the database and the textual fields can
be filled in from the supplied information cards. The font used is
large, so you cannot expect to put large quantities of data in a record.
However, the inclusion of the picture sprites gives an attractive
introduction to database work, with primitive searching sorting and
graphing facilities available.
4.11
The Teachersæ Book is well presented and has extensive sections on
relevant subject-specific connections, suggestions for further activi
ties, National Curriculum Attainment Targets and useful addresses of
organisations and associations. All in all, a well presented, useful and
reasonably priced package Ö ú35 +VAT from Sherston Software.ááA
4.11

4.11
Key Plus
4.11
Joe Gallagher
4.11
Key, from ITV Software, appeared on the scene three years ago. It
aroused much interest at the time, not only because of the wealth of
facilities it offered in comparison to existing database packages for
schools, but also due to the fact that it was offered at the giveaway
price of ú5. ITVæs intention was that the data handling package itself
should act as a loss leader to enable it penetrate a fairly crowded
market. The datafiles accompanying the package (which tended to be
priced at a more realistic level) were not long in arriving and today,
Key can boast a range of support materials comparable with those of its
rivals of lengthier pedigree.
4.11
Another novel feature of Key was that, although it was designed to be
able to be used among the widest age range of children, the facilities
that it offered in respect of data handling, statistics and graphs, far
outstripped those of its rivals.
4.11
My one major reservation about the BBC version of Key concerned the
complexity of its menu structure. To carry out even the simplest of
tasks involved traversing a series of menus and submenus and, after
using them for a while with children, I began to appreciate, for once,
the spartan beauty of an old fashioned command driven approach as
typified by Quest. I was intrigued to see whether the RISC-OS version of
Key would address these issues.
4.11
RISC-OS Key
4.11
Key Plus, the Archimedes version, is supplied with two sample datafiles
and consists of two applications, Key Plus and Key Edit. Key Edit is
used for creating new datafiles and Key Plus is the main information
retrieval program. In fact, two versions of Key are supplied on the
disc. As well as the main RISC-OS version there is a version which runs
in full screen mode and provides a good emulation of the original BBC
program, though heaven knows why anyone should want it. Communicating
with other programs, in terms of output, is very easy, thanks to Keyæs
use of the RISC-OS data transfer facilities but the program is rather
limited in terms of files which it will accept. There is an accompanying
conversion program but it only works with datafiles produced by earlier
versions of Key.
4.11
Loading datafiles
4.11
In a way which is reminiscent of Impression, Keyæs datafiles consist of
directories containing a set of related files such as indexes or forms.
However, unlike Impression, the datafiles are not application style
directories and therefore cannot be loaded by double-clicking on the
icon. Instead they must be dragged on to the Key Plus icon on the icon
bar. This opens a small window displaying several useful items of
information about the current file including the number of fields and
records in the database and also the date when the file was last
updated. Clicking on the menu button brings up a list of search, sort
and display options.
4.11
Easy to use
4.11
Key Plus is basically RISC-OS compliant although the memory that it
requires severely limits its multi-tasking abilities on a 1Mbyte
machine. Even if you have more memory, you are still only allowed to
open one datafile at a time. Selecting the fields for display is
extremely easy using the Archimedesæ walking menus, and browsing through
records is achieved by clicking on video type buttons with a fast
forward/rewind option to increase the step rate from one to ten records
at a time. This gadget, however, does tend to disappear when a number of
windows are on screen and hunting for it can be an infuriating process.
A keyboard shortcut to retrieve it to the front of the screen would be a
most welcome addition and save a lot of window re-arranging.
4.11
New features
4.11
The original BBC Key was quite a trend setter in its use of maps and
graphics. This inception of the program is no less innovative. You can
load a map file and select records of places simply by drawing a
rectangle around their locations with the mouse and clicking. Key can
also control an interactive video disc player if you have a genlock
board fitted. Possibly with 1992 in mind, Key has been designed to run
in a variety of languages.
4.11
Index files
4.11
A lot of thought has gone into the display of information. The user is
able to design his or her own forms for displaying and printing data,
including an option for tabular display. Iæm not sure if this feature is
fully implemented as it seemed very easy to make a dogæs dinner of the
whole process. Unusually for a dedicated educational information
retrieval program, Key Plus can handle index files. When you have
carried out a search or a sort, you can save the criteria as an index
file for future reference. This can be re-used by dragging the index
file on to the appropriate menu and away you go. This feature, which is
a joy to use, is also available for user defined card formats.
4.11
Graphs
4.11
The graphing and statistical facilities are very comprehensive and are
easily accessed from the initial menu. These have a particularly nice
feature whereby graphs and charts are automatically rescaled when the
window is resized so that the whole graph remains in view. Graphs can
only be exported as sprite files at the moment although future enhance
ments of the program will include the ability to export them as
drawfiles.
4.11
Editing
4.11
New files are created by clicking on the create option on the Key Edit
icon on the menu bar and existing files are edited by dragging their
folder on to the same icon. You are offered three alternatives: to edit
data, structure or graphics. Unfortunately, you can only choose one of
these options per editing session and if you decide, after changing the
structure of the file, that you wish to edit the data, you need to close
down the datafile and reopen it again.
4.11
Datatypes
4.11
The program caters for an impressive range of data types. As well as the
more usual string and numeric handling facilities, the user can set up a
datafile which includes date, formula, graphic, map coordinate, video
and, most surprising of all, relational fields. In addition, token and
nominal fields with predefined (multiple choice type) categories can be
constructed. Because the data in this type of field is held in much the
same way that tokenized Basic keywords are stored, it can represent a
much larger amount of information in the final output of a file. This
feature not only reduces the amount of disc space required but also
lessens the likelihood of data entry errors. The down side of this
plethora of field types is that it presupposes a certain level of
sophistication on the part of the user. The manual (which in its present
form does not have an index) does give clear and concise explanations of
each field type. However, you can only subsequently alter the structure
of the datafile with respect to field lengths and not field types. One
very useful new feature is that numeric fields have a ödata unknownò
option, which is automatically excluded from all calculations. Data can
also be entered into these fields as units of measurement yet still have
all mathematical operations carried out on them.
4.11
Speed
4.11
My biggest criticism of Key is its speed. Editing a large file is rather
slow as the program seemed to need to access the disc very frequently.
It is possible to allocate a section of memory as a data cache, in much
the same way that font caches are used in Desktop Publishing. Unfor
tunately, the size of this is not alterable on the fly as one needs to
change the configuration file for Key. It would be much easier to be
able to set these parameters from a preferences option on the Key icon
or from within the program.
4.11
One other niggle concerns its apparent inability to search for a blank
field. For example in the supplied file, Pakfield 1851, I tried
unsuccessfully to see what sort of people had no form of occupation
listed against their name but was unsuccessful even though browsing
through the records revealed that there were many that matched this
condition. Does the government use Key to compile its unemployment
figures?
4.11
Conclusions
4.11
I think that Key Plus could be very attractive to the generalist user,
especially if they already happen to be acquainted with RISC-OS. Iæm
usually all in favour of discarding the manual and experimenting with a
program but I found myself dipping into it more frequently than I care
to admit. While itæs nice to see an educational package which is so
fully featured, itæs just possible that a novice user could become
overwhelmed by all the easy to access options and spend a long time
going down interesting but rather blind alleys. For instance, itæs
possible, in no time at all, to find your screen covered by myriad
windows. Having said that, there is no doubt that it is a marked
improvement on the labyrinth of menus and sub-menus that characterized
the BBC version.
4.11
Whilst I wouldnæt like to say that Key represents the final word in
school databases, it is certainly a step in the direction that other
(commercial) databases, such as Superbase running under Windows 3, are
going. ITV have an ongoing policy of improving the program in response
to feedback from users and this should help knock off some of the rough
edges of the program. I look forward to seeing the promised junior
version as well as the related KeyCalc spreadsheet.
4.11
Prices
4.11
ITV have adopted a very flexible pricing policy which takes account of
the pocket of the purchaser. The price of site licence ranges from ú60
for a small primary school to ú150 for a large secondary school with
more than 800 pupils. Individual purchasers can buy a single copy for
ú50 plus VAT. These prices represent excellent value for money for a
state of the art program positively bristling with powerful features.
4.11
Support is not built into the price of the package but is available for
ú15 per annum for three years. This also entitles you to regular program
upgrades as they become available. I think that this is a not unreason
able way of enabling ITV to charge a very low entry price while leaving
the option open for schools to invest an extra few pounds should they
feel that the program warrants it.ááA
4.11

4.11
Control Programming with Arachnid
4.11
Peter Thomson
4.11
Arachnid is a real-time extension for the Archimedes computer for
control systems. The reviewed system consisted of Termite Ö an interface
box to plug into the user port (ú132 +VAT) and Arachnid Ö a disc of
software with a very comprehensive manual (ú100 +VAT) both from Paul
Fray Ltd.
4.11
Hardware
4.11
The interface box is the same ÉTermiteæ as sold for the BBC-B. It plugs
into the user port on any I/O board and brings the 8 data lines out to
16 sockets giving 8 input and 8 output lines. These are optically
isolated both for input and output with a DC power supply supplied by
the user. The input line will drive the same output line so that
connections should not be made to both at the same time. The board is
well made, mounted in a plastic box.
4.11
A310 system
4.11
The Arachnid software has been developed to run on the A310 with Acorn
I/O board or with Paul Frayæs own interface boards. I ran it without any
problems on an A3000 with the Morley user port but it would not run with
the HCCS board. This could be because SWI öI/O_Podule_Hardwareò (&40500)
which can be used to report the base address of upgrade hardware is not
given a return value by the HCCS board.
4.11
Programmers only
4.11
You have to be able to program in Basic in order to use this package.
Arachnid software comes in two parts. A relocatable module that handles
input and output from all the ports available to the system and a large
library of Basic procedures that help with programming the processing
between input and output. These procedures are well written and
extremely well documented. All those I tried functioned effectively.
There is also a tutorial section that includes a number of simple
programs to demonstrate how the system works but after that it is up to
the programmer to create a working application using this system.
4.11
Mode of operation
4.11
The user sets up links between input and output by calling procedures
from the software library using appropriate parameters and additional
programming in Basic. The module code checks for any change of input
every 0.01s. If it detects a change in input that has been identified as
a link to output by the Basic program, it passes control to that
procedure. The module program will continue to put such input events
into a queue until the Basic procedure returns control. The Basic
procedure is not interrupted. If there is a further event in the queue
then the relevant procedure is called but if the queue is empty, the
system waits for the next event. For this system to work it is essential
that all procedures operate quickly without pause and then return
control.
4.11
Evaluation
4.11
The author has developed his own jargon to describe the operation of
control software. There is enough jargon about already and I found much
of this unnecessary.
4.11
The software assumes a linear relationship between input and output with
a particular input being linked to a specific output procedure. Many
control applications which need computer supervision rather than
dedicated logic are based on decision tables or a series of rules which
may vary with time, being dependent on the past history of input and
output as well as current events. This would require complex programming
with Arachnid because it has been deliberately written as an event
driven control system to avoid the need to set up this type of complex
decision table.
4.11
Another section of industrial control programming is achieved by
manually driving the system through the computer with the computer
monitoring and recording the relationships of input and output. This
file can then be edited before being used as the process control file.
This would also be difficult to program with this software.
4.11
Arachnid has a fixed order of priorities for handling the input ports
which cannot be changed. If a high priority event is using up all the
processor time then a lower priority event may never be called.
4.11
Facilities already available
4.11
The experienced programmer already has a range of facilities for real
time operation within the normal operating system.
4.11
OS_CallEvery (SWI &3C) will call a specified machine code program every
time a delay elapses. The shortest time interval is 0.01s and this can
be used to take measurements or monitor any input at regular intervals.
The code that is called must push all registers on entry and pull them
again on exit, with the exception of the stack pointer itself. The code
must not use any non re-entrant SWI if running as a background task to a
program in Basic. i.e. if a Basic program is producing text on screen
display then the called code cannot use a SWI to read the analogue port
or user port as both make use of SWI &06. It must read the port
directly.
4.11
OS_CallAfter (SWI &3B) will call a machine code program after a single
time delay. Again the shortest time is 0.01s.
4.11
OS_RemoveTickerEvent (SWI &3D) is used to remove a timed event from the
list.
4.11
OS_ReadMonotonicTime (SWI &42) gives time in 0.01s intervals since the
last hard reset. It can be used to replace all countdown clocks. To do
this, add the current clock time to the required interval and then store
it. Use OS_CallEvery to check any stored values for time intervals every
0.01s and report when the time interval is reached.
4.11
OS_GenerateEvent (SWI &22) can be used to generate interrupts from a
wide range of events such as any output buffer empty or full, key
pressed, ADC end conversion etc. The event also needs to be enabled with
OS_Byte 14. This can also be used within the code called by OS_CallEvery
to generate a user event.
4.11
Conclusion
4.11
Arachnid is an interesting package for those who already know something
of both programming and control. A competent programmer might not need
it, and I would think that a novice would find it too difficult. The
supporting documentation for the user is excellent but it does need a
good index.
4.11
It is worth purchasing if you are developing event driven control
applications.ááA
4.11

4.11
Conform
4.11
Diane Hobson
4.11
After a very long wait for any concept keyboard software for the
Archimedes, typically, two packages are released together! Last month I
reviewed Longman Logotronæs Concept Designer and now I will review
Conform and try to give a comparison at the end.
4.11
The package
4.11
Conform is available from Northwest Semerc for ú15.00 +VAT. The package
contains one disc, an A5 manual and four paper overlays in both A3 and
A4 size.
4.11
The disc contains two applications, !Conform, the overlay designer, and
!RunCK, the driver which enables an overlay to be used. Also, Jotter
font is included, which is a font suitable for Primary School use and is
the default font used by the program, and five example overlay files.
4.11
The disc is not copy protected and easily installs on a hard disc.
Conform is not a ÉBlue Fileæ program like many from Northwest Semerc and
therefore is not freely copyable.
4.11
The versions under review are !RunCK Ö 0.24 and !Conform Ö 1.24
4.11
The manual
4.11
The A5 manual is small and concise, reflecting the ease of use of the
package. There is neither a contents page nor an index but there should
be no difficulty in finding the information that you need.
4.11
!RunCK
4.11
When this is installed, overlay files can be loaded by double-clicking
or dragging to the !RunCK icon (on the left hand side of the icon bar).
Alternatively, just double click on the overlay file and !RunCK will
load automatically (provided it has been seen). The amount of memory
used is only 32k, so you should have enough memory available even on a
1M machine.
4.11
When an overlay is loaded, the icon on the icon bar changes and the name
of the overlay is displayed underneath. The concept keyboard can then be
used with any multi-tasking program and also can enter text or commands
in Basic or at the command line.
4.11
If you wish to change overlays, just drag the new one to the icon bar or
double click on it. This will then be the current overlay. Clicking
<menu> over !RunCK produces just three options: Info, On/Off and Quit.
On/Off allows you to switch concept keyboard input on and off. This does
not, of course, switch off the power to the concept keyboard, just the
ability to use it.
4.11
!Conform
4.11
!Conform is the overlay design program. It appears almost fully RISC-OS
compliant as you can use other RISC-OS programs at the same time, but
you cannot have more than one overlay file loaded at once. It requires
256k of memory.
4.11
The application loads onto the right hand side of the icon bar. The icon
bar menu has three menu options Info, Configure (to alter the default
font and font size) and Quit.
4.11
Designing the layout
4.11
Clicking <select> over the icon opens a window that looks like a concept
keyboard. You can now design the layout of your overlay by either
choosing a ready defined grid from a menu option or set out your own. To
define an area on the concept keyboard just drag with <select> over the
cell(s) required. The chosen area will appear to be covered with a white
square or rectangle. Once defined, the size of an area cannot be changed
without first deleting the originally defined area. This is easily done
by dragging with <adjust> in any part of the area. Then a new area can
be defined as before.
4.11
Entering the messages
4.11
The messages are defined by double clicking on the white area required.
This opens up a dialogue box into which you enter your text. The text
you have entered will be shown on the white area nicely centred. If,
however, there is not enough room for the text you have entered, a red
border will appear and you will either have to edit the amount of text
by re-opening the dialogue box or change the size of the font (a menu
option (Style) is available for this). The Style option also allows you
to choose any font you have loaded.
4.11
If you require to enter a special code such as <return> or <print>, you
double click as before but when the dialogue box appears you click on
the toggle size icon of this window and it will open up to reveal all
the available control codes. Just click on the one required and press
<return>. An area that has a code allocated to it will be shown with a
light blue border.
4.11
The space bar is not included as a special key. This has to be defined
in the text dialogue box with just a press of the space bar. When the
overlay is printed, of course, this will just show as a blank space. One
way of getting round this would be to define the area with the text
öSpace Barò, print it out and then edit the overlay afterwards.
4.11
Pictures
4.11
Sprites and Draw files can be shown on the overlay for printing but
cannot be transferred to the screen via the concept keyboard, so you
must remember to enter the text you wish the picture to represent. The
Sprite or Draw files are just dragged onto the area and will be scaled
to fit. Although the text is then entered in the normal way, it will not
be shown on the overlay. The files can be dragged directly from any disc
but should also be copied to the Sprite or Draw directories within the
!Conform application so they can be found if the overlay is reloaded.
4.11
Saving
4.11
Once you have completed your overlay, you can save it by using the menu
option Save, into which you can enter the path or simply drag the icon
to the directory viewer. The overlays are given their own filetype (C83)
and icon and can be renamed after saving without this being affected.
4.11
Printing
4.11
Your completed overlay can be printed out via the menu using the RISC-OS
printer drivers. The overlay name will automatically be printed in the
top right hand corner in the font used for the rest of the text. The
printing does take a while, particularly if pictures are involved, but
it is well worth it for the result.
4.11
Conclusion
4.11
!Conform is everything it claims to be Ö a no frills, easy-to-use
overlay generator that I can thoroughly recommend.
4.11
The only small niggle I have is that, in the !Conform menu option
öStyleò, the window cannot be moved around the screen making it rather
awkward if the text you are altering is below it. (If you own a copy of
FormEd you can easily rectify this.)
4.11
Conform v. Concept Designer
4.11
There are advantages and disadvantages with both packages, so I will try
to be fair and not too negative.
4.11
Conform does have what I feel to be the biggest advantage and that is
being able to print the overlay. The concept keyboard can be used at the
command line and in Basic.
4.11
The Concept Designer package is more sophisticated and contains more
applications than Conform with !SoftTouch, the concept keyboard emulator
and !TouchData, similar to Touch Explorer Plus on the BBC, which allows
text and pictures to be explored on the screen. Different levels of
overlays can be used and many more special commands can be entered.
Different types of concept keyboards i.e. Serial or PC are catered for
and keyboard delays can be altered.
4.11
Neither program seems to have thought about the space bar and, unfor
tunately, the files are not compatible with each other.
4.11
Your choice must depend on your needs. If you mainly require to use the
concept keyboard for Word Processing, Conform is probably all you need.
Even if you would make use of Concept Designersæ extra facilities and
programs, unless a print option is added, you may find, for only another
ú15, Conform would be worth buying too, just to print out the over
lays.ááA
4.11

4.11
KAS Software    74 Dovers Park, Bathford, Bath  BA1 7UE. (0225Ö858464)
4.11
Longman-Logotron    Dales Brewery, Gwydir Street, Cambridge, CB1 2LJ.
(0223Ö323656) (Ö460208)
4.11
MicroPower Ltd    Northwood House, North Street, Leeds LS7 2AA.
(0532Ö458800)
4.11
Micro Studio Ltd    22 Churchgate Street, Soham, Ely, Cambridgeshire.
4.11
Northwest SEMERC    Fitton Hill CDC, Rosary Road, Oldham, OL8 2QE.
4.11
Oak Solutions (p19)    Cross Park
House, Low Green, Rawdon, Leeds, LS19 6HA. (0532Ö502615) (Ö506868)
4.11
Paul Fray Ltd    4 Flint Lane, Ely Road, Waterbeach, Cambridge CB5 9QZ.
(0223Ö441134) (Ö441017).
4.11
P.R.E.S.    6 Ava House, Chobham, Surrey. (0276Ö72046)
4.11
Racing Car Computers    1 Mulberry
Cottage, Tye Green, Elsenham, Bishopæs Stortford, CM22 6DZ.
(0279Ö812496)
4.11
Ray Maidstone (p4 & 21)    421
Sprowston Road, Norwich, NR3 4EH. (0603Ö407060) (Ö417447)
4.11
RESOURCE    Exeter Road, Doncaster, DN2 4PY. (0302Ö340331)
4.11
Safesell Exhibitions (p13)    Market
House, Cross Road, Tadworth, Surrey KT20 5SR.
4.11
Sherston Software    Swan Barton, Sherston, Malmesbury, Wilts. SN16 0LH.
(0666Ö840433) (Ö840048)
4.11
Techsoft UK Ltd (p8)    Old School
Lane, Erryrs, Mold, Clwyd, CH7 4DA. (082Ö43318)
4.11
The Serial Port    Burcott Manor, Wells, Somerset, BA5 1NH. (0243Ö531194)
(Ö531196)
4.11
Topologika    P.O. Box 39, Stilton, Peterborough, PE7 3RL. (0733Ö244682)
4.11
Vector Services Ltd    13 Denning
ton Road, Wellingborough, Northants, NN8 2RL.
4.11

4.11
Freddy Teddyæs Adventure
4.11
Diane Hobson
4.11
This is the latest Freddy Teddy release from Topologika priced at ú19.95
+VAT (or ú21 from Archive). It is described as a mouse and icon driven
adventure game for the very young and the aims of the program are öto
develop logical thinking, problem solving and decision makingò.
4.11
The package contains the disc, a Teacheræs Booklet, a simple story book
and a letter from Freddy Teddy.
4.11
The disc is not copy protected and you can make several backup copies,
provided they are used on one site, and easily installs on a hard disc.
The program may not be used on a network without full written
permission.
4.11
Teachers booklet
4.11
The Teachers Booklet is concise and to the point, giving easy to follow
instructions on how to set up and play the adventure without spoiling
the fun by giving you the solution.
4.11
The adventure
4.11
Freddy Teddy wants to go on a picnic with his friends but, before he
can, the child(ren) must help him collect some items he needs.
4.11
The program takes some time to load from floppy disc as all the voices
and sprites are loaded into memory, but the child is given an opportun
ity to count backwards as this is happening.
4.11
You are first presented with a choice of the maximum numeral that will
be used in the counting activities (2-10). Then you can set a time
limit, Winter, Summer or no limit (Winter being the shortest, as are
Winter days). You can then choose to use either the mouse or the
keyboard. The settings chosen cannot be altered unless you quit and
restart the program.
4.11
Now itæs the childrenæs turn to give Freddy Teddy some information and
they will be asked öHow many are in your group?ò (maximum 5), then öHow
many girls?ò and then öHow many boys?ò
4.11
The adventure begins on a path in a wood and you can see a sign. You are
given the option of reading the sign. When you have chosen whether to
read it or not you are presented with eight small pictures representing
the scenes you can visit. The scenes have to be visited in a certain
order to collect each clue/item and if you get stuck the Wise Owl will
usually help. The child(ren) should be told to remember what they find
and the numbers they count as these will be needed later.
4.11
If the scenes are successfully completed an invitation has to be filled
in and this is when the details of the adventure need to be remembered.
When the invitation is correctly completed there is a reward of an
animated picnic scene to the tune of Teddy Bearsæ Picnic. You are then
given the opportunity to play again.
4.11
Pressing <escape> at any time during the adventure ends that attempt and
asks if you would like another go. The adventure must be completed in
one go as there is no facility to save when playing.
4.11
Conclusion
4.11
The graphics are superb and immediately appealing to young children. The
overall idea is very good and beautifully presented. However, I cannot
wholly recommend the program as I find the age range of the skills
involved rather diverse. The puzzles seem to be suitable for 3 or 4 year
olds but the memory, reading and sequencing skills are more suited to an
older child. (No specific age is recommended in the documentation).
4.11
I do not feel that the program would appeal to one child for very long
because the adventure is almost identical each time, so home use may be
somewhat limited (I have to admit that perhaps a 3/4 year old might like
the repetition, but my 5 year old has certainly lost interest after
playing just three times and my 7 year old announced it was öboringò
after just two, despite her first reaction being favourable.)
4.11
The program would be most useful in an early Infant School classroom
where it would not be repeated by the same child(ren) many times. The
adventure could be complimented by using the appealing sprites to
illustrate written work (this flexibility of RISC-OS can make these
graphical programs good value).ááA
4.11

4.11

4.11

4.11
Iæm never too keen to publish uncomplimentary reviews, but the first
person to whom we sent Tracer for review said they didnæt want to review
it as they didnæt like to appear too negative.
4.11
I mentioned this fact last month and that Midnight Graphics (Dabhand
Computing) said they had not had a single negative comment from any of
the over 600 users of Tracer. I asked for comments from readers and got
about a dozen letters all of which made mentions of the limitations of
Tracer and some of which said that what it does it does well enough.
(Also, many of them said that DrawPlus (Careware 13) was a boon in
touching up Traceræs output.)  So I passed the letters on to Ian Lynch
to act as referee. His comments follow. Ed.
4.11

 See you at öThe Showò?
4.12
I hope that a good number of you will be able to pop down to the Acorn
User Show to see us. (See page 8 for details.) Hopefully, Ali, Adrian
and I will all be there together with one or two of the regular
contributors. You will be able to buy your Archive mugs at a special
show price and we will be selling off one or two items of hardware and
software at special prices.
4.12
We raised a lot of money at the show last year by selling charity items
that you donated. In terms of raising money for charity, this works a
lot better than just putting them in the magazine because we put each
item at a high price first then, if no one buys it, we drop the price a
little until we find someone who would value it at the given price. If
we over-price something in the magazine, we have to wait a month and
then drop the price, or if we under-price it, we get inundated with
phone calls!
4.12
So please send your charity items (hardware as well as software) as soon
as possible, or just bring them to the show Ö on the first day, if
possible. (In this last year we raised almost ú23,000 for charity. Many
thanks to all who contributed!)
4.12
Donæt leave us!
4.12
This is the last issue of Volume 4 so, for quite a large number of you,
this will be your last issue Ö unless you send in another yearæs
subscription. We thought about copying other magazines and offering a
free this or a free that if you re-subscribe but we decided against it.
The way we see it is that those people who really value Archive will
remember to re-subscribe. However, some of us have short memories, so we
have provided three aid-memoires. Firstly, if this is your last
magazine, there should be a renewal letter in with it, secondly, it
should say ö4.12ò on the bottom right hand corner of the address label
and, thirdly, it should have arrived in a white envelope instead of the
usual  buff one.
4.12
I trust that, if you enjoy reading Archive (as much as we enjoy
producing it!), youæll stay with us a little longer at least.
4.12
Best wishes to you all,
4.12
          Paul Beverley
4.12
P.S. Thanks for all your good wishes Ö we had a really great holiday in
U.S.A. (and managed to arrange some even better prices on removable hard
drives! Ö See Products Available.)
4.12

4.12
Products Available
4.12
Å    4M upgrades for A310 Ö Over the last few months, we have had a lot of
very positive feedback from readers about the I.F.E.L. memory upgrades
for the A310 and so we decided to have a look at them ourselves with a
view to stocking them. (We have in the past stocked other A310 memory
upgrades but stopped because of the difficulties we experienced.) We are
very happy with the quality of the I.F.E.L. upgrades and have therefore
arranged a deal with them so that we can offer the 4 M memory upgrade to
members for ú350. This includes the cost of collecting the computer from
your home (or place of work), installing and testing the upgrade and
returning the computer to you, hopefully within a couple of working
days. The upgrade is soldered in which minimises the risk of things
working loose in transit (which was the problem that we had with the
other upgrades). I.F.E.L. do also sell a plug-in D.I.Y. type of upgrade
but that is NOT the one that we are supplying.
4.12
If you want to have ROM sockets that take the larger RISC-OS ROMs, we
can fit them for you. However, we do not advise plugging these sockets
into the existing sockets because you are then back to the potential
problems we had before. What we will do is to desolder the old sockets
and solder in the new ones. This is labour intensive and increases the
cost of the ROM upgrade to ú35 but it will give you a much more reliable
end result.
4.12
Å    A3000 ARM3 upgrade Ö Aleph One and Atomwide are now offering an ARM3
upgrade for the A3000. It involves desoldering the ARM2 and fitting a
socket that will take the ARM3 board Ö a technically difficult task as
the A3000 uses so-called surface-mount components. Donæt worry, Atomwide
collect your computer, do the upgrade, test it and return it to you all
for ú399 +VAT.
4.12
Å    A4 flatbed scanners Ö DT Software have produced an interface and
software to run an Epson GT4000 (or GT-6000) from an Archimedes
computer. The main features are: 25 to 400 (or 600) d.p.i., 24 bit
colour, 256 grey scales, full RISC-OS application. The prices are ú1299
+VAT for the GT4000 or ú1699 +VAT for the GT6000. This includes software
and the interface board. (These prices compare rather favourably with
Clares GT4000 with interface for ú1799 +VAT. The list price for the
GT4000 is ú1499, so DTæs is a very good price.)
4.12
Å    Acorn Desktop C and Acorn Desktop Assembler Ö Acorn is releasing major
upgrades to its C and Assembler programming development software which
integrate the software development tools into the RISC-OS desktop.
4.12
Each package contains öall the tools needed for software development in
that language for debugging, editing program source, generating object
code, managing the construction of applications from multiple source
files and using support utilities.ò
4.12
Hardware requirements: You need at least 2M of RAM to run the desktop
language products. For professional development, a hard disk is advised
and it is required if you wish to use both products together.
4.12
Upgrades: Existing owners of previous language products can upgrade
through Vector Services as follows (the prices include postage and
packing):
4.12
        inc VAT
4.12
C release 3 to Desktop C    ú85
ú99.87
4.12
C release 2 or 1 to Desktop C    ú105
ú123.87
4.12
Assembler to Desktop Assembler    ú75
ú88.12
4.12
Software Developers Toolbox
4.12
  to Desktop Assembler    ú75
ú88.12
4.12
To obtain your upgrade, you should send to Vector Services:
4.12
áÖááyour name and address
4.12
áÖááyour original disc (disc 1 only for C release 3, the utilities disc
for the Software Developers Toolbox.)
4.12
áÖááa cheque or postal order, made out to öAcorn Directò for the inc VAT
price indicated above.
4.12
The offer expires 31st December 1991.
4.12
Å    ARCtist Ö The 4th Dimension have produced a 256 colour RISC-OS
compatible art package for just ú24.95 (ú23 through Archive). The
package includes several hundred kbytes of clip art. (This has no link
with the original program of the same name Ö one of the original art
packages produced for the Archimedes.)
4.12
Å    ArcRecorder(s) Ö The sound sampler produced by Oak Solutions (which is
now called ÉOakRecorderæ) is available in small quantities though not
yet enough to match the demand. Hybrid Technologyæs offering will be
available within a few days, possibly by the time you read this, I donæt
know what sort of quantities they are producing, but I doubt whether
they will be able to meet initial demand as this is proving to be a very
popular product. The important question is how do the two products
compare? It does look as if Hybrid Technologyæs software is more
extensive but all we have to go on at the moment are the manufacturersæ
claims! As soon as we have a review copy of either (or both) weæll get
something into print.
4.12
Å    ARM3 prices down again Ö Aleph One have reduced the price of their
ARM3 upgrade to ú389 + VAT (ú459) so we have been able to bring the
Archive price down to ú390 inc VAT.
4.12
Å    BlastOn Ö Another offering from Eterna Ö a shoot-em-up game with what
Micro User reckons are ögood graphics and sound, making a professional-
looking packageò. ú19.95 from Eterna or ú19 through Archive.
4.12
Å    Break 147 / SuperPool is out at last and itæs very impressive. You
have a complete 3D view of the table which you prowl around studying the
options for your next shot. Once you take your position for the shot,
you line up the direction plus the point on the ball which you are going
to strike for your stun shot or to screw the cue ball back for your next
shot etc. You can play against other humans or the computer by arranging
tournaments. There is action replay so you can see what went wrong (or
right) with your last shot. The referee speaks the score and tells you
when you have fouled or have a touching ball etc. ú24.95 from the 4th
Dimension or ú23 through Archive.
4.12
Å    Bubble Fair Ö This is the latest offering from Eterna. I havenæt been
able to find out much about it yet except that it has 72 levels, 3
tunes, 256 colour overscan screen, challenges and bonuses! The price is
ú19.95 from Eterna or ú19 through Archive.
4.12
Å    Design Concept Fonts price increase. Design Concept have increased the
range of their decorative fonts (see Archive 4.8 p53 for a review) to 14
and have extended and improved some of the original ones and they have
put up the price from ú1.50 per font to ú2.50 Ö but thatæs still
incredibly cheap! Site licences are available for ú5 per font. The other
related software that Design Concept produce has also been improved and
updated. (No VAT is charged as Design Concept are not VAT registered.)
4.12
Å    Einstein Ö Ace Computing have produced an all-in-one multi-dimensional
design and animation package for just ú120 +VAT (ú125 through Archive).
It presents a öhighly consistent world for 2, 3 or 4 dimensional graphic
designò (!) and claims to be öthe first product for the Archimedes which
allows interactive manipulation of Bezier surfacesò. The press release
talked about using Bezier surfaces to produce such things as car body
shells, which was fine, but when it talked about ö4D Bezier
hypervolumesò I gave up trying to understand it. I suggest you contact
Tony Cheal at Ace for further details but it certainly sounds
impressive!
4.12
Å    FaxScan Ö Keeping up their reputation for innovative design ideas,
Spacetech have taken advantage of Amstradæs ability to produce cheap
volume products to provide a versatile add-on for the Archimedes. If you
have an Amstrad FX9600T (now discontinued) or an FX9600AT fax machine,
Spacetech can sell you an interface which plugs into the Econet space in
the A3000 or Archimedes and links to the serial interface on the Amstrad
fax. Spacetechæs software then enables you to use the fax as a 200
d.p.i., sheet-fed scanner and, by adding a standard parallel printer
cable, to send faxes direct from the desktop so that output from DTP,
Paint or Draw can be faxed without having to print it Ö a time saver for
those with dot-matrix printers and a revolution for those without. You
can even use the fax machine as an Epson compatible 216 d.p.i. printer!
The interface and software costs ú99.50 +VAT. If you buy it with the
FX9600AT, which is a fax and an answering machine, the total price,
including carriage and one yearæs on-site maintenance, is just ú490.75
+VAT.
4.12
(See what I mean about innovation! We are trying to make this available
through Archive, so check the Price List for prices, assuming we get it
organised by the time we have to go to press.)
4.12
Å    Hawk V9 software upgrade Ö Wild Vision are offering an upgrade to
their Hawk V9 colour video digitiser. For ú29.90 inc VAT, you can get a
new ROM, a new version of !FastGrab which incorporates the !ChangeFSI
routines and a new manual. ChangeFSI is available separately from Wild
Vision for ú22 +VAT. This is the new desktop version.
4.12
Å    Landmarks Ö Two more Landmarks packages have appeared from Longman-
Logotron: Rain Forest and The Victorians. ú19 each (+ VAT) from Logotron
or ú21 through Archive.
4.12
Å    Master Break is a snooker style trivia quiz for 1 to 4 players. It has
over 2,000 questions on science & nature, pop music, geography, sports &
pastimes, arts & history. ú19.95 from Superior or ú19 through Archive.
4.12
Å    RenderBender II Ö Clares now have a RISC-OS compliant version of their
RenderBender package at ú135 (inc VAT) or ú120 through Archive. It has a
new front end which allows you to draw the scenes (a bit like !Draw)
before converting into 3D by the ray-tracer part of the package (which
can work in multi-tasking mode). There is also an animator included and
you can animate manually by in-betweening or by assigning formulae to
the objects.
4.12
Å    Rhapsody II Ö Clares have released version two of their their music
system, Rhapsody. Full details are given in the review on page 56. The
upgrade price is ú15.50 (inc VAT) from Clares (only) and the full
package is ú61.95 from Clares or ú57 through Archive.
4.12
Å    SCSI Drives Ö Continuing what has become a well-established Archive
tradition (!), we have worked some better prices on SCSI drives Ö most
notably on removable drives. Itæs a long story involving various
contacts with U.S.A. but the bottom line is that we are now able to
offer two alternatives on removables and some good prices on external
fixed hard drives.
4.12
Removable drives Ö We now offer a choice between the Atomwide removable
drive and a öMac-typeò drive. Both are the same price Ö ú525 inc VAT &
carriage and this includes one 42M cartridge and a data cable (please
specify podule type). If you want an Oak podule with the drive, add ú200
or for a Lingenuity A3000 podule, add ú160.
4.12
So what is the difference between the drives? Firstly, the Mac-type
drives are öMac shapedò Ö 10ö x 10ò and 2╜ö high (to sit underneath a
Mac computer) whereas Atomwideæs drives are 6ò wide, 4ö high and 10ò
deep Ö much better suited to putting alongside the Archimedes computer.
The second difference is that the Mac drives are plastic cased whereas
Atomwide use metal cases. Finally, Atomwide have used a more powerful
fan and placed it square on at the back of the drive unit whereas the
Mac drives, being flat, have the fan by the side of, and at right angles
to, the drive unit. They point downwards so the positioning of these
drives is more critical.
4.12
External fix hard drives Ö We have found a supply of fixed hard drives
(from a company called Frog Systems!) that are very competitively
priced. The only disadvantage I can see is that, like the Mac removable
drives, they are the öwrongò shape Ö i.e. 10ö x 10ò and 2╜ö high Ö and
therefore take up more desk space than those drives specifically
designed for the Archimedes. If you buy one of these drives as a first
drive (i.e. with a podule) there is a certain price advantage but if you
already own a podule and just want a second drive, the price advantage
is huge. For example, we sell Oakæs 100M Worrawinnie drive (their
economy version) at ú630 without a podule whereas the 100M Mac drives
are only ú470 and are slightly faster! The 200M Frog at ú730 compares
well with the 100M High Speed Oak drive at ú700. More details are given
in the price comparison chart below. (WW = Oak WorraWinnie, HS = Oak
High Speed, AW = AtomWide.) Firstly, Archive prices including an Oak
podule....
4.12
    WW    HS    Frog    AW
4.12
20M    395        490
4.12
45M    500        530
4.12
50M        600        620
4.12
65M            560
4.12
80M    615
4.12
100M    730    800    670    790
4.12
200M    1030    1200    930
4.12
300M        1900    1390
4.12
640M        2500    1790
4.12
1000M            2390
4.12
If you look at the prices without podule, i.e. for those of you looking
for a second SCSI drive, the differences in price are more marked....
4.12
    WW    HS    Frog    AW
4.12
20M    295        290
4.12
45M    400        330
4.12
50M        500        420
4.12
65M            360
4.12
80M    515
4.12
100M    630    700    470    590
4.12
200M    930    1100    730
4.12
300M        1800    1190
4.12
640M        2400    1590
4.12
1000M            2190
4.12
The other advantage of the Frog drives when compared to the Worrawinnies
is that they have dual connectors at the back which makes daisy-chaining
easier and they also have a push-button ID setting which aids setting up
when you have a number of different drives. (The Worrawinnies donæt have
any SCSI connector on the back. For cheapness, they just have a cable
coming out of the back with an IDC connector on the end Ö i.e. to plug
straight into the Oak podule.)
4.12
We have done some speed tests on the 100M drives so that you can relate
speeds to prices. The first is the raw data transfer rate in kbytes/
second. The Oak HS and the Atomwide are the same because they are using
the same Quantum drive mechanism. The Worrawinnie is only tentative
because Oak are changing the type of drive they use so this information
will be out-of-date by the time you read it!
4.12
mode    WW    HS    Frog    AW
4.12
0    ?650?    1170    884    1170
4.12
15    ?650?    1156    884    1156
4.12
21    ?530?    735    286    735
4.12
We also did our other speed test where we copy the contents of the
Applications 2 disc (i.e. lots of files) from one directory on the drive
to another. We have in the past quoted these as the time in seconds but
to make it easier to judge the speeds we have divided the time into the
total data copied (420k) to give a rate in kbytes/second.
4.12
mode    WW    HS    Frog    AW
4.12
0    ?42?    70    56    70
4.12
15    ?40?    65    53    65
4.12
21    ?36?    51    36    51
4.12
The Frog drives run at about 80% of the speed of the higher speed drives
in modes 0 and 15 and 70% in mode 21. (This suggests that they have a
smaller ram cache and so cannot ötake up as much slackò as the other
drives when the computer is busy updating the screen.)
4.12
Å    Top Banana Ö öJoin the frantic fruit fight to save the planet.ò A
company called, simply, öHexò has joined the Archimedes games fraternity
with this arcade style game which boasts four worlds, three level
parallax scrolling in 256 colour mode. The sound is ösolid sampled
cyber-mixedò and the graphics use colour sampled video. It comes in
öecologically friendly packagingò and includes a free loose-fit T-shirt.
What more could you want for just ú25.99 or ú24 through Archive?
4.12
Å    World Championship Squash Ö Play club level or championship level
squash without even a single bead of sweat on your forehead! Play
against the computer or another human being. Various options including
ball speed and type of competition Ö knock out or ladder. The price is
ú25.99 from Krisalis Software or ú24 through Archive. (öAvailable 6th
Septemberò, they say.)
4.12
Å    Zelanites the Onslaught Ö MicroPower have entered the Archimedes games
world with their first game which follows the basic formula of space
invaders with variations similar to Arcadians where the baddies come
sweeping down at you from the midst of the hoards tracking across the
screen and working their way down towards you. There are also various
bonuses to be had by shooting other objects which make their way across
the top of the screen. Finally, there are a number of different objects
which you can catch as they fall from the sky. These offer some positive
helps such as extra shooting power or a protective umbrella but donæt
catch them all Ö some are distinctly unhelpful such as one which makes
the controls operate the wrong way round! The price is ú24.95 inc VAT or
ú23 through Archive.
4.12
Review software received...
4.12
We have received review copies of the following software and hardware:
ARCtist, Imagine, Cross 32 meta-assembler, Animynd Life, Master Break
(Quiz),  OutLook for Eizo 9080i.ááA
4.12

4.12
Government Health Warning Ö Reading this could seriously affect your
spiritual health.
4.12
öYou can prove anything from the bible.ò How many times have I heard
that? Well, yes, thatæs true to an extent but only if you pick some bits
out and ignore others and if you are prepared to take passages out of
context. For example, youæve probably heard the quotation öMoney is the
root of all evilò but the full quotation is that öthe love of money is a
root of all kinds of evilò (1 Timothy 6 v10) and that is certainly true
today Ö as much as it was almost 2,000 years ago when it was written.
4.12
What started me on this tack? Well, the bible passage I was reading this
morning included Jesusæ oft quoted words, öDo to others as you would
have them do to youò Ö a good principle, Iæm sure we would all agree.
However, the rest of the passage says things like, ölove your enemies,
do good to those who hate youò and öpray for those who ill-treat youò.
That puts a whole new complexion on it!
4.12
Donæt rely on mis-quotations, read for yourself what Jesus actually
said.
4.12

4.12

4.12
Norwich Computer Services 96a Vauxhall Street, Norwich, NR2 2SD. 0603-
766592 (764011)
4.12

4.12
4th Dimension    P.O. Box 4444, Sheffield. (0742Ö700661)
4.12
Abacus Training    29 Okus Grove, Upper Stratton, Swindon, Wilts, SN2
6QA.
4.12
Acorn Direct    13 Dennington Road, Wellingborough, Northants, NN8 2RL.
4.12
Acorn Computers Ltd    Fulbourn
Road, Cherry Hinton, Cambridge, CB1 4JN. (0223Ö245200) (Ö210685)
4.12
Ace Computing (p22)    27 Victoria
Road, Cambridge, CB4 3BW. (0223Ö322559) (Ö69180)
4.12
Aleph One Ltd    The Old Courthouse, Bottisham, Cambridge, CB5 9BA.
(0223Ö811679) (Ö812713)
4.12
Alpine Software     P.O.Box 25, Portadown, Craigavon, BT63 5UT.
(0762Ö342510)
4.12
Atomwide Ltd (p7)    23 The Greenway, Orpington, Kent, BR5 2AY.
(0689Ö838852) (Ö896088)
4.12
Avisoft     11 Meadow Close, Wolvey, Hinckley, LE10 3LW.
4.12
Beebug Ltd    117 Hatfield Road, St Albans, Herts, AL1 4JS. (0727Ö40303)
(Ö60263)
4.12
Clares Micro Supplies    98 Mid
dlewich Road, Rudheath, Northwich, Cheshire, CW9 7DA. (0606Ö48511)
(Ö48512)
4.12
Colton Software (p21)    2 Signet
Court, Swanns Road, Cambridge, CB5 8LA. (0954Ö311881) (Ö312010)
4.12
Computer Concepts (p30/31)  Gaddesden Place, Hemel Hempstead, Herts, HP2
6EX. (0442Ö63933) (Ö231632)
4.12
Data Store    6 Chatterton Road, Bromley, Kent. (081Ö460Ö8991)
(Ö313Ö0400)
4.12
David Pilling    P.O.Box 22, Thornton Cleveleys, Blackpool, FY5 1LR.
4.12
Design Concept    30 South Oswald Road, Edinburgh, EH9 2HG.
4.12
Domark    Ferry House 51Ö57 Lacy Road, London SW15 1PR. (081Ö780Ö2222)
4.12
DT Software    13 Northumberland Road, Leamington Spa  CV32 6HE.
4.12
EMR Ltd     14 Mount Close, Wickford, Essex, SS11 8HG. (0702Ö335747)
4.12
Eterna    4 rue de Massacan, 34740 Z.I. Vendargues, France. (010Ö33 +67Ö70
Ö53Ö97)
4.12
Hex    41a Charleston Street, London SE17 1NG. (071Ö701Ö5384)
4.12
Hybrid Technology    88 Butt Lane, Milton, Cambridge  CB4 6DG.
(0223Ö861522)
4.12
IFEL    36 Upland Drive, Plymouth, Devon, PL6 6BD. (0752Ö847286)
4.12
Irlam Instruments    133 London Road, Staines, Middlesex TW18 4HN.
(0895Ö811401)
4.12
Krisalis Software    Teque House, Masonæs Yard, Downs Row, Moorgate,
Rotherham, S60 2HD. (0709Ö372290)
4.12
Lingenuity (Lindis) (p38)    P.O.Box 10,
Halesworth, Suffolk, IP19 0DX. (0986Ö85Ö476) (Ö460)
4.12
Longman-Logotron    Dales Brewery, Gwydir Street, Cambridge, CB1 2LJ.
(0223Ö323656) (Ö460208)
4.12
LOOKsystems (p11)    47 Goodhale Road, Bowthorpe, Norwich, NR5 9AY.
(0603Ö764114) (Ö764011)
4.12
MicroPower Ltd    Northwood House, North Street, Leeds LS7 2AA.
(0532Ö458800)
4.12
Oak Solutions (p37)    Cross Park
House, Low Green, Rawdon, Leeds, LS19 6HA. (0532Ö502615) (Ö506868)
4.12
Ray Maidstone (p6 & 47)    421
Sprowston Road, Norwich, NR3 4EH. (0603Ö407060) (Ö417447)
4.12
Safesell Exhibitions (p8)    Market
House, Cross Road, Tadworth, Surrey KT20 5SR.
4.12
Sherston Software    Swan Barton, Sherston, Malmesbury, Wilts. SN16 0LH.
(0666Ö840433) (Ö840048)
4.12
Silicon Vision Ltd    Signal
House, Lyon Road, Harrow, Middlesex, HA1 2AG. (081Ö422Ö2274) (Ö427Ö5169)
4.12
Spacetech (p12)    21 West Wools, Portland, Dorset, DT5 2EA.
(0305Ö822753)
4.12
Superior Software    Regent House, Skinner Lane, Leeds, LS7 1AX.
(0532Ö459453)
4.12
Techsoft UK Ltd (p27)    Old School
Lane, Erryrs, Mold, Clwyd, CH7 4DA. (082Ö43318)
4.12
Vector Services Ltd    13 Denning
ton Road, Wellingborough, Northants, NN8 2RL.
4.12
Westland Systems Assessment     Telec House,
Goldcroft, Yeovil  BA21 4DQ.
4.12
Wild Vision    15 Witney Way, Boldon Colliery, Tyne & Wear NE35 9PE.
(091Ö519Ö1455) (Ö1929)
4.12
XOB    Balkeerie, Eassie by Forfar, Angus, DD8 1SR. (0307Ö84364)
4.12

4.12
Safesell
4.12
New
4.12

4.12
Hints and Tips
4.12
Å    Basic line lengths revisited (Archive 4.10 p7) Ö The Basic line input
buffer is 238 characters and so this is the most you can type in from
the Basic prompt. Once entered, this line is tokenised before being
stored as part of a program. Most of the keywords are reduced to only
one byte, so the line ends up taking up much less room in a program. The
maximum length for a line in a program is 255 bytes, but four of these
bytes have special purposes (one is a line terminator, one the line
length and two the line number). This leaves 251 bytes for the rest of
the line. So whatæs the point in allowing bigger lines in the program if
you canæt type them in? Well, you can by being devious. Try typing the
following at the Basic prompt:
4.12
10E.:E.:E.: etc
4.12
until you hit the line limit and then press Return. Listing your program
now should reveal:
4.12
10ENDPROC:ENDPROC:ENDPROC: etc
4.12
up to a length of about 790 characters! This line is perfectly valid and
would run OK (although I canæt think of a program where 79 ENDPROCs in a
row would be useful!) but is much too long to edit at the Basic prompt
or in the Basic Editor. It wouldnæt be sensible for the Basic Editor to
limit you to 251 characters since, once tokenised, your line would be
much shorter, so it allows you to type up to 369 characters hoping that
tokenising will bring it back to 251. It objects if you try to type in
more than 369 characters; it also objects if you type a shorter line
which would be longer than 251 characters once tokenised (try REM
followed by 300 letters). As for solving the problem, if you have a copy
of Twin, you could try loading your Basic program into it. Twin has no
line length limit and will cope with anything. Returning to Basic will
always work provided the resulting tokenised lines would be no longer
than 251 characters. Lorcan Mongey
4.12
Å    Citizen printer spare parts Ö You may be interested to know that you
can get spare parts for Citizen printers from XMA Ltd, Ruddington Lane,
Wilford, Nottingham, NG11 7EP. (0602 Ö818222) Rob Brown, Tadworth,
Surrey.
4.12
Å    Fatal error type = 5 Ö !Edit will report this error if you have too
many outline fonts in your !Fonts folder. This will prevent you from
editing any documents within !Edit. The following Basic program will
solve this problem by hiding the !Fonts folder before running !Edit and
then restoring it once !Edit has been run.
4.12
1. Rename the É!RunImageæ file inside the É!Editæ folder as ÉEditImageæ.
4.12
2. Type the following program in and then save it as É!RunImageæ in the
É!Editæ folder.
4.12
REM ><Edit$Dir>.!RunImage
4.12
SYS öWimp_Initialiseò,200,&4B534154, öEditStartò TO ,taskid%
4.12
*Set temp <Font$Prefix>
4.12
*UnSet Font$Prefix
4.12
*WimpSlot -min 160k -max 160k
4.12
*WimpSlot -min 160k
4.12
SYS öWimp_StartTaskò,öRun <Edit$Dir> .EditImage ò+FNenv_string
4.12
*Set Font$Prefix <temp>
4.12
*Unset temp
4.12
SYS öWimp_CloseDownò,,taskid% ,&4B534154
4.12
END
4.12

4.12
DEFFNenv_string
4.12
LOCAL env$,x%
4.12
SYS öOS_GetEnvò TO env$
4.12
IF LEN(env$)<6 THEN =öò
4.12
WHILE INSTR(env$,ö ò,x%)>0
4.12
x%=INSTR(env$,ö ò,x%)+1
4.12
ENDWHILE
4.12
=RIGHT$(env$,LEN(env$)-x%+1)
4.12
Å     Locating the I/O podule (a SWI number change) Ö Those writing code
for the I/O podule for use on different machines should note that Acorn
made a SWI number change between version 1.04 and 1.06 of the software
(use *Help Modules to find what version you have). Earlier issues of the
podule use &4043F for SWI öI/O _Podule_Hardwareò whereas the later
versions use &40500. ARM code assembled on a machine with one version of
the software will not work on another machine with a different version
without changing this SWI number. Richard House, Surrey.
4.12
Å    PC screen fonts Ö If you are not overly fond of the chunky IBM
character set in the PC emulator, the following few lines of Basic will
modify the emulator ROM file with the BBC font of your choice.
4.12
REM >PCFONT
4.12
REM Merge BBC FONT file into !PC ROM file
4.12
REM N.B. *** COPY ORIGINAL ROM FILE BEFORE RUNNING THIS ***
4.12
:
4.12
DIM rom% &2000 : offset%=&166E
4.12
R$=ö:4.$.!PC.ROMò
4.12
OSCLI(öLoad ò+R$+ö ò+STR$~rom%)
4.12
A%=OPENIN(R$) : r1%=EXT#A% : CLOSE#A%
4.12
:
4.12
F%=OPENIN(ö4:.BBCFONTS.NEWFONTò) : REM file of type &FF7
4.12
REPEAT
4.12
A%=BGET#F%
4.12
IF A%<>23 THEN PRINT öThis is not a BBC font file!ò : END
4.12
C%=BGET%F%
4.12
FOR I%=0 TO 7
4.12
rom%?(offset%+((C%+128) MOD 256) *8+ I%)=BGET#F%
4.12
NEXT I%
4.12
UNTIL EOF#F%
4.12
CLOSE#F%
4.12
:
4.12
OSCLI(öSave ò+R$+ö òSTR$~rom%+ ö + ò+STR$~r1%)
4.12
END
4.12
This program has been used successfully on the ROM files supplied with
version 1.33 and the latest 1.60 (large and small) Ö each version stores
its VDU 23 character definitions from offset &166E onwards. Pete Bready,
Glasgow.
4.12
Å    Impression Junior styles? Ö In the June 1991 edition of Archive, it
was pointed out that Impression Junior does not have styles. Although it
does not have styles, it does have rulers. These are intended to define
margins and tab-stops, but they can be used for other things.
4.12
If you save a text story with effects, you will see the definition of a
ruler, which looks like:
4.12

4.12
There will also be the definition of the BaseStyle, which contains a
number of additional commands. By copying some of these to the ruler
definition, you can create the equivalent of a style. As an example, a
Éstyleæ that changes the font of the text subject to the ruler to greek,
could be, for example:
4.12

4.12
As Impression Junior does not have the facility to create rulers with
these extensions, they must be written using an ordinary text editor
(such as !Edit) and imported into Impression where they become rulers.
4.12
The commands that I know work are:
4.12
font <font name>    Ö e.g. Greek, Trinity.Medium, etc
4.12
fontsize <size>pt    Ö 8 to 20 is reasonable
4.12
fontaspect <size>%        Ö
100 normal, 200 stretches to twice size
4.12
fontcolour rgb = (<n>,<n>,<n>)  Ö n is from 0 to 1 or 0 to 100 (both
appear to work)
4.12
linecolour rgb = (<n>,<n>,<n>)  Ö as above
4.12
justify [left, right, centre, full]  Ö full is to both margins
4.12
underline [0,1]        Ö other
values also work but give strange underline
4.12
strikeout [on, off]        Ö
writes É-æ over characters
4.12
script [off, sub, super]        Ö
sub and super-scripts
4.12
leader ö<text>ò        Ö overwrites
tab character
4.12
By using these additional commands, it is possible to generate some very
useful rulers.
4.12
Simon Callan, Borehamwood.ááA
4.12

4.12
CC
4.12
From 4.11 page 31
4.12

4.12
Spacetech
4.12
New
4.12

4.12
Comment Column
4.12
Å    Impression is incredible Ö I have come to this conclusion after a
lengthy and involved operation involving conversion of 37 separate
chapters of a book written with WordStar to hard copy output as a single
243 page document from a LaserDirect LBP-4 printer. In case the
experience helps others, this was the sequence:
4.12
a)áAn MS-DOS utility STRIP.COM was used to strip out WordStar control
codes and convert the 37 chapter files into .txt files. (The WordStar
version was V3.something and thought unlikely to work with Computer
Concepts new WordStar loader file which is intended for V4.0 and later).
4.12
b)áUsing !PCDir and with Preferences on the icon menu set to Smart
Quotes, each chapter file was loaded into 2 Impression documents as an
ASCII text file. Due to the original typistæs idiosyncrasies, there were
still extra CRs and spaces in the text. Working on one copy, these were
removed with Ctrl-F4 (Find/Replace) in the following sequence; replace
space
4.12
 with space; the same again; replace 4 spaces with 1 space; 3 spaces
with 1 space and finally 2 spaces with 1 space.
4.12
c)áUsing the other copy to indicate the authoræs intentions, the first
copy was finally tidied for spaces, paragraph breaks, foreign accents,
italics and quotation marks and then saved as a text story. This was
repeated for the remaining chapters.
4.12
d)áHaving designed a Master Page with page numbering, the 37 text story
chapters were loaded into it sequentially, with Smart Quotes set to OFF.
After setting Style for font and paragraph inset (Ruler) etc require
ments the 243 pages took just under 90 minutes to print.
4.12
All logical and relatively simple, you may say, and so it was: it worked
like a dream. Thanks to the logic and clarity of Impression, it could
hardly have been easier.
4.12
I did come across a couple of oddities. The word count of the chapters
individually, after they had been tidied up and before being saved as
text stories, totalled 50,217. Against this, the figure for the final
consolidated document was 77,191, which is probably nearer the true
figure.
4.12
After calling up two blank Impression pages at stage b) above, the
second copying of the ASCII text file sometimes put two or three ghost
images of the file rectangle on the document and occasionally after this
the program crashed. My machine is a 440/1 with ARM3.
4.12
Smart Quotes for importing text worked quite well but sometimes when it
failed it was hard to see why. At the end of a paragraph, a final single
quote would be pointing the wrong way, in the same direction as the
opening quote, although there were no apostrophes in the passage to
confuse it. Jack Evans, Bristol
4.12
Å    LBP4 v LBP8 Ö Further to the comments in Archive 4.11 p2 about the
relative merits of LBP4æs and LBP8æs, I agree basically with the
conclusions but would make one or two extra observations from my
experience of using both types of printer. The straight paper path of
the LBP8 is particularly important if you are trying to print on
envelopes or on thick card. However, with 130 gsm card, I have found
that the LBP4 is better at feeding it from its paper feed tray than the
LBP8, despite its more tortuous paper path. Mike Hobart, Cambridge.
4.12
(On the other hand, I have used my LBP8, admittedly with a straight
paper path, on 190 gsm card and it seems OK though it is difficult to
double side it. Ed.)
4.12
(With Laser Directæed LBP4æs selling at ú1255, Iæm having difficulty
selling the LBP8æs that I have in stock at ú1595. Would anyone be
interested in helping my cashflow by buying one at ú1495? If so, give me
ring. Ed.)
4.12
Å    Mig 29 Ö The Best Simulators Yet? Ö Having done some flying in my
youth, I must agree with the review of Mig 29 (Archive 4.10 p24) Ö it is
without doubt the best flight simulator program for the Archimedes
currently available. However, I just wanted to add some comments:
4.12
Cockpit unrealistic Ö The instrumentation isnæt very realistic, the
opposition flies mainly along the deck, as they say, and the scenery is
a bit boring, as usual, but the colouring is now better. The headup
display is vastly improved with an angle of attack indicator, the
graphics are smoother and the aircraft itself handles almost perfectly.
4.12
Inertia Ö The only thing that really irritates me is that the aircraft
does seem to have constant inertia irrespective of having a full load of
fuel and arms or being without both. No aircraft I know of will take a
full load of rockets, AA missiles, AS missiles, ammo and full fuel. Very
few can take rockets, Air-to-Air and Air-to-Surface missiles in one go,
as you canæt dogfight with all that hanging on your wings.
4.12
On other modern simulator programs for PCs etc, you have to trade
between range, speed and load, just as in the real world. If you didnæt
have to do that, every Air Force would just use one type of armed
aircraft. Sweden tries that with the Saab Viggen and Britain with the
Panavia Tornado, but they certainly do not even pretend to be fighters
and attack aircraft at the same time!
4.12
Radar from the Forties? Ö Also, the radar seems unusually primitive for
a modern aircraft: It seems able to ground-map (otherwise you couldnæt
use it for ground targets), but it doesnæt have a clue at what altitude
a bogey is.
4.12
When locking a radar to a target, this usually alerts the bogey as his
radar warning system sounds the alarm. So if the enemy is within visual
range, or at a known position, the prudent fighter pilot turns the radar
off until it is needed or used passively in a ösilentò mode Ö no signals
coming out of the system.
4.12
Chocks Away 2 and Extra Missions Ö The different views from the exterior
that are now available are similar to Chocks Away Extra Missions (and
the updated Chocks Away) and are as good. It is certainly delightful to
watch your own aircraft turning off its burners, stowing its gear or
firing its armaments.
4.12
The fine art of landing Ö The real beauty is the way the aircraft
behaves with everything hanging out, as the jocks say, when you set up
the aircraft for touch down. As with all real jet fighter aircraft, a
normal landing is made with a lot of power as the drag of the aircraft
is tremendous in the typical nose up landing attitude.
4.12
So the engine is used to control the rate of descent and the elevator is
used to control the speed. The angle of attack indicator (the AOA bug)
on the headup display (HUD) shows where you are heading and it is a real
help when you are trying to avoid smashing yourself to pieces. In a real
aircraft, you get lots of visual cues of this through your peripheral
vision, so the AOA bug on the HUD isnæt essential in real life, but
makes life easier.
4.12
This said, it does not behave as the highly efficient aircraft it is
when flown power off. It seems to settle for a speed of 900 indicated
and a glide ratio of about 1:2 (for each mile forward, it falls half a
mile). This is worse than the Challenger-type aircraft and that canæt be
a realistic figure. An SR-71 has a glide ratio of around 1:11 and a
modern parachute 1:4. My guess is that a realistic glide ratio is around
1:7. Does anyone have any hard facts?
4.12
Some minor flaws Ö The most irritating features are the fonts used and
the illustrations, neither of which are optional. Being a former
illustrator, I love pictures, but having to watch the same illustration
each time you crash is a bit off-putting, even if it is well done.
4.12
The font is supposed to imitate the Cyrillic alphabet, by turning
certain letters in reverse, but it is also boring and hard to read,
especially when used in dark red on dark green (That is a typographical
taboo Ö never write with red on green background Ö as it is very tiring
to read!). Why not use real Russian captions, with optional translation
as a subtitle?
4.12
The simulators we used in 1971 certainly had a realistic cockpit, being
part of an old aircraft, but the graphics were far behind this! Then a
group of analog and digital computers controlled the very first Viggen
simulator; today you can use a cheap PC and Flight Simulator for parts
of your IFR licence. What will tomorrow bring?
4.12
The best is yet to come... You can be certain that Simis, the program
mers, will improve their simulators further, in due time. Maybe add some
weather, as in Chocks Away! Extra Missions or present more interesting
scenery, with a !Lander-like landscape. Simisæ earlier efforts (Inter
dictor 1 and 2) had their bugs but I have yet to come across one while
using Domarkæs MIG 29. At almost ú40 it is a bit pricey, but it is also
much better than Interdictor 2, as that is really too difficult to
master and the aircraft not too realistic.
4.12
So buy MIG 29, itæs really one of the best fighter simulators on any
computer (Well, not counting professional equipment, of course!)
4.12
Tord Eriksson, Sweden
4.12
Å    RISC-OS Dreaming Ö I have some suggestions for a future upgrade to
RISC-OS 2.01. Some of these suggestions may already have been imple
mented in development versions of RISC-OS modules but some ideas will
not.
4.12
Appearance Ö RISC-OSæs appearance was designed by the RISC-OS develop
ment team, i.e. programmers and not by graphic artists as were Windows
3.0, NextStep and Macintosh System 7. Standard RISC-OS windows make no
use of 3D effects as do all the above alternative Graphic User Inter
faces (GUI). The use of 3D icons and borders, as used in Impression,
make for an easier package to use and one that looks much more pleasing.
3D icons can be used to highlight default options, and borders can be
used to show which icons belong together. If you did not use 3D icons,
the only other way to represent default selections would be to use
colour but this would mean that everybody would have to buy a colour
display. A portable Archimedes in the future may mean more people using
B&W displays.
4.12
RISC-OS has almost no support for high resolutions screen modes. True,
every RISC-OS compliant applications will work in high resolution modes
but very few take advantage of this. Almost all software is supplied
with mode 12 sprites. What is needed is for the Operating System (OS) to
tell applications what type of screen mode is being used and allow the
applications to supply high resolution sprites. Thus, when you used mode
20 you would get mode 20 sprites not low resolution mode 12 sprites
scaled to mode 20. When Windows 3.0 is run on VGA hardware, almost all
the sprites are of VGA resolution and not CGA.
4.12
RISC-OS was one of the first OS to have support for outline fonts but
90% of the text displayed in the desktop is in system font which is a
horrid BBC bit-mapped font. In high resolution modes, you can see the
individual pixels that are used to make up a letter. This is because the
vertical scale is doubled to keep the aspect ratio correct.
4.12
My suggestion is to use an outline font like Trinity to replace the
system font. The font name to replace the system font could be stored in
cmos ram so that the system font could be still used if required. The
new font could be in the new OS, i.e. in ROM. It is likely that the new
OS should be 2 Mbytes in size, so there would be room for a bitmap of
Trinity at, say, 14 points. Thus you would not have to wait for the font
to cache and, if you wanted, you could change the screen font to any
other you had available. The font would be anti-aliased and so would
look good even at low resolutions.
4.12
When an icon is being dragged, the solid icon should be drawn and not a
dotted outline. It is strange that RISC-OS will do instant re-draws of
windows when they are being dragged but not of much smaller icons. Even
Windows 3.00 manages this.
4.12
If a program looks more visually appealing, the user is more likely to
use the program. When RISC-OS windows are displayed in magazines they
always look ugly in comparison to other GUI.
4.12
Virtual memory Ö The Archimedes memory controller, MEMC, has hardware
support for virtual memory but there is no OS software to take advantage
of this. If this extra software was included in the next release of
RISC-OS, a portion of a hard disc could act as part of the main memory
of the computer to be used when its real memory was full. There would be
no more Éout of memoryæ error messages, just a degradation in speed as
the data was fetched from the hard disc.
4.12
The task display could be enhanced by using a different colour to
represent virtual memory in any of the normal memory bar graphs. Thus it
would be possible to see which programs were using virtual memory and
possibly be able to change the allocation.
4.12
The task display should also contain additional information on each
task. This could be accessed via a menu entry. The extra information
could include the time that the task started, the amount of time that
the task has been running, the amount of processor bandwidth the task is
consuming as a percentage, the version number and data and the full path
name from which the task was run. You should also be able to save this
information as a text file for diagnostics purposes.
4.12
Interprocess communication Ö RISC-OS is quite good at communicating
between tasks. This is done whenever we save data from one task to
another but what we need is much more support for hot links. For
example, when I am writing technical reports on Impression, I often use
Draw to produce my diagrams. What I want is the facility to tell
Impression and Draw to hotlink my diagram. The drawfile that has been
imported into Impression (in a frame) would come under the control of
Draw and I would be able to edit it within Impression because Draw would
think that one of Impressionæs frames was a Draw window. The drawing
could be edited in Impression without having to export it back from
Draw. Of course, I would not want this to be limited to just Impression
and Draw but any applications that use the same type of data.
4.12
A RISC-OS script language could be produced to aid in hotlinking which
could be an extension of obey files. This script language could be used
to produced simple RISC-OS applications that a non-technical user could
produce. This script language could also be used to create macro or
task-automation features. If the OS also made use of this script
language, it would make a system easy to customise for personal
preferences.
4.12
RISC-OS desperately needs an on-line manual reader which could be
included in ROM. Most PD applications supply a !Help text file. What is
needed is an extension to !Help with support for unlimited on-line help.
The on-line help would consist of sprites, drawfiles, text and sound
samples, which would all be hot-linked together. Thus wherever the
pointer was, you would get the relevant manual entry. Alternately, the
manual entry could be read like a book with detailed indexes and search
facilities and the ability to print out the the book using the current
RISC-OS printer driver.
4.12
The big difference would be that the the manual would be a multi-media
presentation like Genesis, so when you clicked on an entry from the
index, the corresponding page appeared. This page would contain
pictures, text and possibly sounds.
4.12
RISC-OS also needs better support for inter-machine communication. Two
machines running RISC-OS on a network should be able to communicate and
share data with the hot links extensions already mentioned. More support
is also needed for Ethernet type networks. Econet is now too slow for
serious use, yet even with Acornæs TCP/IP protocol suite, a UNIX server
is required to network two RISC-OS machines using Ethernet. This
software support should be included in a new OS release.
4.12
Filer Actions Ö All filer actions should now multitask, i.e. copy, move,
delete, count, format, free and access. Any displays in bytes should
easily be switched to Mbytes and kbytes with a simple click on the
number with <select>. Where possible, displays should give a graphical
representation, e.g, a bar graph. The ability to set a file type on a
file and to open filer windows where you want also need to be included.
4.12
Aliases need to be included as on the Macintosh System 7 so that a filer
object could be aliased (pointer made) and objects could be grouped
together. To set which tasks are started up at switch on, an alias to
the task would be put in a boot folder.
4.12
A program like ArcDesk (from DataStore Software) should be used to
provide a backcloth filing system (sticky board) so that the desktop
background becomes like a filer window. You can save files and aliases
to it. It would also be great if normal windows could be minimised to an
icon on the background. (ArcDesk is, in my view, the best sticky
background, with loads of features.)
4.12
Multitasking Ö Co-operative multitasking is only as good as the worst-
written program being run, but, thankfully, most RISC-OS applications
are well behaved. What we need is a mixture between pre-emptive
multitasking and co-operative multitasking. Thus you would be able to
set a time limit of, say, 1 minute and if a task did not return to the
OS Wimp_Poll routine, the OS would put up an error box asking if you
wanted to kill this task or carry on. This would mean that a task which
had got stuck in an endless loop could be killed without resetting the
machine and losing un-saved work.
4.12

4.12

4.12

4.12

4.12

4.12

4.12

4.12

4.12

4.12

4.12
Fig. 1 shows the structure of a simple ready queue as used in a time
slicing multitasking system (pre-emptive because control can be taken
away from a task at any time). The Archimedes, with its simple co-
operative multitasking, only uses two states: Ready and Running (in
effect, variable time slices) but more efficient multitasking could be
employed if a third state, Blocked, was used. A task, whilst waiting for
some I/O to complete, would allow other tasks to execute. This would
mean that when a task is loading or saving a file, instead of the system
being halted, other tasks could be allowed to execute. This system could
also be used when tasks are executed from disc.
4.12
Applications suite Ö If the new OS is to be 2 Mbytes in size, it would
be logical to put the majority of the Applications Discs in ROM. For
people without a hard disc and with only 1 M of memory, the advantages
would be significant. Edit, Draw and Paint, the main applications, are
really good but there is still room for improvement. I would like Edit
to replace the use of the Basic Editor. I would like to be able to save
my most used options in Draw and have all the features of Draw Plus.
What is most annoying is that Draw always zooms in or out at the bottom
left of the diagram and not where the pointer is. Draw should also be
able to rotate sprites and text. Paint should have the ability to
convert a spriteæs mode. You should also be able to make multiple
selections of sprites, as you can on files in filer windows, using
<adjust>.
4.12
The printer drivers have an option to save to a file but they do not use
the standard save dialogue box. You should be able to set an auto save
time in cmos ram and, when this time is reached, the OS would send a
message to every task requesting that they save any unsaved data. Draw
should ignore extra information that it finds in drawfiles without
generating an error, thus Equasor, Poster and DrawLib could all be
changed to drawfiles. The OS should also work with 12-bit colour boards
like the one from The Serial Port.
4.12
Conclusions Ö Please note I am not a programmer, so it is quite likely
that some of the suggestions would be impossible to implement. My
background is in electronics having just graduated in Electrical and
Electronic Engineering.
4.12
Many of my ideas have come from using and reading about other GUI,
notably Windows 3.0, Macintosh System 7, X-Windows and NextStep. There
was a very good article in Byte June 1991 Ö Window Wars (pp 124) but,
unfortunately, it did not cover RISC-OS.
4.12
Does Acorn listen to its customersæ suggestions on the future of RISC-
OS? Will Acorn take into account any of these ideas? Will the RISC-OS
development team be open to suggestions?
4.12
Hopefully, an upgrade to RISC-OS will be released in the not too
distance future (maybe at the Acorn User Show) but, until then, we will
be left dreaming about RISC-OS 3.
4.12
If you have any suggestions, please write to me through Archive or E-
Mail me on Arcade (#17). Oliver Gunasekara, Sevenoaks.
4.12
Å    RISC-OS styles Ö In reply to your letter from Jochen Konietzko in
Archive 4.10 p17 I would like to make the following points:
4.12
1.    It is wrong to assume that Impression constitutes the new accepted
style. On the contrary, it is third party software which breaks the
existing house rules.
4.12
2.    If Acorn were to adopt the house style of one third party software
supplier from a range of competitors, it would be unfairly damaging to
the business of those competitors who may well have an equally valid
alternative style of their own.
4.12
3.    By changing the stylistic guidelines in this way Acorn would
öpunishò those software developers who had complied with the published
guidelines. This would be both morally wrong and commercially
unacceptable.
4.12
4.    As Jochen himself implies, there are many Archimedes users who are
not familiar with Impression or Ovation, or any other particular
package. Every Archimedes user is, however, familiar with Edit.
4.12
In conclusion, I would agree that a consistent user interface is
necessary for a system but I would contend that the only possible set of
rules which can be applied are those rules laid down by Acorn. Ed Harris
(Royston, Herts)ááA
4.12

4.12
Available in September for only ú35 (all inclusive) ì cheques and postal
orders only
4.12
LOOKsystems, 47 Goodhale Road, Bowthorpe, Norwich, NR5 9AY.   tel.
[phone]
4.12

4.12
Help!!!!
4.12
Å    Archimedes User Groups Ö It would be very helpful to have a list of
local Archimedes User Groups which we could print occasionally in
Archive. We have a willing volunteer to collate the information, so if
you are running such a group or know of one, send the information to Mr
R Corderoy, 13 Church Walk, Worthing  BN11 2LS.
4.12
Å    HP LaserJet 2 problems Ö Has anyone managed to print to a HP LaserJet
2 compatible using the RISC OS drivers? If so, please contact Aasim
Ashraf, 69 Caerleon Road, Newport, Gwent, NP9 7BX.
4.12
Å    Materials Science software Ö There is a bank of software produced by
the ÉInstitute of Metalsæ Software Committee (These are academics who
use microcomputers in the teaching of materials science.) This is mostly
for first year University work but we have also made software for ÉAæ
level use and a ÉSchools Discæ with more general topics in physics and
chemistry loosely related to materials science. This software is sold at
nominal prices because our main interest is in promoting greater
enthusiasm for materials science.
4.12
There are many exciting new materials these days and we need more
research workers to find ways of making all sorts of materials, ranging
from ecologically safe new detergents and longer lived batteries to
higher technological things such as high temperature superconductors and
better materials than silicon for even smaller electronic circuits. We
are keen to make more software for the secondary level and are looking
for active secondary school or H.E. teachers who might wish to join our
committee. Anyone interested should contact me at the address below.
4.12
We started writing for the BBC-B, in the days when it was the cheapest
colour graphics microcomputer and hence affordable by many educational
establishments. We converted most of the titles to the BBC Master but
then decided that there was a much bigger market for software of this
type on the IBM PC clone!
4.12
However, last year, I bought an Archimedes because I thought it had
superior graphics, being better integrated with the system than the PC
clones with their multiplicity of graphics boards. I have now converted
my program, ÉAtomic Packing and Crystal Structureæ, to run on the
Archimedes, and am trying to persuade my fellow committee members that
we should convert the rest of our software. They remain unconvin-ced, so
I should like to ask your readers whether any of them would be inter
ested in using such software on their Archimedes for teaching Materials
Science. (If anyone would like to review Atomic Packing and Crystal
Structure, let me know.)
4.12
Please send your comments on the need for such software for the
Archimedes to: Kate Crennell, ÉGreytopsæ, The Lane, Chilton, Didcot,
Oxon OX11 0SE or by electronic mail on JANET to [e-mail]
4.12
Å    Software suggestions needed Ö Do you see software on other computers
and wish something similar was out for the Archimedes? Do you have any
ideas for software for the Archimedes but not the knowledge to program?
If so please contact Mr W Drury, ArcRealm Software, 2 Torridge Close,
Greenmeadow, Swindon, Wilts, SN2 3PW.
4.12
Å    UNIX C Ö Has anyone produced an Archimedes version of the UNIX
Écurses.hæ file? I need this to recompile a PD suite of UNIX C programs
provided with a book called öExplorations in Parallel Distributed
Processingò by Rummelhart and McLelland. These are all for simulation of
neural network processing systems. Is there any other Archie user out
there interested in neural network computing? If so, please contact
Julian Campbell, 20 The Hamlet, Champion Hill, Camberwell, London, SE5
8AW.
4.12
Å    Watford ARM3 Ö Has anyone got any comments about experiences they have
had with installing and using the Watford Electronics ARM3 upgrade for
A310s within the past six months? If so, please contact Stuart Bell, 56
Crescent Drive North, Woodingdean, Brighton, BN2 6SN.ááA
4.12

4.12
Small Ads
4.12
Å    2M A3000 upgrade (expandable to 4M) ú55, Holed Out ú8, both ú60. Phone
0454Ö772159 (evenings).
4.12
Å    A310, 4Mb RAM, 20Mb hard drive (with Acorn controller card), hi-res
monitor, 3╜ö disc drive, joystick, software e.g. PC emulator, etc ú995.
Contact Paul on 041Ö777Ö6608.
4.12
Å    A440 (RISC-OS), boxed, as new, perfect condition, ú900. Phone Steve
Frost on 081Ö 743Ö8000 ext 5844.
4.12
Å    A410/1, 4Mb RAM, 20M hard drive ú850, Laser Direct Qume (inc. original
toner & drum) ú800, Armadillo A448m MIDI / stereo sampler & software
ú120, Impression II ú100, Tracker ú25, Armadeus ú30, Splice ú15. Contact
Glenn on 0932Ö567614 (near Staines, Middlesex).
4.12
Å    Canon BJ130e bubble jet printer 360 d.p.i. wide carriage (A3+), built
in sheet feeder, offers around ú400. Contact Mike Battersby on
081Ö841Ö1463 eves/weekends.
4.12
Å    Cumana 5╝ö disc drive 40/80 track and buffer podule ú85; 1Mb unused
RAM for A410 ú40; Interdictor I with Voltmace analogue joystick ú15; E-
Type, PacMania, White Magic, Hoverbod, Artisan (version 1) ú5 each; Twin
editor, RISC-OS Companion Vol. 1 ú10 each, PipeDream (version 1) ú25;
30+ Archive back issues + 2 binders ú20; 20+ Risc User back issues + 2
binders ú15; and Microsoft Word v3.0 (sealed) for Apple Macintosh ú35.
Contact Keith on 0762Ö333872.
4.12
Å    First Word Plus release 2, unopened ú35, Genesis unused ú20, Interdic
tor 2 as new ú20, The Wimp Game as new ú9. Contact Mike Battersby on
081Ö841Ö1463 eves/weekends.
4.12
Å    Morley Teletext adaptor complete with software, excellent condition
ú35. Contact John Wimsett on 081Ö898Ö0447.
4.12
Å    NEC 40M ST506 hard drive with cables (suitable for an A410) ú150,
Watford Electronics Mk2 hand scanner ú100, First Word Plus release 2
ú40, The Wimp Game, E-Type, Chocks Away ú8 each. All prices o.n.o. Buyer
collects (London Area) or postage extra. Contact Miles Sabin on
081Ö980Ö2455.
4.12
Å    NEC Multisync II 14ö colour monitor ú200 o.n.o. (upgraded to 20ò) lead
and original packaging. Contact Derrick Grimmit on 0286Ö871181.
4.12
Å    Olivetti DM124 Ö 24 pin printer as new ú150, Panasonic KX-P1124 with
sheet feeder ú200 (will split), Microsoft Word 5 and Excel 2.14 ú100
each, Interdictor I and French Correspondence ú5 each. Various user
guides, magazines and books including C: A Dabhand Guide ú15 including
discs. A3000 carrying case ú10 and Acorn umbrella ú15. Contact Geoff
Bailey, 9 Kingcup Drive, Bisley, Surrey, GU24 9HH.
4.12
Å    Panasonic KX-P1081 printer, Archimedes lead, stand, fan fold paper ú65
(buyer collects), Wonderland ú26, Tactic ú12, Tracker ú35, 600 d.p.i.
laser printing services. Contact Michael Pargeter on Hitchin
0462Ö434061.
4.12
Å    PC Emulator and DR-DOS (never used) ú90 or may split. Also profes
sional C.V. compilation service (dtp). Contact Robin on 0925Ö764832.
4.12
Å    Scanlight Junior A3000 ú160, Interdictor 2 ú20, The Wimp Game ú12,
Games Minipack 2 ú12, Jet Fighter ú10. All include postage and packing.
Contact John on 0472Ö600647.
4.12
Å    Star LC24-10 24 pin dot matrix printer, 1 year old. Excellent
condition + 3 ribbons + paper ú125. Contact Steve Couldstone on 0224Ö
643575 (days) or 0224Ö323589 (eves).
4.12
Å    Swap Ö In exchange for an A3000 or A410, I have an Amiga A500 Screen
Gems + ╜M + Midi + MusicX, all worth ú600. Any offers to Matt after 6
p.m. on 0272Ö844388.
4.12
Å    Twin 5╝ö Cumana disc drives 40/80 track plus interface for 400 series
ú140. Contact Paul on 041Ö777Ö6608.
4.12
Å    Wanted Ö ST506 hard disc interface podule for A310. Phone 0420Ö83473.
4.12
Å    Z88, 2 x 128k ram, withered toad, PC link, BBC link, printer cable etc
ú200. Phone 0706Ö521397.
4.12
Å    Z88, 128k RAM pack, PSU, Archimedes link (PC Link II), hard case, soft
case. Can supply BBC link and software. Little used and boxed. Phone
Archie McDonald on 041Ö762Ö1593.
4.12
Å    Z88 + 128k RAM + 32k RAM, printer lead, serial interface, main adaptor
and battery charger with Nicad cells. Complete with user manual, Z88 to
Arc software and leatherette carrying case. ú150 o.n.o. Contact Mark on
0384Ö452925 (work) or 0384Ö257438 (home).
4.12
Charity Sales Ö The following items are available for sale in aid of
charity. PLEASE do not just send money Ö ring us on 0603Ö766592 to check
if the items are still available. Thank you.
4.12
(If you have unwanted software or hardware for Archimedes computers you
could donate for charity, please send it in to the Archive office. If
you have larger items where post would be expensive, just send us
details of the item(s) and how the purchaser can get hold of them.)
4.12
A440 computer (yes, a complete A440 computer with 20M drive!) offers
i.r.o. ú900 (our engineer has checked it and it is in good working order
though we cannot, of course, offer any guarantee),  User Guides ú1 + ú3
postage, ArcWriter ú3, PC Emulator 1.34 (not upgradable) ú25, Acorn
Assembler ú60, Brainsoft Multi I/O podule ú50, Ibix the Viking ú9.ááA
4.12

4.12
Colton
4.12
New
4.12

4.12
Ace
4.12
From 4.1 page 16
4.12

4.12
Hardware Column
4.12
Brian Cowan
4.12
RAM upgrades for the 310
4.12
I have recently fitted an IFEL DIY four Mbyte RAM upgrade to an old
Archimedes A310 for a colleague. Essentially, I followed the instruc
tions and it all went OK, but it was an interesting and enlightening
experience. The comprehensive instructions started off by warning that
although the procedure seemed complex it was not difficult!
4.12
Disassembly
4.12
The first thing was to get the board out of the case. The instructions
made good sense and after removing a host of podules, the various cables
were disconnected and the circuit board eased out. The memory upgrade
consisted of two boards connected by a ribbon cable. One board plugged
in the four ROM sockets. I had to remove the four ROM chips from their
sockets, plug in the new board and then insert the ROM chips into the
new board. This is a clever way of accessing the 32 data lines and, as a
bonus, the new board has the extra tracks for the two Mbyte ROM of the
yet to be released new RISC-OS. This part of the operation was straight
forward, if a little scary; quite considerable force had to be applied
to insert the round pins of the new board into the old ROM sockets.
4.12
Chip extraction
4.12
The memory expansion comes with a MEMC1a upgrade. The instructions say
to use an extractor to remove the old MEMC chip from its socket. Well,
luckily, I had an extractor but if I hadnæt, I would have been rather
annoyed to have got so far and then to be stuck. I used the cheapo (well
relatively speaking) extractor from RS Components Ltd. To start with it
didnæt work. Each time I inserted the hooks and squeezed, the hooks
simply jumped out of the holder and skidded across the top of the MEMC
chip. Finally, I carefully placed the hooks in position, forcing them
under the bottom of the chip. Then the MEMC chip came out reasonably
smoothly. Next to the MEMC chip is a PAL and this was replaced quite
simply.
4.12
The other board of the upgrade contains the MEMC1a chip and this fits
into the old MEMC socket on the main board. It is vital to align the
plug in the socket correctly but, with a little care, it went in quite
easily. Well that was all there was to it, except for reassembling the
whole thing.
4.12
Reassembly
4.12
Replacing the circuit board in the case is not a trivial task, particu
larly with the two chunks of the memory upgrade sitting on it.
Eventually, I decided to remove the hard disc drive to obtain access, to
position the board correctly and to replace all the cables which had to
be plugged into it. The hard disc was reinserted, the backplane fitted
and the podules installed. This was the moment of truth.
4.12
Resetting
4.12
Since the circuit board had been disconnected from the battery, the CMOS
RAM was corrupt and it had to be reset. So a quick turn off and on with
the delete key pressed. For some strange reason everything booted up OK
in the desktop except that there was no floppy disc icon shown. Doing a
*Status showed that no floppies were configured. I donæt know why this
was but the problem was quickly rectified with *Configure, and all was
well. Finally, looking at the task manager showed that there was indeed
four megabytes of RAM available.
4.12
Conclusion
4.12
So what is my verdict? The IFEL upgrade is well made and the instruc
tions are good, except for the appalling öphotographsò which were not
really needed. You must have a chip extractor for the MEMC, a few pairs
of pliers and a couple of screwdrivers. They say a bad workman blames
his tools, but for so many things you have to have the right tools
otherwise you can really ruin things. Conclusion: good, but not for the
faint-hearted.
4.12
PC Emulator
4.12
Strictly speaking, this is not a hardware topic but there are hardware
aspects and anyway I have always interpreted my brief in a liberal way.
4.12
New Version
4.12
So, after many delays, the new PC emulator is finally with us. Of
course, the main feature of the new release is that it is a true
multitasking RISC-OS application. Although called version 1.6, this is a
completely new product; it should have been called version 2.0 or
something. The old emulators were written in Modula 2, the language of
many of Acornæs older projects but, as we all know, the current flavour
of the month is C. The new emulator has been completely re-written in C,
except for those parts which are in Assembler.
4.12
MS or DR?
4.12
Funnily enough, we are back to Microsoft MS-DOS after Acornæs brief
flirtation with DR DOS. I think the reason here is purely financial,
relating to the deals Acorn was able to strike with Microsoft and
Digital Research. Essentially, I think the decision to go for MS-DOS is
correct. DR DOS may be a better product but it is not standard. In any
case, MS-DOS version 5 (if we can use it on the emulator) is everything
that a DOS should be.
4.12
CPU
4.12
To answer a few questions I posed last month, the CPU being emulated is
still an 80186. For the life of me, I canæt imagine why that is, except
that it is the only DOS-like chip which Acorn have any experience of.
There is now an emulation of a É87 maths coprocessor which is most
welcome.
4.12
Speed
4.12
Last month, I expressed reservations about the emulatoræs probable speed
and I speculated that using the Archimedes own font manager should
speed-up the display side of things. I was right there. Although I was
not able to do any benchmark trials, the perceived speed was quite
acceptable; certainly faster than the old version of the emulator. In
fact, when writing text to the screen it appears to run very fast
indeed.
4.12
One has the option of running DOS as a single task where it takes over
the whole system Ö much like the old emulator. In this mode, graphics
run much faster. And one can swap between window-operation and single-
tasking at the click of a button.
4.12
Partition problems
4.12
I wonæt go into all the various details of this new product; I am sure
other reviews will cover them. However, there are some points of
interest and some problems I encountered. When you run with a DOS
partition (you can now have up to four) on your hard disc, the DOS
partition file remains open for the duration of the DOS session. So you
canæt read or write this file from a native Archimedes application
(using MultiFS for example). This is most annoying and limiting of the
potential versatility of the emulator.
4.12
It turns out that this restriction has to be imposed because DOS caches
all sorts of filing information (in an undocumented fashion) and it
would thus become confused if foreign operators interfered with files or
directories. I tried, for devilment, doing a *Close, but following this
the emulator was not able to re-open the partition file when needed.
4.12
Considering all this, you would certainly not expect to be able to run
two or more instantiations of the emulator from the same hard disc
partition. However, using separate partitions, you would hope (memory
permitting) to have no problems in using multiple virtual PCs. Unfor
tunately, a bug in the emulator causes the extra DOS windows to ignore
keyboard input even when having input focus Ö you must close all DOS
windows except the one into which you want to type.
4.12
Solution?
4.12
One might expect these file-access difficulties to be circumvented by
using a floppy disc. Running this way, it appears that you can transfer
data between DOS instantiations or in and out of DOS (using MultiFS, for
example) Ö but beware!! The proper way of transferring data between DOS
and a native RISC-OS application is using the old DOS PutFile and
GetFile programs which Acorn still provide and, using a double appli
cation of this, files can be exchanged between different DOS windows.
4.12
Conclusion
4.12
I must say this is an absolutely superb product. If you show this
emulator to your DOS-only friends it will turn them into a salivating
heap! Also, the manufacturers of hardware DOS cards will certainly have
something to think about if they are to do better.ááA
4.12

4.12
Chess3D Ö The Challenger
4.12
Tord Eriksson
4.12
The first serious challenge to David Pillingæs !Chess that has come to
my notice is Chess3D, from Micro Power: This is an icon-based program
that comes in a big box that just contains a single disc, nothing else.
The program is totally controlled by the mouse, showing the chess board
both in 3D and in ordinary fashion at the same time (the latter in a
reduced scale in the left topmost corner of the screen). Just as !Chess,
it conforms to RISC-OS rules and the two can easily be run at the same
time (if the screen is big enough!). There is no computer versus
computer mode, a great shame!
4.12
It can be installed on hard disc, but still need access to the original
disc to function properly.
4.12
Complications
4.12
The game is not easy to set up, even if the text file on the disc is
thoroughly read. (I personally think manuals-on-disc should be banned
from commercial products.) If just one pound had been spent on printing
a manual, the impression of the product would have been so much better,
especially when considering the price of Chess3D compared with David
Pillingæs offer!
4.12
There is a row of tape-recorder style buttons on the screen, with a
traffic light function on the play and stop buttons: these control the
replaying of a move or an entire game.
4.12
A speaker icon and a disc drive icon control the output to said items.
The disc drive can be substituted by a printer if you want, by clicking
repeatedly on the drive icon Ö an ASCII table of the moves will be
produced.
4.12
Neither I, nor the reviewer in Risc User, have fully understood the
intricacies of the traffic light system (we are equally stupid, I
guess?), but if you start moving a white piece, it changes the play
button to green and off you go. Or you can change the light manually, to
make the computer do its first move when it is playing white.
4.12
Computer chess of yesterday
4.12
Pitting different computers and software against each other in the noble
pursuit of chess used to be a big event, so big that Personal Computer
World used to have a standing column about it in the golden days of
computing. International Computer Chess Championships abounded, with
specially built computers battling with supercomputers, such as Crays.
The software was generally the same as that found on home computers.
4.12
(Now PCWæs staff seems to have forgotten all about chess or anything
else but PCs, Macs and laptops running business software.)
4.12
Back to the chess board... Having pitted the two games against each
other a number of times, I found some aspects of Chess3D that endeared
it to me and some that did not. (Why isnæt there a CPMI Ö a Chess-
Playing Moves Interface? It would make testing so much easier and more
fun.)
4.12
Chess3D always hints what you should do on the board by making a red
outline on the piece it thinks you should move and a green on the square
where you should go Ö this is much more elegant than !Chessæ verbal
hinting. It also does this when considering its own next move Ö very
nice!
4.12
In battle, the two games use different tactics, so the games becomes
more fun than when pitting !Chess against !Chess (Chess3D has no
Computer versus computer mode, as already mentioned), but with both used
with their default settings !Chess is generally the better player of the
two.
4.12
It was interesting to see that after the standard opening moves, chosen
from a öbookò of openings, the two games seldom agreed what to do next.
Usually the opponent hinted something similar, but not exactly the same.
If both go by the same rules, the game tends to deteriorate into trying
to take as many as possible of the opponents pieces. It almost always
ends in a draw with just two kings left.
4.12
This was not the case here: When !Chess played white, it fairly and
squarely beat !Chess3D by better tactics. Sometimes, with !Chess3D
playing white, it ended in a draw after both programs repeated their
moves in a very complicated situation, with most pieces left on the
board, just like grandmasters tend to do!
4.12
At no time did it turn into a war of attrition Ö this was two öbrainsò
pitted against each other, fighting as well as they could.
4.12
Conclusion
4.12
If the two games retailed at a similar price I would be hard pressed to
choose a winner, but with Chess3D more than twice as expensive there is
only one verdict: Buy !Chess.
4.12
This is even more true if your VDU is a low resolution type or mono
chrome. The 3D view was very hard to use and the 2D view was too small
to be really of any use with my medium resolution multisync and mode 12.
With a high resolution multisync, ARM3 and a VIDC Enhancer things might
be different, but I doubt it!
4.12
Chess3D, after some polishing off at the edges, might become a classic.
As it stands it is just overpriced, gimmicky and 3D.
4.12
If you havenæt bought David Pillingæs !Chess yet, do that and give the
price difference to charity. You pay the same then, but get a better
game and do some good at the same time!ááA
4.12

4.12
Matters Arising
4.12
Å    !Calc Ö Here are a few comments to update my review of !Calc (4.10
p37) relating to version (2.20). The sheet windows now auto-scrolls so
that the cursor and axis rulers are always visible. There is now a 22
page A5 spiral bound Impression generated tutorial manual as well as the
reference manual already quoted. You can now use the RISC-OS printer
drivers. The price has gone up to ú25 to cover the cost of the manuals.
4.12
I understand that 2.22 is actually the latest version and that it has
the promised extra functions plus a few others but I have not seen this
yet. Edward Naish
4.12
The author, Colin Turnbull, has written to say that öindependently of
himò, the tests referred to  in Archive 4.11 p20 (which referred back to
4.10 p27) have been done on !Calc and have come up with: 5s, 5s, 37s,
50k and 176k. Ed.
4.12
Å    Econet User Group Ö Sadly, I have just heard of the demise of öThe
Econet User Groupò and its publication, öNEUSò. Michael Ryan, who has
been running it for the last 5 years has had to give up due to pressure
of his other activities, including running a company, XOB, which
supplies Econet products and services.
4.12
Å    PC emulator upgrades Ö We mislead Learning Curve owners into believing
that the free upgrade offer applied to them. Sorry but it is only open
to those who purchased their computer between 15th July & 31st October
1991. Itæs not the offer that is open between those dates. We claim that
Acornæs information sheet was ambiguous... öThis offer is only open to
purchasers of Learning Curve products during the period 15th July Ö 31st
October 1991.ò
4.12
Å    Reflections on the Prism review Ö (It was a long review article
(Archive 4.10 p45), so we have allowed Michael Ryan a long response
which also has some helpful comments about RISC-OS compatibility/
compliance.)
4.12
This short (sic!) article seeks to clarify some issues raised in Victor
Russellæs comparative review of art packages, in particular our package
Prism. His review was fair and extensive and XOB is pleased that he
found Prism so much to his liking. Prism is actually being subtly
modified continuously as we get feedback from the people who matter Ö
the users Ö and it may be that some of what appear to be minor errors of
fact in the article can be put down to such changes. In any event, it
would be unreasonable to expect Victor to have found everything Prism
has to offer.
4.12
The most serious point was a suggestion that the software crashes when
using the magic colour with disjoint regions. We have been unable to re-
create this and suspect local factors Ö RISC-OS does occasionally behave
in an unpredictable way. The essential feature of bugs is Ö Are they
repeatable?
4.12
Victor suggests that you cannot use masks when spraying with the brush.
You certainly can in the current version and if there were bugs in
related features in his copy these have been corrected.
4.12
In one respect, Victor over-estimated Prism Ö it displays 32 default
cycles not 64 (though you can of course create your own).
4.12
We recognise certain deficiencies in the original documentation Ö which
is why it is supplied in a ring binder. This is being improved and, as
each section is reviewed, we shall be issuing the revised copies free of
charge. New users will, of course, be able to benefit immediately from
the improvements.
4.12
It may be because of a deficiency in the original documentation that
Victor believed that the sketch pad could not be created. In fact, Prism
comes supplied on the assumption of a 1 Mbyte machine but may be readily
configured to use any amount of memory. By assigning this memory as the
user wishes, it is possible to assign whatever is available to any
combination of screen, sketch-pad and brushes. Prism can actually work
with images larger than the physical screen size Ö a way of getting
improved definition. Clearly, memory was not available for the sketchpad
in Victoræs machine Ö but the option does work Ö and the sketchpad can
be saved.
4.12
Though not mentioned, both triangles and user defined shapes are
available from the shapes menu.
4.12
The current release of Prism does have radial fills.
4.12
Pressing <adjust> over the brush menu does take you into the brush
select editor.
4.12
Victor correctly identifies one or two facilities not provided by Prism
but which are available in the more expensive packages Ö how important
these are is a matter of opinion but it should be remembered that it is
the end effect which matters. For example, Prism does not explicitly
offer pixelation Ö but this can be achieved very easily by grabbing part
of the screen as a brush and simply using the brush magnification
facilities.
4.12
The question of the inclusion of function key access to facilities is
perhaps worth mentioning briefly. One reason we provide extensive
function key control is because much complex software is now throwing
menu after menu after menu at the poor users. Our approach is ÉHere are
your menus Ö but when you get familiar with the package you will want
the speed that direct keyboard access to facilities allowsæ. At least
this way the user can decide what suits him/her.
4.12
I am afraid I feel Victor was a little hard on us in one respect Ö on-
screen help. He says our tape tutorial is too easy but then says he
wants on-screen help. Whilst I take on board his comments, I feel it
should be recognised that with a complex package, the textual descrip
tion of the operation will often be meaningless if kept to a manageable
length, and overwhelming if the operation is described to perfection.
Many potential users will have had long standing difficulties with
textual material Ö hence the audio tape. Yes, this is intended for use
by absolute beginners Ö but it also represents the quickest and most
effective way of finding out just what Prism allows one to achieve. It
may be used immediately and effectively by school pupils (saving the
teacher preparation time) and by private buyers who do not have the
support of an educational institution.
4.12
During the Autumn, we will be steadily issuing free upgrades to the
latest version to existing users though anyone needing that version now
can send an SAE to get a copy more quickly.
4.12
Finally, and more generally, it is perhaps worth clarifying a possible
misconception about software designed for use with RISC-OS.
4.12
Acorn recognise only two levels of RISC-OS software. RISC-OS Compliant
software is multitasking and should follow the suggestions in their the
RISC-OS Style Guide. RISC-OS Compatible software need only be capable of
being started from the Desktop and returning to it cleanly. In practice,
there are sometimes good reasons for being RISC-OS Compliant at one time
and RISC-OS Compatible at another. The reason that all truly creative
art packages do not multitask during the creative phase is that they
require the full power of the processor in order to provide the Éfeelæ
of immediacy that creative work requires. This situation will change as
machines become faster and as we (and our rivals) find ways of squeezing
more apparent speed from the desktop. For the moment, we follow all of
Acornæs RISC-OS Compliant rules during filing operations and provide the
user with Éfeelæ during the creative period.
4.12
The RISC-OS Desktop is a big improvement over most previous user
interfaces but one should not assume that it represents the final word.
Software developers need to look to what users need as well as to be
guided by Acornæs laudable appeal to standardisation. We know we have
not created the ultimate in user friendly art packages Ö but we will
keep working on it.
4.12
Michael Ryan, XOB
4.12
Å    SolidsRender Review (Archive 4.11 p48) In his comparative review, it
appears that Malcolm Banthorpe is using an old outdated version of
SolidsRender (V1.2) originally priced at ú79.95 and seems to be unaware
of the new release of SolidsRender (V2.00) priced at ú149.95 that has
been available since October 1990 as shown in Archive 4.1 p5. Existing
users have been able to upgrade for just the price difference of ú70
(Inc VAT) by returning their original disc.
4.12
This new release has significant improvements over the original which
include:
4.12
(i)áDot diffusion dithering which provides even better image quality
than the Équick-and-dirtyæ Floyd Steinberg Integer (FSI) error diffusion
algorithm implemented in ChangeFSI. Most Archimedes raytracers rely on
ChangeFSI to boost their image quality. SolidsRender V2.00 not only has
the FSI algorithm built-in but also surpasses it through its own ÉDot
diffusionæ algorithm for even less jagged-edges and better overall image
quality.
4.12
(ii)áInternal computation of 64 bits per Red, Green, Blue (RGB)
component making a total of 192 bits of precision per RGB screen pixel,
while maintaining high speed ray-tracing, to provide even greater
computational accuracy for the anti-aliasing, texture-mapping and
diffusion algorithms.
4.12
(iii)áA documented 24 bit RGB screen output format for use by other
utilities to drive colour framestores for more bits/pixel or use by an
updated É!Processæ application which is included. This provides RGB
signal processing operations for filtering, colour enhancement, etc. and
a choice of dithering techniques for display ranging from ÉPatterningæ,
ÉOrdered Ditheræ, ÉFSI Error Diffusionæ and ÉDot Diffusionæ. The
!Process application alone significantly improves the imaging capability
of the Archimedes over and above that provided by ChangeFSI from which
any application generating 24 bit RGB data can benefit Ö even rival
raytracers!!
4.12
(iv)áA new É!Animateæ application takes image sequences generated by
!Process in either image or delta compressed form and allows full slide
animation control on the desktop from memory or disc for very long
sequences.
4.12
Given that the review has been published 11 months after the launch of
SolidsRender V2.00, one can only wonder in amazement as to why an old
SolidsRender V1.2 was compared with the latest offering from a rival
especially since V1.2 was no longer supplied after the launch of V2.00!!
4.12
Dr. Y. Nadiadi, Director, Silicon Vision Ltd.ááA
4.12

4.12
Techsoft
4.12
From 4.11 page 8
4.12

4.12
Multi-Media Column
4.12
Ian Lynch
4.12
As promised last month, a more detailed look at Avanti, the Computer
Based Training (CBT) software from Westland Systems Assessment.
4.12
Purpose
4.12
Avanti is a RISC-OS environment for developing CBT resources. It was
developed by Westland initially to provide a training resource for the
technical staff of customers buying their products such as helicopters,
for example. The system is now marketed to other third parties who have
a need for authoring their own instructional software and Westlands
provide training in CBT techniques as well as in how to operate the
software.
4.12
Approach
4.12
Avanti provides a means of generating the code necessary to run a self-
contained computer based training session using standard RISC-OS
dialogue boxes, menus and windows. In fact, the code generated is BBC
Basic V and this can be loaded and edited by more advanced users to
provide the maximum degree of flexibility. However, reasonably compre
hensive treatments can be given to subjects without ever resorting to
directly editing the Basic code.
4.12
The applications generated are not RISC-OS compliant. This is deliberate
since it is envisaged that the recipients of the courses will never use
RISC-OS for any other tasks and so the overhead in learning window
dragging etc is avoided. Instead, each page of the training materials
has a straightforward and consistent layout with simple icons to click
on to input responses or turn to the next page.
4.12
Structure
4.12
Courses are structured by means of a layout window which provides a flow
chart style view. Each of the flowchart boxes provides a module of the
course. These are usually menus, lessons and tests. The menus provide
access to the various lessons and tests comprising the course and the
course designer can give the student as much or as little freedom as
desired in this respect.
4.12
Each module can be divided up into a number of related frames each of
which provides a screen of text, graphics, motion pictures or audio. A
session is built up from a system of menus and modules which guide the
student through the desired route.
4.12
Data types
4.12
Avanti supports all the data types required for full multi-media: Sprite
and Draw files, text in a variety of fonts, sound sample modules, Euclid
and Tween films. I was a little surprised to find Porterhouse standard
font being used extensively in the DEMO applications. Avanti is an
expensive system designed to run on upper end machines probably with
MultiSync or VGA monitors, so why use a font designed for standard
resolution monitors? Well, it does have the advantage of providing clear
text on standard resolution monitors. In fact, supplying the outline
font manager would be more sensible. (Personally, I think it would be a
lot less confusing if Acorn ditched bit map fonts altogether).
4.12
Although all of these data types are supported, editors are not
supplied. In the case of Drawfiles and Sprites, this is not surprising
since everyone has !Draw and !Paint. However, Euclid and Tween will be
needed for any animations (apart from palette and bank switching which I
will come to later) and a sound sampler would be needed for audio. Since
Oak now produce a very inexpensive sound sampler, basic additional
hardware and software resources are not a significant cost. Avanti does,
however, support analogue LaserVision type discs and CD-ROM and costs
will rise if these additional pieces of hardware are required. A colour
scanner and video digitiser would also be useful for serious work. Irlam
and Clares supply very good colour scanners. WildVision, Pineapple and
several other companies supply video digitising equipment.
4.12
Clever animation
4.12
Palette switching is used to animate in a similar way to switching bulbs
on and off in advertising displays. Avanti uses this technique to
animate flow through pipes and engines. It is very effective and very
quick to set up. A series of three colours is repeated along the length
of a pipe and the colours are redefined rapidly so that the illusion of
pulses passing along the pipe is created. Palette switching is rapid to
achieve and very economical in memory, but is not suited to many types
of animation.
4.12
Animations can be produced by switching between banks of memory but this
is very memory intensive and RISC-OS limits the screen to 480k. It is
also possible to display frames of digitised video rapidly after one
another but this too is very expensive in memory. Euclid/Mogul films are
probably the best if longer sequences are needed.
4.12
Restrictions
4.12
As with all authoring software, there is a price to pay for the ease and
speed of setting up applications. That price is flexibility. In theory,
one could customise an application to any degree by adding to the Basic
code which Avanti generates. In practice, it is likely that most users
will use the structure provided to deliver their lessons in a format
which is östandard Avantiò. This is no bad thing in training environ
ments, but may be less desirable in more generalised educational
environments. Having said this, a lot depends on the teaching approach
and philosophy of the course designer which goes well beyond the scope
of this column.
4.12
Genesis v Avanti
4.12
This brings me to the inevitable comparison with Genesis II. A number of
people have asked me if Avanti is ten times better than Genesis since it
is about ten times the price. I admit to asking myself this question
early on. In fact, Genesis II and Avanti are different products and
although there is overlap, they are not really aimed at the same market.
I suspect that Genesis II is actually a more sophisticated piece of code
in many respects, but it is aimed at volume markets primarily in schools
and with the home user. Avanti is a very powerful application and it is
aimed at a quite specialist market with different budgets and different
requirements. It compares very favourably with similar products on Macs
and PCs. If you want to author CBT materials, use Avanti. If you want a
generalised multi-media toolkit use Genesis.
4.12
The decision becomes less straightforward if, for example, one requires
an instructional presentation system which does not conform to the
Avanti structure. In this case, it would be possible to construct the
application by editing Basic code in Avanti or by writing scripts in
Genesis. Which would be easier and more efficiently coded is unknown to
me at present and would depend on the exact circumstances.
4.12
One final consideration is that Genesis II produces RISC-OS applications
whereas Avanti locks the student out of the desktop. Again both
approaches have pros and cons in different situations.
4.12
As I said in last monthæs Archive when discussing !Tracer, make sure you
know what you want to do before purchasing any software. With expensive
applications such as Avanti, you need to see the software working and be
sure it is what you require to do the job before you purchase it.ááA
4.12

4.12
Oak
4.12
From 4.11 page 19
4.12

4.12
Lingenuity
4.12
(Lindis)
4.12
From 4.12 page 12
4.12

4.12
Developing a RISC-OS Utility Ö Part 3
4.12
Darren Sillett
4.12
This month, I am going to look at template files and how to incorporate
a simple window into the application. In addition, I have provided a
small routine to help you track down the errors that occur when you are
developing applications.
4.12
Template files
4.12
To facilitate the creation of windows, a Étemplate editoræ, called
!FormEd was released by Acorn. Adrian Look at Archive produced an
improved version of this utility called the WIMP Template Editor (ú8
through Archive) which offers numerous extensions to the Acorn one.
4.12
The template editor allows you to create your own window layouts
interactively. Once a window Étemplateæ has been designed, it can be
given an identifier and saved in a template file along with any other
templates that have been set up.
4.12
Instead of creating a template, we can Éborrowæ one from !Edit and
tailor it to our needs. To do this, you will need to load the template
file contained inside the !Edit directory and alter it. It is advisable
to make a copy of this file in case you overwrite the original
accidentally.
4.12
You will notice that this template file contains a dozen or so windows,
but as we only want the ÉAbout this programæ window, the rest can all be
safely deleted. You can now change the text on the icons to reflect the
application under development. Do not change the text in icon 4 as this
is added by the program later.
4.12
Finally, save the modified template inside the !Ultimate directory using
the filename ÉTemplatesæ.
4.12
Accessing the template
4.12
The additions to Wimplib this month provide us with a method of
accessing the template file and the template inside it.
4.12
The procedure PROCopen_template opens the template file and initialises
the data areas for reading in the templates. The parameter taken is the
name of the template file.
4.12
The function FNload_template reads the template information from the
file and creates the window. It takes the template identifier as a
parameter and returns a handle to the window.
4.12
Lastly, the procedure PROCclose_template closes the template file.
4.12
Updating the icon
4.12
One other routine is provided which is of general use in any window.
This routine takes a window handle, the number of an indirected text
icon and a string to display on the icon. It is used here to add the
version number and date to the information window.
4.12
The routine to attach two menus together, which was developed in part 2,
can also be used to attach a window to a menu. This is how we manage to
display the information window as part of the icon bar menu.
4.12
Error handling
4.12
As tracing errors in desktop applications is a difficult task, the last
routine provided this month gives some indication of where in the
program the error has occurred.
4.12
It uses the desktop error boxes to display the appropriate error along
with the line number at which the error occurred. This line number,
according to Acorn guidelines, is displayed as the Éinternal error
numberæ.
4.12
Clicking on the OK button displayed on the error box causes the program
to try and continue execution, though it will probably fail again if the
error was serious. The Cancel button causes the program to be aborted
and removed from the icon bar.
4.12
Task size
4.12
Due to the extensions published in part 2 and those this month, you will
probably need to amend your !Run file to allow the application some more
memory. Amending the values of 16k to 32k should be sufficient.
4.12
If errors occurred, like ÉToo many nested structuresæ, after entering
the extensions published in part 2, the aforementioned alteration should
fix this.
4.12
My apologies to anyone who experienced problems with this and my thanks
to John Pickles for bringing it to my attention.
4.12
Additions and amendments to !RunImage
4.12
To incorporate the information window and the error handling into the
application you will need to add the following lines:
4.12
 35 ON ERROR PROCerror
4.12
235 icon_menu%  = FNcreate_menu( öUltimate,Info,Options,
4.12
Quitò)
4.12
245 copy_options_menu%  = FNcreate_menu(öCopy,Access, Con
firm,Delete,Force,Look, Newer,Prompt,Quick,Recurse,
Stamp,Structure,Verbose$
4.12
,Defaultò)
4.12
280 PROCopen_template( ö<Ultimate$Dir>.Templatesò)
4.12
281 info% = FNload_template( öprogInfoò)
4.12
285 PROCclose_template
4.12
286 PROCicon_string_set(info%,4, ö1.00 (18-Jul-1991)ò)
4.12
287 PROCmenu_attach(icon_menu%,1, info%)
4.12

4.12
Additions and amendments to Wimplib
4.12
To add the template and error routines to the Wimplib program, the
following additions should be made:
4.12
  45 application$    = app_name$
4.12
  46 application_id% = task_id%
4.12
1700 DEF PROCopen_template(file$)
4.12
1710 DIM icon_space% 512, template% 1024
4.12
1720 icon_space_end%=icon_space%+512
4.12
1730 SYS öWimp_OpenTemplateò,,file$
4.12
1740 ENDPROC
4.12
1800 DEF FNload_template(name$)
4.12
1810 LOCAL handle%
4.12
1820 SYS öWimp_LoadTemplateò,, template%,icon_space%, icon_space_end%,-
1,name$,
4.12
0 TO ,,icon_space_end%
4.12
1830 SYS öWimp_CreateWindowò,, template% TO handle%
4.12
1840 =handle%
4.12
1900 DEF PROCclose_template
4.12
1910 SYS öWimp_CloseTemplateò
4.12
1920 ENDPROC
4.12
2000 DEF PROCicon_string_set(window% ,icon%,text$)
4.12
2010 !data_block%  = window%
4.12
2020 data_block%!4 = icon%
4.12
2030 SYS öWimp_GetIconStateò,, data_block%
4.12
2040 $(!(data_block%+28)) = text$ + CHR$(0)
4.12
2050 data_block%!8 = 0
4.12
2060 data_block%!12 = 0
4.12
2070 SYS öWimp_SetIconStateò,, data_block%
4.12
2080 ENDPROC
4.12
2100 DEF PROCerror
4.12
2110 !wimp_block%     = ERR
4.12
2120 $(wimp_block%+4) = REPORT$ +
4.12
ö (internal error code ò +
4.12
STR$(ERL) + ö)ò CHR$(0)
4.12
2130 SYS öWimp_ReportErrorò, wimp_block%,3,application$
4.12
 TO ,result%
4.12
2140 IF result% = 2 THEN PROCclosedown_wimp(
4.12
application_id%) : END
4.12
2150 ENDPROC
4.12

4.12
What next?
4.12
You will have probably realised by now that these articles appear
bimonthly. This is to allow enough time between articles to get some
feedback from readers. To this end, I am leaving the topic of the next
article open to you. If there are any specific areas of the desktop
which you would like me to cover next please write to me and let me
know.
4.12
Some possible topics are:
4.12
Å Simple file load/save using file icon drags.
4.12
Å Interactive help.
4.12
Å Windows which are not totally icon based and require some updating by
the program.
4.12
Å RISC-OS printer drivers.
4.12
So if anyone has any ideas, problems or suggestions, I can be contacted
either through Archive or at 43, Kingfisher Walk, Ash, Aldershot,
Hampshire GU12 6RF.ááA
4.12

4.12
Data (Text) Entry by Mouse
4.12
Mike Hobart
4.12
One of the problems of the work I do is that colleagues send their data
on DNA sequences to each other, or publish it, in the form of paper
text. It is conventional to send the data to a public access data bank,
but processing the data onto the database is surprisingly slow, so there
is little alternative but to enter the sequences of chunks of DNA into
the computer by hand so that they can be analysed and compared with our
own, especially if it is exciting. The problem which arises is that DNA
sequences are written in a four letter code (A, C, G and T), with no
punctuation and no easy-to-understand order. Try typing a page or so of
that and your mind and hands go numb with monotony and accuracy
disappears... help! mutations!! Also, unless you are a touch typist, you
will loose your place on the source page several times... and thatæs no
fun. The obvious solution is to get an Optical Character Reading
program, (?Irlam Instruments?), but it would have to be really good to
cope with the difference between C and G in either dot matrix or a
grotty photocopy of 4pt Helvetica Ö and it must be right, or it is
useless (or worse).
4.12
A solution
4.12
The accompanying program is pretty grotty, but it more or less does what
I wanted: it allows the four letters to be entered by mouse movement in
a simple quadrant:
4.12
The program provides a kind of gate mechanism (like a gearshift) and
auto-bounces the pointer back to the origin when a letter has been
entered. Consecutive similar characters are simply entered by a
continuous movement in the right direction. öMusicò is played to
indicate that an entry has been made. This allows you to keep your eye
strictly on the origin page while your ear monitors your entry. It takes
a little getting used to, but it sure beats the keyboard.
4.12
Obviously, mistakes happen, so I started to write a simple edit
procedure, but then it dawned on me that I could do the whole job within
an !Edit task window. (Click <menu> on the !Edit Icon, choose öCreateò
and önew task windowò, then Type öBASICò at the * prompt and öCHAIN
öMouseditò ò). This makes the screen entry a bit jerky and it slows the
program down a bit, but there is no serious problem, especially as the
screen is ignored during entry. When you need to edit, just suspend the
task and use the normal !Edit functions.
4.12
The program itself could be cleaned up and improved by a competent
programmer and could obviously be adapted to other functions: other
characters, more characters. A steady hand could probably manage 8, just
right for direct entry of hex code in combination with the shift key?
Seriously, it might be very useful for those involved in monitoring
child, animal or motoristsæ behaviour (note the descending order).
4.12
The take-home points
4.12
1. Remember the beautiful tools we all have (RISC-OS, Basic5 and !Edit).
4.12
2. The application illustrates how a complex task can be solved by a
very mediocre programmer by dodging most of the issues and combining a
little code with a lot of other peopleæs effort.
4.12
3. I am sure that you can buy a Mac program to do the same, and that it
would be more beautiful. I reckon that it took me not much more effort
to write the program than it would have to find a Mac version. Also, I
had a working version within a few hours, so I could find out what I
wanted quite a bit sooner, for nothing.
4.12
 10 REM >$.MOUSEDIT
4.12
 20 REM MIKE HOBART AUG 1991
4.12
 30 *POINTER
4.12
 40 DIM seq% &100
4.12
 50 in$=öò:inl$=öò:ptr%=0:in%=0 :inl%=0
4.12
 60 gsound%=160:csound%=80:asound% =240:tsound%=40
4.12
 70 PROCintro
4.12
 80 PROCgetdata
4.12
 90 END
4.12
100
4.12
110 DEFPROCintro
4.12
120 PRINTöThis program allows DNA sequence entry by mouseòÉöIt is
4.12
 best to run it as a task from within EDIT, as you can
4.12
 then edit.òæ
4.12
130 PRINTömove the mouse N,S,E or W toòÉ
4.12
140 PRINTöenter A,T,G or C respectively.òÉ:REMöAdjust (right
4.12
 button) deletes one.ò
4.12
150 PRINTöPRESS Éselectæ (left button) to start or stopò
4.12
160 ENDPROC
4.12
170
4.12
180 DEFPROCgetdata
4.12
190 MOUSE ON
4.12
200 MOUSE x%,y%,button%
4.12
210 REPEAT:MOUSE x%,y%,button%:UNTIL button%=4
4.12
220 bbutton%=0
4.12
230 *FX 21,9
4.12
240 *FX15,0
4.12
250 REPEAT
4.12
260   MOUSE x%,y%,button%
4.12
270   WAIT:WAIT:WAIT
4.12
280   *FX 21,9
4.12
290   *FX15,0
4.12
300   MOUSE X%,Y%,bbutton%
4.12
310   bbutton%=0:MOUSE X%,Y%, bbutton%:incx%=X%-x%
4.12
:incy%=Y%-y%
4.12
320   inl%+=1
4.12
330   IF inl%>55 THEN squeeky%=12 ELSEsqueeky%=0
4.12
340   IF inl%>60 THEN PROCstash
4.12
350   CASE bbutton% OF
4.12
360     WHEN 0:PROCgetlet
4.12
370     WHEN 2:PROCmenu:REM REDUNDANT
4.12
380     WHEN 1:PROCdellet:REM -ditto-
4.12
390   ENDCASE
4.12
400 UNTIL bbutton%=4
4.12
410 ENDPROC
4.12
420
4.12
430 DEFPROCsavedata
4.12
440 PROCstash
4.12
450 OSCLI öSAVE ò+file$+ö ò+ STR$~(seq%)+ö +ò+STR$~(ptr%+1)
4.12
460 ENDPROC
4.12
470
4.12
480 DEFPROCgetdat
4.12
490 inl$=öò
4.12
500 PROCgetlet
4.12
510 ENDPROC
4.12
520
4.12
530 DEFPROCgetlet
4.12
540 in$=öò
4.12
550   IFABS(incx%)>(ABS(incy%)+5) THEN
4.12
560     IFX%>700 in$=öGò:MOUSE TO 640,540:SOUND 1,-10,
gsound%+squeeky%,3
4.12
570     IFX%<580 in$=öCò:MOUSE TO 640,540:SOUND 1,-10,
csound%+squeeky%,3
4.12
580   ENDIF
4.12
590   IFABS(incx%)<(ABS(incy%)+10) THEN
4.12
600     IFY%>600 in$=öAò:MOUSE TO 640,540:SOUND 1,-15,
asound%+squeeky%,3
4.12
610     IFY%<480 in$=öTò:MOUSE TO 640,540:SOUND 1,-15,
tsound%+squeeky%,3
4.12
620   ENDIF
4.12
630 IF in$=öAòTHEN SYS 00,65
4.12
640 IF in$=öCòTHEN SYS 00,67
4.12
650 IF in$=öGòTHEN SYS 00,71
4.12
660 IF in$=öTòTHEN SYS 00,84
4.12
670 ENDPROC
4.12
680
4.12
690 DEFPROCdellet
4.12
700 inl$=LEFT$(inl$):WAIT:WAIT:WAIT: WAIT:WAIT:WAIT:WAIT
4.12
710 *FX21,9
4.12
720 bbutton%=0
4.12
730 ENDPROC
4.12
740
4.12
750 DEFPROCstash
4.12
760 inl%=0
4.12
770 ENDPROCááA
4.12

4.12
PipeLine
4.12
Gerald Fitton
4.12
One of the things which continues to surprise me month after month is
the number of you who write to me to say that you read this column but
do not have PipeDream. For example, I wouldnæt have expected as many
letters about complex numbers as I received from users of Viewsheet (run
with the emulator), Logistix and other spreadsheets (!), and even Basic
programmers! Of course, Iæm prejudiced but I think you should give
PipeDream a try using the Colton Software Demo Disc. With the Demo Disc
you can load files (e.g. from the Archive monthly disc or from the
Abacus Training Introducing PipeLine Disc), you can amend those files
and you can create new documents. What you can not do is to save files
nor can you print them nor do you have access to the dictionary
facilities. However, you can do almost anything else that you might want
to do with PipeDream, so the Demo Disc does give you an opportunity to
discover whether PipeDream is worth buying Ö an opportunity that I wish
was available for other software. Write to me if youære interested.
4.12
Printer font
4.12
Alan Highet would like to alter the Printer Font (which applies to the
font shown on screen as well) with a macro but canæt find a way of doing
it because there doesnæt seem to be a command which can be entered into
a macro for changing the font. The nearest I can get to solving this
problem is to find that, in my ini file I have the command
%OP%FGTrinity.Medium which sets the font in my default document as
Trinity .Medium.
4.12
Alan has done one better really. Here is his partial solution. He uses a
macro to load a sheet which has all the default options he wants
(including the font). This sheet is not blank but contains external
references to all the data he wants to print. The data he wants to print
is in the external (original) document. Now, having Écuredæ one problem,
Alan finds he has another. He wants the macro to print the newly loaded
file (with its external references) in the new font but the print
command operates before all the external references have been evaluated
so the printout is just a block of zeros!
4.12
I havenæt tried this next idea but I wonder if it is possible to arrange
for the macro to go through the following sequence: mark a block in the
original document using <Ctrl-CGS> and <Ctrl-Z>, copy it to the paste
list with <Ctrl-BF>, load the new document (which contains the font
required), go to some appropriate slot in the new document using <Ctrl-
CGS> and then paste the marked block back with <Ctrl-I>. If anyone has
any other ideas then I and Alan will be most interested to hear from
you.
4.12
Slow dictionary
4.12
Roger King has a Gripe which is the speed of the dictionary when using a
wild card for the first letter. He says, for example, that ^?er^?^?ct
returns the word Éperfectæ but only after 20 minutes. Since one of
Rogeræs pastimes is to compile crosswords he finds this delay somewhat
infuriating. Does anyone have any suggestions?
4.12
Automatic SAVE
4.12
Once again, I have Élostæ the letter in my filing system about this. The
correspondent has a copy of an automatic save utility which (I think) he
obtained from BeeBug which works with all applications except PipeDream.
Has anyone else discovered this and, if so, is there a Écureæ?
4.12
Two discards
4.12
John Harrison wrote to me originally on the 22nd October 1990 about this
problem. John records the results of competitive dingy races (times in
seconds) and analyses them. Typically, the competitor is allowed to
discard the worst two results from a series of ten and average (or
total) the remaining eight. How do you find the winner?
4.12
Well, for one discard, finding the value to discard is easy because the
function max(list) finds the largest value of a range so all you need is
sum(range) Ö max(range). For two or more discards max(list) wonæt find
the second discard unless you can somehow delete the value found with
max(list) from the list.
4.12
Here is Johnæs latest solution which he sent me in May this year (sorry
for the delay but Iæve been trying to find a better solution)! Create a
spreadsheet using one row for each competitor. Enter the competitoræs
name in column A and use the next ten columns for the results of the ten
races. To the right of these first eleven columns use one column for
each combination (some people would call it, incorrectly, each permuta
tion) of eight from ten (there are 45 of them!) so that in each of the
next 45 columns you have the sum of a different 8 of the 10 ten races. I
think John has a way of automatically generating the 45 columns but, on
his own admission this solution is rather inelegant. Sorry but I donæt
have a disc file of an example, so I hope that this written explanation
is clear enough.
4.12
I wonder if there is a way of using an Éifæ function in a second column
to find the second largest value in the first column? I can think of an
if function which will do this if the maximum value is not duplicated
but my simple function fails if this happens.
4.12
Another idea I have is to use one column per competitor and set up a
macro that ranks the whole sheet on the column corresponding to the
first competitor, then, having done that you sum the best eight results
at the bottom of the column and snapshot this sum with <Ctrl-BSS>. The
macro then goes on to repeat this ranking, summing and snapshotting
until all contributors have been dealt with.
4.12
If any of you have another solution then please let me have a disc copy
of an example which I will send on to John and also publish. This must
be a problem for the expert (or maybe the ingenious beginner who wonæt
be confused by Éstandardæ techniques)!
4.12
ArcScan
4.12
Joe Hertzberg and Frank Lawson have both produced catalogues in ArcScan
format of the first four PipeLine discs. Maureen Whitaker believes that,
because of the different approaches of the two compilers, both are
useful to her (and others). If you have your own ArcScan contents
catalogue of the PipeLine discs and PipeLine articles (from Archive)
then I shall be most grateful for a disc copy to pass on to others. The
ArcScan program is copyright and costs ú18 through Archive.
4.12
Flat files
4.12
Tony Cowley has sent me a most witty letter explaining how to file
(hardcopy) paperwork files in a way he believes might be unique. He
stamps each document with a serial number and files them in chronologi
cal order. I suppose you could use the date for the stamp provided that
you have some sequential subscript. (How about hours, minutes and
seconds? Ö See last monthæs integer arithmetic tutorial for details.)
4.12
The problem most people have with such a chronological filing system is
in finding a document from way back. Tonyæs solution is to use PipeDream
as a computerised database of the documents. Each document is treated as
a Érecordæ having a row of the database to itself. The Éfieldsæ are
columns which contain say the document serial number, date, name of the
sender, subject matter, etc. Now, by using Block Search, <Ctrl-BSE>, or
by sorting, <Ctrl-BSO>, you can find all the relevant references.
4.12
I think that the idea of combining a Ésequentialæ hardcopy file with a
computer file which can be searched or sorted with ease shows a degree
of pragmatism that could originate only from a computer Éuseræ rather
than a computer Éexpertæ! It appeals to me because of its simplicity and
elegance.
4.12
Selecting a block
4.12
Steve Knattress reminds me that, whilst it is possible to mark blocks
with the mouse, an alternative for long documents is to use <Ctrl-Z> to
mark the left top and bottom right corners of the block. In conjunction
with <Ctrl-Z>, you can use <Ctrl-CGS> to go to a slot.
4.12
Printing
4.12
It is only recently that I realised that I donæt have to use <Ctrl-PO>
to get a print out. The Print key (next to the Scroll Lock key) has the
same effect and is easier to use.
4.12
Dates
4.12
Brian Edwards bought an A3000 because he was so impressed with PipeDream
on the Z88. On the Z88 dates back to 1753 can be computed. You may
wonder why such an odd number was chosen for the cut off; I know but if
you can tell me Iæll give you an honourable mention Ö a clue is öHow
many days had September 1752?ò On the A3000, only dates this century can
be computed so some of Brianæs applications (e.g. a database of a Parish
Baptism Register) can not be ported directly from the Z88.
4.12
Brian would like to know what you think is the best way of storing
historical dates in PipeDream 3. If you write to me, Iæll include
anything useful in my tutorial on integer arithmetic that goes into
dates as an example of a Éstrangeæ number base (the number of days in a
month are Éstrangeæ). I have heard of something called a Julian Date
which used to be (and maybe still is) transmitted by various radio and
TV stations. If there is anyone with knowledge of Julian Date conversion
formulae (particularly if it is a PipeDream spreadsheet) then I shall be
most interested to hear from you (and so, maybe, will Brian).
4.12
CCTV/Multisync switch
4.12
Malcolm Brown uses a closed circuit TV as a glorified magnifying glass
because he needs things such as handwritten letters or small print
larger than life in order to be able to read them. He has sent me a
photograph showing an Alpha Vision traveller (the TV camera end) hooked
up to something like a 20ö monitor with the name Alpha Vision on it. The
photo is rather old because it includes a BBC Master computer. Malcolm
used to switch between the TV camera output and the Master with a foot
switch but now he has an Archimedes. Hereæs Malcolmæs question. Does
anyone know how to channel the output from his TV camera into a
multisync on the Archimedes (so that he can switch between the Archi
medes and the TV camera)?
4.12
PipeDream Lotus 1-2-3 comparisons
4.12
Malcolm will be sending me his opinion but, if you have comments, then
send them to me so that I can put them all together in one big bundle!
4.12
The Poll Tax
4.12
On the Archive monthly disc I have included a database of Poll Tax rates
for 1990-91. This has been Édonatedæ by Robert Macmillan of Colton
Software but has quite a few omissions. Does anyone feel up to complet
ing the table and, perhaps, adding the data projected for 1991-92?
4.12
Labels
4.12
A letter I have had from Steve Harratt reminds me that most people use
labels with 21 labels per sheet rather than the 18 labels per sheet
which I do. The consequence is that the detailed instructions I have
given elsewhere need modifying. Rather than me go through what is, to
me, a hypothetical exercise, I thought it likely that one of you might
already have modified my instructions for a different label format. If
you have then please send me details and I will make a suitable
compilation.
4.12
HP DeskJet 500
4.12
Roger Lines has one of these and comments favourably about the output
quality. He, like many others of you, I suspect, wants to use it with a
suitable PipeDream printer driver. Has anybody got one? (We have just
started stocking the DeskJet 500æs as various people seemed very
impressed with them. They are ú395 through Archive.)
4.12
Epson GQ-3500
4.12
This is my printer. It is a laser printer with a 300 dpi resolution. I
use it in HP emulation mode, mainly with !PrinterLJ and outline fonts.
However, I do use it often enough with a PipeDream printer driver to
want one which works properly. The driver provided by Colton Software
called HPjet assumes that the HP printer has access to the ECMA-94
character set (the ECMA-94 character set is practically the same as the
Archimedes System font) and so the driver does not require a translation
table. My printer (with HP emulator) doesnæt have the ECMA-94 character
set so I have to use a translation table from Roman8 to ECMA-94. I have
one which produces most of the System font characters but not all. Once
again, I am collecting together information on PipeDream printer drivers
so, if you have anything to offer on this or any other printer, please
send me your printer driver on a disc.
4.12
I have asked this next question before but received no response. Has
anyone got, or does anyone know how to write a RISC OS printer driver
for my Epson-GQ3500 so that I can discard the emulator. I canæt help
thinking that, since practically all the printer graphics control codes
are similar to those of the FX80, that I ought to be able to make a few
changes to !PrinterDM and run my GQ-3500!
4.12
Multifile documents
4.12
I have said little about this subject in the past. For those of you who
can still find your handbook, turn to page 210; only three pages are
devoted to this interesting facility but references to it appear
throughout the user guide.
4.12
Each file in a multifile document can have its own page layout and
default options. For those of you familiar with DTP jargon, each file
can be a Chapter with its own column structure, wrap margins, default
printer (and screen) font, grid (present or absent), insert on return ON
(or OFF), headers & footers, etc. The multifile document can consist of,
say, a title page as one file, a page of two column text as a contents
page, a different layout for the main body part of the report, tables of
numbers (or a database) included as separate files followed by more text
(to another layout), and an index at the end with yet another layout.
The multifile document can be spellchecked or you can use Search and
Replace throughout the whole document as a single entity; page numbers,
page breaks, etc, can be harmonised.
4.12
The commands <Shift-F5> and <Shift-F6> move the ÉInput focusæ (the place
where the caret appears) from file to file through the document. A
couple of notes you should be aware of but might have missed appear on
pages 249 & 256. When you change the input focus with either of these
commands then, if you have made any changes to a file, it will be saved
automatically (whether you like it or not!) as the input focus moves to
the next or previous file.
4.12
Now that more of you are familiar with DTP and understand the advantages
of being able to vary the page layout whilst staying within the same
document, I shall be writing more about the use of this facility.
4.12
Multifile documents have always been a part of PipeDream so, if you have
used them and found them useful, I would like to hear from you (prefer
ably with a disc based example).
4.12
Finally
4.12
I had hoped to include more about integer arithmetic or complex numbers
this month but I think Iæve probably run out of space. Keep those discs
(and letters) coming in and let me know what subjects you prefer to read
in a column such as this!ááA
4.12

4.12
DT-Talk
4.12
Robert Chrismas
4.12
DT-Talk is a speech synthesizer program. It is produced by DT Software
and distributed by Atomwide. It costs ú14.95+VAT.
4.12
What you get
4.12
There is a disk with a 16 page A6 manual. The disk contains:
4.12
!TalkLoad Ö loads the two modules used by the speech system (they occupy
about 60k).
4.12
!FileTalk Ö sits on the icon bar and reads aloud any text file dropped
on to the icon.
4.12
!HelpTalk Ö reads aloud the help messages which !Help (on Applications
1) displays.
4.12
!System and !SysMerge Ö because !FileTalk and !HelpTalk require Clib
(version 3.66 is supplied on the disk)
4.12
ReadMe1st Ö Information about the new Clib
4.12
ReadMe Ö Information about changes to DT-Talk
4.12
Allophones
4.12
DT-Talk is unlike the speech programs previously reviewed in Archive
because its speech is based on allophones, not phonemes.
4.12
There are rather more sounds in our language than letters in our
alphabet because we make our letters work overtime. So we use Ésæ for
the first sound in Ésingæ and Éhæ for the first sound in Éhatæ but put
together as Éshæ they make that sound of the sea with which we start the
word Éshoreæ. The vowels are particularly hard pressed; consider the
letter Éaæ which sounds quite different in Ébatæ Ébarkæ and Éstareæ. In
fact there are about 50 basic sounds in spoken English. They are called
Éphonemesæ. Most speech synthesis programs are able to produce more or
less accurately these 50 sounds and, by putting them together, with
appropriate pauses, you can get recognisable speech.
4.12
However, we have to produce speech using our lungs, throat, and mouth.
This imposes certain mechanical limitations on the sounds which we can
produce. Each phoneme requires the speakeræs throat and mouth to be in a
particular position, and then they have to get into position for the
next phoneme while the sound is still being produced. At the start of
each word, we have to get up some pressure in our lungs and, at the end,
we have to stop and perhaps take another breath. It is not surprising
that the sound of a phoneme can vary slightly depending on its position
in the word and the phonemes around it. The differences are usually
quite small but they do exist. Say the word Ékickæ and listen to the Ékæ
sound at the beginning and the end, both sounds are represented by the
same phoneme, but most people pronounce them slightly differently. All
the different possible sounds of the phonemes are called Éallophonesæ.
So how many allophones are there? Well, it probably depends on how
different is different. DT-Talk uses 59 allophones, 22 vowels and 37
Éconsonantsæ.
4.12
So for example DT-Talk has two different Ébæ sounds and three different
Ékæs described in the manual as:
4.12
/BB1/ Blight, criB
4.12
/BB2/ Front of word before vowel: Boat
4.12
and
4.12
/KK1/ Word start; before vowels not in KK3
4.12
/KK2/ End of word
4.12
/KK3/ Before AO, AR, OR, OW, OY, UH, UW
4.12
Producing your own computer speech
4.12
The *SAY command will convert English text to speech. To help C
programmers, the applications !FileTalk and !HelpTalk are supplied with
their C source code. If you produce speech using Basic, the ReadMe file
advises you to use OSCLI (öSAYá...ò) and not *SAY. The ÉBad Programæ and
other errors which occur if you do use *SAY make me a bit suspicious of
the module code.
4.12
There is a SWI which will pronounce one allophone. None of the programs
on the disk allow you to input speech in allophones. It is quite easy to
write a few lines of Basic to do this but I think it would have been a
good idea to include such a program in the package. The ReadMe file
describes a second SWI which provides information on the length of the
speech queue.
4.12
The manual
4.12
The manual is by no means as comprehensive as that provided with
ÉSpeechSystemæ but it is rather better than the documentation provided
with ÉSpeech!æ. It is clear and helpful and it manages to be friendly
without being offensively Échattyæ.
4.12
Quality of speech
4.12
The speech sounds a little less Émechanicalæ than PEPæs ÉSpeechSystemæ
but it is no clearer. It is a rather subjective judgement, but I find
Superior Softwareæs ÉSpeech!æ the most Énaturalæ.
4.12
The recognition of some words was difficult because they were not
translated into allophones very successfully. For example Éballæ sounds
quite close to Ébullæ which is fine for Éballoonæ but not for Éballæ.
Other speech programs reviewed in Archive have similar problems, but
they have dictionaries which allow you to supply the correct pronuncia
tion. However, you can often improve the sound by spelling the words
phonetically.
4.12
You can produce an improvement in the quality of the speech using
allophones, but it took me much longer to translate words into allo
phones than phonemes and you must write your own code to pronounce them.
The use of allophones may seem to give this program the edge over its
rivals, but in fact the most important factor does not seems to be the
range of sounds available, rather it is the accuracy with which they are
reproduced.
4.12
There is no control over pitch or stress although the documentation
suggests that future versions may include this.
4.12
Conclusion
4.12
DT-Talk is slightly cheaper than the other three speech synthesizer
programs.
4.12
Because it is based on allophones, it offers a wider range of sounds
than its rivals but the speech it produces is of similar quality. It
does not offer as many features as the others and the accompanying
desktop programs are much more limited.ááA
4.12
Robertæs review of ARCticulate, the forth speech package arrived just in
time to get into this current issue. He has also included a comparison
table for the four. See page 51. Ed.
4.12

4.12
ArcComm2
4.12
Alan Highet
4.12
ArcComm2 is a fully multi-tasking videotext and scrolling text terminal
aimed primarily at the educational market which is obvious from the fact
that the first 18 pages of the manual are devoted to a Curriculum guide
taking you through accessing and using Prestel and the Campus 2000
database.
4.12
The scrolling terminals available are Teletype, VT52, VT102, ANSI and a
reasonable VT220. The 3 videotext terminals allow you access to Franceæs
TΘlΘtel, Germanyæs Bildschirmtext and the U.K.És Prestel which is the
one most people will use.
4.12
Videotext
4.12
After accessing Prestel, you can move around the pages using the normal
commands and a numeric keypad is also available on screen which can be
selected by the mouse. There is a facility to save viewed frames to disc
in ÉStoresæ which can then be replayed offline and some sample ÉStoresæ
are provided on a utility disc. There is a print text or graphics
facility which will print individual frames while online but itæs
probably cheaper and quicker to store them and print them later on.
4.12
Screens may also be printed or saved as text files or as graphic files
(sprites).
4.12
A facility, unique to this program and only required when using the
Campus 2000 system to my knowledge, is the ability to automatically
switch from videotext to scrolling text under the control of the host
although some characters may be lost in the transition.
4.12
One nice touch is that you can reply to a mailbox by placing the mouse
pointer over the mailbox number on the screen and double clicking
<select> while holding down the Shift key. You are then taken to a
preselected mailbox frame and the number selected is inserted in the
first field.
4.12
There is also a comprehensive off-line mailbox editor and a utility to
create multi-page mailboxes.
4.12
Scrolling text
4.12
This terminal offers all the usual functions found in similar software.
Again, stores are provided, in this case two, which may be replayed
later when you are off-line. These stores may be redirected as text
files for viewing in a text editor.
4.12
The screen may be printed as a text file using its own print routine but
there is no facility to print the screen as a graphic. Instead you must
save the screen as a sprite and use the RISC-OS printer drivers.
4.12
File transfers
4.12
There are various file transfers available: Xmodem, Xmodem-1k and Ymodem
for uploads and downloads, and a mailbox upload and CET download for
videotext frames.
4.12
There are two icons on the icon bar with the right hand one being the
program control and the left one being the file transfer icon. Clicking
on this icon lets you set the required transfer protocol freeing the
user from having to choose each time a file is transferred.
4.12
Procedures
4.12
This is a powerful feature of the software which allows you to configure
the program to do almost anything required. You can, for instance, start
up the software in your chosen style, log on to a bulletin board,
download your mail and log off again all automatically with one double
click.
4.12
Miscellaneous
4.12
There is a new screen modes module which contains 12 modes, some of
which are available with Impression.
4.12
There is an ISO1 module which allows you easy access to foreign
characters using a combination of keys. This is a useful module which
can be used with other software applications.
4.12
There is also information on the various modem drivers supplied along
with details of how to wire up a modem lead.
4.12
Conclusions
4.12
I cannot say the software worked faultlessly but then I havenæt used any
comms software that does. The problem is that there are so many things
that can go wrong like the modem, the software, the telephone line etc.
that it is very difficult, if not impossible, to trace the fault.
4.12
Having said all this, I found ArcComm2 relatively easy to use and it
performed very well with all the different boards I tried.
4.12
What I wasnæt so happy about was that to use VT220 emulation I had to
alter the run file instead of it being accessible from the menus, and
132 column mode wasnæt supported which I use a lot for connection to a
mainframe.
4.12
Documentation
4.12
The A4 handbook was quite good but I do not like their style of column
headings as it was difficult to tell where the text continued with the
result I often missed out bits of text. I also felt that the section
dealing with procedures should have been much more comprehensive with a
lot more examples. Some procedures are provided on the disc but a
written step by step guide would have helped.
4.12
If you want the use of the procedures then this product will be very
useful but as a comms package I thought it overpriced alongside
something like David Pillingæs RISC-OS Terminal software which supports
a simple configuration language and costs ú59 through Archive.)ááA
4.12

4.12

4.12
ARCticulate
4.12
Robert Chrismas
4.12
ARCticulate is The Fourth Dimensionæs Éanimated speech synthesizeræ. It
costs ú24.95. The distinctive advertisements showing rather ominous
faces (itæs the sun glasses which do it) are hard to miss.
4.12
The package
4.12
You get a disk and six A6 sides of documentation in a video-type box.
The disk has 10 applications. !Share contains the speech module and all
the sound samples. !ARCtic is a Éfront endæ which allows you to enter
text from the desktop. There are separate applications to control the
four faces, a dictionary program, a program which tells jokes, sound
effect for the desktop and a demo.
4.12
You can copy the applications to a hard disk but the original floppy
disk must be present when you start the program. The !Share application
includes a ReadMe file explaining how you can use ARCticulate speech in
your own programs.
4.12
The documentation
4.12
The manual has six A6 sides of documentation. It explains the purpose of
each of the ten applications and includes a table to identify the
phoneme codes and the corresponding mouth shapes for the talking faces.
There is enough information to use the applications but not enough
background information and advice to help people unfamiliar with speech
synthesis to get the most from the package.
4.12
Sampled phonemes
4.12
Unlike other Archimedes speech synthesis programs, ARCticulate uses
samples, digital recordings, of real speech, instead of synthesising the
sounds. The samples are very short, each one being just one phoneme. The
program allows you to Éplay backæ the phonemes in any order so it can
say anything you choose.
4.12
In fact, there are four different sets of samples, so the program will
speak in four distinct voices. We are not told the names of the people
who supplied the male and female voices, nor am I sure where The Fourth
Dimension found a ÉDroidæ and the Alien for the other two, but the
Édroidæ sounds a bit like K9 from Dr Who.
4.12
There is a paradox here. Most speech synthesizer programs sound a bit
mechanical though the good ones sound less mechanical than the others.
Fourth Dimension have developed a technique which should reproduce
speech more accurately and have then used it to reproduce speech which
deliberately sounds artificial! I would have preferred a wider range of
human voices.
4.12
However, this method certainly works. Sampled phonemes sound more
natural and are clearer than synthesized phonemes. Other programs sound
mechanical, but this program sounds sufficiently natural for me to find
the male voice slightly nasal (could it be a Sheffield accent?).
Incidentally, he also fails to sound his ÉRæ clearly.
4.12
One disadvantage of using this method to produce computer speech is that
sampled sounds occupy more memory than the code to synthesis sounds.
Each voice requires a set of phoneme samples which occupy about 65k of
memory. With the 35k controller module ÉSpeechModæ and a desktop front
end, ARCticulate speech will require more than 100k of memory. All four
voices requires at least 300k.
4.12
The talking faces
4.12
Each talking face is controlled by a small application requiring about
25k. The application animates the face if the computer is speaking.
4.12
Each phoneme is associated with one of eight mouth positions. For each
face there are eight small sprites showing these mouth positions. As the
voice speaks, the application changes the mouth shape to match the
phoneme. It seems to work rather well Ö the face does appear to talk.
4.12
The face sprites will only work in 256 colour modes. The applications
only recognise their own voices if all four voices are loaded so by
loading just one voice you can have any of the faces speaking in any of
the voices.
4.12
By altering the sprites in one of the applications, you could produce
your own talking face without much difficulty. You could even use a
human face without sunglasses, but I suspect that a talking mouth with
motionless eyes would look a bit creepy.
4.12
Your own words
4.12
!ARCtic is a desktop program which allows you to enter speech in plain
text or phonemes. You can also drag text files onto the icon to hear
them. I recklessly dragged quite a long file onto the icon only to
discover that to stop the speech I had to quit the program. Surprisingly
!ARCtic does not accept text files directly from other programs, not
even using Wimp$Scrap.
4.12
!ARCtic makes use of a number of calls to a module called ÉSpeechModæ Ö
you can include these calls in your own programs. The most important is
an OSCLI/SWI call Ö ÉSAYæ Ö which speaks text. If the pronunciation is
unsatisfactory, you can try spelling the words phonetically or you can
embed phonemes in the text by preceding each phoneme with a É/æ.
4.12
The 40 phonemes used by this program are represented by codes of one or
two letters. This set of codes is different from the sets of codes used
by the other speech programs.
4.12
As with some other speech programs, you can change the pitch of the
speech, but ARCticulate also has codes to change volume and the speaking
voice. So for example É{the volume and É}æ decreases it. When these
codes are included in ordinary text, they are sometimes displaced
slightly when the text is converted into phonemes.
4.12
For example
4.12
listen to {this }
4.12
is translated as
4.12
.LIXSUHN{.towdhixs }.
4.12
Translating text to phonemes
4.12
The task of translating plain text to phonemes is carried out by the 35k
ÉSpeechModæ module. Despite its size, it seemed to me that it was less
successful in translating plain text to phonemes than some of the other
speech programs. However, it may just be that failures are more
noticeable because ARCticulateæs phonemes are more clearly pronounced,
so poor translations are more obvious.
4.12
ARCticulate has slightly fewer phonemes at its disposal than the other
speech programs, and even when I entered phonemes directly, I was not
always able to find exactly the sound I wanted.
4.12
The !Diction program allows you to create a dictionary with translations
of difficult words into phonemes. However, it only handles whole words,
so you would need separate entries for Éroughæ, Éroughlyæ, Éroughenæ etc
and there is limited of 600 words. The dictionary supplied with the
program seems to have a very odd choice of words but, in fact, they have
been carefully chosen to match the words used by the !Jokes program. The
advert says that you can have as many dictionary files as you want. This
is true, but only one dictionary can be active at a time.
4.12
Hasnæt got an Éologyæ
4.12
The SpeechMod module which handles translation from plain text to
phonemes has at least one serious bug. It translates ÉOGYæ into É/O/J/
EEæ. Unfortunately, É/Oæ is not a valid phoneme code, so whenever it
tries to say a word with ÉOGYæ in it, the program stops speaking and
generates the error message ÉIllegal phoneme in speechæ. When I phoned
Fourth Dimension and pointed this out, I was told that I could fix it by
adding any words which were not pronounced correctly to the dictionary.
In vain, I repeated that the problem was not that words were mispro
nounced but that the program gives up altogether when you ask it to say
them. You can correct individual words by adding them to the dictionary,
but since the dictionary only handles whole words you would have to
enter all the Éologyæs from astrology right through to zoology to be
safe!
4.12
I suspect you could tinker with SpeechMod itself Ö the translation table
is easy to find Ö but this may upset the protection built around this
module.
4.12
Conclusion
4.12
Each of the other programs has some features which this program lacks
but ARCticulate produces clearer and more natural speech than any of its
rivals. It also has talking heads. However a fault in the translation of
text to phonemes prevents it saying words with Éogyæ in them. If Fourth
Dimension corrects this fault, ARCticulate will probably be the speech
program which most users choose.ááA
4.12
Comparison of Speech Synthesis Programs
4.12
The table compares the main features of the four speech synthesis
programs. The marks are out of ten. So far as features like
Énaturalnessæ are concerned, the marks are no more than my own subjec
tive judgement.
4.12

4.12
    !Speech    SpeechSystem    DT-Talk
ARCticulate
4.12
Supplier    Superior Software    PEP
Associates    DT-Soft    4th
Dimension
4.12
Price (inc VAT)    ú19.95    ú25
ú17.57    ú24.95
4.12
Speech Clarity    5    5    5    7
4.12
Naturalness    5    4    4    8
4.12
Variation controls6    2    0
8
4.12
Documentation    3    9    5    4
4.12
Desktop front end    5    7    4    5
4.12
Dictionary facilities    8    6    0
5
4.12

4.12
Other features
4.12
    ARCticulate    talking faces
4.12
    DT-Talk        allophones
4.12
    !Speech        sings
4.12
    SpeechSystem    speaks text under cursor and
4.12
                              speaks as you typeááA
4.12

4.12
Fast Array Sorts
4.12
Ashley Bowden
4.12
It is rather difficult getting started with the Fast Array Sorts disc
from Avisoft. There is no autoboot option set and so the user has to
hunt around to see what is on the disc. The documentation does not help
greatly here. It would appear that the author is not a devotee of the
Desktop since clicking on the various program icons often produces a
display which scrolls rapidly by in a small window. Also, other programs
do not run because you are not in the correct directory.
4.12
Having eventually sorted out what was where, I attempted to put the
software through its paces. Essentially there is a relocatable module
which is responsible for the ARM code sort and a number of programs to
demonstrate sorts in action. Even so, the programs are not as user
friendly as they might have been and some are just plain awkward. The
author states that the point of the software is to allow the user to
incorporate the sort code in Basic, so I decided to give this a go.
4.12
All you have to do is include four lines in a Basic program Ö three are
to load the module and to prepare it and the fourth is to do the sort on
the arrays specified. The author suggests that you look at the programs
supplied to see how this is done in practice. These examples are models
of clarity and good programming and I managed to write a program to sort
an array of random numbers with no trouble. You can, in fact, sort on
any type of array (integer, real or string) and you can sort on several
arrays in an intelligent way.
4.12
For example, suppose you had an array which contained a hundred surnames
and another with the corresponding forenames. You could do a double sort
so that the surnames where put into alphabetical order and, if any of
these were identical, they would be sorted by forename. This all worked
well, so I decided to try some of the more advanced features.
4.12
It is possible to set various options to control the sort. These include
ascending or descending, whether the whole array is to be sorted or just
some of it and whether the case of letters in a string is to be taken
into account. You have to create a Éflagæ value which tells the sort
module which options you want. This caused more problems, I am afraid.
4.12
According to the documentation, a value of 128 signifies a descending
sort. So it appears that
4.12
CALL sort,test%(),128
4.12
will sort the array test%() in descending order. This I tried and got
the message ÉSyntax Erroræ. I struggled with this on and off for a
couple of weeks, feeling ever more guilty about how the long the review
was taking and was on the point of admitting defeat when I realised how
to get the thing to work. The flag must be passed using a variable name.
4.12
flag%=128
4.12
CALL sort,test%(),flag%
4.12
does the trick!
4.12
This does strike me as very unorthodox and mention should be made of it
in the documentation. My feeling about the software is that the author
has produced a very powerful module and is, with some justice, proud of
it. It can sort 10,000 integers in less than 1.3 seconds. However, the
user has not been catered for adequately. The disc structure needs
tidying up, the sample programs made more friendly and the documentation
needs improving with actual examples of how to use the sort code. The
Archimedes version of the software costs ú15 from Avisoft and, to
justify this, the package needs to be made much more professional.ááA
4.12

4.12
!Draw_Help
4.12
Robert Chrismas
4.12
!Draw_Help is a tutorial guide for !Draw. It is produced by Sherston
Software and is intended to be a sequel to !Help, their guide to the
Archimedes and A3000.
4.12
Most computer enthusiasts (Archive readers) learn to use programs by
trial and error with occasional peeks at the manual. If you are using a
computer for fun, learning like this is all part of the enjoyment.
People who are not interested in Éfiddlingæ with computers or who cannot
afford the time, find this a slow and often discouraging method.
4.12
Tutorials for computer-related products try to offer a reasonably cheap,
easy way to learn about a computer or a particular program. A tutorial
is not like a manual. A manual can just list and describe the effects of
the options offered by a program (although most manuals are more helpful
than this). A proper tutorial should guide the user through carefully
structured practical exercises which illustrate all the major features
of the program.
4.12
What a tutorial should do
4.12
Anxious new users sometimes say things like Éjust tell me what button to
pressæ. They do not understand that the ways you can combine options in
a program, and the things which can go wrong, are legion. It is not
possible to give a list of instructions to cover every contingency. So a
tutorial must not only tell you which button to press, it should also
explain why you are pressing it, and to give some idea of the things you
might do instead. The activities should be organised so that they do not
assume skills or knowledge which have not yet been explained and the
writer must try to foresee and warn against difficulties. The material
needs to look attractive and interesting and to be written in an
encouraging style. In addition to all this, most tutorials aim to help
users whose intelligence, skills and background experience vary across
the full range in our society. Thus it is virtually impossible to write
a perfect tutorial.
4.12
By these high standards, !Draw_Help is a good attempt. There are some
aspects which I find unsatisfactory but the overall standard is high. It
is reasonably well thought out and carefully organised. The presentation
is clear and helpful.
4.12
What you get
4.12
You get a 95 page A5 booklet, two disks and an A4 reference card showing
the structure of the Draw menus. The package costs ú15.99.
4.12
The first disk contains: !Draw, !System, Integrex printer driver, dot
matrix printer driver, !Fonts and some files for use in the tutorials.
The second disk has a range of clip art files. The version of !Draw is
the same as that on Applications 1. The fonts are Olivia, a traditional
ÉChristmas cardæ style and Junior, the simple printing style usually
used in books for young children. The booklet confusingly calls the
Junior font ÉPrimaryæ. You are encouraged to back up the unprotected
disks and you are allowed to use copies within your institution. This is
not as good as it seems because the booklet itself is copyright and, as
far as I can see, you are not allowed to copy it.
4.12
The text
4.12
After an introductory section, the guide takes you through loading Draw
and opening a Draw window Ö É... if you double click you will open two
new draw files ...æ. Next come eleven pages introducing the toolbox and
the menus. The practical activities are not too challenging, É...click
the select button a few times moving the mouse between clicks.æ Filing
operations, (Loading/Saving) is covered in two pages. The largest part
of the guide comprises ÉTutorialsæ which explain how to create five
interesting files. It says you can tackle the tutorials in any order.
The tutorials are followed by an example, with hints and tips, of a
cartoon strip which uses some of the clip art. Printing is covered in
four pages and is followed by a chilling section entitled ÉNational
Curriculum Ö Referencesæ which will scare ordinary users and probably
terrify teachers. Finally, there is a section on configuring the
computer, appendices and an index.
4.12
Good points
4.12
The presentation shows considerable care and the guide is well illus
trated. It is particularly encouraging when you first use a menu to see
it printed next to the text. The tutorials show the finished product
first then, near the text describing how each effect is achieved, you
can see the file in various stages of completion.
4.12
The use of good quality clip art from the disk, enables even inexperi
enced users to produce attractive results. There is plenty of good
general advice on creating graphics.
4.12
The guide has many useful hints and notes; when the main menu is
introduced, the note about using <adjust> on menus to keep the menu open
was typically helpful.
4.12
Drawbacks
4.12
Some topics are dealt with rather superficially (perhaps they were
covered in !Help), there were a few inaccuracies and some possible
difficulties were not guarded against. For example, I could not find any
warning that clicking select on a path object will not let you edit it
if you are in select mode. Despite what the guide says, you cannot
change the font in a text area using the style menu. It is astonishing
how such details can bring a novice to a grinding halt.
4.12
There is a more serious problem with the fonts. The first tutorial, and
some of the later ones, require the Trinity Medium font which is not
supplied on the disk. At the start of the first tutorial there is a note
referring you to Appendix 2 (Copying fonts) which a novice might find a
bit daunting. However, he/she would be better off than someone who
started at one of the later tutorials which do not include any warning.
Even more seriously, the version of Trinity Medium on my Applications 1
will not fit on the work disk. One reason for the lack of space on the
disk is that one directory (Vehicles) contains duplicate copies of all
the files. I found this surprising.
4.12
These criticisms may seem overwhelming but the fact remains that
tutorials are very difficult to write Ö I have never seen a perfect
tutorial.
4.12
Schools
4.12
The inclusion of the section on the National Curriculum suggests that
schools are a major target audience. Three pages outline areas in which
the tutorials might support the National Curriculum, a half a page deals
with support from more general uses of Draw. Before buying copies of
this book to use with pupils, you should consider the reading level of
the text. I thought it might just be suitable for able upper secondary
pupils and some standard reading tests confirmed this impression. The
sixth formers I teach would not feel that they were being patronised by
the style. However, members of staff might like a copy if they are
unfamiliar with Draw. Sherston Software do not seem to offer a site
licence. You do not want to read what I think of the National
Curriculum.
4.12
Value for money?
4.12
At ú15.95, it is tempting to compare it with a typical ÉTeach Yourselfæ
book, 200 pages for ú3.00, or ÉArchimedes First Stepsæ, the Dabhand
Guide, 240 pages for ú9.95, but the market for a specialist guide like
this is probably small by comparison. Archive readers can probably use
Draw already, the english is a bit complicated for children, but it will
probably sell to teachers desperate for any help they can get.  A
4.12

4.12
Rhapsody II
4.12
Stewart Watson
4.12
Clares have issued an upgrade for users of Rhapsody. Existing users can
upgrade for ú15.50 including VAT and carriage. The new version, if
bought directly, costs ú61.95 including VAT.
4.12
There are several significant improvements on version 1 which, I feel,
make the upgrade an essential purchase for Rhapsody 1 users and should
make those who were not convinced by version 1 look again.
4.12
Firstly, the sprites have been improved giving a significantly improved
printout. I felt that Rhapsody 1És weakest feature, as a music notation
program, was the printout and Iæm delighted to see that usersæ sugges
tions have been acted upon. Apart from the improved sprites a new page
format window has been added to give more control over printer set-up Ö
an extremely useful improvement.
4.12
Input of notes to scores has been improved in two ways. Notes can now be
dragged from the panels onto a score. This greatly speeds up input of
symbols to scores, particularly when used in conjunction with the
keyboard short cuts.
4.12
More significantly, it is now possible to Écaptureæ notes from a Midi
keyboard in step-time. This is a boon when writing small melodic scores
with a wide range of note values because, once the note value is
selected, when you play the correct pitch on your keyboard, a note of
the correct pitch and length is inserted in the score. I have found this
the quickest and easiest way to input scores as it avoids the problems
associated with quantise, when one has to play in an artificially
robotic rhythm to avoid major problems with adjusting note lengths when
the score is transcribed.
4.12
The Midi facilities have been greatly enhanced and multiple Midi ports
are now supported allowing access of up to 64 channels but, more
significantly, Midi program changes are now possible at any place on any
stave. This is done by selecting a Midi channel and voice number, which
will instruct your Midi instrument which sound to use for which stave.
The Midi channels and program change numbers are shown under the stave
names at the start of each stave. This is useful when you have a large
score with several different Midi channels.
4.12
(Iæve prepared a Rhapsody file for inclusion on the monthly disc, with a
basic set up for a Roland MT32, or any compatible piece of equipment,
using a range of Midi channels and voices.)
4.12
Several other improvements have been made, including a new ÉBlock Re-
tailæ routine and a !Config program to set your own program defaults
including maximum number of staves, default stave height, Midi on/off,
Midi beat channel and pitch etc.
4.12
Clares hope to have available soon a program called ScoreDraw which will
convert Rhapsody files into Draw files. This, as well as giving Rhapsody
files access to laser printers, will mean that all text can be converted
into outline fonts and both text and music can be edited in Draw.
ScoreDraw should cost ú61.95 inc VAT.
4.12
Clares deserve congratulations for taking on board users comments and
producing a fairly major upgrade at a very reasonable cost. Rhapsody II
is available from Clares Micro Supplies, 98 Middlewich Road, Norwich,
Cheshire, CW9 7DA. Prices are ú61.95 from Clares and ú57 through
Archive.ááA
4.12

4.12
CC
4.12
From 4.11 page 30
4.12

4.12
Fortran Friends
4.12
Kate Crennell
4.12
I wrote in Archive in the July issue asking for ÉFortran Friendsæ to
contact me; several did, and I have distributed a short newsletter to
them. The Editor asked if I would like to go a bit more public and put
some information in Archive, so here I am.
4.12
Bug list
4.12
I am trying to create a list of known bugs in Acorn Fortran77 release 2.
I only have two so far which are;
4.12
(1) In Archive 4.6 p8, Raymond Wright reported that DACOS(Ö1.) gives the
wrong answer but
4.12
X=Ö1.
4.12
Y=DACOS(X)
4.12
the right one. See PRM page 1706.
4.12
This problem applies when any of the Éimmediate operandsæ which are
(0.0, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0, 0.5, 10.0) are used in negative form as
arguments to fortran functions, e.g. the result of this code below is
1.0
4.12
PRINT *, É the square root of -1 is æ, SQRT(Ö1.)
4.12
END
4.12
(2) J.P.Davey reported a problem passing functions as arguments. The
following code will not compile Ö it stops with an error, Fatal Error
(Code 930): Internal Error.
4.12
SUBROUTINE TEST(F1,X)
4.12
EXTERNAL F1
4.12
F(Z)=F1(X,Z)
4.12
A=F(2.0-1.0)
4.12
RETURN
4.12
END
4.12
Fortran Public Domain Library
4.12
It would be good to get some PD material available for Fortran, so if
you have anything suitable, send it to me for distribution. Routines
must obviously be your own copyright, accompanied by a text file
describing, briefly, what the routine does, defining the parameters and
any error returns, and giving your name, address and telephone number if
possible, so that users can contact you if they have any queries. I
shall not attempt to fix any problems in your routines, nor remove
duplicate entry points.
4.12
If you send routines on a guaranteed virus free disc, with a return,
stamped addressed label, I will send you the current set of libraries.
If you want routines but have none to contribute, I think it reasonable
to charge for making the copy. If you send a disc and a stamped,
addressed return label, the charge will be ú3. If you want me to supply
the disc and postage, the charge will be ú5 for addresses within the UK
or ú6 outside the U.K.
4.12
If I get a lot of requests, I shall probably deposit the whole collec
tion in a public domain library who will do the distribution.
4.12
Here is the current list of routines:
4.12
Å    Fortran77 Desktop Tool allowing compilation, linking, and execution
4.12
 (The following libraries are written in Assembler for speed.)
4.12
Å    33 Graphics Routines which emulate the similar Basic commands
4.12
    e.g.  CALL LINE(IX1,IY1,IX2,IY2)
4.12
Å    44 SpriteOp routines for all the SpriteOps. Names of the form SPOPnn,
02 < nn < 62
4.12
Å    8 Utilities e.g. J = IGET()  simulates the Basic GET command
4.12
Any comments?
4.12
Please send your comments on any aspect of the use of Fortran on the
Archimedes to:
4.12
K M Crennell, ÉGreytopsæ, The Lane, Chilton, Didcot, Oxon OX11 0SE or by
electronic mail on JANET to [e-mail]ááA
4.12

4.12
Competition Corner
4.12
Colin Singleton
4.12
Life was rather hectic around here just at the time Paul asked for
contributions to the August issue to be submitted early and unfor
tunately I missed it. I donæt know what Schroeder is saying, that was
nothing to do with me! (I cannot tell a lie, it was me but Iæve only had
two entries so far. Ed.)
4.12
Prime numbers seem to go down well with Archive readers, so see how you
get on with Prime Gaps. A gap is the difference between consecutive
primes, hence a gap of N implies N Ö 1 consecutive composite numbers.
4.12
By my definition, GN is the prime number preceding the first occurrence
of gap N. Hence G2 = 3 G4 = 7 G6 = 23.
4.12
This monthæs problem is to extend this list as far as possible for
(preferably consecutive) even values of N. The largest gap I have seen
reported is 784, and the prime concerned (which has not been proved to
be the smallest) exceeds 215.
4.12
Entries and comments please, either via Paul at NCS, or direct to me at
41 St Quentin Drive, Sheffield S17 4PN.
4.12
Results
4.12
Now a couple of results, starting with the May competition, the Eulerian
Square of order 10. There is a simple technique to generate such squares
of odd order. Examples can easily be found for orders four and eight.
There is also a simple technique to create a Eulerian Square of order
m.n given squares of orders m and n.
4.12
This leaves the Éinterestingæ problems as orders 10 14 18 22 26 etc. Our
regular correspondent Dr Riha of Leeds asked me why I restricted the
competition to order ten, without my usual clause Égo as far as you
canæ. I suspected that order 10 would prove difficult enough, and so it
proved. Dr Riha was the only entrant with a correct solution of order
10, and the only one to attempt order 14.
4.12
He uses a fairly straightforward technique for orders of the form 3k+1,
of which I was unaware when I set the puzzle. This only leaves orders
14, 18, 26, 38, 54, 62, 74, 78, 86 up to 100.
4.12
He then produces a technique which produces a square of any order,
provided the numbers 2, 3, 4 ... n Ö 2 can be placed (by trial and
error) in a sequence which satisfies a fairly complex set of rules.
Using this he has produced solutions for orders 14 18 (whence 54 = 3 *
18) 26 (whence 78) and, after some struggle, 38. An order 10 solution is
given below.
4.12
00 76 85 94 19 38 57 21 42 63
4.12
67 11 70 86 95 29 48 32 53 04
4.12
58 07 22 71 80 96 39 43 64 15
4.12
49 68 17 33 72 81 90 54 05 26
4.12
91 59 08 27 44 73 82 65 16 30
4.12
83 92 69 18 37 55 74 06 20 41
4.12
75 84 93 09 28 47 66 10 31 52
4.12
12 23 34 45 56 60 01 77 88 99
4.12
24 35 46 50 61 02 13 98 79 87
4.12
36 40 51 62 03 14 25 89 97 78
4.12
Now the June competition, to find the number of fundamental solutions to
the Queens problem of order n.
4.12
Dr Riha sent me a list up to n = 16. J R Ormond of Ludlow sent a list up
to n = 15, and a program which will calculate for any order (if you wait
long enough). The lists agree up to 15, though, surprisingly, they
disagree with my Écrib sheetæ for order 12. Since the latter was
calculated in 1874, I suspect that Dr Riha and Mr Ormond are more likely
to be correct. Joint winners, I think. These were the only correct
solutions beyond order 10.
4.12
Dr Rihaæs list is as follows, for orders 5 to 16 : 2, 1, 12, 46, 92,
341, 1787, 9233, 45752, 285053, 1846955.
4.12
Finally, I seem to be building quite a collection of discs from
competition entrants. I will get round to returning them in due
course!ááA
4.12

4.12
UltraSonic V1.0
4.12
Tristan Cooper
4.12
One of the aspects of the Archimedes that really impressed me and led to
my buying one was its incredible potential for sound implementation. In
fact it was EMRæs Studio 24 that originally caught my eye and which I
now use for recording and editing of music using inputs from a MIDI
keyboard and the wonderful Yamaha WX11 wind instrument. The recent
proliferation of SoundTracker software and samples has added to my
interest in creating sound and musical effects and, of course, what was
needed was an effective means of editing and manipulating this wide
variety of sounds.
4.12
Peter Gillet has produced an extensive package of applications designed
to ease the production of complex pieces of music, especially where
these have frequently repeated patterns of sounds. The package, called
!UltraSonic, occupies two discs of which one holds the various appli
cations programs and the other a wide variety of sound samples. These
sound samples are in 5 directories Ö Basses, Instrument, Looped,
Percussive and Strange, containing a total of 148 different voices.
4.12
There are also another 65 sounds that are used in the very impressive
demos Ö thus we have a total of 213 available Éinstrumentsæ to play
with. Included in these are not only a selection of conventional
instrument sounds, synthesized instruments and percussive effects, but
also several samples of possibly well-known origin, including öHey kids,
what time is it?ò, öYou got itò and one sampled from a stereo demo LP of
about 25 years ago : öThis is a journey into soundò Ö very nostalgic!
4.12
Apart from the main application program, !Ultra, disc one includes a
facility to play the demos, a new disc creation utility, various notes
on using Ultra and the extension sound modules provided and converters
for Armadeus and SoundTracker samples. Loading any of these is straight
forward enough, most installing themselves on the icon bar, or just
getting on with their task. Actually getting to use !Ultra is the
interesting part.
4.12
Using !Ultra
4.12
Clicking on !Ultraæs icon brings up a Pattern Editor window, with a
piano keyboard along the top and a number of symbols down the side
representing note volume, length, smoothing and stereo position. The
body of the window is a grid covering 4 bars. But nothing much seems to
happen, so what next? Pressing <menu> allows you to bring up windows for
Play, Sounds, Step Editor, Info, Settings, Input and other items. In
fact, you will need at least the first four of these as well as Pattern
Editor in order to get anywhere creating a piece of music. Accommodating
all these windows is a bit of a hassle and frankly, since theyære all
required together, I canæt see why they canæt be assembled as one.
Additionally, you will need to access the disc directories in order to
select the various voices required, so a rather jumbled screen can
easily result.
4.12
As to actually starting editing; first select a voice from the Sounds
window, (you can hear what it sounds like just by clicking on it in this
window) then it can be inserted into the Pattern Editor at any required
pitch and position in the 4 bars. In this way you build up a grouping of
notes that can then be inserted into the Step Editor. So, for example,
you might like to start with a drum back-beat. You can have this playing
at the same time as you make it; it will repeat over and over as you
edit it. Once youære satisfied with it, put it into the step editor on
any of 4 tracks and in up to 241 step positions. Now add some more
percussion perhaps or a throbbing bass. This can go into another track
or fill empty slots in your percussion track. A melody line can then be
added and more and more 4 bar groups assembled and inserted, to a
maximum of 255 different patterns. Each pattern can have its own tempo
and length specified. If you wish, the music can be left to play
continuously while you are adding to it. There is a choice of three
methods of inputting the notes. By using the mouse, you can place each
one in the Pattern Editor. Using the computer keyboard, you can play
along with the music but this is limited to one octave. For full range
playing, you can use an external MIDI instrument Ö I used both a Casio
keyboard and the Yamaha WX11 to good effect.
4.12
The end result can vary from a very pleasing and well balanced produc
tion, such as the Time Traveller or Axel-F demos, to a somewhat
appalling cacophony like my early efforts! A degree of practice would
clearly help here. Of course, outputting the sound through a good
quality hi-fi system helps enormously, especially in producing the
smoother bass sounds which the Archimedesæ tiny speaker simply canæt
handle. Work can be saved to disc at any time, of course, and Sound
Tracker tracks can be loaded and edited if you like.
4.12
Good and bad points
4.12
This package is most impressive. It has had a great deal of work put
into its creation and I have yet to discover a bug in it. The author,
Peter Gillet, is clearly well acquainted with the Archimedesæ sound
facilities, has provided some additional commands for your use and knows
a thing or two about music.
4.12
I have already expressed my reservations about the excess of windows but
I feel I must also comment on the instruction manual. A complex piece of
software naturally takes time to learn and one cannot expect to dive
straight in and produce masterpieces in a few minutes. However, in order
to learn to use such software, one most certainly needs an explanation
of what it does and how to make it work. Some applications are more or
less intuitive in their operation, but one as complicated as this needs
a description of its operational philosophy as well as detailed
instructions on how to use each of its functions. In other words, a
well-written and comprehensive manual is essential. Sadly, in this case,
the manual is rather brief and not particularly helpful. I am assured by
the author that this matter will be attended to in time but, as it
stands, you will have to spend some time experimenting in order to get
the hang of this otherwise excellent package.
4.12
Conclusion
4.12
Subject to the reservations above, it is well worth the asking price of
ú30 from Alpine Software if youære into music making. (ú28 through
Archive)ááA
4.12

4.12
Further Thoughts on FontEd
4.12
Keith Raven
4.12
Whilst it is true that designing a new font is beyond most of us, it is
not actually all that difficult to use FontEd to transcribe an existing
font (e.g. from a printeræs sample) to the outline font format.
4.12
Like Robert Christmas (Archive 4.10 p55), I recommend starting from an
existing font, rather than with a blank FontEd window, since the latter
gives no indication of what size to make your new font. As a precaution,
make sure you are working on a copy of the master font disc, just in
case you accidentally save your modified font without giving it a new
name!
4.12
Preparation
4.12
First find your font. For the Old English font which I transcribed, I
started from the sample font in a Letraset catalogue (Old English should
be safely out of copyright!), and photocopied it a couple of times,
enlarging it to give letters about one inch high. I then prepared two
grid patterns using Draw, one a one tenth inch grid, and the other
quarter inch squares. I printed the tenth inch grid on top of the
enlarged font sample, and printed the quarter inch grid onto a sheet of
thin cel, which I then very lightly sprayed with fixative to stop it
smearing, and Blu-tacked to the monitor screen. A laser printer, or a
photocopy (making sure you use the proper heat resistant cel!) would
give a better result.
4.12
Scale
4.12
In order to achieve a consistent scale, I copied a suitable character
from my Édummyæ font index window to a spare character position, loaded
it into a skeleton window and then adjusted it until the size Ö relative
to the grid Ö matched the corresponding character in the enlarged Old
English font. I was thus working (on screen) with a character about two
and a half inches high. Now I drew a ten by ten grid-square box around
the letter, and deleted the actual letter. Since I was using a PD font
there were in fact no scaffold or skeleton lines; this seems to be
typical of most Ébargainæ fonts.
4.12
Transcribing
4.12
You can now load characters one by one and drag your scale square as a
guide character over each, so that you can adjust the window to exactly
the right scale before proceeding to modify (or draw from scratch) each
character, using the grid as a guide. This is surprisingly straight
forward Ö even the more elaborate characters took less than about half
an hour each, so that a minimal font of about 70 characters took around
25 hours. A more geometric font should be much quicker.
4.12
Frequently, the segments you create will not meet accurately at the
junctions, so if you open a Éfull characteræ window, the character will
not appear solid. If this happens, simply work around the skeleton
character Édraggingæ each junction slightly in turn, until the offending
ones are found and corrected.
4.12
Clearly, this same technique can be used, with Draw, to copy any
suitable artwork into the Archimedes.
4.12
Width
4.12
The one remaining item is to set the width of each character. If there
is no width line shown in a skeleton window, then try dragging the
IntMetrics file to the main FontEd Font Index window. To adjust the
width, use the (undocumented) width option in the menu; the left end and
vertical alignmentáof the width line should be set correctly relative to
the grid before drawing each character, and the right hand end adjusted
as necessary afterwards.
4.12
Final adjustments
4.12
Inevitably, when you first try the font, minor width adjustments will be
needed. More seriously, the height of the letters may be slightly
uneven, or their alignment either vertically, or relative to the Éwidthæ
assigned to a character may be wrong. All this can be adjusted by using
the Élink to scaffold lineæ feature, and dragging the character into
position. Fine adjustments are best made by lifting the mouse clear of
its mat and using the cursor keys. If the height needs slight adjust
ment, then it is usually possible to achieve this by linking only half
the character to a scaffold line, and moving it slightly. Once you
realise the possibilities of this technique, the text file manual is
sufficiently clear. Finally, delete any scaffold lines you have created
during these adjustments.
4.12
Now give the font a new name within FontEd and save both the outlines
and IntMetrics files to a new sub-directory with the same new font name
Ö donæt make the mistake of using the default save and overwriting your
original Édummyæ font.
4.12
On my 24 pin printer at least, there is virtually no difference in the
printout from Éproperæ fonts with full scaffolding and skeletons, and
look-alike PD fonts lacking these features, although I imagine a nine-
pin printer might be less happy at small point sizes.
4.12
So, donæt ignore FontEd, or regard it as just suitable for one-off
special characters etc. There may be plenty of fonts available,
including PD fonts at nominal prices, but you can still create the font
of your choice with just a few hours work.
4.12
Old English
4.12
This is a text sample in this font:
4.12
the quick brown fox jumpeth over the lazy dog. A B C D E F G H I J K L M
N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z.
4.12
This font could still benefit from further tweaking!ááA
4.12

4.12

4.12

4.12
LOOKsystems (p11)    47 Goodhale Road, Bowthorpe, Norwich, NR5 9AY.
(0603Ö764114) (Ö764011)
4.12
MicroPower Ltd    Northwood House, North Street, Leeds LS7 2AA.
(0532Ö458800)
4.12
Oak Solutions (p37)    Cross Park
House, Low Green, Rawdon, Leeds, LS19 6HA. (0532Ö502615) (Ö506868)
4.12
Ray Maidstone (p6 & 47)    421
Sprowston Road, Norwich, NR3 4EH. (0603Ö407060) (Ö417447)
4.12
Safesell Exhibitions (p8)    Market
House, Cross Road, Tadworth, Surrey KT20 5SR.
4.12
Sherston Software    Swan Barton, Sherston, Malmesbury, Wilts. SN16 0LH.
(0666Ö840433) (Ö840048)
4.12
Silicon Vision Ltd    Signal
House, Lyon Road, Harrow, Middlesex, HA1 2AG. (081Ö422Ö2274) (Ö427Ö5169)
4.12
Spacetech (p12)    21 West Wools, Portland, Dorset, DT5 2EA.
(0305Ö822753)
4.12
Superior Software    Regent House, Skinner Lane, Leeds, LS7 1AX.
(0532Ö459453)
4.12
Techsoft UK Ltd (p27)    Old School
Lane, Erryrs, Mold, Clwyd, CH7 4DA. (082Ö43318)
4.12
Vector Services Ltd    13 Denning
ton Road, Wellingborough, Northants, NN8 2RL.
4.12
Westland Systems Assessment  Telec House, Goldcroft, Yeovil  BA21 4DQ.
4.12
Wild Vision    15 Witney Way, Boldon Colliery, Tyne & Wear NE35 9PE.
(091Ö519Ö1455) (Ö1929)
4.12
XOB    Balkeerie, Eassie by Forfar, Angus, DD8 1SR. (0307Ö84364)ááA
4.12