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26.pne
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Text File
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1987-04-21
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3KB
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55 lines
Problems with the STOS fixer program
====================================
By Scott King
=============
*This is a small part of a larger file by Scott, part of which appeared in
the last issue of STOSSER ....(ed).
If you've converted a STOS program with the fixer program (available from
Goodman International). You may have come across certain problems. One
of these problems is the fact that apart from the DRAW, DRAW TO and PLOT
commands the other graphics commands don't function correctly, i.e. if
you had the command BAR 0,0 TO 319,199 in your compiled program (after
running it through the fixer program) the bar would only be drawn in the
top left-hand corner of the screen. The INK colour can sometimes be
affected as well. This problem occurs with all the graphics commands
(apart from the three I've already mentioned) even if you're using
"bog-standard" STOS with no extra extensions.
This problem could result in you not being able to make your software
compatible with the latest machines, and could even result in you not
being able to release your software commercially.
Fear not, upgrades for the fixer program keep coming, but for the moment
the problem still exists. I nearly had a heart-attack when I saw what
the fixer program had done to an early version of Video Supreme, but I
still managed to get round the problem.
The problem I had was in the Editor because I was using the BAR command to
clear the small windows. This problem resulted in some windows being
cleared (in red instead of black!) and some windows not being cleared
at all which caused text to appear on top of existing text. What a mess!.
The way I got round this problem was simple. All I had to do was hold
another copy of the options screen in memory, and instead of using the
BAR command to wipe the windows, I screen copied (well, SKOPYied actually)
the relevant blank window from the screen in memory onto the physical
screen. Problem solved! I also had the same problem on the file
selector, and with a couple of the effects, and I used the same method to
correct them as well.
If you're wondering why I didn't use the above methods first, the reason
was that I was trying to save valuable memory wherever possible to get as
many features into the software as I could.
So, you may be restricted in your software, but with a little time and
effort you should be able to get round the problem. I'm NOT complaining
- far from it! If it wasn't for the fixer program, Video Supreme almost
certainly wouldn't have been a commercial product.
Scott king.