March 1987
MAR CH
1987
SPACE FRIDAY, MARCH 13 at 7:30 PM MAST FRIDAY, MARCH 20 at 7: 30 PM At the Falco n Heigh ts Comm unity Cente r 2077 Larpe nteur Ave. West
MAST Progr amme rs MONDAY, MARCH 23 at 7:30 PM At First Minn esota, Lexin gton and Larpe nteur SPACE and MAS'f Execu tive Offic ers Bruce Haug Jim Schul z Bob Floyd Joe Danko Bob Siede Dob Rhode Frank Haug Jim Siede
Presi dent Vice Presi dent HAS'I' CoChair man MAS'l' Disk Libra rian MAST CoChair man Secre tary 'l'rea surer New. slette r Edi1-o r Disk Libra rian Paper J.,i.br arian
SPACE/TAlG Hull et.in Board
'=:::::iiiiiiii_
i1
7'7'\ - 6226 53'( - !>442 404 - '7 !>'16 7'l'f - ~H>00 489 - 3982 2223!.>B:i
'l'M - 6226 4B!J39B2
5222HO'/
Minnesota Atari ST SIG
[J'( 1l:.S
t,.Jh,'lt · s new for-· Mur-·ct1? Hoi;,1 ul..luut a letter lte~~d conte&l ! SP(H.:: E/M(\Sl 1ia in 1,1::ted of a letterl1Hd,d that i t c an usf~ to corri.!ir.pund with othc~r ('.:.}1.tb~;,t-•\.f:. •• So 1 Rts hav~ a CUMTl::ST I lME f"<ULFS (\f~I:::
lN 1'HlS ISSUE
TURRO BASIC by Frank Haug
pago !.>
8-Bit Xtra: THE FREEZER by Bob Woolley
page 7
RUHOR CONTEST by Bob F'loyd
page 9
MAKING THE SWITCH by Bob Floyd, part 2
page 13
AMIGA LINE DRAWING by Ralph Russell
CHOCK'S NOTES by Chuck Purcell
VS
l.
M,n,t
c:l.G!'ar4ly '!it ate SF'l'CE/MAST. Sl1uuJ11 have l.O[•iO. 3 . Shrnlld include "St . Poul Atari Crnnputer Enlllusi as.ts" i:1111l.J 11 "Mi r111e5otili Atai r· ST S Il:i of SPACE. • 4. No ,\ddr·r.'5S, bLtt must h~ve 6PACl: / l (\l G B8S Phone:! tt. !L la bEJ judged by SPACE prci-.;idf!nt ~( MASf f:CJ•·Chair-s. Stibmit l <l SPACE Pl<ESIDNEl. by f\pr-i I l,;t, IC/01. '.!.
VHnner to be ann1Junced illt the l\pri J meetiruo prize to be rJp,tr-!'rmined by nun1ber· of entr·ies. Minimum prize; $10.0U in ,n~rchandl s e or ·t·-f-CABH:t·t, contest open to pai tJ SPACE/MAST f ami l y uu?mbers only. l "he MAST One year Birthday p~rty Wi.Hil, yrei't ~ 1.-le q a vt-1 a1oJay uvt:1>r .SU door· pr·izes donated by SPACE/MAST, User Friendly, Wi.-~ard'g Wor..-, Mindt-.oolG, and Alpha-tech . Th~nks for a good ye~r !
SF'/\CE is going to have a Birthday Party i n J,.,1 y.
~IE f\l<E FIVE
YEARS OLD ! ! WDlct1 your 11ewsletter for details.
**•**************** •*•********•* •****~
ST
•
page 15
*
Thi !ii Month Joe Ui:lnkt ._.,t 11 DEMO h1 s 1/4 ME.G BOO Xl , show you what a
4
''ATARI'' can do w i tl, more m~mory and the right programs!!
*
-tt-
w-
* *
**~*~******* • *•*****~···••****** · ·••**
page 17
Puhlished by the St. Paul Atari Computer Enthusiasts (SPACE), an i.nciependen1:; organization with no business affiliation with Atari Incorporated. Permission is granted to any similar organizatjon with which SPACE exchanges newsletters to reprint material in this newsletter. We do, however, ask that credit be to ·the authors and to SPACE Opinions expressed are those of the arttcle authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of SP/\CR, cluh officers, memhers, or /\tnri. Tnr..
fr om thu F·RES
Th~ BBS shotdd havP. a new 300 ,
1200,
2 4 1J(J, bautt MC.ll>E.M by meet ·i ng
'Jhe fluppies ar· e ordered tH:)po they c:ume by mcel1i.q t.imc!'. See You 11M c h 13th
DOf1 Stuff Fr·anJ,
by:
,;1111, the St=·t\CE -· H.Jt>EX. seemttd tr.> do p<i'rt of it.~ We have rL~c.:: £-Jived vu:1r-d from M.A.C.E. ani..l will be respondinq sooH. Sn sumP new PD &oftw.:u· e i s on the wny. fC)r 11ew f11Pmbr.1r·s LH" U i u-rte who hi t1P.r·nated thJ ~; year, tile SPAl.E - lNOE.X i !..r, .a dat ab.:.,bt.~ cont;_dni11q ,".lll of the 0.1mks nt the Month e:-<1:ept For thf~ ~;~tr~a diiiks. Ecl1l i11~.t bPc.:.~1.1~:::ie wP. have ~omr.t sluff cuminq due~n ' t mear1 yL1q ' re f"Jff the 11(.\0L. Hu~-1 ' tHJul so«u::? mtbml~sio11s":'? ? And yuu clt.lH.-"t q,- oups: .,.,r· i t.e urr, '-"' 1~...ttJ.~r. Mt? i.u·e i11l1.-: lf E:::• Gted in improviny L1ol:h ),'LHU' F·l) libr·~ry e.nd w~--. 1 1 ·Fir~st. cif
ic.,b.
out s .
d1 ~;l
lhi!:i 111onth t .tn:- ini~\11101.1~~ lUf\HU Di\SlC is o::tVi.·dl ...-1.bJe rH; an e:-:tr-·rt 8ool tho b <'.J.LK f r:u-· tn!:ilr-uclion~-.. SeP tt1e review I to wr·ite i1'I this 1u..•,~~.tlf"1tter· .
for· f;4'\. 'vol1.11,lfrerr:d '
L.S ....·Mtl'HJ ···
J knu..,J I
Nm, 11,._, Marcil 1907 O~IM dc ►r, ' t normi:\lly JH•t this ht-•r·p a.nd
)'UU
don't
llr'\RUI, hr.'\VP. t.o ndd i l: to yout i.nd~:!, hut: I ;:n:lderd 2 ·ff•?'-"' fPr"Jt-ut PS to ~~f'MFMU. Chi t:.hP nt~lf, mf1ntt hi.ttiflq 'H' i..lill sl1ow r-1. hr•lp !.;crl:?f.~11 tH1d hittinq tt1~ tt t1f a '.l.)Ot:' ~:ilr.-:> '-'Jill ~Ihcn•-1 ti· tn the c;a:·.r·cprq hnlc-Jin4 sta.r·t \.<1ill send Cont.r-ol 1 pause~ and ,...e!5t.ar-t.s the J ist.inq <:"\net i.t to the print·.Pr-.
OPTION 51':l.EC:1 aborts. 2.SYNDBMAN.l)(JC ... 3. SYNHJSDF. BAS ·(See articlR the ST. 4.PIJONAMER.B/.\Li --
Instr. - Documentation for lt:3. UU. l . ·- Conver·t.s SYNFILE Format to DBMAN fnr by Bnb Floyd) Fnt.er. - Shows all possible• wcwds For a numbm" for· ea!::ii errenu·2mber i nq. 5.FEDFRM86.SC - Util - Fedral tax form for l986 6.MINFRM86.SC - Util - Mn state tax form for 1986 W4 form for· 1987 7.W4FORM07.SC - Util See yc,u .~t tht~ meeting.
.l'JH/
Bur r·uuqt1i3 systems ..
Frank tlr.-u11_1 gave the usual tinscr·iptions and demon~.tc:,r·aliuns. mc)'.:it c:ur-r-ent nNAL.lH.'l DOM had not been rE•cie.~ved in timf..:! for t.he
Ttu:~
mPet.ing. VI.
Newsletter Editor
This mLJnth 's issue was late tr·om the printer and cDpi es wer·e made available at tt,e meeting. Due to the late1·1ess, the printar· gave us a
r·pbat:~.
Bub Rhode wi 11 be resi gni nq. I:\ nl"?W editor wi 11 bf:c> nnedt.~d vt-.::-ry soon. What is re.-..~lly needed may be two editcn-s, ont:.1 for B--bit and on~ fat ST. Approxio1ate tin,e required is two ever1ings or· so a 01unth.
SPACE ATARI USER GROUP MONl HL Y MEET I NG FOF~ FEBRUARY
Volunteers should cont.a.ct. Bruce Haug.
Recor·ded by Joe DAnko, Secer-tary VII.
Pap,-,r
Libr·,,ry
I. Meetinq c:i'llled to order· on February IJt.h at 7,30 PM by President Br·uce H;,ug. App,.. ox i m"tel y 6() member·s pr·esent.
Tr·yiriy t.o aquire a rubber stamp to mark al I contents ;,s pr·oper·ty of SPACE.
11.Vic:e-president·s report and ATARI news. A. 8-·bi t news,
VIII.
l.,~XF g,;:une m,11ct1tnr~: has e\ detachablr.?. keyboard anrl a laser gun, spr.. l.ng. av,~! lab le in /.\lAIU hi\S', " BIG on the GENIE timesharing service. News on ther·e stat.es that the ATARI 1200 baud modem wil be available REAL BOON NOW. lhe BO column "dapteris also promised REAL SOON NOW as i5 the 3 .. 5 inch disk drive and upgraded DOS. A ru:-... "'J cass,?t.t.P dr?vi ce has been sr~l 1 i ng wet 1 in europe with software that r·uns at. '.3600 baud. 8-bit sale,; ar·e ve,r-y hot behind the Ir·on-Curtain but U.S. regulations will not allow the sale of 16-blt technol □ qy. Many nr>w !',oftwar·e products are available. STAR FLEET ONE from EA. B/.\SIC ENHANCEt1ENTS I I from FIRST-BYTE. MIND TUNER. VIDEO TITLE SHOP. WAR GAME CONSlRUCTION BET. NEWS STATION, desktop publishing. MAIL ORDER MONSTERS from EA. VIDEO VEGAS. WARSHIP from SSI.
t.t,.,
B. AlARI CX85 VEYF'ADS are available via mail for ·t:20 plus $3 each shippt.ng .. e.;1.ch or B. G. MICRO P. 0. Bm, 280298
Dallas, Texas
or·der· for
$7.95
75228
(214)'271--5546
Present bal,mc:e is ,tt15".3.
Sep the cur·rent r1ffwsletter-. 1·hAn~~ to l.~r·r·y v~n clAn Pl~t-7 1--,,,:u;;
,c\\r-1;1y
l r:-~u·
111
nq
fnr ,r1l11111t·
th,., I itH"ar·y
lAIB/BPACE BBS
TAIG has made a proposal laying out new gr.. ound r·ules i'ut O\I-H1E~rship/operation of the BBS syGtem. They want all part.icipi"tin,J qroups
(SPACE>
t.o share in the hardware and operatinq costs i f
they
are to sh art? in the oper at i c)n. lhis gives SPACE sever·al options, 1. Dr<:ip al I SP?\CE s;uppor·t of the BBS. 2 .. Continue tu pat ourshar·e ,f the phone e:-tpenses,
our shar·e of the hardwc=we and share in the oper-ation via a
l t~ase joint
commit t:f..~e.
3. Purc.hase some new hardwar-·e for the BBS, shart-~ in tlu? oper·ation E~}•:penses and share in the operation via a jc,int. commit.tee. Pr·E"~Sf,?ntly the BBS is running on Tom Green's mudem i\nd har··d disk due to the folowing hardware problems: 1. Thri Signalman mrJdeJm owned by the BBS appears ta be defective or riot compatible witt, the BBS software ir1 tt,at i t does not pror,r~r·ly initialize automatically. 2 .. All thr·€~•e otthe BBB disk drives (2·--f:11(1, 1-1050) have mal func.:ti<"Jnt?d and rE.:.pair is doubtful. By r-1. stluwi nq of hands, the Bi:JS is used by i\bout 6 sr--·l)CE member· s at the pr··r~E:ie.~nt time and about 25 have modE.~ms but de) not LISE:? ttu.~ BB!:I. It is qener al 1 y believed that SPACE members cnu l d bt.? bet. l.t=!r· !ser·vt:-:!d 01·, tt\L~ BBS if SF'f\C:E had ,'3 hand in i ls c1pt:~r·atio1·1. lher·f,? fol lowt?d a discus£oion on the Bl:"IS, Taig 's propusal i:\nd posBible oµtians. Ther·e dJ)pears to be a need for a demonstar·t1on r1r t,1t.cw i r:-\l for· 111r.u1y i neNpPr i enced modl?m users who ~-1r.·u1t to use th£-? l:H-1S and do ut I 1f~r·· things vi a a mc>ck~m hut ar··e having tr-oub l E~ f)l-.,~t ting flE~V(·?r c:1.l mot-ions and amendmr~nt·s "n2r·t:-.:> made frum <cl.qt·t-•t::'rnt~nt. v1et·£i' formed intu the -followinq motion;
IV. Secretar·y's report doing the mi nut.es for Jctnuary while ,Joe n,~nko
of
t.he -flc1or
and by
SPACE will support the TAIG/SPACE BBS and join in ownership and operation of the BBS with TAIG. Two SPACE members will initially be made members of the proposed joint committee for operation of the BBS
SPACE/MAST -
MARCH,
1987 -
p~ge 4
vote of with TAIG. All expenditur es will be "pproved beforehand by,. BBS SPACE member·shl.p . Appr·oval of this motion will give the two a committee members authority to negotiate with TAIG and purchase cost of 2400 baud modem for use on the SPACE/TAIG BBS for the nomin,-I $300. SPACE will retain ownership of any and all h,-rdware purchased.
Uor·dy o·f Wi.!ar-d's 1.ih..wk and ~Jne Dank<J qavf:? a hiqhliqhl. rh,1mnn~.:d.. t;u·t. i u11 nf ~3fff"E!at.1sht.? ets iHHt SYMC'.{\L.C.
*•*~*•~•~~~~-~~~~~*,**~~~-~K***~•~***~~~K
The mot ion W<c\15 .3ppt·oved by ~ vni ci:::i vott-? ;;;\nd t.wn fllpmbr~rs vnlunter?rf:.- d ·fnr thP jotnt-·BBS cnmmittE~P and wor·k on t:.hr-c' mnclPm
Jop D~nlco 777--9500 Chi.."t·lei; ViPb•tls 341-2163 IX.
r<i.bbcm Re--inkP.r
nq r~1ut. Larr·y VMnden F'l as, the npr~rat.or, noted that he was r-·unni Wizar·d's of inJ~ Rnd w~s author·ized to buy supplies ~s neech:~d from Wor-1,.
l
AMAUm DIJM by: Dy,.nne Haug Dlte to ~:iume mii-:--up the o.nalog DOM wasn't. at the last mtH:.~tingJ lhP club sells the t-\NALOG dif:ik to r:5ubsrriher- ·s this month it will bE.~. F'r-c1c1·f of your subscripti on is rt;.1quir-f.?d nf ANf-11. 0G Computing for t-4. if yo11 have never· pLtrchased an ANALOG disk from us or if ycJur If i t has orif you ar··t:~ new, just br·ing a s1ib~:ic:r-•i.pt ion h,;\S run out. ct.u-Tent m,34a;-: i ne with the mailing 1 abf=-1 intact_.
thank you.
Most ribbcnH; can be re-·-inkf.!d for· :t:1, larqe ribbons -for :t2.
X.
Offen;; ,-nd Deals
Wizard's work is taking orders for tt1e unrele~sed 300/1700 ba1Jd ATAIU mrnjem. ATARI MSDOS PC is strictly a rumour at this point. ColL,red r-ibbc,ns are .,:\vai lable a.t B. Dalton computercenter-
5tores.
Discus!':',ion o·f 80 column displays and availabili ty o·f an 80
calt.,mn upgr,3.dE~ fr-om CDV in Trn:as ..
Another group blank diskette purch~se ia in motion with the approximat e cost cf 30 cents each in lots of 1000. n sign-up sheet was put out for members At the meeting.
XI. Ser-vice iwoblems/i nfor·matlon Newer ATnRI hardware is more difficult to fix because sockets
. are nc1 lonqf-..~r· used and the chips are soldered into the PC assemblies
Be:::~ prepared to pay for unit or· pea r--eplA-ceme nt .. Some of the ATARI 9 volt AC power supplies have a fuse insid~ and car1 be easily repaired by removing the rubber feet arid removing DC supply t.he sc:rews tmdenieath . Br··uce Haug c:onv,er·ted a RADIO SHACK to AC by removing the rectifier diodes.
Corr,,sponda nc::e with other AlARI clubs. A. W,a lusan! a t"lk by Don Nelson from Tacoma, ~Jashington . Dc,n is a. member c,f SF"ACE in thP. Seat t. le, Tacoma, Puget. Sound only) from are,.. Don br-m.1r1ht. us a copy of the new TUHllO-·BASI C (XL/XE on Germany. SPACE in St. P,nll. and SPACE and Senttle corr·espond occaision and tr-ac:1e so.ft.war,~. t.hr·ough di;,J.:s He told us "bout how they sell their public domain tH:~en t.he vi:\r-it)U!:i ATARI outl1?ts and dealers and how suc:ces~ful it hr.:1s as a sntwt:e of i ncDmP. XII.
Don travels quit a bit and car·r-fes his ATARI ac,c,xL and INDUS dis~ drive ir1 a suitcase and uses it to contact his sen vi~ a m1Jdem while travelinq. ~~e also carries a 1077 pri,,ter. B. W,;:~ C:\t'P now communica ting wlth a qr·oup cal ltn:1 F'nACE. F'nr··ts f'ir ea AlARl Ent.husl ,;.1~;t~.
in Uttlut:.h/Sup. :~r·iot*
TURBO BASIC 'Reviewed' By: Frank Haug
The dis,, we ~re _selling is You must have an XL orXE in Turbo basic compiler.. It loads itsc.~lf int.cl the ordf.?r· to use tur·bo basic, as I understand . Oper·ating System and looks like normal basic with eKtr-~ co111mands. What's srJ great about it? It. is fast - and I don't mr:~an when It has an I/0 demo in which 10(H) bytE!S ar·e compiled!
lurbo basic is an improved basic.
Tur·bo basic
~~
Stanard basic calls of GE1· "n,c writter1/re ad/deleted from a f i l e . TB tal(es 38 sec& to etc. takes 70 seconds to write, 40 secs to read. I t also has DIJS commands: BINARY LDAD, write, 19 secs to read. BINARY HUN, DELETE., DIRECTORY, LOCI<, l.lNL..OCF., and RENAME. Gr·aphic: commands: CIRCLE, CLS, FILLCOL..IJR, FILLTll, f.·/UNl (a recursive f i l l ) and TEXT (a graphic teHt routine). MOVE Memcn-y cummands1 DF'Ol<E m,v <no mL'lr·e pc,ke 88,0:poke 89,1),
<Blc,ck transfer), -MOVE.
(same as move but starts at end of sour·ce
1/U). block), BPIJT, BGE1 (Block put/get>, %PUT, i'.GET (the faster Commands: HEPEI\T, UNTIL, What about structured progr·ammin q? wn, ~JIHL.E., ~JEND, ELSE, ENDIF, DO, LOOP, EXIT, PROCedure, ENDPRUCedL EXECute procedure. (chanel Gemer·al commands: PAUSE, RENLIM, DEL, DUMP, TR1'CE, [)SOUND TRUNC, ~. ' pairing soLmd), GO TO, Labels, HEX, DEC, MOD, DIV, FRAC, and mon,. E.XDH (hinar-y AND, DR and EXCLUSIVE OR), DPEEI<, TIME, INl<EYot
What could b£~ wrong wi t.h that?
Wf?l l
Sn far the only c::r..Hnpiler· nnthirHJ major·. t1asic ENO state111er'lt and the lir,es:
there ar·e some downers problf:~ms have lH;c"f:~n with the
10 FUR J,-1 TD IO(J 20 IF A(ll·•··d THEN NEXT l 3(1 NFXT I It
dut::-!::>n't
like two
"MEX"f
1 11
's.
ftH;1 compiltit· is fa~;;t and very c~f-ficiF~nt, but. it doesn't make F-<UMl"IME.t":O M ml.lt")t b£~ usE..•d to e:-:ecltt.r.:) thr~ n£.'W st ;:~r11:l ···c-\lonr.~ pr r,qrams. lhis is the J.t 's t.c1\J bacJ d. • ftwbo 1 inkt•.1r· · dof.:~sn ' t e;-:ist:.. pr·oqr·:,Hn. 1 I t biKll!::', up w/ Hamdisk !)nly d\.1\.-Hl-f-dl .I ht:.•~:;i.df..c"t.; thP Xl .. iXE requir·t mFJnt. thi:! ccunpi lt.?r· a!~")h::i you vt~""!ry pol i t.1:d. y what you \.-lant. lo Ont:> 1\ot·r~ I hupE? to get cun,pilP: "\.1Jel1..l1t,.>~.; pr·nqr·i",n,m ~H·Jll compel1Pnt werdf::~nr?"
~\f\l :1:1 I,
I ','ll /
Ml\l•:t.H,
t.hP Fnql i r.·;h vr:-1 r.,;j nn i.n timP •fur thp f1H.:>rt.i.n~~" 0'/PY-;;\11, r.\ r;tr•p i.n tlir? ri.ghl-. t,,Jr,11 "'Jh,'C':\t did yn11 think nf it? ttn 1 direction fpr hA•::;tc tff,Pf '-'3 whn w.;.,nt to r,;tay in b;-lr,:;ir.:: but nr.;r?d ~:>JH-.>ed.
U Bit.
By ,Jim Schul::
ns I was about to write this, (-.ltar-i
I was r~ady tq bla~t Atar·i for
has been qivin~1 us the runaround •for the
last: year, tellinq us about all l:he new pr·odur::ts for
hut ~~~ prt:Jducinq. t.he ..::,tHJ baud mr.Jdt~m.
bit hardware pr-oduct t.a stu.,w up is Sof tw~rewi se, Star E•ai der1::; 11 ca.mr-:c1 out, arid that:
Thr~ only new 8
is etbout
it.
A c:ouple other tit.les ,:1re <,'lvc\ilable else.where,
!?H?Pn
them hPre.
You
but
gE~t
expects product.ion modems in the E:•<pect to see them I. n the stores in 1 ate Apr-; 1
Atari
Mn 1-,or·d on the 80 column emulator ..
At the June CES, Atari plans to offici~lly unveil the 3.5" . The drive will have 360K of storage, true rar,dom file access, drive. har-d disk support, time and date stamping and 'tree' directory str·uct.1.1rp.
an BO-column At.ariwrit.e r Plus Here i':F. ,;:1. l i s t nf nP."' soft1-1are. _ , Atar·t Bu-col SiJP.nt }.:Cutler-, Bat.tlezone XE and a new version of L.ocik for more informr..-ttio n in JunP-. F'lanetr.\rit.tn t~ Toy Th~ XE. game consolr-:i was shown at the 1987 Internatio nal . Tt,e current package includes tt1ree game cartridges , a keyboarrl Fair:
all for •n!erActiv e games, a Joystick and a pistol for target games,
for :t-1..:iO.
Also 1ntr·oduced
1-'IAS
software written for the XE/XL
a :t-99 .. 00 disk drive for running game
computers.
fHE FREEZER By Bob W0<Jl ley
I
the impression that At~r i is an ST Is thr~ Atari XE/XL cc,mpany and dot?~:a,·t:. r-Pc\lly care about us anymore .. sure hope not. I a der..-1,rl or or phr:u, computer? What WAS sat. d E\hove is felt by me and many other· club memtn~rs, Tt1is wPek Atari a5sign~d AleM Leavens, Atari's new but n~ver satd. suppor-·t Tec:hni cal s~tppor"t mannqer-, to an!n,•1er· quest.ions and pr-ovic:le In a top mAnr\gemen t meeting } Ast we~k, a fc.w thf.? R bt t. computer··s. Thi.s sounds like a lot of t"ll<: major topic w.~s 8 bit support. Since this news, a ~~odly without muc:h meat, but. i t is r.\ ste11rt. amount:. l1f 8-····b it nPws has come out.
orer-u··· l Y May.
Jim Schulz
the XE And XL
have not
:::OO(l/1200 modF.?m: war ehousa,s by /\pr i l.
Xt.r·a
fhis n,ont.h 's B bit: Xt.ra again comt~s from GE.NIE and is a harUware modi fic.ation ·for a reset pr·oo·f r~amdisk far e:itendPd mt:>mcn-y machines You do ttu.-::-se n1odi-ficati ons at. your own risk. cal l1:-1d, the Fr-·ecizer··. and I If you find prablP.ms with these modi·ficati ons, write tht:.~m up Unt i 1 then, t··f~ad c..1nd er-.joy. wi 11 get thr:.im publ i s.hed neH t month.
V.P. Nnl:es
th~ir 8 hit suppc1rt.
1',\J/
Is this a 199.00 disk
drivr for 8 bit computerR?
RESERVE l:h<> DATE of the JULY SPACE MEETING on your CALENDAR. Hore next month. Bob Flnyd and SPACE/HAST are sponsoring a contest: for our April Look for Bob's article elsewhere in this issue. meetlnqs. Two very supportive compar1ies for the Now for some b~d new~ ••. Rumort,,.,s l.t that Atari XE/XE and ST 1 ines are having problems. Also, Batterie• Activision bas filed for bankruptcy protection .
For· mor·e Included has been SL1ld t.o Atari ar-c::hP.nemy ElP.ctronic nr-t.!B. nrw~ and comment"::>, r:hr..;ick out my ST column. r-i nal 1 Y, t'.hi. s month 8 Bit Xtr··~ t-li.11 look ~t a r·ec:.r.t-·pr-cio ·f As always, your cnr,tribulio n~ ramdi~k for extendRrl-m emury machines. are alw.-~ys \-'telc-ome! I'll loot, for-~Jar·d t.o sPeinq all of you i:\t. That.'s it forMar·c:h~ neHt SPnCE m~f~tlng.
which Ther·e is one upgrade thc..a\t can he applied to c.u1 At.c.,ri XL/XE Many pro4r~n1s extra memory (256K). and de•r to my hea1-t •.• is near· that are or1ly OV when run from a di~k drive, cu111e alivft if you· Paper··Clip spellinq checker is a ~:ioc1d The l?Necut.e them from memor·y. mact1ine, the di~tiunary will If you have a 256K eNample of tt,is. of words load completely ir,to memory and will sear·ch a l i s t Ther·e are also progr·ams whose capacity is incr·£.-a5f.-.~d irH:>tantly. (P.-aperCl i. p, a .-,cwd processor, wi 11 tr-emenduus l y by the 256K upgr-ade. AtariWrite r 's 20,000 or· so). 112,000 char·acter·s vs. hold How do yalA use a ramdisk a few complaints . Great stuff, but ••. pruqr·am or DOS that. is not wr·itten for· them?? Also, wtu~n you with a to a 256K memory chip, the data that is stored ir, tur·r, off the power it does not di sap pear in a few hundredths of a st."?cond as it did wi tt1 Tt1e operating 64K devices. the older ar,d less efficient 16K and sequenct::1 s, oril y checks systf.~m, which controls the power on and r-eset turned on just was power a few bytes of memory to determine if the
<the loc:at.ions woulcl he garbage), or if you had hit: the HESET key If, after powering off (the locations would equal specific values). (in order to rr~·-boot your system), those bytes have and t.hen on
retained their data,
the
system may branch throl,gt, a warm
(RESET
key) start, instead of taking the proper path through cold lpowur to elapse afte-~rThis forces you t.o al low enough time on) start.
nf A r·epa..::.--\t pt1wer do..,,r1 for tho,:ae key addresses to lose their· di\ta. pt1weroff/power on isn't going to help unless you wait the r·equirPd intt~rval
(like 10 to 15 seconds ••• ).
This waiting c:1.r··u,. tnd
it~ very
ar,noying - didn't you get this extra ram to save time?? So?? This is nothing new to thc.1se of you t.hat have t~::panded do we fix it?? Hovi systems. you ReliPf o::1.rrivf?S as a small hardl-'Ji'.\re modii-icatii :Jn that allows key (wh1ct1 tu force a cold start and boot the ~yste1n with the RESET With this cir·c:uitvlill nor-rnally produce a wa.r--m star··t c:lnd nu boot). the inst al 1 Pd, yCJU can re·-boot yourcomputer wi t.hout. turni nq off ThiH mec"iflS power and loGing thF2 data in the e:{lended memnr y banks. r1:~·-tJout: th,::d:. you can instc:11 I a ramdisk, load it with d~t ..:J. ;,.-~nd ttu?n
UsirHJ a n1enu created +or thiEi purpusE::, tlH:! sy~:;tpm fr·Dm HH7: r-amdisk. bl.~ r·un - i f pt·oqr-ams t-hat do riot. s,.tppcn·t .=---1. ramdi sk, F!Vf~n a game, ca11 want you ca11 ff.wr ..:~ a. r.:uldstarl '1'1it-hout t.twninq off the poi.-,er (c:\nyonF.! Al so, ynu could bE,' opr~r·atinq with a to i.-Jr itE•' t.111:-• nn:~nu for" thi~,??). diffE•r·enit prnqram, r·un -fur a 1t1hilf~, ,._1r1d t.lUNi r-~·-bout. ,,·amdi.1:;:;k, llr.:>e.:-i·t A nnd, uf co,,r ~H:~, t-1,n f..11 iqinr1.l prrH.jt-·am with the t·-;rnuti~;k memor··y int.;H. :t. po~u0r· y-11u don't ht.,vf:"' t.cJ 1t1,:nt ftJr the 111r1mory to blank cud. c.t·flt.-•r ye.Hi
st,~"rt any timt-> you (a '-'h:1.1,·m !''>l-,::\r·t. i.•:; cucill:~d down to A cnld t.tH~ FREE.ZFR.) hf'l1Cf~·!, ~-•:i 1~,11 ___ you have fh i <:, i r.-:1 ,.\c Cl imp l i ~:;111-nJ by ma~-: i nq ltu-~ C:t.:HilJH.tt+~r thi nL th,c-d:
ot-f_
thr~ ~:it·at..\1::, r·d lllf.? c~·:n·tr-irl~1r-!, Pi UH?I' rr·•mc,vcrl tHtr? th~:\t you ch,'1nql.•d onr.• in 1r1l1F.:t·•? y1..111 h~d 111::"1(: t1,3d or1t"' be:fnr ~wPre ui::;ing, ot p.t1.,qqP1i cllf"'cks lhtI car-tt·idqt? r,;tr~t.us sir1ce Dur-inq r·ef:ir•t., t:J,r.:.~ oper-Ating ~.y~.tPm he,s ch,:;\11qt:1d, t (: l·f i. t .,;~es that thP st.Nttts t.tu:~ l c11st J.H··1we1r on. This 11pgr·ad1? eHer.:ut:P.s a cc,1 d ~;tar t c11nd r-e-···boatr::, thE• c.nmput P-r-. al 1 ows you tn chanqt:! that 9t.ctt.us 1r1h~n you pr-t?st~ t.h(~ rf\EI: ZER s\'li tell This m<>ans U1c,t i f you hold thre FnEEZ.En 11 ;atld). (the• onP ynu OPTION, if ycn.t dCJn't. ~•1ant [1ASIC), and !:-:;,.-.,it.ch down, pU!:il1 F<EBET (and you \'d.ll get€-\ cDld ~;;t,,r-t. ~•ait until the scr--er:..•n gor~s black(off), sc:r-E!en r·f.~St;;t.r-t..s If you hold thP. FnEFZER swi t.ch down tc10 1 nng and t.hf~ st.ar·t .. befor·e yon r··elrasr.~ it., you can just pu~,;h RESET €-\lune t.n cnld Accident.\y hittinq the FREEZER switch ••hile ym, ,we runninq will lack yr.Rtr" t::omputer , but AS lung a~ i t is not active ,,,hen ytJLt RESET, it You may get one ~nyway if your pr·ogr-.;i.m F(]I\CE a c1Jl cl ~;tar· t. wi 11 not pr·odur.::e one, so mount t.he stli. tch in a prot.ected 5pol. .. i r; de1:;i qned t.n gPt you a cold st~r·t every time .. A little prac:tice will lnlE',tallntinn r·equirr~s some soldet-inq and r.:utt.ing, so don't t.ry You will ne"'d a 74HC86 IC, ;a haven't. had e,:per·ience. t.his i f you and a 1/4 watt r-esistor between lK ar,d 30r small push bL1tton switch
••i
Take your·
1200XL, 800XL or 130XE
apart ~nd locate the BTI~ chip.
isal;at:e pin 11 of the (1200XL•·Ut9: 8(H)XL=U17; l30XE=U17) You need to on the GTIA from tt,e r·pst of the cir·cuit by cutting the ••iring The 130XE requires two cuts and an added wire printed cir·cuit board .. since the pin is between two points t.h;at you would like to keep normal circuit isl pin 14 (RDS> of cartr-idqe - pin 8 The cor1nected. In that e,:ample, you ground - pin 11 of GTIA. of MMU - r·esist.or to could r.ut the wiring to pin 11 and not remove any of the connection the 130XE, pin 11 is In points from the circuit <>xcept pin 11. the wi r· i ng bF-?t tJf?.£?n the c~ar tri dge and the MMU, er.:> you have t.o r·estor--e to MMU After cutting out the pin. from c;art. 1200XL: cut the tr;ace on top of the bo;artl Just to the left of MMU is U14. BOOXL: cut the trace Just below pin 11 on the GTIA chip (U17>. MMU is ll3 f30XE: cut tt1P trace on top of the board just below pin 11 of Als6 cut the trace on the bottom of t.he board (1.117). t.he GTIA chip (idd ;a wire from the patl nP;ar the last IJ17. riqht ne::t to pin 20 of GTIA chip) l:o pin 8 of t.tm MMU chip cut you made (near pin 20 of the bet.,...,een the car·t.r-idqe This ~dded t1ire restores the cir·cuit (t.13>. ai1d t.he M11U. All mm:hine,c: t.he i'lddetl circuit ls 1/4 of ;a 74HC86, which I"! ;an Wire pins 4,5,7,9,10,12, and 13 to qr-ound. circl,it. excltJ~iVR·-ar 1 qoPs t.o pin 8 of the MMU w1tl pin 3 to F'in ConnPt:t pin 14 to ➔ 5v. resistor (1K-30K> from pin 2 to Connect a 1/4 watt pin 11 of GTIA. (normally open) switch nn a Fir1ally, mount the push butt.on gro1.u-1d.
Q4.
and the other to arpa of yourc~se and wire one ~ide to ~5v If you want t:o rPstr:.r·e That. is al 1 that ·s nPe::-ded. pin 2 nf the 'Bf,. soldera wi r·e bett1f..~en pin 11 of GTJ.n ~nd pin your mac:hi ne tn nc1rmal,
clPar·
IC ;antl switch. thP MMU ;antl remove the added ~fell, It. lcmks like i t will take you lm1qer to r-,;,ad t.hi.'i whnle Just l;ake your timP antl ASk i t will t.Rke to bulltl i t . thing than surr.~ ~ ! FOR HFL.P if you a.r ~n · t:. Yep 1 ~ May do I hav~ tt1 opP-n up my computeraqai n'::'?> <Uh, nh... be .a gnt1d j dea t.r::t in~i-.,~11 MORRAM and f~BFEZE:H at tht:! •:.am,~.., time ancl on Tf=\kes two I Cc; -· m,e\ybP ynu shout d 1 e.:1vr.~ a .l i 1. t 1 e the c;am.-;, bo,""lr·d. e:ant.r-~ space ••• 8
of
l•Jli,i\t · s tiy B<lt:1
Y(:.>ur· r'ID'::il Uutragt:.~ou'cSi f~umor· ~• Fl uyd
Ha:ve ynu f':~ver· 1 j st.ened to ..l i m Sc:hul z gi v~ the nr,,v,s ,~u·1d r u~1nr s at t.he SPi~i.."~E or·· MAST m£iet i nqs and wunder·£~d how many o·f t.hc~sf~ ama;;: 1 ng Jim dnes a 9or.)d job "''it.ti the news, thinc,p-3 lo'JD11ld actually come tr·uer? but i·1e ca.11 unly wrn,·k with ttu2 t"'t~por-t.s tu2gett-:i; some of t.he!:>E! art:~ Have you ever· wished you could mal,e uµ t>ome c)f these Dt.1tr·aqeous. I know I ·found myself thinking that thought duriru.:1 r·umot~;.:i yoLwself'::i
the la.st MASl mt.:?F..?t.ing.· In hcmur· of Apr i 1 Fools day, SPnCE and MAST wi 11 havt~ a "Most The boa.r-d has author i. ze('j pri ze1::i, 1 fur Qutr··agec1us Rumor" contest. Priz~!::t will Ue worth about t10.(H) eac.h SPACE and 1 f·or f1AST. (probably Flip'n File!s, etc), so it's ,...,ort.h a ·few minutes of yourti1ne to t:l1ink of a good entry. Her·e's the r·ules and suggest.ions: 1) Rumt.ws must be givo,n t.o Bob Floyd at the March SPACE or· MASl me£.~t.i.ng ur mi~iled t.c1 Bob .at. his home (must arrive by Mat t:h 25): 9~')5 Connor· Maplewood,
Avenue East MN 55109
Include your name, phone number and which qroup ynu are in Rumors do nut n••ed to be spm,ific: towanJ 8 or(SPACE, MAST ur·· both>. 16 hit mc'\chines. 2) M,~ltiple entries are permitted. 3) Rumors should be 1 or 2 sentences in length but. lonqer ones a.re
fine,
tcJc,.
Winner-!::> lo'lill be 4) Rumor·s will bt? printed in the April newslet.t.er. announced at the April meetings. 5) Rumors will be judged on out.r·a{1eousness, believability and 11 1\TAHI pLtr"cha.sed l[tM frn~ In other· wor·ds, or·igindli.ty, in that order·. $2 million would probably not win a prize. 6> The board will select the 2 winners.
MAST Meeting Notes for Februar·y, by Dan St, Jbs
19B7
The first a.nniversy MAST mer~ting was opened tJy Co•-chairmr.ln Bah Jim Schulz r£~ported on this At:.tendanct? wcHi vrJr·y qood. FlCJyd. Bob Sicde gave the treasurer's re(Jc1rt fLJr Jant1ary mnr1th's OOMs. Bub Floyd ma.du an inc:c,me ~➔ as $B22 and en:perisf~!::i WE~r·e J:997. Uploads f~>r· the newslE:}tter· c..an ht:? announcement c:1l>out the nPwslet.t.tJr·. madi;~ t~ither to L.R Data ·s DBS (77"7-6376) or to Mindt..oal!:-:, BBS Pr:,pr~r libt~c.,rian Neal Palisary st..r-c.•s£:E::d ttlr,~ nee.•d fen (fi42--f1980). I t is ptaopli~! t:.(J tn·inq back any bookl:i tha.t. they hav£! bc_ir·r·o,,.ied. imput··ta11t to lE~t cit.herpeoplE-~ havt.:' a chance at t.hem! available. r1ow is that package Jim t~l~ed about the GFA Bdsic • The luw" pr·icf:id J[1M clone fr·om t:ll.AHl is r-umored to havP lH~en ,.:\h,:Hick11 H~~d,
but a.11 {fl clone wi 11 be announced in March.
"llu::!r-t:3'
ar-1:?
c:\.l!:-.P r 1.unor·•:=; o·f dn E.nhanc.-.-~d f"n in March, spor-tinq th~ Mnt:ur·DJ ~1 tiB(Y/0 ffTl-)f~J and Supr·a Corpcu-i._.tion ha.VE-:! -=\qr·f~(~~d on h.:-u·d dish. micr 1.1r,r·,:1,·.•:?s~>nr-. dr i vt1 ~=;( 1f 1 ~-,cH·E• r.~nt1 A.I nR I wi 11 i nLor·poratE.~ f eatur f::'.'~., u f Supr· <:~ suf twart• "Ta.cJ·le Du:-: Sl' 1 i1:; cominq out sou11; this is 500 jn llf.~H re]P<.-:\SPS. pr::1.qi.c. u+ doc11111r.:~11t.-1ti1ln +or· OSS Pascal Ot.~m Cr.\lls.
'.il'/\IT /tln:;1
11<"ll·'l'II,
1','U'
p,l(lf•)
1(1
Bob FJnyd i.s or q,:udzinq ;1 c.nrd.. Pr;l. for thr:~ mnst. otd.r aqr."'01.1q (\l{'iHi lfr., \"Jill discUS\'S this r,t the in hc!!HH nf ()pr·i.l Fnt:.ll 'i.:-i DAy .. March nu:~E-•t i nq. C.-'l.kP, chips, At ttds point, evPry one:> desc:f?rH:iPd cm thr:? gc)Ddir;.is: f\ft.t~r·· 1:=;nnH:' munt~hinq .;;1,nd sl1tru-::> talking, popcorn, pop, cn·F·fC?.e, pt.c. E~ct, memher· received on~ tic~et, pltts onP door pr·izrR WPre drawn. additional tir_~kr~t. for e;~c:h disk ptwc:hH.sP.d ~t the mPPti.ng. 1John Rainc-y, ThP winners !,H':-~r·r (plPasP par·dun any mispellings!)1 Dick St.ubb~1, Rob kr·cmschn,Hbnl, Fi.tzqihhCJn, Phi.I Set·ft?r-t, Kiley, Fl.i.11 Lt:~Duc, f"•m . tl Martz, Di-ln Stubbs, Urmann, lodd Bur·kE•y, Br-tan Rr"'ynolds, Allen FrinJ(, Fr·,~nk Br·iqleb, Chris Bender, BrJb Payne, Ric~, SAnnor-, Stevp Pauley, Bob Korn, Rick Cameron, Mat Goldman, Bill Ecker·t, Stev~ Mur-phy, Br~,c:e Nelsc:,n And John St.anley. 13r·anr~. F•rizes 1,<1ere givf,~n t.o Flrucf'..> NP.lson (the game '10th rrame') and Bob Kronschnabel IDeqas Elite). A spPc:ial t.hr.\nJ·:s to thf2' AH~RI Vf:"ndor~. for the donating prt:.::-P-51
\.AJp will havr~ dem~v::; of (JF() (l,;.\si c:, f·>·Swi tch, lr~r:hnir·d P. Chr..;.-orr,s, Alsc•, if ,:'tnyone h~,u o:.\ copy of f'•r·intM.::\E;tPr" Plurc::;, Cryst~,l C.-H;t.les. MS··EM, thP. MS-·-DOS emu) r,,t.or, I i,,1oul f.1 l nve to cr,PP ? tlPmn r,t the
rumnt·
Alpt1atech,
~lir1dt1Jols, User Friendly, and Wizard's Work.
/\fter the drnwings Todd Burkey demonstratmd 'Balance of Pownr' and Pt,il Seifert demor1strated Midi Music: software. ThP sec:Dnd prngr-ammers • qr·oup meeting we.5 held the Mcinday fol lc,wing th<> M/\Sf meeting at. 7, 30 in the First Minnesota Building at SiHt.een people were present. LP!·dngton ~nd Lar·ppnt:.r~r. \Jim Schulz opt:~ned with some news 8\bout soft1,<1ar-e releases 8\nd A nF.w version updatr:s - Mark Williams C is now shipping Version 2. of Modula 2 is coming out, as well as a new version of Micro C-Shell. eiho asked developers; to GDDS was ,-epnr t.,d to be available from /\TARI ·fc,ri.t~ they will be char-qed a one time fee of :t.500 faruse of GDOS In any program they sell. A·ft.er questions and answers, several e:-:cel lent demonstrations Bill LeDuc demonstrated an application and t.utoria.ls wer·t~ presented.. Steve Pauley demnnstr ate.d his shel 1 he has devel ctpPd in Meqamax C.. Todd Burkey st1owed a scroll utility in Mark maze qeneration program. Wi 11 i am' s C and DAve Mei 1 f:" demonstrated J<uma 's resource editor and
K-Swilch.
lhank ynu all.
News from the
Co-Ct,air
By ,Jim SchuL, I wru,t to th~nk all of you for making M/\ST's first:. year a The bir·thday party went off without a hitch. ,-ousing st1C:ci,s;s. would like t.o thank u,.., thr·ee local Atar·i dealers eiho donated doorpr-i zeR to our r~ffle, User Friendly, Mir1dtools ~nd Wizard's Work .. I would like to Without the,ir twlp, M/\s·1 wouldn't be .,,r·ound t.oday. I e,ould like to thank the mr mber-s who l"'ought chips and the snacks. E<n. ,c::e i\nd Diane Haug for getting the cake, pop, <1nd ,,.,ffle thank Finally, I Floyd? Bnb without be Next, what would M/\ST tickRts. wc,uld likr~ tn thank yr.HJ, the member of MAST, for coming ,::\nd ir-:tior.-,ing FrrJm thPeati.nq and the comments, I think ,., good time your suppr.,r·t. 0
was had by All.
If you missed
it,
mark your cal~ndar
for
for
th~
second annual M/\ST bir-thday pArty nm,t Febn.,ar·y. I am in the proce!ci!5 of prepar-inq a survpy to det.ermine whe1··l~ '-'H'..? I f you I base my articles ~nd ne"'1~s on your· opini.or,e.;. go from hE!re. The survey l'lill agk ,:-1.bn1.1t Roh have sompt.hinq to say, please se1;y it. Thf~ sur-vey wi l J al !';c, l:.'l.Sk some and me, hnl-', WP a.r-f? doi nq, ~nd t.he OOM. S'T
harc.h,,~r.. e
quei:slitm~,.
[lut
n□
names
are requit-·ed!
(:ir·inq
yoLw
pPns
IF you fi.11 nut tha nLff'-lf"Y, you And penc:ili;; a11d ~H~~t:. ready to \.'-JF"it.P! 1.•1ill he ent.er·~d ifl ;:, r·nfflf'~ -for· a sm;,.11 thAnk·-you pr·izP-.
mePt:.ing. Last mcmt:.h's prc,grammr?rs' mer::itinn
l l
I would WA~, Vf?f y infnr·111, .1tivr•. lik9 to tt1Ank Fill LeDuc for his t~lk ~bout objPct programinir1q. f\l r:;o ttiani·s ln -(odd Burkey, StPve Paulr.~y and D~vt? Mei lr~ fot their I f you havP writtf;1n A progf·am you 1--,nulct li!,e t.n demn, contr·i.tnd·ionf.;. a pr t•qr· a11,mi nq tool to be demcn?d or a topic yoL, wnul d 1 i ke to rt i sr.~u1E=.~_;, 1 r-:~t:. mr-~ knui,,, sc1 I c:an inform thP. tr·oops. Thf:'.' nf?W Bl ToolBoH prn~4r·a.m f1Jr OSS Pa~cital should bP. avai \.able hy The proqr·ammer1:.:; · qt·oup mt:'?Pts thr.~ A df.?mo is hoped. mP-eti.nq timP. Monday fnllowinq the MAST fflf,?etinq at. the First Minnesntc•\ buildinq c,t Lexington and L.arpenteur at 7:30pm, upst~irs. 0
24 at. 1,:30 pm M/\ST is c;ponsoring a MIDl demn at ~lizard,; cover· the Sf and Midi ir1 dE:,?.-1:ai 1 and tUH.~Wf:~r·· yn••r Wi.zer·ds Worh will not bP. open for· ~•<?\lPs at thir.; time. quP.sticms .. No DOMS 1,<1ill ThP.y h,~vf..? vt,luntc~er·ed the spa.er~ for this Midi mPeti.ng. I would alGo lik8 be sold, hut memberships if p~ople ~re interested. ,-,ould like t.1th••r If you to thank Phil fmhis Midi demo last month. topici:::, di.!::',ct1sH:1P.d in this format, let. us kno~,. tt1e offinq. in ar·e Finally, some leadership changes in MAST I f you Are I t ' s been a year and i t ' s time for us to move on. inten?st.e>d in helping MAST, give Bruce Haug a call e,.nd lr,t him know. We can always L,se your help. /\pril
(]r,
tiJor k..
Phil
wi 11
At ar· i Mews ;,1nd Rumc,r s by ,Jim Schulz In the last two weeks, twD Atari supportive isoft1,<1are companit.:~!:s · have r-un into problems .. Rumor ii; that Activision has filed for bankr·uptc:y pr·otection .. I f tf·ue, i t could mean the end of Infor.:cun, the premier te>{t ndvt:.?nture Activision it.self qr·e.w too f~st and ,;;p,~nt mor·e timE~ buying company. Wh.:.1t I would other soft1,<1arr:?. companies than developing goc1d so·ft.1,<1ru-p. The quality and uniqueness Infncnm te:.:t mnur·n for is Infocom. All of their program~ Ar-ea class acts. ~dventures is unsurpassed.
Batteries Included has been purchased by Atari's Archenemy, Electronic Arts is abc,ut to go public and its Electronic /\rts. investors s~id i t would be more attractive if i t harl business They did not want to come acr··oss as a. game company, sn soft,..1are. r<umors say EA immediately laid off t,.,lf c,f BI 's thPy bouqht Dl. Electronic Arts is known for copy pr- □ tection, su yoL1 Car1adi~r1 staff .. ce'\ri P:-:pect <:\l l of BI 's product~- to hr.::, protE•cted in thP. r1ee1.rfut.nre .. Thf,?ir computr=nic..::; ttu~ AJso, EA i.s not a big suppnr~ter· o·f At1:'lr-i. Amigt'1; t:hE•y ln~lieve all 8 bit nwners run pr-oqr;,:i,ms off c.:as1eette .. ThE" Hannovpr· Computer Show and El•!·~c:,siticm stArt~r.J thi.s wePk in (3pr·mi:u,y.
f\tari flF>w in thP. new Mega ST Fir ~•t, no nPw hardwarp .,.,,.~s shown. ThPy hc,pe to qo i.nto pr·oduction by ca<.:.;;P. i:1nd mottu,.~r·bni:='rd to show off~ thi::•') Pncl p.f Mr":lr·c:h, and the fit' st comput:.er-s shnuld sho\•1 up about a (.)t;.J.ri also shoi,,1r.~d thr.:>ir J a~a.;ir· printprwith their name m1111f-h l;.d.f?r.... lhP.se 1::\rrJ to go on sale i,,1it:hin two mnnths. plr.-1te 011 it~ ()1·ari ST~ wrir-r-:i driviriq r·nhnt1=:: ~uui nr.;cillni,-=.r-npl?c_-.;~ Mt1r·p qondil.,5: ,·.;oft1• 1.:u P "::IHtwn i.nr.::ludPt:I Cr·vstr.:,l Cai::;tl P~c,, avai l,1.blP nn\'1, anrl ~;nmP n flf:~w multi·-ta11;king syst·Qm allo1t1~; ·~ t·ini:;;l·:s to ~::-1:h1c,::tt:l.nn,1l ";t1ftw,~re.
GI ·/\I ;f' I Hf ,UT -
r·un
c..,t tht? You
11/\f ,Cl l,
sail\£:! t i mr;:1 ··- and i 1;:5 ·fast .. tht-~ {\tar i El bit F..:-mul c:.\l.or
Sr"C\l-'J
l 'JI</
on
last
month's DUM.
At
l..H'"i
1 Atari says tt1at the Wf~ dor1't war1t it released.' ''Fur·q~t 1t~ Nice 1,-Ji 11 ~ue ! Dpu:0r· at. i nq s;yct em and l.!a1::;;i c ar·e cup yr· i qlltE•d, r3nd they /.lt:.ar·i has t:cmtac.:ted XI\NlH, ttu~ 'Boink' people, attitudf.:~ i,tc:\r·i ha.~.. Bllt At.:..-.r·i says if it encc.,ur dged pir·c1cy. and told them thEci t.~mttlr-ltc.w· The emul~~tC)r, by the way, is now does work, the.y \.-,i'lnt-. t<J f.:if-:!ll i t .
says,
furth,~1··
thc..Hi
it
dis1Jlay lists.
w,:.is h1~forT'..
I t Ruppur·ts al 1
qr·aphics modes,
DOS and
All 1·t1at·s left are player/mi ssile qr·aphics and
st:.H.lnd. The Atc.-\ri nnw plo",HIS a Eoftware and har·dware IBM PC emulatnr. for·mat.s new 1040 Sl1~i \-Ji 11 only r·t:o~ad 80 tr·acks on a disk, so e>:t.ended and son,a pr ot.E:.11;. ted mu+ t.ware wi 11 not run,. It has bec~n t E~pnr·ted that the At.a.r-i PC wi 11 not shr.Jw up in The Ati::\ri PC shown at Cf-'S Wi\6 f~Xisted. August; i t nevt~r· r E~al ly
tot'1lly fake. Altwi has announced that all new su·ftware products, including The ·first of these mrJnoc:hr·ame . games, wi 11 ~~;uppor· t both col or· and products is Cr·ystal Castles, which is available now. The latest word on the blitter chip is that it is finally done. Rumor has i t that Now Alr.u·i can't mantddcturt: ~ the chips fast enough. le OSB P,3scal pr"CJqrams a1td a number of curTf.~nt products are incompatib with the blitter chip. the Atari hAs no plans to drop the 1040 ST, but you can expPct The rumored 520 ST soon to include a built-in single sided drive. not near OctnUu=isy, multiple DMA port device, does eHist but is Atari says they Microsoft Write is still debugging. production . Finally, At.:i\ri has "''ill 11nt rele.l~~e i t until it worhs perfectly.. If they decided not to sell First Word Plus, the First Word upgrade. t1a.ve Microsoft Write, they don't need any ott1er wordproces sors .. Fleet St:re<>t Publisher should be out by the time th,'lt you read lhi~; prngr,::\m should give Publishing Partner a r·un for its this. ST···lalk F'r'o·fessiDn al will not be done ' t i l the beginning of monc~y. If i t delivers as advertised , I will be the first person in April. The ne::t version of GFA Ba .. ic will be line waiting for cu-,.,. and availal>le in three to four months and include 100 new statements Also expect a book by the a compiler that builds desk accessorie s. auttior of GFA in t.wc.1 months.
New Mirhtr-oo suftwar-e includes Techmate Chess, Super Conductor first a Midi music pt·ogr~m - ar,d Perfect Match, Michtron's available be Space Shuttle II should educationa l pr-oqram forthe ST.
by mc-?e.t i ng t iinc-?. •kH·e is this month's list: Updates~ Fir-st up, 1'1<:\t"k l.aHlliams C, Version 2.0 should be•~ available for nc.1tice). $55.00 plus the Fc:\ge 2 of the manual (with the cnpyr ight Included in this update is a new manua,l with 200 pages of ne"'' Also included is a faster materi-al on AES, VDI ar,c1 Line A calls. abnvP For the updc:\te, send the c:ompi 1 er and !~;uppur·t fur· MT C-·Shel l.
to: Mark l,,Ji 11 i ams Company 14~~0 l.aJr i ghl".wnud Avenue Chicago, IL 60614. c)f the Magic S(4C Plu~:. will be available, along wi.th vprc:.;;iun 4.0 This new ver·sian of tilt~ c:at··trjdg~ no,,J \.-1urk1:i 1,-Jith the~ Magic softwc"\\r·e. ~;oft\-,ar·e will only r·un with the OL?'-"' 'ThP 4.0 newer Finder. For an I.IJ.)datt:::?, i;;ec~nd :t:2~.:i.(10 <:\n<.J your· Mc::l.qic SAC cat .. tt·· idqe car.. t.ridqr~..
to Data Pacjfic.
Fin,,lly, if ynu f11-n, f'uhlir;hinq PartrH?r.. send in ynut ,-11:trTr:\nty UWllf-:'l"S~ 'hnc;iun, 1.01, is ,3.v.:,~il;·,hlP fr-c~P to ,:~11 t·Pqi.::;t<~r·f~d Lt~1nr '"di rig. The envPl □pf~ plf".'i"l!?ie ••• t,,Jr,•11, it'IS that t:imf..? ,.,q,::tin ••• This proqrc:1.m allow~; you tn switch bt:d.\.·1ePn Fir,::,1·. i.s Ji--Svdtch .. I t doe1::;n't. work on all prDf;1r·i\lllS, but i t dOf:?':, hi\VP c~,omp ti,.,o pr 01.Jr .,.,ms. inf·.f?.r·est.in q u~;r.~~•• This is vPry nicely dorip Me:•:t ix, Supf..~r Directnr-·y from Michtron. and a gcJ □ d addition to your software library. Prtt Finr.\lly, I could say Phant.asie II, but it is not much di~fer.. But i t has kept me busy for the last twn wr"'r.~k!:;. ·Fr·nm PhAntasie I. Th,::\t's it fDr this month . .1'11 see you all at. ttie MHrch meeting Unt.i. l then, happy of Mf'IST and the MAST Programmr.~ rs' Group..
,·.~rd. Jl,c1~1py
I Llori't h~ve an add1··ess.
computing. [Ever·ybudy needs an acrc,nym. Gt"C>Up7
How about
MPG for·
MAST F-r-ngrammf:?r ~; ·
-·ed]
MAl,::ING THE SWITCH -
FROM SYNFILE+ TO DBMAN ·- F'Aln by Bob Floyd
I-
Why would you convert your SynFile+ datafiles to U8Man, anyway? Let · s ,3 sstunr~ for· ,"J. Syn File+ is an enc eel lent database. minute that. you have bot.h an XE and an ST, el i mi nat i nq Pqui pmqnt. considerat icms. 1) Report wr·iting capabiliti ~s 2) Command langu;;l.qe to handle c:nmplicate d and/or rept:~titi.rJui ::; procedure~; and calculatio ns n 3) ' Standard' file storage for·mat for easier transfPr of informatio to and from DBM,'3n 4) Relational capabiliti es Aft.er al 1 ,
1
1
f<pasnn ::; The ·first 2 are my reasons for swi tr:hi nq tn DBMan. doPsn't matter· to me, bt~t may matter to per·s~ns dealir1q with other Reason 4 is a myst~ry to m8~ l dnn't reAlly business software. r-el a.ti anal" means or· why I shoul l1 "''~nt it: .. understand wt,at The repur·t writing and command l rlnqur.:\ge capAbi 1 i t i. es of Dt!Md.n You can do nec:"\rly r.\nything if you ca·n _are essenti.:":\ll y unlimited. Tt1e comn1and language i.s similar to ~Andle simple programmin g. HL1w1.C?ver-, if you are f•';:\scal, but wi1:.hout need for "deep thinking." untHJ.ppy fl~:r:ustompd to easy list·-gener ·ating in SynFile+, you "'""Y he w1 th OBMan. DBMan hctve recently hP.en ThP r·rpc,rt \.'Jriting capabiliti es c: the enhanced by files on t.he pr-ogram dl.sk that. allms you l:o ftll in There is also a GEM tie-in on the blanki::; for several types of forms. bother latE!~;t revision that is helpful to new ust?rs but not wcwth thr. oncP ypu've mastered the command lanquaqe. ti,ne last: (JV, let's get on with the discussion where we left off \"lith - nSCIT ftlf.~ tranisfer fron 8-·bit to ST and readinq the file frum Fit·st. ,:a,1nect the n1All-modem cable (that yotJ h □ r-row~d DBMar,. on the club) to port 1 of yuur 850 interface ant1 t.o thP i::;erial port (If you don't havp an 850, you 1.-,i.ll have Mo modern i.g l.1sr.~d. thP. sr. Bl·tS i'\nd tn i1plt1i:~d yo1 1 r files i,,,ith r.\ modem frc,m your 8-··bit to r:e local R(~ sure to gt?.t the syr.;op · f.; cl;n,.•m l n,~,rt thPm ;,:tqai n \.'Ii th t.hr~ ST. 11
r,P1mLr.~sinr1
fi.r·st.)
I uc:;;pd "Thr-n bnut up both computE•r·f; wi t:h tPr mi n,31 sof l\.'h:H C'. Sc?l hoth compuh"•l'·s for HnmPl:r.,r m 011 the 8··-hi t and ST·-l~l k ur, t:hP. S'l ~
half-duple:: ,:ind t.r·y t-ypi 12t6dl (71:n,,.. to ::.;iPf! i f you arc~ rHc8ivi.ng on lf ttJF.1r·£.~ is a prL1hlnm, t.:hr>cl:: to ~.:>E,:>E~ t!1_at t..he thf.1 1.-,1.hPr compidt~r·. lhe~ dc~·fault baud r·ate, ctc,tc\ bit.s, st.up bits c1nd par it.y ar·e the same. You Cdn ust.-? ~-1.ny baud settinqs on both c:c:.unput.f::or<:.; will pr·obably wor·k. rate acceptable to btJlt, ter,ninal proqr·an1s, so choose tt1e fastest □ r1e
common to both. No~" ~.;et your
ST for· 11 captur e 11 (or "r·ec:ei ve an ASCII Using the example filenaine a~ your· 8-bit file.
the saine fir•st ar1iclu, this wuuld be: blank
for·m,3.ltE~d disk
A;ADDHEHS.SDF
file11)
with
frbm the !Be sur··e to have_a
in drive "A" befcw·e setting up ·for captur·e!
~r, tt 1e 8-bit, put your data disk in tt1e drive and choose ••send a You n1ay file'' to make ar 1 ASCII send of your str·uctured data file. You t.t:> pr-f:~ss the "st.ar-·t II butt.on to actual 1 y i;tart. gen di ny: You might not ace i t on the 8-bit screen. When done r· ec,~i vi ng, end the captur··e on the ST by using whatever . command is •=~ppropr·iate for the so·ftwa.r·e. As stat.ed in the first article, ASCII send and r·ece1ve automatically t,-anslates from ?\TASCJI on the 8--bit and ASCII on the /\n XMIJDEM t,-ans+er will fail to translate characters correc:tly ST. . ar1d you will qet garbage. NDw tt1rn off your B-bit machine, return to the GEM desktop or, \he Using A. Put your data disk in drive the BT and boot up DBMan. filnname e,-:ample from above, issue this command: .CREATE A:~DDRESS You can then use the printout This creates the f i l e ADDRESS.DBF. fr-om t:IIP B-bit prc,gram SYNTOSDF.BAS to help you cor-rectly set up your Be sure to set up all the fields, in the correct order DEMan fields. After ( same order as on the SYNTOSDF. BAS pr-i ntout l and length. APPEND ADDRESS SDF FROM se>tting the stn.octur·e, Issue this command:
t.hen
havE'
will see the file on tt 1e ST's scree11 as i t comes across.
ADDRESS.SDF Now yuu have made a DBMan datafile from your SynFi le+ database. I t sure beats typinq! I f you want to chanqe the field lengths or add or remove fields, use the MODIFY STRUCTURE command (assuming you have already said USE That's i t ! ADDRESS>.
Be sure t.o let. me know if you're interested in another If I write mor-e, it will be un progr·amming in DffMan installme:u1 t. Bye. command l anqunqe, or maybe nul 1-·modem cables.
rt,i~;: ·:.:ndr~ c:<:1r1 dt r.1~-, 1 in(·-:>s Vf1r-·y oril· i m:i ~~t!(i ~-~r.; 1,:;t~mbl y J.angut:1.qi=? •:·ode. cpl"icl··l-.,.1 hut t:.,":'\kPr; up tHl enor·mrn1c; amnunt. ,.)·f m~mory (l·h;.\t-·4 rn· fnr my Mu~~;t ;;,ppl lc;;:,tion lirc)cauq~ t.hr-? BT t1c:v,; ru1 e11or·mou<:.1 amount: uf mPmnr·y) of lid~_; 1,··,rqr• Mmn11.nt of mPmury .is usPc:I for i:\ divi.sir,n lonl:np t.i.\hlP. tn un(~ u(~r~d to c,?1];·:.11lr'.:tt.~-:) the slope of 1:.tu~ lines tlJ bf.~ dr,":\1tJr1. prut.ic.11lc:u· v£•rsion of my lirH•.• 1.fr·;3w\ng code, this l.able takf's Ltp 17fl•· hyt·c-~i.::; u-f memcwy. On t.ht,~ AMIGA, I simply qnt. my code over there ,.n1rl modi-fiP.d it "' littl1:.·., bit and I was dr;.n-,ing lf.n~~-
Df C:cJur-hr?, ttsing tt1i 1:; mr-thod, (bec::Buse of it 'c:; slnli',er·
t.hE1 nMIGPi dr ,3w~ the linPe:. scune-iwhat slr.:,v1er
Mt~::t l st~rt.ed r·eadinq the AMil3A har··d"'1e-1.r.:~ manHi·=d 1..n clock spPed). Ttu:~ f i gur· P out hc:1 t.-1 ta use i t s spec: i. a.l har-·dware to draw l i nr•c:;. All you blit.t.er chip on the AMIGA has a SJH~c:ial line dt··,"::\wing mode. havP. to do ice, pluq ~clme values into the blitter chip's r·r.-qister··s ~nrl it. 1,,1111 ch-aw the lines t.-1ith h.;wdware. After a lnng ~;t.r·uqqle with the marn1d.l, 1 finally figured nut how to do it~ ThP "air-:>rti.on in lhF' m~r111;d on h~rrlware line dr-awing is very s~impy and I found a lot of thP Much to my disn1~y, I have information to be totally inaccur~te. det.E~rmined that the AMIGA har·dt.-JarP. dra~·,s 1 ines much slower· than my I have not yet. quantifiPd hi~Jhly optimized c11ssembly lanquage code.. thig, but. my test: program ran noticeably slower· when I w~s using h~rdw~r·e lin~ drawing. The code nPcessary t[J I should point out a few tt,inq$. implement hardware line drawing on the AMIGA only t.a~Ps a small ltn, otllP.r fraction of the> memory needed by my high sp.,.,d code. functions of the AMIGA blit.ter chip are quit .. a bit ·f,~stmthan The AMIGA that J am using h1ai.:; 51:?J::: anything I can do with l!>oftware. I f I was using 1'fast'' memory above 512K, hardware (all ct1ip mPmory). 1 ine drrtwing may be fast.er if I can qet the 680(H) to do somr':'t.hinq
else at the same time. Al thrn19h I won· t know which mac hi n" is f astpr-
ove>r Al 1 tmt i l finish my project, my gut feeling is that a 512K AMJGn is not qcinq
to he any fc\st.er than an ST.
Disk of
th" Mcmth -
March
By \.Tim Schulz Last montt1 I had 4 old disks updates and 12 n~w disJ~s: tt~55 ·· Mic:roEmac:.-!s with Ht:=!'lp (New Version of Emr~cs with doc:c; and sour·ce)
Uniterm :t.6G (New version of Uniterm noi--, with h.Pr-mi.t r:;upport) #88 - Demo Disk #15 (ST Term communications program) 11101 -- 8 Bit Emo_.Jators (Color and Monochrome Apple and /\tari Emulators) \1103 -- Februa.ry DOM It 1 (Utilities;) #104 - Ft.~hruar--y DOM #2 <Applications) fflO!:i -· FP.br·t.tBry DUM lt'l (Games) lt106 -- F"bn.,,.,ry DOM 114 (GFA and Pascal Files and Proqrams) Febr·tt,:."\r·y DOM #~:i (C rt le5, Communication F'r·oqrams, c\nd £.:1enerc\l ttl(l7 #78 -
LINE DRAWING - AMIGA vs ST 01/87 - by RALPH HUSSELL
1 have heE~n dF.!veloping a. 3D gr·aphics game for· the ST during ~.he At the time I started this project, I had to choose wh1 ch Ft.1r various reasons, I machinu to wr·it.e i t for (ST orAMIGA). Evpr· sinc:e I started, I have bet.~n dPcidF)d to do i t un the ST. wonder··ing i-f the {-)MIGA might. have be!en a better· choi.ce beci~use D·f i t ' s blitter· o::hip. f.\bout a month aqn, I ac:q,dr·E.~d an AMIGA for the purpo~e of ~11 developinq my game 1Jn i t (now I get tc, do it. on both machu1e~-;) • of my code is "''rit.t.en in as~,emhly lanquaqe because I 1--'lant to attain For· this r·eason, I ml,~;,t. the fast.~??st. possible speed uf eHecut.ion. become ver·y familiar with all har·dli'1ar·F~ tt1at. I am using •. I havr~ not yet had ti me to do nu.tc:11 wi t.h the AMIH{\, b1.1t. I have stud1 ed the pr·oblE1m of hiqh s~H1ed 1 ine drawing. h,3Vt.? ck~v,~lopE.•d !.,c1m1.:~ hiqhly To dr··at.-1 li.nE?s quickly c1n the ST,
past Y"ar.
sn
ttJ08 -- Fr:.~hruary DOM #6 (OP.mos and Modula Fi lee;:; and Pr·oqr·ams) #10? -- Demo Dissl·: 1120 <Happy Btrthd"y CAD-·-3D D<emol l.Arn G~me (Li:\rn Dunqeon Game) #1J() L.Ar·r1 Game Source CodP (C Source Code for· L~rn) #111 F'rinl:M;:,,;\:rr Icons Ill <F11blic #11;? nnim,:,tcH1 nolls Demo (Mu~;ic Br.1,-: noll1:S D,::!mn) it11-:i:
ij114
11(\l<UI,
.l'lf.l;
HI '(\1.J.· /l'lf\'., r
last. 11H:?c-?t:ing. he,u·d l""H"l crn11p] ainl5 r'.lhnut. tile DUl"ls at.. the upqr·ade s ,·,ill bf? So fr·cim 110w on, Fir·st, ttH;! ttpqr··i.Hh;:~~, c:o~;t. tocJ much. If M/.\~n a rH:?h• dir:>h. $2.00 plllS yuur ur·iqinal diek or :f6.0C, for· St~CCJnd, to the old scheme. star.. ts Josi nq mc.HH::!y I wi 11 have ta returri In April I ,-,ill re-doc all of ttu.:: disks mE)ssy .. disk ducumcird: .c:.'\tion is
the listir1gs in usir1g Michtr·n n's Super Directo ry pr·oyram and place Anyone out there have t"",o matching thrpr:~··-r inq binder·s .
lh;.,l.'s. i t fnr this month .. plac:p~ to qpt· the Mf\ST disks.
Hemembe r t-hat tht:~rp r.\r-e no\•J t~, 0 In c-1.ddition to t.tH-~ r--1r,s1 fnE'Pt.i1·1q ,
two
orQ,HHa ed us;ing the~HSk TOP program .
To those who MAST. t')s yuu C:i·,n st.:~e, your opi ni ans du count with 11 Enouqh You win." h,~ve hee~n cr·itical of the Mf\ST DllMs, let me say,
F'r-oqr-r.1.01 mer·s SIG
said.
t.hr-Re mant.l1r,; at.
This disk will
he upd«ted Pvrer·y
le,"'lst.
I hnpP. to sep you all
at th£' ne,.,t MAST meeting and the
fr-om the wi.th the best new public dc>main st;ftware:-" }
pAst mnnth.
includes : This mnnths selectio n of special disks and programs For the
Print:Ma ster· Icon Disk #1 - Converte d 8 bit icons. swap
you
Pr·nqr-amm c?r··s SIH IOPPt.inq .. Ci-Ht ~:dso qet. t.he Ml-)BT di!.-J::s at the MAST ~•e Hr·Pquite fJ p:-:ibiP. i:ome <:?,":".rl y or crnne l;-,t.P i·f you Wr.'\nt di'E",ks; rlic;ks o·f the lllonth ris n-f lri\!::,t. month, we havE! 114 <count 'eim) me at For informat icm on ,;:1.ny n·f t.tu? past disks, st:-?e aft.Pr one yr~ar. rtd~ disk fur :t2.uf,. thP. mf:-•etinq or· pur··r:hasP the MAST documen tation a l i s t of all fi.lr?~i, diqJ:: ~rtcludr:?~ A dt:?sc:ript _ior, of eac:h disk and
I
l-li
11 add a number
of
Tiny formatte d pictures of
Prir1tMa ster Ico11s. C::F'/M Utilitie s; Disk ll2 -
you will
For a free swap,
a
free
get a couple
last month that got more u t i l i t i e s , plus some documen tation fr-om misplc:,c ed. The documen tation .. Uniterm - Now with Ymodem and Vl220 support Remembe r, with your origina l disk an has been totally rewritte n. updatu is 011ly $2.00. s and Picture s!!! - From Steve Pauley· s collecti on, Cartoon I f time pf..~rmits , I might conver·t one o·f these Fantasy Dl and Space. ditE"J::s t-o mr.moc:hr ome.
of thP month for wJiictl For those who don't know, MAST has a disk dom~in software for· we ct1ar·gp t6.00, which is packed full af public t ttH,?m i n n r,~nD.ME I checl, all sc>ftwar·e pr-ogramc ;; ~.,d dnc1.1men the ST. ·,u gf'!t 5Dmet:.hi nq that ~,or·ks. filPin PiH::h dirt?ctc:.1 ry so you ~re sure s t i l l would like the For those who cannot make the meeting and
DOM,
I will
mall
them to you within one week of
the memting for the
handlinq for·· r-;t.e\ndard 1=6~00 plus :f:0.50 for· postage and
each disk.
My
Addre!;s is 1
3264 Welcome Avenue North Cryst.al ,
MN 55422
This disk
TVX Editor Disks - With a number of bugs fixed. g a Unix VI loo!i:alik e. include~- ; c:.1bout three difff.:?r·e nt editor, includin
code. Also av~ilab le is a dtsk of updated source
print drivers , F'ublis;h ing Par·tner Utility Disk·- includin g new
want at the Al so, If I bl ow i t and don· t have disk that you week of thP MAST meeting , I will mail i t to you free within one
meeting.
font1::, and a mcinochr·n me font edit.or.
GODS Font Disk -
For· use wl th Degas Elite, Easy Dr-aw and GOOS will include a GOOS
In addition to a number of fonts, I program s. ·font t3di torsn you can create your awn fonts. mc:\l-:e Hny ·fonts fur fut.ttre updates .
L.et me know i f
you
very well animated . Color Globe Demo -- A revolvin g globe that is You'll like i t . run. demo takes 6 minL1tes ta load and 1 meg to This You called 11 0::ygen" . Digi Musi.c: Demo -- A diyitize d disco song
have lo hear fnP~J.
it to believe it.
Require s a double-s ided dr•ive and 1
Spr f?ads,llee., l - Mcwe about It at the meeting. VIP lax Templat es - This month, Minneso ta.
I
am also looking
rtic Mir,neso ta temp] ate was found by Bob Floyd. W-·2 template . ????? - A mystery disk for the reason that I haven't tried it. I f yr,u pr··ogr"i~m , t.hi~.; cJisk is for you. Todd Bur-key. Swr,.:!p - A ha.rd dr-ive ut.i'"'ty pro<Jr·.;_~m from l"l?)ST's of SwPe.p few the ST. H€! has 1!:ipt?nt a n,ont.h labor· i ng ·vr.:)r this version cot·-rH::!rcloc:k the.~ Hf:? has made From MASl's ,John Stanlf?y .
for-·
a
Clock
forChuck' s Well, Chuck has supplied •e again with another round of articles .PRG, whichis a comMand Notes. This month, Chuck concludes his look at the PCOMMAND ho••• and the file shell program which also access to GEM dialog boxes, alert for ;he PCOMMAND •elector. This Month, Check looks at the built-in commands so I can't co•mit hi• program. Check has been out of the country for the last month to have him demo this to something , but next time we talk I'll ••• if I can arrange to see this have program at the next MAST meeting In March. I think you really along some of the program In action to enjoy it, Chuck will probably also bring would like a copy, this stuff you get when you register for t25.00, For those who off to Chuck. program can be found on the November utility disk 171, Now Jim
Nice .iub, Juhn.
pr·o11r·am ver-y func:tior ial in al 1 resulut. ions. fr·om Bi 11 Lt-~Ouc: 's talk C Dr.)mo Pr·o•.Jt·,3.m -- SoL.tr"·c:H code end proqr-am I f you 1,-11::1:nl to fH"Dqr·am in C •:.uuJ BEM, at t.hr.?. J.H"-c,qr·am mer·s' nu-:~nt.inq .
c.:heck t.his uut.
Chuck's Notes by Chuck Purcell
In this vr:.·r sir.:>n SlevP hi::i.c;;: Sl:r:.~vt"? f'r3Liley. Frr.H11 MnSl 's l.if-c:! In addition , St.1c~ve has madP ,3, rnunher,:1ddE'!d load r.::i.nd 1:,.:,,vC"~ capabil ity. t>f inl.E~r P!'.:-,t:ir1q pat.t-•?r-·n!! ',. f"-ile viF:\.-1inq pruqr·r.u11 n1udi fif•d by Mr-,~)f's Chu(~Murr~/lt:.• 1:;;~:; tl,i~.l is t.h1.? 11icc~i:::,\- ~-~u (]f c1.l l (:,~ t:hE• mor·e/.les ~i pr··nqr·am s, Pur·cel l .
Solid Applicati ons Inc. PCOM_GEM.APP
1333 Moon Drive
Command Overview
Yardley, PA 19067
Copyright (cl 198b
HELP,
PCOM SEM. TXT
You may register your PCommand is a shareware product from Solid Applicati ons Inc. receive copy of PCommand with Solid Applicati ons for t25.00, You will
SPACE/MAST - MARCH, 1987 - page 19 SPACE/MAST - 11ARCfl, 1987 -· page 18
more text and buttons than :ALERT but no icon option.
'text· can be as wide
as the screen (less 2 characters},
docu•entation, the des~ accessory version oi PCommand and utilities including a
format program which creates IBM PC format diskettes(one and two sided).
BUILT-IN COMMANDS: General syntaK: optional items are placed within square brackets such as CXVZI. Alternatives are separated by a vertical bar as with
Repeated ite111s are followed by ellipses (. .. }. No cases in keywords. 0NI0FF. •options• tdiscussiont ico•mandst
Help coaaand, no para•eters, Show built-in co••ands
?
ABORT CONIOFFI BELL BREAK [ONIOFFl
Set/show ABORT flag, OFF indicates terolnation when BREAK=ON BREAK=ON and a 'C or ESC key is pressed. ON prints the STACK status and allows syste• restart at the specified point. Sounds the bel I. PCommand recognizes AC and ESC only if the BREAk=ON.
Set the EXIT flag or ••It fro ■ the current batch file BYE CnumberlONIOFFI or input aode for I or •ore (nu•berl levels. =(EXITCnuoberlONlOFFII CD [drive: lpathJ •.• Set/show current default directory of the specified drive. directory of the current or specified drive. =(CHOIR [driveo lpathl ••• I CHAIN file Iparaoeter •.. J(\t.batlExit current batch file and continue ••ecution of the new batch"fila' using new'paraaeters' all of the current line Clear screen per'optlon' 1 LINE CLS [option] fro• cursor to end of screen EOS EOL from cursor to end of line fro ■ cursor to beg.of screen BOS BOL fro• cursor to beg.of line INSERT insert new line, delete bot.one DELETE delete current line,add to bot. COPY source C••• l [destination) [/DJ copy files fro ■ to the 'destination· file, Copy only data files if /D i• included disk, or folder. =CP source [ •.. ] Change console to •pecifled device. CTTV CCDNlAUXlPRNlHIDIJ Set/show date DATE CdateiSHOWJ ERASE• DEL ; ERA• DEL Delete one or ■ ore tiles DEL file C..• J Display one t directories. /P prints all D [directory •.. I C/Pl C/Wl [/Fl /W wide I 4 na ■ es/line /F disk free sp. DIR [directory ••. ) [/Pl C/WJ [/Fl ECHO CONlOFFl [@[option] ••• I IIJCtextl Set/show echo •ode or print ·text·. 'I' allows leading blanks. Option forut is:. row column
Position cursor
Cursor CONIOFFJ
Turn cursor on or off
Foreground color,Set t••t foreground Background color:Set text bac~ground Exaaple I !i.e. ECHO @10 10 @FI @BACK O @Cursor ON I Batch file coa ■ and only. FOR XXv IN I file C•.• J I DO co•mand Per for• couand while substituting variable Uv, where ·v· is any char. ,while a 'file' i• in the list. Names with wild card char. cause a directory search with exaaples of GEN usage: synta•• GEN indicates state of GEM flag to be used by batches GEM GEM [ONIOFFlcoeeandl: optionJ provides batch •ode control of •coe•and• execution Optionally force any prograa ·co ■■ and' ON runs •.PRG files as froo desktop ·,option' has the following faros, to run froa the desktop mode. CCCCNOTE1 SQUARE BRACKETS AND 'I' A,RE REQUIRED HERE( not optional ■ arkersl. JJJl 'default' specifies the default •GEN 1ALERT default ltypeJ[textJ[butto nsl button lif no default set @ 01. The 'type' specifies the icon type 10 to 3,see Three GEM documenatlonl. ·text' and 'button' iteu are separated by a 'I·. 'button's oaK. The 7.:e ERRORLEVEL variable is set to the selection(! to JI. GEM :ALERT I Cil[teKtlCtl -> gea 1alert I CIICline llline 21line JICOKlCancell •GEN :FILE [path) Cfilel blank. Results are in X:f X,d for drive letter; X:e GEN :FILE Cpl [fl
presents the GEM file selector menu. 'file' may be for the file na~e and l:p for the path naMe, and
is O if OK is selected and I if -) gea 1file b:\•.prg
•GEM :SELECT default Cte,tllbuttonl
Cancel Is selected.
General button selection which can have
GEH :SELECT I lte,tl C•J -> gem :,elect O [No de/aultlbutton.JCO KiCancelJ -> go• :select l[The first buttonlls the defaultJCOkl I default button sel -> gem :select O[This is a test I only menu. HJ • button tag! itag2l.. •GEM •GEM •GEH •GEM
General single line te•t input menu. ,INPUT Ctextl[validl 'text· contains lines of info. and : INPUT Cte,tlCvalidlfor utl appears at the top of the menu. ,INPUT Ctextl[validlform atidefaultl The te•t entered is placed ,INPUT CtextJCvalidiform atldefaultloutputl into 7.,i. The 'valid', 'forut·, 'default' and 'output· options control what can be entered.The'valid ' string can contain any of these:
A uppercase letters and space; a any letter and a space digits Oto 91 any letter, digits and a space N uppercase letters, digits and a space1 n file name characters plus f ; file name characters plus 1 ? • F path name characters plus : I p I path naoe characters plus , \ ? • P 'format· and 'output· •pecify where the actual te•t goes X any character;
~
using '_' and all other characters are displayed as informative decoration.
Examples:
GEN BEN GEN GEM
1INPUT :INPUT 1INPUT 1INPUT
[An example:J[XXXXXXXXXXXXXXI [Enter a date,JC999999l / / [Enter a date:1[999999l--/- -/--11122BBJ Ii !Enter a date:1[9999991
GOTO label Continue batch file execution after the line with 1label Co•puted GOTO based upon the value of GOTO lnumber label [ ••• ) 'number' where the flr•t label=O. Continue If there is no corresponding label. ? Print list of built-in command•. HELP Execute 'co111111and' if condition 11et. co11mand IF CNOTI EXISTS file co11u11and Execute 'co11111and' if condition 1111et. IF CNOTJ FOLDER folder COIIUnand Execute ·com11and' if condition inet. IF tNOTJ ERRORLEVEL level Execute 'com11and' if condition met. co•mand IF CNOTJ sl==s2 INPUT IIJCpromptJ Enter Interactive mode If no parameters,otherw ise, print the 'pro•pt' and accept one line fro• the keyboard. A leading 'I' Hill not be printed and allows for leading spaces. Set/show LOB flag. PCom•and prints exec.file naoe when ON. LOG IONIOFFJ n""• I. .. J HD Create a new folder. HKDIR name C••• 1 PATH C; lpathJ Set/show PATH list. Reset with 'I'. The PATH is used to find find prograa/batch files. 'PATH path' Is in the environment list. PATH C; I path·J syntax EKampl es of PATH co•und, path aqb1\1c1\utll path A1\system path I path Di splay 'Press any key to cc·tinue· and wait. PAUSE List 'file's on •)e printer.IP paginate w/ fora PRINT file C•.• l C/Pl C/BJ feed at 55 lines/page. IB bin.print to endoffile or to control-I i.e. 26 declmal=IA heKidecimal. Set/show PROMPT string which can include: PROMPT Cpr omptl Vertical bar $8 New line (CR/LFI $ $D Current date $Cx Control character lcontrol-x I $H character Backspace character ')' $6 $N Current default drive '(' character fl Current ti11e Current default path on default drive $T $P · 1 • character tX TOS version nuaber XX.VY $V Create new 'file' using simple line editor. EOF=lst null line QED file Reaark in batch file. REH co•ment Rename file. Works across directories old_name new_name REN RENAME Delete empty folder. folder I ••• l RD RMDIR Noreally for desk accessory version Set/show reserve size. RESERVE lsizel which can reserve meaory for 2nd proqram('size' in kilobytes;default 0)
SPACE/HA& l
- MA~C~,
1901 - page 20
SET ( ~eywordl :i:v al ue l .•• }ShoM/ !iet /reset erwiran11ent Ii st parainet ~r. Envi r on"1ent
list is acces5ed by applicaltans('key~ord ' and ' value · SHIFl STACK
~
any non • blank string)
B•tch file only. Shilt para•eter list by · nuober ' !default of I) Display e,ecutlon stack. Useful from within INPUT or batch files.
SWITCHAR [character] Show/iel para•eter character. Default is ' / ' TJHE [ti~e:SHOWJ SetlshoM current ti~e. 105 cot•a1,d (parameters ... ] Force ' ( mmand " lo e~ecute in TOS aode (no ~ouse)
TYPE ' file' I/Bl [/Pl Displ•y'file ' s on screen; 1/B - ) EOFI , Coore = / Pl VER Display TOS ver5ion nuaber VERIFY lONIOFFI Set/sho~ floppy disk verify ilag VOL (drive:}. . . WRAP CONIOFFJ
ShoM \'olu111e na•e of ' dr i ve ·. Set/show WRAP flag. Default Is ON. Cursor will wrap !I ON
Next 11100th, Che~~ loo~s at soae of the publi c do~ain text editors with so•e qulc~ reierence card~ to get you started . Until ne•t ~ooth, many thank§ to Chuck and happy had, ng .
ST. PAUL ATARI COMPUTER BRUCE HAUG, PRESIDENT 1697 E. HOYT AVE . ST. PAUL, MN~ 55106 (612)774-6226
ENTHUSIASTS