A Buyer's Guide To Commodore 64 Languages
COMPUTE'S
$2.95
January 1986 ©
Issue 31, Vol. 4, No. 1
02220 $3.75 Canada
FOR COMMODORE PERSONAL COMPUTER USERS
Sprint
Complete Inside: A BASIC compiler that can make your Commodore 64 programs run up to 50 times faster!
ower BASIC: Print Maker
Design your own screen, then this program will convert it to a BASIC sub- routine. For the 64, Plus/4, 1 6, and VIC.
Programming Music And Sound On The Commodore 128
With the powerful BASIC commands of the 128, making music is easier than ever.
Also In This Issue:
The Fast Assembler
An efficient machine language assembler for the 64.
I7U86N02220I
01
Horizons: Another Look At C
Disk Disassembler
Software Reviews
And More
Face-Off
If you like competitive, fast- action games, you'll like this one-on-one hockey simulation for the 64. For one or two players.
All
need to do this
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do your banking
study astrology
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tell a story
forecast sales
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rake a birthday card
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When it comes to personal computers, you want the smartest you can own. At a price that makes sense.
Feature for feature, the new Commodore 128'" system outsmarts its competition, it comes with a powerful 128K memory expandable to 512K, more than enough to start with and stay with for years. An 80-column display lets you see more of your spreadsheets and word processing. And with its 64, 128 ana CP/M* modes you have easy access to thousands of educational, business and home programs how available It also has a state-of-the-art keyboard with built-in numeric ^ keypad to execute complex tasks with little effort.
The new Commodore 128. From the company that's sold more personal computers than IBM® or Apple.® Look for it at a store near you. And discover > the personal computer that does more for you. At the I price you've been waiting for.
COMMODORE 128s PERSONAL COMPUTER
A Higher intelligence
Some Historic Breakthroughs Don't Take As Much Explaining
As CompuServe.
But then, some historic breakthroughs could only take you from the cave to the tar pits and back again.
CompuServe, on the other hand, makes a considerably more civilized contribution to your life.
It turns that marvel of the 20th century, the personal computer, into something useful.
Unlike most personal computer products you read about, CompuServe is an information service. It isn't software. It isn't hardware. And you don't even have to know a thing about programming to use it. You subscribe to CompuServe — and 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, it puts a universe of information, entertainment and communications right at your fingertips.
A few of the hundreds of things you can do with CompuServe.
COMMUNICATE
EasyPlex'" Electronic Mail lets even beginners compose, edit, send and file messages the first time they get online. It puts friends, relatives and
business associates — anywhere in the country — in constant, conven- ient touch.
CB Simulator features 72 channels for "talking" with thousands of other enthusiastic subscribers throughout the country and Canada. The chatter is frequently hilarious, the "handles" unforgettable, and the friendships hard and fast.
More than 100 Forums welcome your participation in "discussions" on all sorts of topics. There are Forums for computer owners, gourmet cooks, veterinarians, pilots, - golfers, musicians, you name it! Also, Electronic Conferencing lets busi- nesses put heads together without anyone having to leave the shop.
Bulletin Boards let you "post" messages where thousands will see them. You can use our National Bulletin Board or the specialized Bulletin Boards found in just about every Forum.
HAVE FUN
Our full range of games includes "You Guessed It!", the first online TV-style game show you play for real prizes; and Mega Wars III, offering the
ultimate in interactive excitement. And there are board, parlor, sports and educational games to play alone or against other subscribers ( throughout the country
Movie Reviews keep that big night at the movies from being a five star mistake.
SHOP
THE ELECTRONIC MALL" gives you convenient, 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week shopping for name brand goods and services at discount prices from nationally known stores and businesses.
SAVE ON TRIPS
Travelshopper5"
lets you scan flight availabilities (on virtually any airline — world- wide), find airfare bargains and order tickets right on your computer.
Worldwide Exchange sets you up with the perfect yacht, condo, villa, or whatever it takes to make your next vacation a vacation,
A to Z Travel/News Service
provides the latest travel news plus complete information on over 20,000 hotels worldwide.
MAKE PHI BETA KAPPA
Grolier's Academic American Encyclopedia's Electronic Edition
delivers a complete set of encyclope- dias right to your living room just in time for today's homework. It's continuously updated ... and doesn't take an inch of extra shelf space. The College Board, operated by the College Entrance Examination Board, gives tips on preparing for the SAT, choosing a college and getting financial aid.
KEEP HEALTHY
Meal timet will never replace a real, live doctor — but it is an excellent and readily available source of health and medical information for the public. Human Sexuality gives the civiliza- tion that put a man on the moon an intelligent alternative to the daily "Advice to the Lovelorn" columns. Hundreds turn to it for real answers.
BE INFORMED
All the latest news is at your fingertips. Sources include the AP news wire (covering all 50 states plus national news), the Washington Post, USA TODAY Update, specialized business and trade publica- tions and more. You can find out instantly what Congress did yesterday; who finally won the game; and what's happening back in Oskaloosa with the touch of a button. And our electronic clipping service lets you tell us what to watch for. We'll electronically find, clip and file news for you. . . to read whenever you'd like,
INVEST WISELY
Comprehensive investment help
just might tell you more about the stock you're looking at than the company's Chairman of the Board knows. (Don't know who he is? Chances are, we can fill you in on that, too.) CompuServe gives you com- plete statistics on over 10,000 NYSE, AMEXand OTC securities. Historic trading statistics on over 5O,00U
stocks, bonds, funds, issues and options. Five years of daily com- modity quotes. Standard & Poor's. Value Line. And more than a dozen other investment tools.
Site 11 facilitates business decisions by providing you with demographic and sales potential information by state, county and zip code for the entire country. National and Canadian business wires provide continuously updated news and press releases on hundreds of companies worldwide.
GET SPECIALIZED INFORMATION
Pilots get personalized flight plans, weather briefings, weather and radar maps, newsletters, etc. Entrepreneurs use CompuServe too for complete step-by-step guide- lines on how to incorporate the IBMs of tomorrow.
Lawyers, doctors, engineers, mil- itary veterans and businessmen of all types use similar specialized CompuServe resources pertinent to their unique needs.
And now for the pleasant surprise.
Although CompuServe makes the most of any computer, it's a remark- able value. With CompuServe, you get low start-up costs, low usage charges and local phone-call access in most major metropolitan areas.
Here's exactly how to use CompuServe.
First, relax.
There are no advanced computer skills required.
In fact, if you know how to buy breakfast, you already have the know-how you'll need to access any subject
in our system. That's because it's "menu-driven *' so beginners can simply read the menus (lists of options) that appear on their screens and then type in their selections. Experts can skip the menus and just type in "GO" followed by the abbreviation for whatever topic they're after.
In case you ever get lost or con- fused, just type in "H" for help, and well immediately cut in with instruc- tions that should save the day.
Besides, you can either ask ques- tions online through our Feedback service or phone our Customer Service Department.
How to subscribe.
To access CompuServe, you'll need a CompuServe Subscription Kit, a computer, a modem to connect your computer to your phone, and in some cases, easy-to-use com- munications software. (Check the information that comes with your modem.)
With your Sub- scription Kit, you'll receive:
■ a $25 usage credit.
■ a complete hardcover Users Guide.
■ your own exclusive user ID number and preliminary password.
■ a subscription to CompuServe's monthly magazine, Online Today.
Call 800-848-8199 (in Ohio, 614-457-0802) to order your Sub- scription Kit or to receive more information. Or mail this coupon.
Kits are also available in computer stores, electronic equipment outlets and household catalogs. You can also subscribe with materials you'll find packed right in with many com- puters and modems sold today.
I C] Mease send mi1 additional information.
_ ] I'lea se bend me a Ciitn puSe rw S ubsc n pt i on Kit
□ I am enclosing my check lor $3U.'J5. pins $2.50
handling. (Add sales tax if detiivrvd in Ohio.)
Please make check payable to CompuServe
Information Services. \ik.
D Change this to my VI.WMaslerCard
MAIL TO:
CompuServe
Customer Service Ordering Depl. RO, Box L-477 Columbus, Ohio 43Z60
I rjolu m bus, Ohio 43Z60 Pfli-KM j
An M«F) lllgck CwTBjny
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A New Dimension in Fun
Easy aircraft control, coupled with unexcelled omnidirec- tional visual (plus audio) references and ballistic power, provide the speed and aerobatic maneuverability that add up to pure fun. Engage in a wide variety of combat scenarios (land-based F-16 or carrier-based F-18J, or fly over detailed United States scenery at Mach 2,
mm
Flight Simulator scenery Disk Compatible
LOGIC
Corporntlon 713 Eilgctirook Drlvo
Ctiompatgn il 61820
l.'W) I59-S4B2 fold 106995
OrdM Line: (B0I1| 637-4983
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January 1986 Vol. 4, No. 1
features
The Commodore 64's Other Languages Selby Bateman 20 *
A Buyer's Guide to Commodore 64 Languages 28 *
The Natural Approach to Computer Languages Selby Bateman 34 *
Languages of Convenience 40 *
reviews
Soundchaser Keyboard and MacMusic Arthur B. Hunklns 52
S'More Todd Heimarck 52
Operation Market Garden and Kampfgruppo Neil Randall 55
Stunt Flyer David Florance 55
Fast Tracks George Miller 57
Keys to Responsible Driving Gregg Keizer 57
Also Worth Noting 58
games
Space Arena Bryan Files 48 64t
Face-Oft Kevin Mykytyn and Mark Turtle 50 64
programming
The New MLX Ottis R. Cowper 42 64
BASIC Magic: Using That New Disk Drive You Got for Christmas Michael S. Tomczyk 62 128/64/ +4/ 16/V
Hints & Tips: The Power of SYS 66 64/V
Machine Language for Beginners: Blanketing Memory Richard Mansfield 68 64/V
Sprint: A Compiler for the 64 Robert A. Stoerrle 72 64
The Fast Assembler Yves Han 78 64
Programming Music and Sound on the 128 Philip Nelson 88 128
BASIC Backup John R. Hampton 97 64
Power BASIC: The Printmaker Manu Gambhir 104 64/+4/16/V
BASIC Windows Wayne Arnett 106 64/+4/16
REM Highlighter Don A. Ellis 108 128/64/+4/16/V
Pisk Disassembler Jeff Babuschak and Richard Rager 110 64
Off-Screen Trace Brent Dubach 115 64
departments
The Editor's Notes Robert C. Lock 6 *
Gazette Feedback Editors and Readers 10 *
User Group Update 70 *
Computing for Families: Smart Power Tools — A Peek Inside the Black Box Fred D'lgnazio 117 *
Simple Answers to Common Questions Tom R. Hal/hill 118 *
Horizons: Another Look at C Charles Brannon 110 *
Bug-Swatter: Modifications and Corrections 120 *
News & Products 121 *
program listings
How to Type In COMPUTERS Gazette Programs 123 *
The Automatic Proofreader 124 *
Advertisers Index 1 60
t All Commodore 64 programs in this issue work on the Commodore 128 in 64 mode.
•—General, V=>VIC-20, 64=Commodore 64, +4=Pkjs/4, IS^Commodore 16, 128= Commodore 128
COMPUTE!'! GAZETTE Is published monthly b> COMPUTE! Publications, Inc., Post Office Box 5406. Greensboro, NC 27403 USA. Phone' (919} 275-9809 Editorial officei ore located at 324 West Wendover Avenue, Greensboro, NC 27408, Domestic Subscription! : 12issucs, $24, POSTMASTER: Send address changes to COMPUTED CAXETTIl, P.O. Box 1095H, t)i~, Moines, 1A 50930. Second class application pending at Greensboro, NC 2740.1 and additional mailing officii, Entire contents copyright © 1985 by COMPUTE Publication*. Inc. All rights reserved, ISSN 0737-3716. ....
COMPUTE Publications, Inc. One of the ABC Publishing Companies ABC Publishing, President, Robert C, Burton; 1330 Avenue of the Americas: Mew York, New York 10019, i'1'l
)(Mm
%
h
This represents the first time in the history of our publications that we're printing the same set of Edi- tor's Notes in both COMPUTE! and in COMPUTE!'* GAZETTE. The reason for this change of heart is a rather mas- sive set of announcements— at least massive to me. In the space of two weeks, we've learned that two of our major competitors have chosen to close up shop. Creative Comput- ing magazine and Popular Comput- ing magazine are both reportedly ceasing publication with their De- cember issues. To understand the significance of news such as this, you have to be aware of a bit of the history and folklore of our industry. COMPUTE! was first published as a fall 1979 quarterly issue. At that time, the largest, most successful publications in the industry were BYTE magazine, Creative Comput- ing, Interface Age, Kilobaud Micro- computing, and Personal Computing. Popular didn't come along until the fall of 1980. I remember my deter- mination to someday catch up with Creative Computing magazine in cir- culation. But before we could pur- sue 100,000 or even 50,000, we had to pursue 5,000, and it took many months for us to achieve that goal. I remember too the twinge of jealousy I felt when McGraw-Hill, then owner of BYTE and publisher of the new Popular Computing an- nounced in a flurry all of the many expenditures being made in the launch of their newest magazine. I was even approached about the po- sition of editor-in-chief with a
promise of funds and staffing and the many things not so readily available to us at COMPUTE! without a McGraw-Hill behind us.
Creative Computing, under David Ahl's leadership, was at one time the premier magazine of con- sumer computing. Time and changes in the market eventually led to David's decision to sell to Ziff-Davis Publishing. Again, time and changes in the market have led to their apparent decision to close up the magazine.
Popular never seemed to estab- lish its market niche with the clarity once demonstrated by Creative. It was always a junior introductory magazine that never seemed to bridge the gap between first time buyer and BYTE, its very successful parent. Perhaps Popular is the best example of that portion of our in- dustry that came to rely on a mas- sive influx of new computer buyers for growth. When, seemingly sud- denly, our market dropped from 300 percent growth per year to 20 percent, the bottom fell out for many.
I applaud the immeasurable contribution to the personal com- puting industry made by Creative Computing and its founder David Ahl. 1 regret the demise of Creative and the demise of Popular as well even though it doesn't represent
the same loss of industry-impacting personality that Creative does.
This is a rather significant time, both for my own personal reflection of what we here at COMPUTE!/ ABC Publishing have accom- plished, and on times past. We will assure you here and now that COMPUTE! Publications is and continues to be quite successful, quite proud of our place in the mar- ket, and quite determined to contin- ue to provide you, our readership, with all* of the many services that have enabled us to grow and flour- ish, even during these particularly difficult times for the industry.
Editor-In-Chief/Founder
6 COMPUTEI's Gazette January 1986
SYLVIA PORTER'S PERSONAL FINANCIAL PLANNER
DOES MORE THAN MANAGE YOUR MONEY
IT PUNS YOUR FINANCIAL FUTURE TOO
Sylvia Porter, and the editors of Sylvia Porter's Personal Finance Magazine, now combine with all the computer tools you'll ever need to help manage your money on a day-to-day basis and plan your financial future, too. In Sylvia Porter's
style, without complicated financial jargon or "computerese".
Volume 1
Your Personal Financial Planner:
Helps you track your day-to- day financial data, then com- bines this information with your future financial objectives to produce the most comprehen- sive and easily-understood finan cial planning program available.
For Your Day to -Day Affairs:
• Maintains your electronic check- book and credit card system.
• Writes your checks and balances your checkbook. (We even built in a calculator and memo pad for you.)
• Prepares and monitors your budget.
• Classifies and tracks your taxable income and expenses.
• Calculates your net worth and gener- ates customized personal financial statements.
• Tracks your financial assets - and your insurance policies.
• Graphically generates supplemental data, such as percentages, ratios and charts,
• You get our Toll-Free Hotline and our Cus- tomer Technical Support Team at no charge.
• You get Timeworks' Money Back Guarantee (Details in each package.)
For Your Financial Future:
• You'll be led step-by-step through a series of questions regarding your life and lifestyle, your financial goals, and your current financial condition. Your answers will enable a computer to determine and print a summary of the amounts you must save each year to meet your financial objectives - in both real and inflated dollars. • Helps you plan for protection against major medical adversities and other financial setbacks. Each program interfaces with others in this series. Your information can be incorporated into letters and reports produced by Timeworks' Word Writer, • Everything is integrated. You need to enter data only once.
Available for Apple, IBM and Commodore computers.
Moderately Priced - from your favorite Dealer or contact Timeworks for the Dealer closest to you.
Next in this integrated series: Your Personal Investment Manager,
Other Timeworks Programs: The Evelyn Wood Dynamic Reader ■ Word Writer with Spell Checker Data Manager 2 ■ SwiftCalc with Sideways • Business Systems • Swiftax Cave of the Word Wizard ■ Wall Street
More power for your dollar.
TfMEWORKS, INC., 444 Lake Cook Rd., Deertield, IL 60015, 312-948-9200
C I9M Sylna Portei's Personal Finance Magazine Co. I Timmorits, Inc. All nghtj reserved
COMPUTE! Pubiicationsjnc©
One of the ASC Publisning Companies
Publisher James Casella Founder/Editor in Chief Robert C, Lock Director of Administration Alice S. Wolfe Senior Editor Richard Mansfield Managing Editor Kathleen Martinek Editor Lance Elko Assistant Editor Todd Heimarek Production Director Tony Roberts
Editors
Tom R. Halfhill, Editor, COMPUTE! Magazine; Stephen Levy,
Editor, COMPUTE! Books Division; GailCowper, Production
Editor; Ottis R. Cowper, Technical Editor; Charles Brannon,
Program Editor; Selby Bateman, Features Editor
Assistant Editors
Gregg Keizer (Books); John Krause, George Miller, (Technical);
Philip Nelson (COMPUTE! Magazine); Kathy Yakal, Assistant
Features Editor; Joan Rouleau, Research/Copy Editor; Ann
Da vies, Copy Editor; Mark Tut tie, Submissions Reviewer
Editorial Programmers
Patrick Parrish (Supervisor), Tim Victor, Kevin Mykytyn
Programming Assistant
David Florance
Administrative Staff
Executive Assistant, Debi Nash; Julia Fleming, Iris Brooks, Jan
Kretlow
Production
Irma Swain, Production Manager; Janice Fary, Art & Design
Director; Lee Noel, Assistant Editor, Art & Design; De Potter,
Mechanical Art Supervisor; Terry Cash, Carole Dunton,
Typesetting
Artists
Dabney Ketrow (Publications), Debbie Bray (Books); Harry
Blair, Illustrator
Associate Editors
Jim Butterfield (Toronto), Harvey Herman (Greensboro), Fred D'Ignazio (Roanoke)
Customer Service
Philippa King, Customer Service Manager; Gail Jones, Dealer Sales Supervisor; Judy Taylor, Customer Service Supervisor; Dealer Sales Staff: Rhonda Savage, Liz Krusenstjerna; Customer Service Staff: Betty Atkins, Gayle Benbow, Mary Hunt, Jenna Nash, Chris Patty Receptionist, Anita Armfield
Lonnie Arden, Warehouse Manager; Staff: Howard Ayers, David Hensley, Larry O'Connor
Data Processing
Leon Stokes, Manager; Chris Cain, Steve Bowman, Assistants
Accounting
Paul J. Megliola, VP, Finance & Planning; R. Steven Vetter,
Director, Finance & Planning; Karen K. Rogalski, Financial
Analyst; Staff: Jill Pope
Credit
Staff: Sybil Agee, Pat Fuller, Doris Hall, Linda Miller, Mary
Waddell, Jane Wiggs
Promotion
Caroline Dark, Promotion Assistant Advertising Sates
Ken Woods rd. Director of Advertising Sales; Patti Stokes, Production
Coordinator; Kathleen Hanlon, Administrative Assistant
Sales Representatives
Jerry Thompson 415-348-8222
EdWinchell 213-378-8361
Harry Blair 919-275-9809
Jules E. Thompson, Inc. National Sales Representatives 1290 Howard Avenue, Suite 303 Burlingame, CA 94010
Address all advertising materials to:
Patti Stokes, COMPUTERS GAZETTE
324 West Wendover Ave., Suite 200, Greensboro, NC 27408
Sales Offices, Jules E. Thompson, Inc.
New England 617-720-1888
Mid -Atlantic 212-772-0933
Southeast 919-275-9809
Midwest 312-726-6047
Texas 713-731-2605
Pacific Northwest 415-348-8222 *™»"
Northern CA 415-348-8222
Southern CA 213-378-8361
Arizona 213-378-8361
New Mexico 213-378-8361 AniKBimu
Colorado 303-595-9299 .reimuu™
COMPUTEI's GAZETTE
COMPUTE! Publications, Inc., publishes COMPUTE! COMPUTEI Books
Corporate Office:
324 West Wendover Ave., Suite 200, Greensboro, NC 27408
Mailing Address:
Post Office Box 5406, Greensboro, NC 27403 Distribution Center
500- A Radar Road, Greensboro, NC 27419
Telephone: 919-275-9809
Office Hours: 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM Monday-Friday
President Robert G. Burton
Vice President, Finance & Planning Paul J. Megliola
Subscription Orders
COMPUTEI's GAZETTE
P.O. Box 10958, Des Moines, I A 50950
TOLL FREE Subscription Order Line
800-334-0868
In NC 919-275-9809
COMPUTEI's GAZETTE Subscription Rates
(12 Issue Year): US (one year) $24, Canada, Mexico and Foreign Surface Mail $30. Foreign Air Mail $65.
The computed gazette subscriber list is made available to carefully screened organizations with a product or service which may be of interest to our readers. If you prefer not to receive such mailings, please send an exact copy of your subscription label to: comfutei's gazette, P.O. Box 10958, Des Moines, IA 50950. Include a note in- dicating your preference to receive only your subscription.
Authors of manuscripts warrant that all materials submitted to compute! s gazette are original materials with full ownership rights resident in said authors. By submitting articles to compute!'* gazette, authors acknowledge that such materials, upon accep- tance for publication, become the exclusive property of COMPUTEI Publications, Inc. No portion of this magazine may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher. Entire contents copyright © 1985, COMPUTEI Publications, Inc. Rights to programs developed and submitted by authors are explained in our author contract. Unsolicited materials not accepted for publication will be returned if author provides a self-addressed, stamped en- velope. Where programs are included in an article submission, a tape or disk must accompany the submission. Printed listings are optional, but helpful. Articles should be furnished as typed copy (upper and lowercase, please) with double spacing. Each article page should bear the title of the article, date, and name of the author. COMPUTEI Publications, Inc., assumes no liability for errors in articles or advertisements. Opinions expressed by authors are not necessarily those of COMPUTEI Publications, Inc. COMPUTE! Publications assumes no responsibility for damages, delays, or fail- ure of shipment in connection with authors' offer to make tape or disk copies of programs published herein.
PET, CBM, V1C-20, Commodore 64, Plus/4, 16, and 128 are trade- marks of Commodore Business Machines, Inc., and/ or Com- modore Electronics Limited. Other than as an independent supplier of quality information and services to owners and users of Com- modore products, COMPUTEI Publications, Inc., is in no way asso- ciated with Commodore Business Machines, Inc., or any of its subsidiaries.
HOW TO GET
OVER $2000 WORTH OF NEW
CAPABILITIES FOR YOUR
COMMODORE 64
OR $599
The Spartan™ is the Apple"" II + emulator for your Commodore 64™ that will open
up a whole new world of hardware and software for youl Imagine adding these features to your Commodore 64™ for the Spartan™ price of $599: □ Apple™ II + hardware and software capabilities Q 64K RAM expansion □ four software selectable Commodore 64™ cartridge slots Q non-dedicated 8-bit parallel port □ standard audio cassette deck capabilities for your C-64™, The suggested retail value of comparable products offering only these capabilities is over $2200.00* — but the Spartan™ gives you much, much morel By building on your investment in your Commodore 64™ — an excellent introductory computer — you create a whole new system with both C-64™ and Apple™ II + capabilities. There is a whole other world out therel The huge selection of Apple™ II + hardware and software is now yours to explore! Call toll free for the Spartan™
dealer nearest you. \
HBK
y/mr
FOR INFORMATION WRITE:
MIMIC SYSTEMS INC. 1112 FORT ST., FL, 6J VICTORIA, B.C, CANADA V8V 4V2
•All c-icct quoted are In US. (gnat frelani and taxes not included vol jo oi components equivalent to me Spartan- system ore quoted from Apple- IK CPU and Apple" II + tingle Oak dnve WM 11*1 priced, ond from currenf suggested Irs* prices and component ipecittcattons of othet penpheroa manufacturer! Commodore 04- and Commodore logo ere trademarks of
Commodore Electronics Ltd and or Commodore Business Machines, mc Apple'" 11+ It a trodemarV af AppFe Computer fnc Spartan * II a trademark of Mimic Systems Inc end tiQ* no otiocloiron with Commodore Electronics or Apple Computer Inc Tne Spartan'- It manufactured pv Mimic Sysiemi inc. under license granted by ATG Electronic* Inc. ol
Victoria. S C Canoao
TO ORDER CALL
1-800-MODULAR
(663-8527)
Editors and Readers
Do you have a question or a problem? Have you discovered something that could help other Commodore users? Do you have a comment about some- thing you've read in computers ga- zette? We want to hear from you. Write to Gazette Feedback, computed gazette P.O. Box 5406, Greensboro, NC 27403. We regret that due to the volume of mail received, we cannot respond individually to program- ming questions.
Changing Grays
On my black and white television, my VIC displays black characters on a white screen, while the 64 shows white characters on a black screen. If 1 buy a 64, is there a way to change the screen to black characters on a white back- ground?
A. R. Brink
On a color TV or monitor, you would see that the VIC's screen is white with blue characters and the 64 is blue with light blue characters. Your black-and-white television displays these colors as white, black, or shades of gray in between. A sin- gle POKE to 53281 will change the 64's screen to one of the 1 6 colors (numbered 0-15) available. For example, POKE 53281,1 changes the background to white. To change the character color, hold down either CTRL or the Commodore key and press one of the keys numbered 1-8. Another way to do the same thing is to POKE 646 with a number from 0-15.
Characters on the VIC screen can have any of the eight CTRL colors, black through yellow, but not the other eight.
Finding Public Domain Programs
Our user group would like to trade information and noncopyrighted pro- grams with anyone who is interested. Can you give us some suggestions on starting a library of public domain programs?
Randolph Scott Zimmer
When a software author puts a program in the public domain, it means people can make copies for themselves or others. User groups often collect public domain pro- grams and offer them at no charge to their members.
10 COMPUTERS Gazette January 1986
First, find a volunteer to be the club librarian. The best place to start in setting up a program library is with your group members. You may find quite a few who have written programs they're willing to share. Or you could sponsor a contest and award prizes to the best programs. Some members may have downloaded programs from a bulletin board system (BBS) or oth- er online information services. You could also correspond with other user groups that have already built up libraries to see how they went about it, or offer to trade public domain disks and newsletter sub- scriptions with them. Some user groups put their newsletters in the public do- main; you can reprint articles from these publications in your own newsletter.
Commodore's national user group co- ordinator, Pete Baczor, may be able to give you some guidance. He may be reached c/o Commodore Business Machines, 1200 Wilson Dr., West Chester, PA 19380.
The Toronto PET User Group (TPUG), probably the largest Commodore user group in the world, offers associate mem- berships, which allow groups to order in- expensive public domain software from its huge library. Annual dues for an associate membership are $25. Write to TPUG, Inc. Membership Information, 101 Duncan Mill Rd., Suite G7, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 1Z3.
Program distribution among mem- bers can be handled in several different ways, depending on the size of the group. If your group is large enough to support its own BBS, members can call in and download programs, as well as upload programs that they wish to contribute. This will require some extra maintenance time for the system operator (sysop). Many groups ask members to bring blank for- matted disks to meetings and have a copy- ing session before or after the main meeting. Or the group could supply its own disks and prepare them before each scheduled meeting. Orders could be taken at each meeting for the next mouth's disks.
128 Compatibility Questions
I have some questions about the 128 and the 1571 disk drive. Will I be able to use single-sided disks with the new drive? Can 1 use my 1541 as a second drive without hardware or software changes? Does the 1571 work with a
64? I have heard that Commodore had some problems with the early 64s and 1541s and later upgraded them; should 1 wait until the bugs are worked out before buying a 128 or 1571?
Jeff Knott
You can use single-sided disks, disks con- taining 64 programs for example, with the 1571. Also, nearly all commercial soft- ware for the 64 works fine with the 1571. So far, we have found only one disk that does not load on the 1571 (it does load into 64 mode with a 1541). The problem seems to be the copy-protection method, and the software publisher is working on a new version that will load correctly.
You can use a 1541 and a 1571 at the same time, but they can't both be device number eight. There are two switches on the back of the 1571 that control the de- vice number, and it's quite easily done. And the 1571 does work with a 64, but it won't be able to work at the faster speeds.
We haven't heard of any bugs or me- chanical problems with the 1571. There is talk of a planned minor ROM revision for the 128, though. On the first versions, when the CAPS LOCK key is down, the letter Q displays an unshifted Q rather than the ball character (SHIFT-Q). Also, LOCATE and some other graphics com- mands work with +x and +y, but not —x and —y in the "relative to the pixel cursor" option. Neither of these is a seri- ous problem.
Disk Storage
Is it OK to store disks in the box they came in or should they be kept apart? Does a disk containing programs emit any magnetic field that could affect other disks nearby?
R. Gumula
You shouldn't have any problems storing disks together in one box. There's no chance that a disk will scramble data on a neighboring disk.
Fading Away
On a game 1 am creating, I have an en- gine sound that is constant; it has to play all of the time. I tried it on the 64 and the sound gradually goes away. On my VIC, I could turn on a sound and it would play through the whole game. Justin Luton
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Sound on the Commodore 64 is made up of four parts: attack, decay, sustain, and re- lease (the "ADSR envelope"). The gate bit of a voice controls when the sound is turned on and off. It helps to visualize the ADSR envelope:
GATE ON
When the gate Is turned on, the at- tack begins— the sound gets louder. It in- creases in volume gradually or suddenly, depending on the number you POKEd into the attack /decay register. The larger the attack number, the longer it takes to reach the peak. The peak volume is the loudest the sound will be during the cycle; it's de- termined by the number you POKE into the volume register. Next, the decay be- gins and the sound gets softer. The length of the decay varies according to the num- ber in thai register.
Here's where some people might get confused. Attack, decay, and release are all time periods — how long it takes to complete one phase of the ADSR envelope. Sustain is not a time, it's a volume level, a fraction of the peak volume. The sound you create will continue at the sustain level until you turn the gate bit off. Then the release phase begins and the note gradually (or suddenly) fades.
The key to solving your problem is the sustain value. An envelope with an at- tack five, decay five, and sustain zero looks like the figure below. The sound peaks and then goes away. A zero sustain means the note will level off at volume zero (no sound).
cay end immediately, and sustain starts at 100 percent of the volume you selected. When the gate is turned off, the release period is zero and the note stops.
TIME
But if you set sustain at 15 (the maxi- mum) and put zeros in attack, decay, and release, the envelope will act like the tone generator on the VIC. The attack and de-
12 COMPurE's Gazette January 1986
GATE ON
GATE TIME OFF
Listen To Disk Loads
For anyone interested in hearing "Turbo- Disk" (July) in action, all you have to do is POKE 54296,15 and turn up the vol- ume. Each beep represents a disk block being loaded, although they go by too fast to be counted. There's a slight pause each time the read/write head moves to the next track and then the beeping resumes. You can also listen to a standard load (without TurboDisk), which is much slower.
Eric Fern
You've discovered something called cross- talk. It's similar to talking on the tele- phone and hearing snatches of another conversation. As you noted later in the letter, shielding the sound chip would prevent it from picking up signals from disk loads.
Playing Tag
I've been trying to make one character home in on another character on my VIC-20. 1 think it's called artificial intel- ligence. Could you explain how it works and maybe include a program?
Mike Baluch
Making one character chase another doesn't require anything as complex as ar- tificial intelligence. It can be done with fairly simple math.
The screen of your VIC has 22 col- umns and 23 rows. The position of a char- acter can be described by which column and row it occupies — the "x" and "y" co- ordinates. The top left corner is (0,0) and the bottom right is (21,22). (The same principle applies to 40 and 80 column screens of other Commodore computers.)
The hunter and prey characters each have their own x and y positions, which you would store in a variable. If you sub- tract the hunter's x-coordinate "from the prey's, you'll get a number that tells you how the hunter should move. Say the prey is in column eight and the hunter is in col- umn 25. Subtract to get a result of minus
seven, hi general, any negative number means the hunter should move left (sub- tract one column) and a positive number means to move right (add one to the col- umn). The same logic determines whether the hunter should move up or down.
The BASIC program below for the VIC and 64 uses the Kemal plot routine at location 65520 (on all Commodore com- puters) to place two shapes, an asterisk and a ball, on the screen. To use this rou- tine, POKE 782 with the horizontal posi- tion and 781 with the vertical position; then SYS 65520.
On the Plus/4 and 16, eliminate the POKEs in lines 200-210 and change the first SYS to SYS 65520,0, Y,X and the sec- ond to SYS 65520.0,B,A. On the 128, make the same changes and add BANK15 at the beginning of 200.
You move your character with the cursor keys. The ball follows closely be- hind and catches you if you stop. The 5GN function in line 180 converts negative numbers to —1, positive numbers to +1, and leaves zero alone. This number is added to the hunter's current position to make it move up or down, left or right.
100 Xl=10:YI=10iAl=20jiH = 10
110 PRINT" tCLR)"
120 AS = " ":D5 = " ";X=OX:Y='OY:A=
OA:B=OU:GOSUU200 130 A?="*" :aS="Q" :X=X1 : Y=YI :A=
Al jB=B,1:GQSUU200:OX=X1:QY=
Y1:OA=A1:OU=BL 140 GETKS;IFKS=" [up) "TUENY1 = Y 1
-I 150 IFKS=" {DOWN)"THENYl=Yl-t-l 160 IFK$="{ RIGHT) "THENX1=X1+] 170 IFK$-"lLEFT}"THBNX1«Xl-l L90 T=(T=0) : IFTTHENA1"A1+SGN(X
1-A1 );B1=B1+SGN(Y1-B1 ) L90 FORA=1TO50 : NEXT: GOTO 1 20 230 i>OKE782,X;PQKE781, Y:SYS655
20:PRINTAS; 210 POKE7fi2,A:POKE7ai,B:SYS65 5 201 PRINTS? J : RETURN
New 128 Error Messages
1 just bought a Commodore 128 and have a question, if 1 try to draw a circle without the hi-res screen on, I get a NO GRAPHICS AREA error. I've seen Commodore 64 programs that draw a hi-res scene and then switch it on after it has been drawn. I am writing a game and want to display the instructions while the hi-res screen is being drawn, then enable the hi-res screen. Is this possible?
Phil Gaylord
You can draw on a hidden hi-res screen on the 128, Plus/ 4, and 16 if you establish a graphics area first. To do that, put the GRAPHIC command somewhere near the beginning of your program. The two state- ments GRAPHIC 1: GRAPHIC 0 are what you need. You might also want to clear the hi-res screen either with a SCNCLR or by adding a ,1 (GRAPHIC 1,1). The GRAPHIC 1 statement turns on
Command k after hews hfts graphic adventure
I Doomcfark in this medieval graohic adventure
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Save the industrial world from going off the (Jeep end of I ho Richfor scale in Qimkn Min\3$ One. Stop the terrorists from triggering a massive earthquake and toppling civifizatioi i;
In Sthhinwfiic, Amt);iHK,idr»t Kryxix has
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the hi-ns screen and sets up the graphics area. And GRAPHIC 0 nets the screen hack to text. To turn the screen hack on, add another GRAPHIC I later in the program.
One thing GR/\PHIC does is carve out a protected area of m e m on/ for the hi- res screen. Try this simple experiment: Turn on your 2 2S and enter PRINT FRE(O), FREU) to see how much memory you have in hanks zero and one. Now type GRAPHIC 1: GRAPHIC 0 and then PRINT FRE(O), FRE(1> again. You should see that hank zero, where' programs are stored, has 9K /ess memory than before. The hi-res screen needs 8K for the bitmap and IK for color memory.
BASIC programs are normally stored at (hexadecimal) address S1COO. Setting up a graphics area moves the beginning of BASIC up to $4000, leaving room for the hi-res screen at $2000-3 FFF and color memoru at S1C00-IFFF.
Can You Strum A 64? Is it possible to make the 64 sound like a guitar playing a chord? How can 1 du- plicate an open D or open C chord?
Jeremy Baer
The 64's SID chip is capable of playing three voices simultaneously. You can't precisely duplicate the notes of the open guitar chords you mentioned because an openD requires four strings (notes) and an open C five. And even though the SID chip is capable of myriad sounds, it cannot truly simulate an acoustic string instru- ment like a guitar. Acoustic string instru- ments have a unique sound quality created by resonance (a sustaining or re- echoing quality caused by sound bouncing within the wooden body of a guitar, for ex- ample) and overtones (harmonic sound frequencies higher than the original frequency).
You can play three-note chords with the SID. A D chord contains a D, f jJ, and A, and a C chord contains a C, E, and G. You could program each voice to play one of these notes. And you can roughly simu- late a strumming sound by very slightly staggering the time intervals between each of the notes played. Here's a short program that plays two chords (to select a chord, delete the REM C MAJOR or RFM D MAJOR from one of the DATA state- ments). We've tried to get as close to an acoustic guitar sound as we could.
10 S=S4272:FOR X=STOS+24 : POKEX
,0iNEXT!lFFL=lTHENFL«0 tEND 20 POKES-K24,44:POKKS+22,96:PUK
KS+21 , 0sPOKES+23,7:POKE5 + 5,
0:POKES+6,247 30 POKES+12,0:POKES+13,247:POK
ES+19,0:POKKS+20,247:PQKEH+
4,16 40 FOKES+ll,16:POKES+lti,16:R=5
4266 : FORK" IT03 : R=R+7 : REAIMF
,LFiFOKER,HF 50 POKER-1 , LF:P0KER+3, 17:FORD»
14 COMPUTERS Gazotto January 1986
lTO150:NEXTtNEXTsFORX=1.2TO2
STKP-1 6k) POKES+24,X+32iFdRD=lTO100sN
EXT:NEXT:POKES+24,33:FURY=I
TUiOsfJEXT 70 POKES+24,32iFL=l!GOTO10 100 REM C MAJOR DATA L6 , 1'i'j , 25
,30,42,62 110 REM 0 MAJOR DATA IB, 209, .';i ,49,47,107
Get Rid Of READY
1 recently purchased an SC-10 printer with a G-Wiz interface. It works great, but 1 wonder if you can tell me how I can get rid of that "READY." that al- ways appears when it's through printing, Luis A. Mata
The commands for listing a program to the printer are OPEN 4,4: CMU 4: LIST. If you prefer upper/lowercase listings, change the first statement to OPEN 4,4,7. Either way, when it's finished, enter PRINT#4: CLOSE 4.
TTie reason the READY prompt ap- pears is fairly simple. OPEN paves the way for communications to the printer. Usually LIST or PRINT sends characters to the screen, but CMD reroutes all output to the previously opened channel to the printer. When you list a program to the screen, the READY prompt always follows the listing (BASIC treats READY as an error message that means there have been no errors). So ivhen CMD diverts the list- ing to the printer, it also diverts the prompt.
Don't blame the pnntei or the inter- face, blame BASIC, The solution is to altei the way BASIC works. The following pro- gram— for the 64 only — changes the error vector so it won't print READY (error messages are disabled as well). After load- ing and running this program, enter SYS 828 to turn off the prompt and SYS 828 to turn it back on again.
10 FORA=82tJT083 3;READB:POKi:.\, !i : NEXT: PRINT" [CLRjSYS 828 TO TOGGLE "
2D DATA 162,131,160,164,173,85 ,3,73, I, 141,05, 3,208,4, 16 2, 139,160, 227, 142,0
30 DATA 3, 140, 1 , 3,96,0
Translating Other Dialects Of BASIC
In many books about printers I've seen
the term LPRINT. What does this mean
and how can I use it in my programs?
' Scott Petoff
Some versions of BASIC include the usual PRINT statement for displaying text on the screen as well as a separate LPRINT statement for sending text to a printer. Printers are sometimes called "line print- ers," hence the origin of the term LPRINT. There's no single command tiki LPRINT in Commodore BASlCs. though, so you can't use it in your own programs.
To send a line to a printer, you must first open ii Jiiiititt>i to the printer and then PRINT* the line to it:
10 OPEN 1,4,7
20 PRINT'THIS LINE OOES TO THE
SCREEN" 30 PRINT#1,"BU I" THIS ONE ENDS UP
AT THE PRINTER" 40 PRlNT#l:CLOSE 1
The tliree numbers after OPEN are the logical file number, the device num- ber, and the secondary address. The logi- cal file number can be any integer up to 127 und is used after the PRINT* state- ment to identify which peripheral should receive the information. Commodore printers are usually device number four, and the secondary address of seven means the characters will be printed in upper- aud lowercase rather than uppercase and graphics. To print graphics characters, change the secondary address from seven to zero, or just leave It off (OPEN 1,4).
PRIN'l » can send data to tape or disk files, modems, or printers, making it more versatile than LPRINT, which is limited to printers.
Hidden Commands
I purchased a Commodore 128 a couple of weeks ago and was quite anxious to run some programs on it, so 1 picked your program "Litter Patrol." I received a SYNTAX ERROR in line 510 because I began the line without spaces, like this: IFHTANDC-215. Is the 128 more sensitive to spacing?
Kenneth H. Smith
Your 128 isn't more sensitive; that line would cause trouble on a VIC, 64, Plus/4, or 16. The problem is that you've acci- dentally placed a hidden command in the line. TAN is a BASIC function that figures out the tangent of an angle. The computer interprets HT ANDC correctly, but sees NT AN DC as containing the keyzvord TAN. This type of problem is often difficult to detect because the line looks correct.
BASIC programs are stored in memo- ry in tokenized form. Each keyword (PRINT, POKE, etc.) is turned into a one or two byte token before it's put into mem- ory. Tokenizing has two advantages. First, a great deal of memory is saved— instead of five bytes for the five letters P-R-I-N-T, only one is needed. Second, when a pro- gram is executing, it's much faster for the BASIC interpreter to find one or two byte tokens than it is to find whole keywords.
As soon as you press the RETURN key, the line is tokenized. All keywords are changed to their corresponding tokens and any non keyword data is stored as ASCII text.
Since TAN comes before AND in that line from "Litter Patrol," it is tokenized first. The solution is to break up the line with a space between the T and A.
Here are a couple more examples of
(Hi. I'm from Baltimore. Where's the pharaoh?)
Up that river lies
the African
Adventure of your
imagination.
The mysterious Dark
Continent. Where the
mighty Kilimanjaro
towers over the Source of
the Nile. Where the
Congo snakes through
steaming jungles and the
scorching Sahara sun
bleaches men's bones.
Africa. Where legends
of secret treasure drive
men mad with desire.
And where an adventurer
can still find glory and
gold.. .or a lonely death
far from home.
Africa, 1890
You have inherited a madman's diary . . . and his dream to find the tomb of an ancient pharaoh.
Ancient songs still sung by tribal historians contain clues to the hidden tomb of a fabulously wealthy pharaoh. The madman's last feverish words drive you onward: "I now know it does exist. I am so close, but so near death. If you hear no more from me, then warn those that follow: this is not a journey for the weak of spirit or dull of mind. Come prepared!'— H. Primm, May 21, 1889
|
Kiitne in iMtt |
|||
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FN, - lilt |
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M,'.\> |
J I |
wets fon i none* m ttaftp |
|
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*"» |
||
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rue JMP4* nut |
r |
AtttQtt |
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<»n*ji *a"cn 7c csnif |
Wt.i |
A Living Map of Africa
1 ] million square miles stuffed into your com- puter. Navigate 17 rivers. Hack through jungle and swamp. Sail to ten cities. Lean) the ways of 22 tribes. Explore savannah, deserts and mountains. It's all geographically accurate.
Follow Your Dreams
Set your course and go for it. The computer automatically maps your progress and keeps your journal. If you get lost, it can tell you "The River Nile." What it won't say is "about to get sucked over the Kabelega Falls''
|
!-:CH; |
w ml Jim |
w<i; fits 10 nontr 1st in Ann* |
|
HQf |
||
Decipher Native Clues
Local myths will help, if you can get the na- tives to talk. Enter their huts. Learn their cus- toms. Pass out some bribes. The chief might tell you, "Look where the sun rises over the Childless Waters*' Now try to figure it out.
ELECTRONIC ARTS
Specifications; Available no*' for Cornmodore 64 &. 128. Infinitely playable because (he computer hides the tomb and treasure in new places each time you start. How Co order: Visit your retailer or call 600-227-6703 for direct VISA or MasterCard orders (in CA call 800-63 2 -7 97 9 1 The direct price is 5)295 To buy by mail, send check or money order to EJecrrooic Arts. PQ Box 306r Half Moon Bay, CA 94019 Add $4 for shipping antl handling Allow M weeks ftff delivery All E A products purchased direct have a 14 -day 'satisfaction or your money back" guarantee For a complete catalog, send ^04 and a self -add rcsscd envelope to Electronic Arts, 27^5 Campus Dr, San Mateo CA 94403
embedded keywords: HEADER"DISK 1",IF1 contains IF, which confuses BASIC, and B=TOR127 contains TO (as in FOR }-l TO 5}.
Emulating BSAVE
How do you save a section of memory to disk as a program file?
Steve Lefcort
Saving a section of memory can be useful for many things. Text screens, hi-res screens, sprite data, machine language, and charac- ter sets can all be saved to disk or tape and later loaded by another program.
Many computers have a command to save a section of memory (the Commodore 128 uses the command BSAVE), The 64 does not have such a command in BASIC. But you can use the following short ML program which emulates BSAVE:
I a FORA= 70 5T07 6 1 : READB : POKEA, H
:C=C+0:Ni:XT: tFC<>7580THEN
PRINT "DATA ERROR" 20 DATA 32,253,174,32,158,173,
32,130,183,166 30 DATA 34,164, 35, 32, 1B9, 2 55, 3
2,155,103,169 40 DATA 2,160,32,186,255,32,24
1,2,165,20 50 DATA 133,251,16 5,21,133,252
,32,241,2,166 60 DATA 20,164,21,169,251,76,2
16,255,32,253 70 DATA 174,32,158,173,76,247,
183
To save a section of memory type:
SYS 705,"fitename" .device number,start ad dress, end address + 1
For example, the text screen could be saved to disk with SYS 705,"SCREEN",8, 1024,2025. This saves screen memory only; you'd have to handle color memory separately. The screen could then be load- ed from a program with the following lines:
10 IF A-l THEN 30
20 A = l: LOAD "SCREEN",S,1
30 REM REST OF PROGRAM
Pushing And POKEing
How do you put a character in the very bottom right corner of the screen?
Ryan Wilhm
Whenever something is printed on the screen, the cursor moves to the next posi- tion on the screen. So when the cursor is at the last column on the bottom line, print- ing makes the screen scroll up to make room for more characters. Most of the time this is an advantage, but when you want to create a title screen with a border, this feature can be very annoying.
There are a couple of ways to solve the problem and put a character in the corner. Probably the easiest way is to POKE this location with the character you want. Look at the screen and color maps in
16 COMPUTEVs Gazette January 1986
one of the appendices of the book that came with your computer. On the 64 and 128 (40-column mode), you would POKE 2024,1 to put the letter A in the corner. Note that you must use screen codes (also listed in an appendix) and not ASCII codes When POKEing to the screen.
Another way to put a letter on the screen at that location is by inserting a character. Whenever a character is insert- ed, the characters to the right are pushed to the right. The general idea is to print the corner character at the second to the last position, cursor left, and then push it into the corner with the shifted INST/ DEL key. This program illustrates this method.
10 PRINT" {GLRj "r :FQRA=1TQ24:F0 RB=1TO40:PRINT"*"; :NEXT:N KXT
20 F0RA=1T039:PRINT"*" ; :NEXT:P RINT"(LEFTl [ INST)*";
30 GOTO 30
On the 128, Plus/4, and 16, it's pos- sible to turn off screen scrolling altogeth- er. In direct mode, press the ESCapc key and then "M" to turn scrolling off, and ESCape L to turn it back on. Escape has the ASCII code 27, so within a program you would PRINT CHR$(27);"M" to turn off scrolling. One more waif to do it is POKE 248,255 (POKE 2025,255 on the Plus/4 and 16). To enable scrolling POKE 248.0 (POKE 2025,0 on the Plus/4 and 16).
T28 Calculator Mode
I have a numeric keypad that plugs into my 64, 1 use it to enter programs with a lot of DATA statements by program- ming one key (the period) to type DATA and redefining the plus key as a comma. But the program that does this on the 64 will not work on my new 1 28. Any suggestions?
Donnie D, Shanholtz
You could load the program into the 128 and disassemble it with the built-in moni- tor, but it might take a long time to rewrite it. Here's a better suggestion:
The 128 already has a built in nu- meric keypad and the function keys di- rectly above it are redefinable. To make it easier to type in DATA statements, define one function key to print a comma and and one for the word DATA with KEY 1,"," and KEY 3,"DATA". The same idea can turn your 128 into a calculator. Define one key as PRINT, and define two others as * and / (for multiplying and dividing).
Sound Effects For PRINT
A while back, you had a program that slows down printing, like the Apple's SPEED command. You suggested that readers who know machine language could add a clicking sound, to make it
sound like a typewriter. Well, I don't know machine language. Would you please write it for me?
Masoud Keshmiri
The following program adds both clicking and speed control to anything that's PRINTed on the 64. It's a short machine language program that goes into the cas- sette buffer. After typing RUN, you can co)itrol the speed at which characters are printed by POKEing location 2. The high- er the number, the slower the printing. For the fastest printing, POKE 2,1. For extremely slow printing, POKE2,255. To make it sound even more like a typewriter, have your own program change printing speeds now and then, maybe every word or two.
10 FORA=828T0898:READB:P0KEA,B
: NEXT: SYS823: P0KE2 , 40 : LIST 20 DATA 120,169,93,141,38,3,16
9,3,141,39 30 DATA 3,169,0,160,23,153,0,2
12, 136, 16 40 DATA 250,169,15,141,24,212,
169,1,141,5 50 DATA 212,88,96,72,138,72,15
2,72,166,2 60 DATA 160,0,136,208,253,202,
208,250,169,10 70 DATA 141,1,212,169,32,141,4
.212,169,33,141 »TA 4,212, 104, 168, 104, 170, 34, 76, 202,241
Scratching The Un scratch able
How do I delete a disk file that I've named "*" by mistake? If I follow the normal procedure, the entire disk will be scratched. It cannot be renamed either.
Moshe Po litis
The asterisk is a wildcard, so using OPEN 15, 8, 15, "SO:*" would indeed scratch every file on the disk. (This is one tech- nique for quickly clearing everything from a disk. Another is to reformat the disk without the two-letter ID.)
The way to scratch the asterisk file is to use the other wildcard, the question mark. OPEN 15,8,15,"S0:?" will scratch every file with a one-letter name. If you have other one-letter files you wish to keep, rename them with a longer name (two or more characters) before the scratch.
Organizing Files
My reference books don't explain how to use index files with relative files. Could you shed some light on the subject?
George Trout
Relative files are superior to sequential files in some applications because they give you random access to records. To read record 50, for example, you would position the disk pointer and then GET or
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INPUT the information then: With a se- quential file, you'd have to read all of the 49 previous records before reaching the 50th record.
To alphabetize or Otherwise sort a relative file, you could read all the records into memory, organize them, and then write them all back to disk in alphabetical order. But sorting that way uses up a lot of memory. It also takes a long time to read the entire file and then write it back to disk. An index file is often a faster way to handle sorting.
A$ a simple illustration, imagine that you've put four customer records into a relative file:
1. Smith, shirt, $10
2. Jones, shirt, 512
3. Farley, shoelaces, $5
4. Olson, belt, $20
Each record contains three fields: name, item purchased, and price paid. To create an alphabetical list of customer names, you would initially read all the names \nto a string array and create a nu- meric array of pointers to the string array:
Before After Sort Sort
|
A(l) |
1 |
3 |
|
A{2) |
2 |
2 |
|
A(3) |
3 |
4 |
|
A(4) |
4 |
1 |
The relative file remains scrambled, with Smith, fones, Farley, and Olson— in that order. But the array holds the index numbers for the sorted' list: 3 (Farley), 2 (Jones), 4 (Olson), and 1 (Smith). The' four numbers 3, 1, 4, and 1 would then be writ- ten to a sequential file. You could create several index files, one for alphabetizing names, one for the subfile of people who have bought shirts, and so on.
This may seem to be a lot of extra work, but it pays off when you're working with large files. Say you've got a list of 1000 names in a relative file and an index file, with 1000 pointers to the records in the relative file. Now you add a new re- cord (number 1001) to the relative file. To update the index file, read the index num- bers into an array and do a binary search.
Find the 500th number on the list— the middle of the alphabetized list. Let's say A(500) is 321 and that record #321 in the relative file is a customer named "Ly- ons." If the new record is "Stanley" you know that, alphabetically, the neio'rec'ord is in the second half of the list. With one comparison, you've eliminated half the list. It's not necessary to read through the entire list, you just divide the list in half a few limes and decide if the name there is too low or too high. (For more on this method, sec "Quick Search" in "Hints & Tips," fuly 1985.)
After about ten comparisons, you might discover that customer 1001 (Stan- ley) belongs between 731 and 732 on the alphabetical index list. So, you have to
18 COMPUTE'S Gazette January 1986
move items 732-1000 up a notch in the array: FOR f=1001 TO 732 STEP - 1: A(J) = A(]-1): NEXT. Then A(732) = 1001 wraps things up.
PRINT In Machine Language
What's the bust way to display a large amount of text, like instructions to a game, in machine language? I would think there would be an easier way than loading a number for each letter and storing it.
David DeHaai
There are several zeays to display strings to the screen in a machine language pro- gram. As you noted, loading a register with a screen code and storing to screen memory is one, but remember that you have to store to color memory as well. You can also load the accumulator with the ASCII value of a character and }SR SFFD2 (the Kern a I routine for out put ting a char- acter). For long strings, you could use a loop like this:
COOO LDY #S00 C0D2 LDA $C400,Y COOS JSR $FFD2 COOS INY C0O9 CMP #$00 C00B BNE SC0O2 C00D RTS
Put the ASCII values of the charac- ters into memory starting at location SC4QO and insert a 0 right after the mes- sage. The Y register is both a counter for the loop and an index to the table.
Here's one more ML solution. Fre- quently when you want to do something that BASIC does very well (like PRINT), it's convenient to use the routine built into BASIC. The STROUT (STRing OUT) routine can be found at these locations:
Commodore 64 SAB1E 43806 VIC 20 $CB1E 51998
Plus 4/16 $9088 37000
Put the text string that you want printed into memory. The siring can con- tain up to 254 characters and must end with a 0. Next, load the accumulator with the low byte of the address of the text string ami the Y register with the high byte. Then call the routine with a fSR in- struction. This routine can print any of the ASCII characters, including control codes like color changes or cursor controls.
Future Expansion
I've got a question concerning the use of the unim piemen ted 6502 opcodes in machine language programming. Ex- actly what do these opcodes do when they are encountered in a program? Does the microprocessor carry out an instruction? I would like to know if any- one has published a list of these opcodes. Dennis Wilson
The machine language section of the Pro- grammer's Reference Guide calls some operation codes (opcodes) "Future Expan- sion," which means they're currently un- defined, but may be defined sometime in the future. Nevertheless, if you include them in an ML program, the unimple- menied opcodes actually work as instruc- tions.
When a chip like the 6502 or 6510 fetches an instruction from a machine lan- guage program, it keeps track of where it is with an internal register called the pro- gram counter (PC). If the PC points to 49152, the number held in 49152 is fed into the processor as an opcode, an in- struction to perform an operation. The eight bits of the number trigger switches inside the chip. Similar instructions have simitar binary numbers: STA absolute has the opcode $8D, while STA absolute in- dexed by X is $9D. There's a difference of a single bit. Likewise, SIX absolute is $8E, just one bit away from STA absolute (op- code $8D).
The unlmplemented opcodes, some- times called quasi-ops, follow similar pat- terns, based on which bits are on or off. The number $8F, for example, performs a logical AND of the Accumulator and X register and then stores the. result in an absolute (two byte) address. In most cases, quasi-ops make the processor try to do two instructions simultaneously.
The problem with using these op- codes within a program is that newer re- visions of the 6502 family of chips may not support these instructions, so you can't depend on them working in future com- puters. Also, most aren't very useful. It's not likely that someone it'ould need an in- struction that ORs the accumulator with the number SEE, ANDs the result with another number, and transfers the result to the X register.
Quasi-ops are sometimes used by software companies as a means of soft- ware protection, since standard disas- semblers will not translate these instructions properly. A comprehensive list of the unimplemented opcodes is con- tained in the appendices of Programming the VIC and Programming the 64 (both available from COMPUTE! Books). W
COMPUTEl's Gazette is looking for utilities, games, applications educa- tional programs, and tutorial articles. If you've created a program that you think other readers might enjoy or find useful, send it, on tape or disk to: Submissions Reviewer, COMPUTE! Publications, P.O. Box 5406, Greensboro, NC 27403. Please en- close an SASE if you wish to have the materials returned. Articles are reviewed within four weeks of submission.
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Electronic Novels are written by prize- winning published authors. They're not "computer versions" of existing novels - they 'res tories conceived esp ecially tor this new medium.
In the world of Electronic Novels, you have a lot more to do than "Go south" and "Hill dragon" You It find that each character has a mind of his own, and nothing stays the same for long because everything happens in red! time. So just because that room was empty the fast time you entered it, don't expect it to be empty this time. Everything you do-orfailto do- affects everything else that happens. The surprises never end.
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Somewhere in this web of mental search of the mysterious Wheel
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■ You're th'emp Essex, on a desperate rescue misiicr face the deac and the vile VolfbftuhX |
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your own crew to deal with- as unlikely a bunch of misfits as ever sailed the Situs sector.
BRIMSTONE
You play the part of Sir Gamin, proud Knight of the Round Table, in a mystical quest for truth, chivalry, and a little peace and Quiet All you 've got to contend with is the entire Underworld and every monster, ghost and demon known to medieval sorcery.
BEGIN WITH A BOOK Set the stags and introduce your- self to tbe characters with the graphic, hardbound book included with each program, dust when things start getting good, you'll s witch to your computer— and now, you're atthe center of the action!
a sneotmuw sorwMi company
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One of your first discoveries as a Commodore 64 owner is the presence of a programming language called BASIC built into your computer. Each time you turn on the system, BASIC is ready to go— an easy to use, general- purpose programming language. But BASIC is not the only programming path for your Commodore, and often it's not the most efficient. For a few extra dollars, you'll find plenty of other languages that do a lot of things differently— and often, very well.
hat's a sure way to stai argument? Try criticizing a computer programmer's W////N favorite language. Logo, C, Forth, Pascal, COMAL, PROMAL, and a handful of other pro- gramming languages for your Commo- dore 64 all have their own cheering sections and their critics. Each of these languages represents to one degree or an- other a step away from the native tongue of your computer — machine language, a binary-based language of ones and zeros — and toward a more English-like
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language easier for people to use. Look at a few testimonials:
"Logo is the most misunder- stood language in the history of programming," says author and teacher David Thornburg. "Logo is based on Lisp, the premiere lan- guage of researchers in artificial in- telligence, and it has all of the capabilities of that language."
"(The C language}... is trans- portable, and that's one of the rea- sons it's so popular. It produces very efficient code. Things that you couldn't do with BASIC, you can do with C and not have to resort to machine language," says Arnie Lee, president of Abacus Software, which markets Super C, among other languages for the 64.
"(Forth) is a language that's optimized for high performance, for programs that need to be espe- cially quick or small," says Martin Tracy, president of MicroMotion and author of Mastering Forth. "It's really a developer's language. The novice can rapidly learn it, but it's not as natural as other languages."
"By using COMAL, you get what BASIC should have had; you get the structures that are very use- ful, and you get a turtle graphics system that you would have bought Logo for — ail in one sys- tem," says Len Lindsay, president of the COMAL Users Group USA.
"(PROMAL) is the most pow- erful and innovative programming language and development svstem available for the Commodore 64," says John R. Segner, president of SMA, creators of PROMAL
Can all of these endorsements be correct? Is there a fit's t lan- guage, or are they all equally good? The answer to that has to do with two general principles which programmers soon learn: What's considered the best programming language depends on what you're trying to program and your own persona] programming style. Some languages are better at producing fast-action arcade- type games with colorful graphics, sprites, and mu- sic. Other languages may be more appropriate for educational pro- grams and teaching purposes. Still others may be better equipped to handle payroll systems, inventory programs, and related business software. And some programmers
24 COMPUTERS Gazette January 1986
or eve
programming language, you' 1]^ find supporters who would never use anything else.
prefer a very structured program- ming environment, such as Pascal, while others like the flexibility of a less structured language. Both fac- tors have a great deal to do with the popularity of a programming lan- guage.
So there's no single best lan- guage; some are just better, or more appropriate, for certain types of programs or programming styles. An important consideration in some cases is the time it takes a pro- gram to run versus the time it takes to write the program. Certain benchmark tests do show measur- able differences among languages, usually based on speed and effi- ciency of operation. But there's a tradeoff; speeding up a program often means spending more time working on it.
For every programming lan- guage, you'll find supporters who would never use anything else. There are even user groups for most of the major languages, some with thousands of members. Most of these languages are called high lev- el (some, like Forth or C, are consid- ered mid-level); that is, they are more removed from machine lan- guage, and closer to human lan- guages. Your computer doesn't really understand any of these high-level languages. It must inter- pret them, changing the symbols into machine code, which it then uses directly.
Machine language is not a pro- gramming language in the same sense as BASIC or other languages. While it may seem more difficult to learn than most high-level pro- gramming languages, machine lan- guage is popular because of its power and speed. Although it may
take you several machine language operations to accomplish what could be done in BASIC or another high-level language with one com- mand, the computer doesn't have to translate the machine code. It acts on it directly.
The great majority of people who learn to program on their own start with BASIC. After all, it's built into your Commodore, making it immediately accessible. BASIC, which stands for Beginner's All- purpose Symbolic Instruction Code, was created at Dartmouth College in the early 1960s for the express purpose of teaching begin- ners to program. There are many variations of BASIC now, some built into persona! computers and others available on cartridge or disk. If you have a Commodore 64, your computer has Commodore BASIC 2.0; the Plus/4 and the 16 have more commands in a BASIC version 3.5; and the 128 has the richest Commodore BASIC, version 7.0. (For a closer look at these B ASICs, see "Exploring 128 BASIC" in the November 1985 GAZETTE.)
BASIC 2.0 doesn't contain commands to let you directly con- trol the excellent graphics and sound capabilities of the Commo- dore 64. To remedy that, there are programs, either cartridge or disk- based, which extend BASIC by add- ing new commands. Simons' BASIC and the Super Expander 64 are two of the best known of these extensions. Simons' BASIC adds 1 14 commands to assist with high-resolution graph- ics, sprites, program debugging, and music and sound effects. If that many new commands seems daunt- ing, try the Super Expander, which adds 32 new words to BASIC to aid in programming graphics and sound. Also included are ten differ- ent instrument sounds, and a sprite editor. One of the newest and most powerful BASIC extensions for your 64 is Cardco's S'more, which brings the 64's BASIC almost to the level of the 128's powerful BASIC 7.0, {See the review of S'more elsewhere in this issue.)
Despite the great success of BASIC, not all programmers agree that it's the best language to learn first. David Thornburg, a supporter of the Logo language, has found that his computer science students have
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an easier time learning other lan- guages if they've never been ex- posed to BASIC. Len Lindsay, a COMAL language supporter, says that BASIC'S weaknesses led to the creation of COMAL. And others complain that BASIC has evolved into an unstructured, inefficient lan- guage which teaches poor program- ming habits. Nevertheless, millions of people have learned how to pro- gram in BASIC and enjoy its relative simplicity, ease of use, and general- purpose capabilities.
Whatever your final opinion of BASIC, as a Commodore owner you have several other languages avail- able to you. Each of them has a faithful following, some numbering into the thousands. But, you'll have to purchase whatever new language you try, either on disk or cartridge, and then load it into your computer with each use. Most programmers believe that's a small price to pay, considering the enjoyment of learn- ing a new language and the results of programming.
Logo
Logo has become one of the most popular programming languages in the field of education since its devel- opment by a team of computer sci- entists headed by MIT professor Seymour Papert in the 1960s. Pa- pert and his team wanted to create a language which would be easy enough for children to learn, but would be expandable enough to de- velop power and depth. A part of the language contains easy to use graphics commands, called turtle graphics {so named because the first use of the language controlled the movements of a small robot that re- sembled a turtle). However, the full Logo language is based on LISP (for LISt Processing), a very powerful high-level language especially suit- ed for text manipulation and analy- sis and used in artificial intelligence research.
Although most references to Logo emphasize the language's suit- ability for teaching children with its turtle graphics, Logo supporters point out that the language is really very powerful. "What happened with Logo was that people said, 'Oh, a language for learning — so Logo's for kids,' " says Thomburg, author of a half-dozen books on Logo. "(Com- puter dealers) said 7 can go sell that as a kid's language; it's warm and
26 COMPUTE!* Gazette January 1986
espite the
great success of BASIC, not all programmers agree that it's
learn first.
fuzzy,' But the fact is that Logo is not warm and fuzzy. It has a warm and fuzzy component, but Logo is also a chaittsaw — you can do some pretty extraordinary things with Logo."
Logo contains a number of commands, called primitives, which a programmer uses to create pro- grams. But these primitives can also be combined to create brand new commands, allowing you to extend the language in ways which you can't with a language like BASIC (which offers only defined func- tions, a limited sort of extensibility). Another aspect of Logo is its modu- lar programming structure, which lets a programmer break down vari- ous parts of a program into separate components. This also makes Logo easier for teachers as they try to ana- lyze their students' programs. As a result of this and of Logo's similarity to some advanced languages, some computer science teachers recom- mend Logo as a first language rather than BASIC.
Commodore Logo is a fairly powerful version of the original Logo, and has commands which let you control the 64 's graphics, in- cluding its sprites, as well as the SID sound chip and other features. Commodore Logo comes on a pair of disks, one of which contains the language and the other a collection of more than 50 utilities and demon- strations. There is also a 350- page manual.
Logo's widespread use and popularity have encouraged the growth of a variety of user groups
throughout the world, A good source of information on Logo is the National Logo Exchange, P.O. Box 5341, Charlottesville, VA 22905.
Pascal
Another programming language which has had a major impact in schools, especially at the university level, is Pascal. Named for French mathematician Blaise Pascal, the language was created in the 1970s by Niklaus Wirth of Switzerland as a medium for the teaching of struc- tured, organized programming.
It has evolved since then into a general-purpose language that's also used extensively for business and scientific programs. Pascal is taught in hundreds of high schools and universities, and the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) advanced- placement test in computer science is based on Pascal. There are several Pascal software packages available on disk for the Commodore 64.
PILOT
PILOT was developed in 1968 at the University of California at San Fran- cisco Medical Center by John Stark- weather to serve as a computer- aided instruction (CAI) tool. PILOT (Programmed Inquiry, Learning, Or Teaching) was planned as a pro- gramming system for nonprogram- mers — sometimes called an authoring system — for develop- ment of teaching resources and testing.
It was to be used by teachers and administrators who were not expected to have programming knowledge. Therefore, the language is simple to use and particularly good for screen displays and for the kinds of True- False branching re- quirements used in testing. Conse- quently, it's not meant to be as sophisticated in the areas of compu- tation and file-handling. Commo- dore markets a version of PILOT for the 64.
Forth
As with Pascal, there are several versions of Forth for the Commo- dore 64. Developed in the 1960s by Charles Moore, Forth was meant to be a jump ahead of the third- generation computers of the time— a "fourth generation" language. "Fourth" reportedly became "Forth" because Moore's IBM com- puter would allow a maximum of five characters as identifiers.
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A Buyer's Guide To Commodore 64 Languages
Language
Publisher
Price
Comments
Ada Training Course
Abacus Software, P.O. Box 7211, Grand
Rapids, Ml 49510
$59.95
Comprehensive subset of Ada language on disk.
BASIC Lightning
Oasis Son ware, 377 Oyster Point Blvd.. Unit 15, San Prandsco, CA 94080
$.1" "5
BASIC extension and graphics
development system on disk.
COMAL 0.14 am! COMAL 2.0
COMAL Users Group, USA, Ltd., 6041 Momma Drive. M.idi-on. U'l 53716
0.1*1 Version for 0.14 Version includes demonstrations
511; 2.0 for and Interactive tutorial on disk, plus
$89.95 reference book; 2.0 is full COMAL
implementation on cartridge.
f Power
Pro-Line Software, Ltd., 755 The Queensway East, Unit 8, Mfssjssauga, Ontario, Canada L4Y 4C5
$99.95
C compiler; includes book with disk.
C-64 Forth/ 79
Performance Micro Products, P.O. Box 370, Canton, MA 02120
$69.95
Inl lows 1979 Forth standard; on disk.
Lit ha need Forth
Accelerated Software, Inc., I'.O, Box Price not
129. Station A, Scarborough, Ontario, available
Canada M1K 5B9
follows FIC-Forth standard; on disk.
Forth-64 Language
Kyatt Pane a I
1 ago
Master Forth
Nevada COBOL
Nevada Fortran
I'll (II
PROMAI.
Simons' BASIC
Fhe Sixty Forth
Super Expander 64
Superforth hi
Abacus Software, P.O. Box 721 1, Grand Rapids, MI 49510
$39.95
Forth language, follows 1979 Forth
standard and" parts of 1983 standard
Kyan Software, Suite 183, 1850 Union Street. San Francisco, CA 9-1123
$49.95
Pascal language on disk with tulnrial manual.
Commodore Kusiness Machines. lm , 120(1 Wilson Drive, West Chester, PA 19380
$73.95
Disk-based 1 ogo.
MicroMotion, 12077 Wilshire Blvd. *506. Los Angeles, CA 90025
$100
Follows the Forth 1983 standard; includes graphics system.
Commodore, 1200 Wilson Drive, West Chester. PA 19380
$55.95
For experienced COBOL users; used with Commodore CP/M cartridge.
Commodore, 1200 Wilson Drive, West $55.95 Chester, PA 193811
Commodore, 1200 Wilson Drive, Ue--s Chester, PA 193811
For experienced Fortran programmers; used with Commodore CP/M cartridge.
$55.95
Educational language on disk.
Systems Management Associates, 3700 Computer Drive, P.O. Box 20025, Raleigh, NC 27619.
Commodore, 1200 Wilson Drive, West Chester, PA 19380
$49.95— end-user version; $99.95— developer's version
On disk.
$34.95
BASIC extension on cartridge,
Elcomp Publishing, Inc., 2174 West 1 oothill !Jk d . Unit E, Upland, CA
91786
$39.95
Forth compiler on disk.
Super C Language Abacus Software, P.O. Box 721 1, Grand Compiler Rapids, MI 49510
$79,95
C compiler on disk.
Commodore, 1200 Wilson Drive, West Chester. PA 19380
$29.95
BASIL extension on cartridge.
Parsec Research, Drawer 1766, Fremont, CA 94538
$59.95
Follows 1-179 Forth standard
Superforth r>4 - Parsec Research, Drawer 1766,
Artificial Intelligence (AD Fremont, CA 94538
$99
Forth language, plus expert systems development module.
Super Pascal
Abacus Software, P.O. Box 7211, Grand Rapids, MI 49510
S59.95
Pascal language development system, also includes graphic toolkit an'd fast
nos
UltraBASlC-64
Abacus Software, P.O. Box 7211, Grand Rapids, MI 49510
Video BASIC-64
$42.95 on disk; $39.95 on cassette tape
BASIC extension on disk or cassette tape,
Abacus Software, P.O. Box 7231, Grand Rapids, MI 49510
$39,95
White Lightning
Oasis Software, 377 Ovster Point Blvd., Unit 15, San Francisco', CA 94080
$49.95
BASIC extension adds more than 50 graphic, sound, and utility comm an d s.
Forth language on disk; includes BASIC Lightning.
28 COMPUTE!'* Gazette January 1986
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Like Logo, Forth is an extensi- ble programming language, but with quite a different approach from most languages. It's considered a mid-level language, somewhere be- tween the high-level languages like BASIC and machine language. Forth, like Logo, is extensible. Words from its command vocabu- lary can be used to define other words which in turn become part of the vocabulary. You're essentially writing your own computer lan- guage based around Forth. Like Pas- cal, Forth separates programming into structured modules.
First used to control the move- ments of a large telescope, Forth's development over the years has re- sulted in several different standards. Each standard represents a different stage of evolution in the continuing growth of Forth,
The popularity of Forth is prob- ably best expressed in FIG, the Forth Interest Group, a California-based non-profit support organization which has a membership of over 5,000 Forth users worldwide. For more information, contact FIG at P.O. Box 8231, San Jose, CA 95155. A FIG hotline is staffed to answer Forth -related questions at (408) 277- 0668. And the FIG Tree is an on-line computer database which offers Forth information through your computer at (415) 538-3580. {Once connected by modem, hit the RE- TURN key twice to start.)
COMAL
When Borge Christensen of Den- mark created COMAL (COMmon Algorithmic Language) during the early 1970s, he was seeking to re- place BASIC as the major program- ming language in schools and homes. He reportedly wanted to keep the interactivity of BASIC but add to it the structure of Pascal, The resulting language has continued to gain popularity in both Europe and in the U.S., especially in schools, COMAL is generally regarded as a language easy to learn and use, with a structured form that makes teach- ing the language less confusing. The editing capabilities are exten- sive, and programming is modular. The most popular versions of COMAL are -for Commodore com- puters since the language is particu- larly suited for the Commodore's features. Two versions are available
30 COMPUTEI's Gazette January 1986
for the 64, the earlier COMAL 0.14 on disk and the fully implemented COMAL 2.0 on cartridge, both from the COMAL Users Group USA, Ltd., 6041 Monona Drive, Madison, WI 53716.
Created in 1972 by Dennis Ritchie, the C programming language has become very popular, especially within the last few years. Its power and transportability from one com- puter to another have made it the language of choice for much of the applications programming for Ap- ple's Macintosh, Atari's 520 ST, and Commodore's new Amiga. (See "C: Language of the Future?" in the Oc- tober issue and "Horizons: Another Look at C, "elsewhere in this issue.) But there are also at least a couple of versions available for the Com- modore 64 as well. It's popular among software developers for two reasons: C programs usually run faster than programs written in other languages (except machine language), and once a program has been written, it can be translated fairly easily to run on other machines.
PROMAL
PROMAL (PROgrammer's Micro Application Language) is a recent addition to the languages available for the 64. This high-level language is structured in ways similar to C and Pascal, and emphasizes sim- plicity, power, and speed. Created by Systems Management Asso- ciates (SMA), PROMAL is meant to appeal to a wide range of program- mers who have at least a working knowledge of BASIC or another high level language. In addition to the "end-user" version of PRO- MAL, there's a developer's version for those who wish to create profes- sional quality programs and market them.
In addition to the languages al- ready mentioned, there are sev- eral other packages for the Commodore 64 which you may wish to investigate. Commodore sells versions of two programming languages used primarily in busi- ness and science, Nevada COBOL (COmmon Business Oriented Lan- guage) and Nevada FORTRAN (FORmula TRANslator). COBOL
and FORTRAN were both created in the 1950s, the former to handle business programming tasks and the latter as an aid to scientists and engineers. The Commodore 64 ver- sions are aimed at experienced pro- grammers, and must be used with the CP/M (Control Program for Microcomputers) cartridge. Accord- ing to Commodore, both the CO- BOL and FORTRAN disks are compatible with CP/M 3.0, which is built into the 128.
Also for the 64, Abacus Soft- ware sells a package called the Ada Training Course, an introduction to a programming development sys- tem used extensively by the De- partment of Defense. Although it would be impossible to implement the entire Ada system on a 64, the package is useful for its structured programming techniques and its in- troduction to Ada and to compilers (utility programs which translate high-level language into machine code).
Although there are literally hundreds of different programming languages and variations of lan- guages, those available for the Commodore 64 will give you an ex- cellent introduction into the major categories of programming lan- guages and development systems beyond BASIC.
For more specific information on languages for your 64, see the accompanying chart, "A Buyer's Guide to Commodore 64 Lan- guages." <%
COMPUTE!'* Gazette is looking for utilities, games, applications educational programs, and tutorial articles. If you've created a program that you think other readers might enjoy or find useful, send it, on tape or disk to:
Submissions Reviewer COMPUTE! Publications P.O. Box 5406 Greensboro, NC 27403
Please enclose an SASE if you
wish to have the materials
returned.
Articles are reviewed within
four weeks of submission.
=£38 BmH 9M.
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34 COMPUTErs Gazette January 1986
Selby Bateman, Features Editor
How would you like to converse with your computer just as you do with another person? No special programming languages with unfamiliar commands, statements, and symbols — simply conversational English. Researchers in the fields of artificial intelligence, expert systems, and robotics are working toward that goal. They're still a long way from achieving it, but the results so far are changing the way we think about and use computers.
At an automated factory, a plant manager uses ordinary English phrases to type in the day's orders to a roomful of com- puter-controlled robots. He keys in quotas, suggests adjustments for several specialized robotic arms, and reprograms the work assign- ments of a group of the machines. The factory's computer system translates the English commands into machine code, asks for clarifi- cation on one order, and soon the robots are at work.
At a nearby hospital, a doctor races to diagnose a sick child, using a computer-based expert system. Engaging in a written dialogue with the computer, she types in the symptoms and notes relevant fac- tors in the youngster's medical his- tory. The diagnostic program replies with a battery of related questions and then suggests several diagnoses for the physician to consider.
In a schoolroom across the city, a computer quizzes a student on a history lesson, then answers ques- tions that the student asks. Spotting a weakness in one area of the stu- dent's understanding, the computer program suggests several readings to be completed before the next lesson.
In these situations, individuals with no programming background are communicating with computers in ordinary English as they direct actions, solve problems, and search for answers. The examples repre- sent three of the most promising areas of advancement in using ordi- nary English language to communi- cate with computers — industrial robotics, expert systems, and inter- active databases. Such scenes may well be common within a few years thanks to recent developments in artificial intelligence research and the continuing improvements in computer hardware and software. While natural language re- search has gone on for more than 40 years, the subject remains a complex and controversial one. The complexities of human language, including the use of common sense and context to differentiate mean- ing, continue to elude researchers seeking to codify those rules within a computer system. In fact, there are those who believe that a true natural language for computers will
always stay beyond reach. Others feel that natural languages will one day be the dominant method of computer-human communication.
New menu-driven user inter- faces, with easy to understand sym- bols, or icons, are being imple- mented extensively to help the average person use computers in applications ranging from 24-hour money machines to information ki- osks and library catalog systems. New-generation computers like the Apple Macintosh, the Atari ST and the Amiga from Commodore fea- ture graphics-based interfaces rath- er than text-based operating system commands which intimidate many beginners.
But a real natural language must go beyond menus and icons. It should allow interactive conver- sations between the user and the computer system. And that has proven far more complex than re- searchers initially thought.
One of the first efforts in natu- ral language research came just after World War II, when com- puter scientists built machines to translate one language to another. A translation machine looked up each word in a built-in dictionary, found what was supposed to be its foreign language equivalent, and then altered the syntax of the mes- sage to correspond to the new language.
But the limitations of such a primitive syntax-based system soon became apparent. For instance, the English-language phrase "The spir- it is willing but the flesh is weak," when translated to Russian by one of the early machines, reportedly became "The vodka is strong but the meat is rotten."
Undaunted, a handful of scien- tists at Stanford, Yale, M.I.T., Cal Tech, and a few other universities developed artificial intelligence re- search centers to carry their efforts beyond the early attempts. They've continued their work, and their de- bate, through the years.
Computer pioneer Joseph Wei- zenbaum developed one of the most publicized natural language simulation programs at M.I.T. in 1966. Called Eliza, the program seemed to understand English statements and questions. The soft-
ware was written in an extension of the Fortran programming language, called Slip. Other versions, some watered down from the original, were later written in Lisp and also in BASIC.
Weizenbaum reportedly cen- tered the original Eliza on two com- ponents of operation: a parser, which breaks down each sentence to determine word meaning, and a script system, or a list of rules for discussing particular subjects. Al- though the program didn't under- stand English, it seemed to under- stand based on a simple technique
ie promise is that millions of people may one day be able to control computer environments through ordinary
language.
EumnoM^^^H
of template, or pattern, matching. Eliza was only a trick, not an ex- ample of a true natural language at work. Weizenbaum never meant to suggest that it was an example of artificial intelligence, and the pub- licity given to the program at the time surprised him.
Versions of Eliza are still avail- able for the Commodore 64, And a new program, Racter from Mind- scape, Inc., for the IBM PC, Apple II, and Macintosh computers, goes even further along the same lines by generating poems and prose monologues in addition to what seems to be an interactive dialogue with the user.
COMPUTE!'* Gazette January 1986 35
Get the OKIDATA 120 at these fine stores;
Advantage Computer
Accessories (Canada) Childworld/Children's Palace Consumers Distributing David Weis Electronics Boutique/
Games & Gadgets Federated Fred Meyer Cemco Lionel/Kiddie City/
Lionel Playworld Montgomery Ward
(at participating stores) S.E. Nkhols Service Merchandise Toys 'R Us
MS-8348
Left Brain.
Ttl- IJHIII*
Rational. Functiona]. Precise.
Introducing the OKIDATA 120, the logical printer for your
Commodore' computer.
Cet results fast. With a utility mode that zips through letters and reports at twice the speed of any Commodore printer.
Switch to the enhanced mode. And print your most important ideas with typewriter clarity. Or illustrate your rationale with the 120's bit image graphics for high resolution charts, graphs and drawings.
Stay on target With a self-inking "Clean Hands" ribbon cartridge. And Okidata's famous full year warranty on parts, labor and printhead.
The OKIDATA 120. At $269', it's the only Commodore- compatible printer that makes sense.
For more information, call 1-800OKIDATA (in New Jersey 609-235-2600), Mt. Laurel. NJ 08054.
OKIDATA
^k an OKI AMERICA company
We put business on paper.
Ciimrnodua' is a registered trademark of Commodore Business Machines, Inc. OKIDATA Ls a registered trademark of Oki America. Inc. OKIDATA -Marque deposes de Oki America. Inc. * Manufacturers suj&ested retail price.
Right Brain
Effervescent, Colorful. Outrageous.
Meet the OKIMATE 10, the $208* color printer that takes
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Dazzle 'em. With brilliant printing in over 36 eye-tickling colors. Reds, greens, golds and blues that breathe life into everything: from charts and graphs to original drawings and overhead transparencies.
And when you're forced to work in black and white, the OKIMATE 10 prints crisp, clean reports and papers— at 240 words per minute. You can even add spice with wide, bold and fine print
Everything you need for color printing comes with the OKIMATE 10 and its Plug 'n Print package. Including a data cable, Learn to Print and Color Screen Print software diskettes, a color ribbon cartridge, a black ribbon cartridge and paper.
So c'mon, print on the wild side. With the OKIMATE 10 Personal Color Printer from Okidata.
For more information, call 1-800-QKIDATA (in New Jersey 60*235-2600). Mt. Laurel, NJ 08054,
OKIDATA
^^. an OKI AMERICA company
We put business on paper.
"Manufacturer's suf&esled retail price. Atari is a registered trademark of Atari, Inc.
Commodore is a registered trademark of Commodore Business Machines. Inc. OKIDATA is a refSstered trademark of Oki America. Inc.
OKI I )ATA- Marque deposes dc Oki America. Inc.
OKIMATR and Plu>) n Print are trademarks (if Oki America. Inc.
To run Plug 'n l*rint software, the Commodore fi4, 128 and PLUS 4 require disk drive.
Atari requires disk drive and a 48 K memory.
Buy Now!
$15 Manufacturer's
rebate on OKIMATE
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Offer good from October 1, 1985 through January 31, 1986. See the following par- ticipating stores for details.
Advantage Computer
Accessories (Canada) Arthur's Jewelers Best Catalog Showrooms Brendlc's Caldor
ChildVvrlrJJChildren's Palace Consumers Distributing Crazy Eddie David Wets
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Catalog Showrooms J. Triesman
Jafco Catalog Showrooms [.aBelks Catalog Showrooms lionel/Kiddie City/
Lionel Playwotid McDade
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(at participating stores) Prange S.E. Nichols Save-Rite Sears, Roebuck & Co,
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Using a natural language called PaRCl, Commodore 64 owners program this Fischer- Technik robotic computer kit.
Natural language research has evolved along several differ- ent lines over the years, moving away from the idea that a natural language can be based primarily on defining words and changing a sen- tence's syntax. To really work, a natural language must not only be able to handle the words, grammar, and syntax of human language, but also the meaning as it shifts from the context of one application to the context of another. It must also be able to distinguish metaphors, logi- cal connections between statements, the plausibility of statements, and hundreds of other factors. To do all of that, some researchers believe it may require a mammoth knowl- edge base of the way the world works and thousands of rules. It may also require a computer pro- gram which can generate its own rules — learning as it goes along.
Limited though they may be, commercial natural language sys- tems have been on the market since the late 1970s. Their purposes and levels of use vary greatly, however, from robotic controllers to "smart" databases. The promise behind such research is that millions of people who have no desire or apti- tude for learning formal computer languages may one day be able to control computer environments through ordinary language.
3B COMPUTE T» Gazette January 1986
For example, by the early 1990s, more than 100,000 robots are expected to be used in U.S. fac- tories, according to estimates by the Robot Institute of America, an in- dustry support association. Can some or most of those robotic work- ers be controlled by people who don't know computer programming?
"That's pretty much the trend coming out of the laboratories pres- ently in robotics applications," says Allen Amaro, chief executive officer of Parsec Research in Fremont, Cal- ifornia. "They want the average op- erators to be able to control the robotics configurations. And in or- der to do that, you have to have a natural language front end."
Amaro's company has recently been involved in just such a natural language robotics project, one that Commodore 64 (and Apple II and IBM) owners can take part in as well. The FischerTechnik computer robotics kit is a $199 package of precision electromechanical parts, computer software, and interface which lets you build and program your own robotics experiments.
The robotics laboratory is of- fered with a new natural language program, called PaRCL (pro- nounced "parkul"), with which you program your robotic experiments. The system gives nonprogrammers a chance to learn the basics of ro-
botics through hands-on activity. Teachers can use the system to teach everything from simple pro- gramming to robotic fundamentals. And engineers will find a variety of sophisticated options which follow in miniature many industrial robo- tic operations.
"We're presently manufactur- ing the interface for FischerTechnik of West Germany," says Amaro. "But in addition to that, we've writ- ten the software. The original prod- uct they're releasing uses BASIC. What we've done is transform the whole system into what is not only a very powerful educational tool, but the language we're using is presently being introduced into the robotics community industrywide."
Based on the programming lan- guage Forth, PaRCL uses English words written in a simple syntax. With the 249-piece construction set and the PaRCL language, you build ten different projects and learn to use reversible motors, gears, digital and analog inputs, outputs, posi- tion sensors, lamps, and switches. A dual-axis robot arm simulates in- dustrial processes physically and in the operating language.
The robotics kit is being mar- keted through retail stores in the U.S. by Fischer America, a division of Fischer International, which has extensive experience with industrial robotics. The system is also available directly through Parsec Research (P.O. Box 1766, Fremont, CA 94538).
One of the most practical appli- cations in natural language development is the area of com- puter databases. Originally found on mainframe systems, newer microcomputer database programs have been developed that let non- programmers create the environ- ment they need for virtually any type of database. That is, you type in your query, in English, and the database translates the words into a computer language, gets the answer, and displays it on the screen. If you wish to redefine or restructure the database, the system lets you do that without having to know a com- puter language.
The most powerful natural lan- guage systems are still tied to main- frame or supermini computers, espe- cially to those with large database
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There's no question! Now is the time to turn that great game idea of yours into a real piece of computer software. With GameMaker, Garry Kitchen brings you the single most powerful computer game design tool ever offered. But he didn't stop with just power. He put all the tools of his trade together and then made them more accessible than ever before for owners of the Commodore 64/128 and the Apple II series computers. GameMaker includes these incredible tools:
SceneMaker. Create the background scenes for your game. Either use scenes that have been pre- programmed or create scenes of your own.
SpnteMaker. Create the characters or objects that move in your game. Use full animation to make them life-like. You can select from many pre-programmed sprites or you can create almost any kind you can imagine.
SoundMaker. Smashing, blasting, singing, whooshing and a whole lot more can be created, or you can select from a variety of commonly-used effects already created for you.
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The Editor. This is where you bring together all the components you created with SceneMaker, SpriteMaker, SoundMaker, and MusicMaker. All the commands needed to make a game program are listed for you.Just choose the ones you want to use, put them in order, and presto! Your new game is off and running.
The Design Contest If you've always thought you had some great ideas for games (and you know you have), there's never been a better time or a better way to get them on a disk. Because you can enter the GameMaker Design Contest, and, if your game is judged to be the best, we'll publish it! And that will make you a published software designer. Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? Published . . . Software . . . Designer. Design the most exciting and creative computer game you can imagine and send it to us. All the rules and information for this unique contest are in specially-marked GameMaker packages. Gentlemen— and ladies— start your minds.
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A Language Of Convenience:
Keyboard Macros
As a computer user, you may have seen certain commercial productivi- ty programs available which use templates, or preprogrammed forms. There are form letters for word pro- cessors, budget forms for spread- sheets, address file forms for databases, and so on. A growing number of programs offer these preset templates to free you from having to set up your own.
In most cases, templates can be customized even further to suit your personal needs. And many of the commercial templates let you achieve customized forms without having to alter the actual code in which the original template is writ- ten. It can be done with a few key- strokes.
Related to customized tem- plates are much more powerful and flexible tools, macros, which have gained popularity as many high- end commercial programs become more complex. But the term itself originated in the world of computer programming.
Machine language program- mers often use shortcuts called macroinstructions (or "macros" for short) to speed up their program- ming. A macro is a preprogrammed group of assembly language micro- instructions. By using macros, a programmer avoids writing and re- writing often-used routines. Simply
plug in the name of the appropriate macro and the assembler automati- cally inserts the proper code.
A different sort of macro is built into the Commodore 128 and Plus/4. Press the f3 key and the word DIRECTORY appears. A disk directory automatically prints to the screen. You could type DIRECTORY yourself, but why press nine keys (plus RETURN), when a single key does it all? Programmable keys can save a lot of typing time.
This approach is also being used regularly in sophisticated ap- plication programs to save repeti- tive or time-consuming steps. For example, Lotus 1-2-3, a popular in- tegrated productivity package for IBM and other MS-DOS computers, offers users the option of setting up keyboard macros. Frequently re- peated procedures or commands can be assigned to one or two key- strokes. Thereafter, when that pro- cedure is needed, you have a shortcut to save you time.
The problem for many people in setting up macros on Lotus 1-2-3 is that the system is not a simple one to get used to. The options are plentiful, and the result is that mak- ing macros can become like learn- ing a small programming language. In fact, numerous magazine arti- cles— and even books — have been devoted to explaining the advanced customizing features of 1-2-3. Other productivity software such as SuperCalc, VisiCalc, and dBase II also have macro capabilities. They're generally easier than 1-2-3
to use with macros, but not quite as powerful.
With macros, even a nonpro- grammer can customize a piece of software in many ways. Let's say that your word processor has a four-step, eight-keystroke com- mand sequence to redefine the mar* gins — top and bottom, left and right. A macro might be pro- grammed to do that for you with one or two keystrokes. If you also want to have the right edge of your text justified, that could be added to the same macro. With the right soft- ware, almost any word, phrase, sentence, paragraph, or larger com- bination of characters can be made into a macro.
Or, suppose you regularly log on to one of the major telecommu- nications services like Compu- Serve. Rather than go through the log-on procedures of dialing the number, giving your identification number and then your password, a macro can be made to do all of that with one keystroke.
The popularity of these key- board enhancers is reflected in the number of stand-alone macro mak- ers now on the market. Products like Super Key, ProKey, Smart Key, Keywords, and others are in growing demand, especially in the business environment where repetition of procedures is necessarily frequent. The programs are usually loaded into the computer prior to the load- ing of an application, such as a spreadsheet. They reside in memo- ry behind the application program, providing keyboard shortcuts to just about any function you need.
systems. And these commercial natural language packages still cost thousands of dollars. One example is the Artificial Intelligence Corpo- ration's (Waltham, Mass.) Intellect program, which lets you ask ques- tions of a database system in ordi- nary English, then converts the query into the program's language. Another commercial natural lan- guage system is Themis from Frey Associates of Amherst, New Hampshire, a program which al- lows you to add words easily to its base vocabulary in addition to sup- plying a natural language interface. Some of the most optimistic expectations for the development
40 COMPUTE'S Gazetfe January 1986
of natural languages come from Japan's Fifth Generation computer project. This massive government- backed effort to move beyond to- day's so-called fourth-generation computers includes a strong com- ponent of natural language re- search. The goal is to have systems which will contain as many as 20,000 rules and a hundred million data items from which to draw. It's hoped that these computers will be able to make inferences from their knowledge bases, fill in gaps be- tween logical statements, create their own data indexes from exter- nal sources, and differentiate among different possible meanings
within the same sentence construc- tions. But much more work must be done before any of these capabili- ties are achieved.
Despite the setbacks and slow progress associated with natural language interfaces for computers, hardware and software manufac- turers realize the long-range impor- tance of advances in this field. In order to involve the bulk of the population in computing, the ma- chines themselves must become easier to use, less intimidating, and more productive. And one of the most important steps in attracting these people is more plain talk be- tween computers and humans. <$
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The New MLX
Enhanced Machine Language Editor For The Commodore 64
Ottis R. Cowper, Technical Editor
This significantly improved version of COMPUTED GAZETTE "MLX" utility will help you enter ma- chine language program listings without typos. It's more foolproof than the old MLX and is easier to use, too — especially for beginners. The new MLX is required to enter all Commodore 64 and 128 (in 64 mode) machine language programs pub- lished in COMPUTED GAZETTE, beginning in this issue.
Since its initial publication in the December 1983 issue of COMPUTE!'* GAZETTE, our "MLX" machine lan- guage editor has helped thousands of readers type in dozens of ML programs with a minimum of prob- lems. MLX detects most common typing mistakes as they're made. However, your growing appetite for high-quality programs is lead- ing us to publish longer and longer listings. Lengthy programs demand a more efficient entry system, so this month we're introducing a new MLX with important enhancements:
• A much more compact for- mat. With each line of a new MLX listing, you enter eight bytes of data
42 COMPUTE!* Gazette January 1986
with 18 keystrokes, as opposed to only six bytes of data in 21 key- strokes when using the original MLX. This means you can enter machine language programs with 40 percent less typing.
■ A more sophisticated check- sum scheme. Transposition errors that could slip past the original MLX are caught by this version. Typing mistakes are now virtually impossible.
• A buffer (reserved area of memory) that holds the data you enter instead of direct storage in memory. This means that you'll never again have to worry with those bothersome POKEs that were
sometimes necessary to reconfigure memory before using the old MLX.
Hexadecimal Checksums
Type in and save a copy of the new MLX. You'll need it for all future machine language programs in COMPUTEi's GAZETTE, as well as ML programs in our companion maga- zine, COMPUTE!, and COMPUTE! books.
When you're ready to enter an ML program, load and run the new MLX. It asks you for a starting ad- dress and ending address. These addresses appear in the article ac- companying the MLX-format pro- gram listing you're typing. If you're unfamiliar with machine language, the addresses (and all other values you enter in MLX) may appear strange. Instead of the usual deci- mal numbers you're accustomed to, these numbers are in hexadecimal — a base 16 numbering system com- monly used by ML programmers. Hexadecimal — hex for short — in- cludes the numerals 0-9 and the letters A-F. But don't worry — even if you know nothing about ML or hex, you should have no trouble using the new MLX.
Ken you can have Mo?
r«*o,
Mltcy Mo turns your Commodore 64
into a telecommunications giant.
It's the best-performing modem
with upload/download.
Mitey Mo is being hailed as "the besi price/performance com- munications package available:' Its software has received the endorse- ment of the U.S. Commodore Users Group, which gives a money-back guarantee to members. It is truly the industry standard, and no wonder. It's the most user- friendly modem you can buy— it will take you online faster and easier than anything else.
Mitey Mo opens up a world of practical and exciting uses for your C-64, It lets you send and receive electronic mail, link up with commu- nity bulletin boards, play computer games with people in distant places, tap into library resources, and much more. All at your convenience.
Until Mitey Mo, Commodore's 1650 Automodem was the obvious choice when you went looking for a modem for your computer. Like Mitey Mo, it has "auto answer"— it receives data while unattended And both modems are "auto dialers" - you dial right on the computer's keyboard. But that's about where the simi- larity ends.
Mitey Mo can dial up to 9
|
COMMODOBE |
||
|
MODEM FEATURES |
umt mo |
AUTOMODEM |
|
Auto Dial/Answer |
YES |
YES |
|
Auto Redid! |
YES |
NO |
|
Smart 64 Software |
YES |
NO |
|
Function Keys |
||
|
Programmable |
YES |
NO |
|
Upload/Download |
||
|
Text & X-Modem |
YES |
NO |
|
VT-52/VT-100 Emulation |
YES |
NO |
|
Menu Driven |
YES |
NO |
|
28K Software Butler |
YES |
NO |
|
Easy-to-Use Manual |
YES |
NO |
|
Bell 103 Compatible |
YES |
YES |
|
Multiple Baud Rates |
YES |
YES |
|
Cable Included |
YES |
YES |
|
Single Switch Operation |
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NO |
|
Warranty |
3 years |
90 days |
Some mighty interesting features— ours and theirs. Yours to decide.
numbers sequentially. But suppose you dial a number and find it's busy Mitey Mo has "auto redial"- it hangs up and redials immediately until it gets through. With the other modem you have to redial each time - and somebody with auto redialing can slip in ahead of you. Mitey Mo is menu driven. It lists the things you can do on the screen. Select a numberand you're on your way. Since Auto- modem isn't menu driven, you'll be hunting through the manual a lot.
With Mitey Mo, your computer's function keys are program- mable-you can save yourself plenty
ol keystrokes. Not so with the other modem. And only Mitey Mo lets you store data to review or print it later.
Mitey Mo has just one switch, the Smart 64 software does the rest. With the other modem you'll have to remember to check three switches, otherwise you may be answering when you mean to be originating,
Mitey Mo is half the size of the other modem. The very latest tech- nology allows miniaturization and increased reliability as well. Mitey Mo is so reliable, we gave it a full three-year warranty The other modem gives 90 days, then you're on your own.
Not only will you find Mitey Mo mighty useful, you'll iind it mighty reasonably priced. When you buy it, you'll get S15 of CompuServe access time and 2 hours of PlayNet free, as well. See your dealer or call us directly to order your Miiey Mo.
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After you enter the starting and ending addresses, MLX offers the option of clearing the work- space. Choose this option if you're starting to enter a new listing. If you're continuing a listing that's partially typed from a previous ses- sion, don't choose this option.
It's not necessary to know more about this option to use MLX, but here's an explanation if you're interested: When you first run MLX, the workspace area contains random values. Clearing the work- space fills it with zeros. This makes it easier to find where you left off if you enter the listing in multiple sit- tings. However, clearing the work- space is useful only before you first begin entering a listing; there's no need to clear it before you reload to continue entering a partially typed listing.
When you save your work with the new MLX, it stores the entire contents of the data buffer. If you clear the workspace before starting, the incomplete portion of the listing is filled with zeros when saved and thus refilled with zeros when re- loaded. If you don't clear the work- space when first starting, the incomplete portion of the listing is filled with random data. Whether or not you clear the workspace before you reload, this random data will refill the unfinished part of the listing when you load your previ- ous work. The rule, then, is to use the clear workspace feature before you begin entering data from a list- ing, and not bother with it afterward.
At this point, MLX presents a menu of commands:
Enter data Display data Load data Save file Quit
You no longer have to remem- ber SHIFT command keys as in the original MLX. Instead, just press the letter of a menu option. These com- mands are available only while the menu is displayed. You can get back to the menu from most op- tions by pressing RETURN with no other input.
Entering A Listing
To begin entering data, press E. You'll be asked for the address at which you wish to begin entering data. (If you pressed E by mistake,
44 COMPUTE'S Gazette January 1986
you can return to the command menu by pressing RETURN.) When you begin typing a listing, you should enter the starting address here. If you're typing in a long list- ing in multiple sittings, you should enter the address where you left off typing at the end of the previous session. In any case, make sure the address you enter corresponds to the address of a line in the MLX list- ing. Otherwise, you'll be unable to enter the data correctly.
After you enter the address, you'll see that address appear as a prompt with a nonblinking cursor. Now you're ready to enter data.
To help prevent typing mis- takes, only a few keys are active while you're entering data, so you may have to unlearn some habits. The new MLX listings consist of nine columns of two-digit num- bers— eight bytes of data and a checksum:
C000:A9 0C BD 15 DO A9 FF 8D 17
C008:3U 63 BL) 3C 63 A9 01 8D C6
0010:01 58 A9 00 8D 33 6 3 20 7D
C018:0U C5 20 CI CB A9 FF BO 43
You do not type spaces be- tween the columns; the new MLX automatically inserts these for you. You do not press RETURN after typ- ing the last number in a line; the new MLX automatically enters and checks the line after you type the last digit. The only keys you need for data entry are 0-9 and A-F. Pressing most of the other keys generates a warning buzz.
To correct typing mistakes before finishing a line, use the INST/DEL key to delete the char- acter to the left of the cursor. (The cursor-left key also deletes.) If you mess up a line really badly, press CLR/HOME to start'the line over.
The RETURN key is also ac- tive, but only before any data is typed on a line. Pressing RETURN at this point returns you to the com- mand menu. After you type a char- acter of data, the new MLX disables RETURN until the cursor returns to the start of a line. Remember, you can press CLR/HOME to quickly get to a line number prompt.
Beep Or Buzz?
After you type the last digit in a line, MLX calculates a checksum of the line number and the first eight columns of data, then compares it
with the value in the ninth column. The formula (found in lines 370- 390 of the MLX program) catches almost every conceivable typing error, including the transposition of entire numbers that the original MLX could miss. If the values match, you'll hear a pleasant beep, the data is added to the workspace area, and the prompt for the next line of data appears (unless the line just entered was the last line of the listing — in which case you'll auto- matically advance to the Save op- tion). But if MLX detects a typing error, you'll hear a low buzz and see an error message. Then MLX re- displays the line for editing.
To edit a line, move the cursor left and right using the normal cur- sor controls. (The INST/DEL key now works as an alternative cursor- left key.) You cannot move left be- yond the first character in the line. If you try to move beyond the right- most character, you'll reenter the line.
To make corrections in a mis- typed line, compare the line on the screen with the one printed in the listing, then move the cursor to the mistake and type the correct key. During editing, RETURN is active; pressing it tells MLX to recheck the line. You can press the CLR/HOME key to clear the entire line if you want to start from scratch, or if you want to get to a line number prompt to use RETURN to get back to the menu.
Other MLX Functions
The Display data option lets you re- view your work. Unlike the original MLX, the new MLX calculates and displays checksums for each line. Thus, a quick way to check your typing is to compare the reverse video checksums on the screen with the data in the rightmost col- umn of the printed listing. If the values match, you can be confident that the line is entered correctly.
When you select D, you'll be asked for a starting address. (As with the other menu options, press- ing RETURN at this point takes you back to the command menu.) When entering an address, make sure it corresponds to the address of a line from the listing. Otherwise, the checksums will be meaningless. You can pause the scrolling display by pressing the space bar. (MLX
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finishes printing the current line before halting.) To resume scroll- ing, press the space bar again. The display continues to scroll until the ending address is reached, then the menu reappears. To break out of the display and return to the menu before the ending address is reached, press RETURN.
The Save and Load menu op- tions are straightforward. First, MLX asks for a filename. {Again, pressing RETURN at this prompt without entering anything returns you to the command menu.) Next, MLX asks you to press either T or D for tape or disk. If you notice the disk drive starting and stopping several times during a load or save, don't panic; MLX opens and reads from or writes to the file instead of using the usual LOAD and SAVE commands, so this behavior is nor- mal. Disk users should also note that the drive prefix 0: is automati- cally added to the filename (line 750), so this should not be included when entering the name. (This also precludes the use of @ for Save- with-Replace, so remember to give each version you save a different name.)
Remember that MLX saves the entire workspace area from the starting address to the ending ad- dress, so the save or load may take longer than you might expect if you've entered only a small amount of data from a long listing. When saving a partially completed listing, make sure to note the address where you stopped typing so you'll know where to resume entry when you reload.
Error Alert
MLX reports any errors detected during the save or load. Tape users should bear in mind that the Com- modore 64 is never able to detect errors when saving to tape. The new MLX also has three special load error messages:
• INCORRECT STARTING AD- DRESS. This means the file you're trying to load does not have the starting address you specified when you ran MLX. If you feel certain you're trying to load the right file, exit and rerun MLX, being careful to enter the correct starting address.
• LOAD ENDED AT address. This means the file you're trying to
46 COMPUTED Gazette January 1986
load ends before the ending ad- dress you specified when you start- ed MLX. If you feel certain that you've loaded the right file, exit and rerun MLX, being careful to enter the correct ending address.
• TRUNCATED AT ENDING ADDRESS. This means the file you're trying to load extends be- yond the ending address you speci- fied when you started MLX. If you feel certain that you've loaded the right file, exit and rerun MLX, being careful to enter the correct ending address.
The Quit menu option has the obvious effect — it stops MLX and enters BASIC at a READY prompt. Since the RUN/STOP key is dis- abled, Q lets you exit the program without turning off the computer, (Of course, RUN/STOP-RESTORE also gets you out.) If you choose this option, MLX asks for verifica- tion. Press Y to exit to BASIC, or any other key to return to the menu. After quitting, you can type RUN again and reenter MLX with- out losing your data, as long as you don't use the clear workspace option.
The Finished Product
When you've finished typing all the data for an ML program and saved your work, you're ready to see the results. Unlike the original MLX, this version keeps the data in a tem- porary holding area rather than in its final resting place in memory, so you must always save the finished program with MLX and then reload it from BASIC with a standard LOAD command.
The instructions for loading the finished product varies from program to program. Some ML pro- grams are designed to be loaded and run like BASIC programs, so all you need to type is LOAD "file- name",% for disk or LOAD "file- name" for tape, and then RUN. (Such programs usually have 0801 as their MLX starting address.) Oth- ers must be reloaded to specific ad- dresses with a command such as LOAD "filename" ',.8,1 for disk or LOAD "filename", .1,1 for tape, then started with a SYS to a particular memory address. (On the Commo- dore 64, the most common starting address for such programs is 49152, which corresponds to MLX address
C00O.) In either case, you should al- ways refer to the article which ac- companies the ML listing for information on loading and run- ning the program.
An Ounce Of Prevention
By the time you finish typing in the data for a long ML program, you'll have several hours invested in the project. Don't take chances— use our "Automatic Proofreader" to type the new MLX, and then test your copy thoroughly before first using it to enter any significant amount of data. (Incidentally, the new MLX is included on this month's COMPUTED GAZETTE DISK.) Make sure all the menu options work as they should. Enter frag- ments of the program starting at several different addresses, then use the Display option to verify that the data has been entered correctly. And be sure to test the Save and Load options several rimes to en- sure that you can recall your work from disk or tape. Don't let a simple typing error in the new MLX cost you several nights of hard work. See program listing on page 136. 9
I'jz&nmiu
WHW-!.!-! !•!•!•!•!•!•!•«:!
DR64 FEATURES;
• EXCELLENT SOUND QUALITYI SOUNDS LIKE TAPE!
• FULL SPEECH SYNTHESIZER WITH UNLIM- ITED VOCABULARY.
■ RECORD AND SPEAK IN ANYONE'S VOICE!
■ INCLUDES RECORDER/PLAYBACK UNIT HEADSET MIC AND ALL SOFTWARE ON DISK.
• COMES WITH 1)1 MO PROGRAMS
• PLUGS INTO USER PORT
- CAN BE PLAYED BACK WITH (EXCELLENT S0UNO| OR WITHOUT |GD00 SOUND) 0R64 CONNECTED
• MAKE (SELL?) YOUR OWN TALKING PRO- GRAMS!
ALSO AVAILABLE - SP64 SPEECH ON DISK IMAOE WITH 0(164 UNIT] INCLUDES COM PLETE SPEECH SYNTHESIZER. fOH ONLY S 19.95!
Send S19 95 (oi Speech on Disk. Send S99 00 lor DR64 Digital Recorder Unit, or send S4.00 lor Demo Diskette includ- ing lalking ala'm clock, talking games and others. You'll be amazed1
ORDER NOW FROM
SEYMOH-RADIX
PQ BOX 166055 IRVING. IX 75016
A Printer For All Reasons
Search For The Best High Quality Graphic Printer
If you have been looking very long, you have probably discovered ihar there are just loo many claims and counter claims in the printer market today. There are printers that have some of the features you want but do not have others. Some features you probably don't care about, others are vitally important to you. We understand. In fact, not long ago, we were in the same position. Deluged by claims and counter claims. Overburdened by rows and rows of specifications, we decided to separate all the facts — prove or disprove all the claims to our own satisfaction. So we bought printers. We bought samples of all the major brands and tested them.
Our Objective Was Simple
VVc wanted to find that printer which had all the features you could want and yet be sold di- rectly to you at the lowest price. We didn't want a "close-out special" of an obsolete product that some manufacturer was dump- ing, so we limited our search to only those new printers that had the latest proven technology. We wanted to give our customers the best printer on the market today at a bargain price.
The Results Are In
The search is over. We have reduced the field to a single printer that meets all our goals (and more). The printer is the SP-1000 from Seiko- am, ;t division of SeiV.ii (one of the foremost manufacturers in the world). We ran this printer through our battery of tests and it came out shining. Tilts printer can do it all. Standard draft printing at a respectable !00 characters per second, and with a very read- able 12 (horizontal) by 9 (vertical) character matrix. This is a full bi-directional, logic seek- ing, true descender printer.
"NLQ" Mode
One of our highest concerns was about prim quality and readability. The SP-1000 has a print mode termed Near Letter Quality print- ing (NLQ mode). This is where the SP-1000 outshines all the competition. Hands down! The character matrix in NLQ mode is a very dense 24 (horizontal) by 18 (vertical). This equates to 41,472 addressable dots per square inch. Now we're talking quality printing. It looks like it was done on a typewriter. You can even print graphics using the standard graphics symbols built into your computer. The results are the best we've ever seen. The only other printers currently available having resolution this high go for $500 and more without the interface or cable needed to hook up to your computer.
Features That Won't Quit
With the SP-1000 your computer can now print 40, 48, 68, 80, 96, or 136 characters per line. You can print in ANY of 35 character styles including 13 double width and 3 re- versed (white on black) styles. You not only have the standard Pica, Elite, Condensed and Italics, but also true Superscripts and Sub- scripts. Never again will you have to worry about how to print H20 or X:. This fantastic
machine wilt do it automatically, through easy commands right from your keyboard. Do you sometimes want to emphasize a word? It's easy, just use bold (double strike) or use ilatics to make the words stand out. Or, if you wish to be even more emphatic, underline the words. You can combine many of these modes and styles to make the variation almost end- less. Do you want to express something that you can't do with words? Use graphics with your texi — even on the same line. You have variable line spacing of 1 line per inch to Infin- ity (no space at all) and 143 other software se- lectable settings in between. You can control line spacing on a dot-by-dot basis. If you've ever had a letter or other document that was jusi a few lines too long to fit a page, you can see how handy this feature is. Simply reduce the line spacing slightly and , , . VQ1LA! The letter now fits on one page.
Forms? Yes! Your Letterhead? Of Course!
Do you print forms? No problem. This unit will do them all. Any form up to 10 inches wide. The tractors are adjustable from 4 to 10 inches. Yes, you can also use single sheets. Plain typing paper, your letterhead, short memo forms, labels, anything you choose. Any size to 10' in width. In fact this unit is so advanced, it will load your paper automati- cally. Multiple copies? Absolutely! Use forms (up to 3 thick). Do you want to use spread sheets with many columns? Of course! Just go to condensed mode printing and print a full 136 columns wide. Forget expensive wide-car- riage printers and changing to wide carriage paper. You can now do it all on a standard 8'/j * wide page, and you can do it quietly. The SP-1000 is rated at only 55 dB. This is quieter than any other impact dot matrix printer that we know of and is quieter than the average of- fice background noise level.
Consistent Print Quality
Most printers have a ribbon can ridge or a single spool ribbon which gives nice dark
printing when new, but quickly starts to fade. To keep the printers output looking consis- tently dark, the ribbons must be changed quite often- The SP-1000 solves this problem by using a wide i'A") ribbon cartridge that will print thousands of pages before needing re- placement. (When you finally do wear out your ribbon, replacement cost is only $11.00. Order WML)
The Best Part
When shopping for a printer with this quality and these features, you could expect to pay around S500 or more. Not now.' We sell this fantastic printer for only $259.95! You need absolutely nothing else to start priming —Just add paper.
No Risk Offer
We give you a 2- week satisfaction guarantee. If you arc not completely satisfied for any rea- son we will promptly refund your purchase. A I -year warranty is included with your printer. The warranty repair policy is to repair or re- place and reship to the buyer within 72 hours of receipt.
The Bottom Line
Be sure to specify the order S for the correct version printer designed for your computer.
Commodore C-64 & C-128, Order /r2200, cable included
IBM-PC and compatibles. Order £2100, plus 8' cable #1103.526,00
Standard Parallel with 36 pin Centronics con- nector, Order #2400, no cable
We also have interfaces and cables for other computers not listed. Call Customer Service at 805/987-2454 for details.
Shipping and insurance is S 1 0.00 — UPS with- in the continental USA. If you are in a hurry, UPS Blue (second day air), APO or FPO is $22,00. Canada, Alaska, Mexico are $30.00 (air). Other foreign is $70.00 (air). California residents add 6°/o tax. The above are cash prices — VISA and MC add 3% to total. We ship the next business day on money orders, cashiers' checks, and charge cards. A 14-day clearing period "k required for checks.
For information call 805/987-2454
TO ORDER CALL TOLL FREE 1 -I800I 962-5800 USA (8 „ psT) 1 -(800) 962-3800 CALIF,
or send order to:
dPROPEK
1071-A Avenida Acaso Camarillo, CA 93010
Spade Arena
Bryan Files
This engaging two-player game, which could have been titled "Indirect Aggression" for its unique design, features superior graphics and playability. For the Commodore 64 and 128 (in 64 mode). Two joysticks are required.
In a distant galaxy, a fierce war be- tween two great empires has reached a stalemate. The cost to both civilizations has been high with no gain to either side. With the assistance of the Timelords, the two sides have agreed to settle the dis- pute in a controlled environment — a Space Arena.
Enclosed in this arena are four asteroids and a ship representing each side. Both ships are equipped with photon blasters, which have the ability to push objects without damaging them. A ship is destroyed only by a collision with an asteroid. The highest score within a given time determines the victor. One point is given each time a pilot hits the opposing ship with a photon blast. If the enemy's ship is de- stroyed by running into an asteroid, 20 points are awarded.
In "Space Arena," two people compete with their joystick- controlled ships. The movement is much like the classic arcade game
48 COMPUTErs Gazette January 1986
Asteroids. Rotate the ship by mov- ing the joystick left or right. Push the joystick forward to activate the ship's thrusters, and press the fire button to release a photon blast. Re- member that you have no brakes; to slow down, you must turn the ship around and thrust in the direction you're moving. Game options in- clude speed (1-3, where 1 is the slowest and 3 the fastest) and time limit (1-5 minutes).
There are two basic strategies to playing Space Arena. You can try to push your opponent into an as- teroid, or push the asteroids into your opponent. The effect of pho- ton blasts on asteroids is much less than on ships because the asteroids are heavier. A single photon blast can send a ship flying across the screen, especially if the ship has to turn around before being able to slow down. On the other hand, if your opponent is faced with several fast moving asteroids, he may crash into one on his own.
The blue spaceship (upper left) has scored a hit, causing the other ship to careen out of control into the path of an asteroid.
Typing It In
Space Arena is written entirely in machine language, so you must use MLX, the machine language entry program that appears regularly in the GAZETTE (a new, time-saving version of MLX appears beginning this month— see "The New MLX" elsewhere in this issue). When you run MLX, answer the initial ques- tions as follows:
Starting Address: CO0O Ending Address: CFB7
After entering the program, save a copy on tape or disk. To load the game, type LOAD "filename", 8,1 for disk, or LOAD "filename" ,1,1 for tape, where fiienatne is the name you used to save the program. To run it, type SYS49152.
If you'd rather not type in the program, send a blank tape or for- matted disk, a self-addressed, stamped return envelope, and $3 (U.S. funds) for each copy. Outside the U.S., please don't send stamps but include the extra cost of post- age. Please indicate that you want a copy of Space Arena, Send it to:
Bryan Files
404 Eastbrook Lane
O'Fallan, MO 63366
See program listing oh page 130. ffl
CAN WE TALK?
You Bet We Can!
Announcing The VOICE MESSENGER and EASY SPEECH For The Commodore 64 and 128.
YOU'RE NOT ALONE--ANYIYIDREI (Or how to program your best Iriend) Ever ask yourself why you spend so much time alone, Or, if only some- one would talk to me. Thanks to Welwyn/Currah, you won't have to think about those things again with the new, exciting VOICE MES- SENGER'" speech synthesizer and accompanying EASY SPEECH™ text-to-speech system,
TALK TO ME
By simply plugging in the VOICE MESSENGER to your Com- modore 64'" and 128*" home computer, it can really become your best friend. The VOICE MESSENGER and EASY SPEECH system will say anything you want, letter by letter, in words, sentences, or in conversational or story form,
SOUNDS GOOD
Unlike other types of synthesizers the VOICE MESSENGER and EASY SPEECH system has an allophone speech synthesizer that makes computer speech intelligible with an unlimited vocabulary that will speak to you clearly and understandably. Its text-to-speech con- verts your typed copy into conversational dialog at the touch of the keyboard.
Commodore 64 & 128 are trademarks ol Commodore. Inc. Inlocom is a trademark ot tnfocom. Inc. Voice Messenger & Easy Speech are trademarks ol Welwyn; Cur rati S flisl. Inc CBS is a trademark of
NOT JUST ALL TALK
Welwyn/Currah along with Rist, Inc. are without a doubt the most innovative developers of computer speech technology. The VOICE MES- SENGER and EASY SPEECH system was designed for all possible appli- cations: educational, entertainment, business and home utility. And can immediately be put into use with most dedicated, menu-driven and pre-existing software including: Infocom's™ "Adventure Series", the C8S1" "Success with Math" educational series, and many, many more.
TALK IS CHEAP! Ilncxpnnsive. anyway] The VOICE MESSENGER and EASY SPEECH system is availa- ble at a suggested combination retail price of under S70.00, or may be purchased separately.
To find out how you can turn your Commodore 64 or 128 computer into your best friend, or to locate a store location nearest you call: (313) 547-8300; or write: Welwyn/Currah, 104 West Fourth Street, Suite 208-9, Royal Oak, Michigan 48067.
K%fclA)yffl
CBSSt>1l*are
© IMS Weiwyn/Currati. All nights Reserved.
Face-Off
Kevin Mykytyn and Mark Turtle
Do you like fast action and competition? Whether you play against a friend or your computer, this colorful simulation of Air Hockey offers both. For the Commodore 64 and 128 (in 64 mode). A joystick is required (two joysticks for two-player game).
If you've played Air Hockey, you already know how to play "Face- Off." Based on ice hockey, Air Hockey pits two players against each other, each trying to shoot a puck into his opponent's goal while
The player on the right has missed blocking the puck, which is headed straight for the goal,
defending his own goal. A center line splits the playfield. Neither player is allowed to cross this line. The object of the game is simple: The first player to score five goals wins.
Typing It In
Face-Off is written in BASIC, al- though a large portion of the game is in machine language (in the form of DATA statements). Type it in using "The Automatic Proofread- er," elsewhere in this issue. After you've finished entering the pro- gram, save a copy on tape or disk. To play the game, load it and type RUN. You'll see a message (READ- ING DATA— PLEASE WAIT) and after a brief pause, you'll see a prompt, 1 OR 2 PLAYERS. Press 1 or 2 (it's not necessary to press RE-
TURN). The one-player game pits you against your computer; the two-player game is for two human opponents and requires two joysticks.
Next, you're prompted to se- lect the speed (1-3). Speed 1 is the slowest and 3 is the fastest. (It is suggested that you play your first game at the slowest speed, although speed 2 is probably the one you'll choose after playing a few times,) If you selected a two-player option, the game begins after you've select- ed a speed. If you chose the one- player option, there's one more prompt to answer: Skill Level (1-9). This determines the intelligence of the computer-controlled player. If you choose 1, the computer plays a pretty easy game. At 9, it's very wily. With a speed of 3 and a skill level of 9, the computer is next to impossible to beat.
When the game begins, you see a red puck, a cyan player on the left, and a yellow player on the right. The cyan player controls the puck to start. Contact with the puck starts the game. (Notice that the puck gradually slows down if it's not hit.) After each goal scored, the player scored against gets control. (You can knock the puck into your own goal, which awards a point to your opponent.) A total of nine pucks are placed per game. If you wish to change the number of pucks, change the value in line 510.
One Player Or Two?
When playing against the computer, plug a joystick into port 1 . You con- trol the yellow player, on the right.
You can move anywhere up to the center line. (At slower speeds, one strategy is to play along the center line, like rushing the net in tennis. This keeps the puck in the com- puter player's territory most of the time if you can react quickly enough.) Current scores for each player are posted at the top of the screen. After nine pucks are used, the game is over. You're then prompted to press the fire button to play again, then to press up on the joystick to change play options or down to play with those of the pre- vious game.
The two-player game has the same rules. The cyan player, on the left, must use a joystick plugged into port 2.
See program listing on page 135. O
2 MILLION AMERICANS
ARE ABOUT TO BECOME
'DANGEROUS'
You could be one.
Play Elite- it's totally stunning.
Elite is Britain's 1985 Adventure Game of the Year, an interstellar mind-game with incredible 3D Vector-Graphic space (light simulation
Take command of your Cobra MK III combat craft, trade with alien cultures on over 2000 planets in eight galaxies. Pick your destination on the starmap, checking out the computer's 4-way vie wscan - and you ' re ready for your first jump thru hyperspace.
As a rookie you start with 'Harmless' status but with the right stuff and combat skills, you'll win ratings of 'Average' to 'Dangerous' - with your ultimate objective to become one of the Elite.
It's big, it's fast and it's here tow for the Com mo d ore 64™ and 128m complete with Manual, Novel, Control Guide, Ship Identification Chart, Keyboard Overlay and the opportunity as the US competition winner to get flown to London, England to try for the Elite World Championship.
It's so addictive it's been called "the Game of a Lifetime",
Elite.
Be dangerous.
^^^
or
{M
Tfi
P.O. BOX 49, RAMSEY NEW JERSEY 07446 USA.
FIREBIRD HOTLINE S: 201 934 7373
SoundChaser Keyboard And MacMusic
The SoundChaser-64 is a rugged, full- size, four-octave musical keyboard, in- terfacing with the Commodore 64's cartridge port, and designed for serious applications. Although at $199 it is not inexpensive, it's one of the best Com- modore 64 musical keyboards on the market and well worth the price. In ad- dition, the SoundChaser is driven by quality software. (Be advised, however, that the software may not work proper- ly on some of the earliest model 64s.)
The disk accompanying Sound- Chaser includes an instructional pro- gram which clearly explains the Monophonic and Polyphonic (three- voice) play modes. (Written documen- tation is a scant three pages, one of which is installation instructions.) In polyphonic mode, the voices all have the same characteristics (waveform, en- velope, etc); there is a modest selection of variable parameters and five preset instruments. Monophonic mode per- mits substantial — even total — modifi- cation of 13 preset sounds. Unfortu- nately, there is no way to save new voicings. This is a considerable draw- back, particularly given the absence of other software for SoundChaser. I hope that a Load/Save option for voicings will be added in the future.
The monophonic voices are a veri- table tutorial on how to get expressive sounds from the SID chip. Richness is largely dependent on two-oscillator near-unison detuning, filter and oscilla- tor modulation (LFO and ADSR). Sync and ring modulation are also imple- mented. Limitations include: the same ADSR for filter and amplitude envelop- ing, a shallow depth of LFO modulation (three half-steps maximum), and no pulse LFO.
Both monophonic and polyphonic modes offer excellent keyboard re- sponse: no delay, and rock-solid decod- ing. The three voices of polyphonic mode correspond to the two lowest and the highest keys pressed. Overall, SoundChaser software is intuitively ac- cessible, particularly to those with ana- log synthesizer experience.
The MacMusic program will indeed, as its liner states, "make your C-64 into
52 COMPUTERS Gazoffa January 1986
a musical Macintosh" — complete with joystick instead of mouse. (The 64 key- board isn't used at all.) Here are icons, pull-down menus, boxes (windows), clicking, and dragging, and "cut/paste/ copy/erase/pain t/magni/y" options inspired by MacPaint and Music Con- s l rue l ion Set.
The well -designed hi -res screen is coupled with an innovative "visual mu- sic" notation which combines a vertical musical keyboard graphic (for pitch) with a horizontal beat/time-line. Three color-coded voices are drawn/brushed (edited/erased) within this time/space block— an effective method for those untrained in music theory and tradi- tional notation.
'^z1
. ,—
MacMusk
1 must confess to some difficulty and frustration in trying to use the joy- stick as a mouse (a real mouse would be easier). Otherwise, MacMusic is simple to learn and operate. The short manual is well -written, clear, and concise.
Ten current pop songs are includ- ed, as well as a choice of 13 instruments (bearing little resemblance to their names). While you are offered a menu of ten scales in any key, a major limita- tion of the current version of MacMusic is that you cannot create or modify in- struments. (The "canned" instruments are nowhere near the quality of Sound- Chaser's.) Although the program liner suggests that additional sounds may be loaded (a pull-down menu includes a "Load Sounds" option), MacMusic it- self does not have this capability. (Per- haps this is a future development to which the liner refers — "MacMusic's
upward compatibility," "continually expanding its features,")
Although early Passport/Hal Leonard literature announced Mac- Music's compatibility with the Sound- Chaser keyboard, MacMusic does not use SoundChaser. Indeed, MacMusic is now described as "the ultimate stand- alone composing program." Unfortu- nately, joysticks are no substitute for organ keyboardists. The value of both SoundChaser and MacMusie would in- crease if they were made compatible. In particular, the ability to enter musical data through the superb SoundChaser would make the innovative and well- designed MacMusic a much more flexi- ble and viable arranging tool.
— Art Hunkins
SomidChaser-64
Passport Designs, Inc.
625 Miramonics St., Suite 103
Half Moon Bay, CA 94019
$199
MacMusic for Commodore 64
Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation
(with Passport Designs, Inc. — Passport
Mttsicsoftware)
8112 W. Biuemound Rd.
Milwaukee, W! 53213
S49.95
S'more
The S'more cartridge changes a 64 into a new, more powerful computer, one with more memory and a much improved BASIC. Most of the additional com- mands are the same as, or similar to, the commands found in the 128's BASIC 7.0. You could say that S'more trans- forms a 64 into a mini-128.
When you first turn on a 64 with S'more installed, the screen has a cyan border, a white background, and a dark gray cursor, which is much more read- able than the 64's default blue on blue. The power-up message announces that you have 61183 bytes free, half again as much as a normal 64. The best part, though, is that there are more than 50 new commands. Plus, you have access to several dozen new variables and ar- rays for handling the SID chip, the CIA chips, screen and color memory, and other memory addressing tasks.
S'nwre abounds in programming aids, NUMBER renumbers a program; DELETE removes a range of lines from a program; FIND shows you where cer- tain variables, numbers, or strings are located; CHANGE performs a search- and-replace; DEC and HEX$ make translations between decimal and hex easy; and DUMP shows current vari- able definitions. KEY can program the function keys with commonly used statements. Turn on TRACE mode to follow the execution of a program. !f you make a programming error, EL, ER, and ERRS tell you the line number with the mistake, the error number, and the error message. TRAP lets you set up error-handling routines within a pro- gram and, if you wish, RESUME to a line number after an error has occurred.
Several new and enhanced disk commands have been added. MERGE adds a program on disk (or tape) to the one currently in memory. LOAD and SAVE have been modified to default to disk. You can enter RUN "program name" to load and run a program from disk. RECORD simplifies access to rela- tive files. No longer is it necessary to go through the OPEN 15,8,15 ritual to send disk commands; you just type DISK, followed by the usual command for scratching, initializing, or whatever. When the drive light starts blinking, you can read the error channel with PRINT DS$.
S'more supports DO-LOOPs (in- cluding WHILE, UNTIL, and EXIT), which are more flexible than FOR- NEXT loops. And IF-THEN statements can be followed by ELSE. There's PRINT AT, for locating the cursor before printing, and PRINT USING, for formatting output. Keyboard input is improved by new commands like IN- LINE, INFORM, and GETKEY. There are many more commands and fea- tures; S'more has nearly all of the 128's program control keywords and pro- grammer's utilities (and some very use- ful ones that aren't available in the 128), but it lacks the new commands for sprites, hi-res graphics, and music.
The cartridge comes with a well- written 129-page manual, which in- cludes an explanation and at least two programming examples for each new command. As a bonus, there's a disk with programs written in S'more BASIC for programmers to study and use. The manual notes that the disk should be backed up — it's not copy-protected — or, if you prefer, you can send S3 to Cardco for a backup. Included is a ver- sion of the popular public domain ma- chine language monitor Micromon, a mailing list program, and more. There are also several interesting hi-res pic- tures on the flip side (although you have to remove the S'more cartridge to get the program to work).
The Dam Busters:
The game that'll keep
your Aston Martin
in tiiehangar.
hi won't be doing much cruising around in your Aston Martin when you have the game that lets you refly one of the RAEs most decisive World War II bombing missions. You must man seven different tactical positions within the bomber Grasp control of the ntricate and complex cockpit or you will perish. Don't kid yourself, this is a very difficult game.To be successful, you'll need the right stuff! Your mission is to match the legendary raid led by Wing Commander Guy Gibson on May 16th, 1943. Against incredible odds. British Lancaster Bombers from his Squadron 617 successfully breached three dams, flooding the Ruhr Valley and virtually crippling Jl»» aI-m^J^1 the Nazi war machine. AlWWOiGlGl&
For dealer information contact: Accolade Inc. 20863 Stevens Creek Boulevard. Cupertino. CA 95014,1408) 446-5757 All rights reserved « 1985. Licensed from Sydney Development Corp.. Canada © 1984. In Canada exclusively, call Beamscope: 1-800-268-5535
Super Graphix
I You Asked For It . . . Here It Is ! ! I
GRAPHICS and FONTS plus an 8K BUFFER (or the ultimate in performance and speed. The XETEC Super Graphix interface tor Commodore Computers now otters a new high in technology with these features:
• 8K Buffer Standard • Capable Ol Storing 2 Additional Fouls
• 10 Printing Modes * Correct GraphlcsJText Aspect Ratio loi
• 3 Internal Screen Dumps all Ma|or Printers
• Exienslve Command Channel • B Active Switches with Changes
• Reset Button to Halt Printing from Butter
• Switch Settings on Label for Ouick Reference
• Correspondence Quality Font Built-in
Constantly Monitored • Internal Fonts Support Super-script, Sub-script, Underlining, Bold-face and Choice of 9 Pitches
Suggested list $99.95 • Includes Lifetime Warranty MEfgO , inc. / 3010 Arnold Rd. / Sallna, KS 67401 / 913-827-0685
with COMPUTE! Books' _
40 Great Flight Simulator Adventures
•Maneuver around the towers of the Vtald Trade Center. •Sightsee the Hudson River. •Practice night flying and aerobatics.
40
GREAT FLIGHT SIMULATOR ADVENTURES
and -J.KJJ IV 1 » • >rgg Initio, ciaforrtreo NOW (CinortM put you In Ttw pfct'i iaar.
G»w««t»»&g*IMj,0»,o^»«ifftf>*i
A co*#Uf fi *wt> ajrtcawi
40 Great Flight Simulator Adventures
Charles Gulick
Forty exciting, customized flight simulator scenarios put you in the pilot's seat as you fly over bridges, around skyscrapers, and land at mysterious airports. Flight Simulator {IBM PC) and Flight Simulator II (Apple II, Commodore 64, Atari) are two of the most popular games/simulations for personal computers. With this book, you can experience flight adventures from the moment you load the pro- gram. Parameters set up each flight and a run- ning commentary describes what you'll see (and where to look to see it). Ranging from the simple and straightforward to the advanced and even mystical, these 40 flights will open a new dimension to an already outstanding program. $9.95 ISBN 0-87455-022-X
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The new keywords add punch to BASIC and the additional memory is certainly welcome. S'more is a valuable addition to any programmer's library. — Todd Heimarck Cardco, Inc. 300 S. Topeka Wichita, KS 67202 $69.95 (cartridge, disk, and manual)
Stunt Flyer
Sierra's new action software. Stunt Fly- er, puts you in the cockpit as you learn the skills of piloting a stunt plane. With a little practice, you'll be doing slow rolls, hammerheads, half-loops, Immel- mans, and even the outside-inside Cu- ban 8. As a beginner, you can watch an airshow to see how the pros do their stunts, before starting to fly your own plane. Since all the pilots are experts, don't expect to be able to do the stunts as well as they do. You'll have to be- come a bona fide ace for that.
Practice makes perfect. First, get fa- miliar with your airplane, a Pitts Special biplane, the most maneuverable of all stunt planes. Then start to practice your stunts. The 47-page manual shows you how to accomplish each maneuver, op- erate the controls, and take part in a stunt-flyer competition. It also covers the basic principles of aerodynamics and shows you how to put together in- dividual moves to create an aerobatics sequence.
Start with the easy maneuvers, like the slow roll. You'll get the hang of it before long. Don't be discouraged at first about crashing. Unlike real flying, you can always get up and walk away from your mistakes.
The most enjoyable thing about Stunt Flyer is the competition part of the program. After some practice, you can compete in various stunts, watch what you did, and receive a score. If your fly- ing is up to par, you'll hear the specta- tors below applaud your efforts. If not — well, at least they don't boo and hiss.
Stunt Flyer is for those who like ex- citement in their software. There won't be any dull moments. The stunts are not easy to master, but that's the chal- lenge. Once you've improved, you can save the results of your compulsory se- quence score and freestyle flight to a "competition" disk and send the disk to Sierra. The company is offering a $1000 prize to the best Stunt Fiver pilot, some- thing that makes this piece of software pretty realistic.
— David Florance Sierra On-line, Inc. P.O. Box 485 Coarsegold, CA 93614 $24.95 Uiisk)
HardBaU:
The game that'll turn
your Ferrari into
a pinch hitter.
Baseball, so real and lifelike that you'll bench your Ferrari! Thats Hard I3all, quite simply the most real- istic sports simulation game of all time. In just five minutes you'll see that all other com- puter baseball games are minor league compared to HardBall. Youll swear you're watching the Saturday afternoon "Game '■'/ of the Week" on network television!
Hardball plays as a field- action game or a manager-strategy game— or both. Watch curveballs actually drop over the plate, listen to the umpire yell "strike three" or consult the managers screen for a key substitution. You can even position the infield and outfield to match Mj%.^%.^\lrmrM^ the batters style or game situation. /IWvOlUQ6
For dealer information contact: Accolade Inc.. 20863 Stevens Creek Boulevard. Cupertino, CA 950l4,|408j 446-5757 All rights reserved © 1985. In Canada exclusively, call Beamscope: 1-800-268-5535
Operation Market Garden And Kampfgruppe
Strategic Simulations, Inc., has built its reputation on strategy war games for home computers. The company is pro- lific in the field, with games to simulate battles from many different historical periods. But the sheer number of SSI ti- tles causes its own problem: How does the company prevent all these games from seeming alike?
One of the problems is that war- gamers themselves are very unwilling to experiment. We expect certain things from our games — things like hexagon maps and lots of numbers — and if we don't find them we insist that the game prove they weren't needed, SSI has shown that it understands its audience. Most SSI games use formats the player will find familiar, while a few attempt to break new ground. Operation Market Garden and Kampfgruppe, two of SSI's latest releases, reflect these two
concerns.
The subjects of the two games are the first hint of the traditional. Opera- tion Market Garden deals with the cam- paign for a bridgehead in Arnhem,
Holland, in September 1944. The larg- est combined-arms airborne operation in history, the Amhem campaign was the Western Allies' most notable defeat. Kampfgruppe simulates small-unit bat- tles on the Russian front, where the So- viets and Germans were repeatedly involved in action. It demonstrates the changes in equipment and tactics by both sides throughout the war. Both the Arnhem campaign and tactical Russian - front battles are traditional wargame topics.
Operation Market Garden
COMPUTE! s Gazette January 19B6 55
Of the two game-systems, though. Operation Market Garden is the more traditional. It uses a hexagon-covered terrain map and battaiion-sized units with lots of numbers. It employs a rigid play sequence, where one side moves and fights and then the other side moves and fights. The detailed manual includes maps showing the progress of the historical campaign, and charts demonstrating how the computer cal- culates combat. The game is superbly done, but it's also completely without surprise,
Operation Market Garden demon- strates SSI's concern for the evolution of proven game systems. There is little
innovation, but there is nothing out of place, either. The game uses well -tested movement, combat, and supply sys- tems to simulate the campaign with re- spectable accuracy. It forces the player to use both strategic planning and tacti- cal finesse. And it does it nil without raising the gamer's ire. A thoroughly solid effort.
Katnpfgruppe illustrates SSI's other major concern — the innovative war- game system. The game map is divided into squares, not hexagons. The squares do not appear on the screen, so the map has a more natural appearance, and is easy to read. Units can move in eight di- rections instead of six. The game in-
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eludes four historical scenarios and an easy-to-use scenario generator. A wide variety of armored, artillery, and infan- try weaponry is available to the players. None of these features is innovative in itself, but in the context of a swift- moving system, they are nicely done.
What is new is the way you, the player, control your battle units. Effec- tively, you order your units to move twice, A unit will follow its first order, then, unless you have changed it, its second order. If you alter the orders, it will obey, but only after a short (but often crucial) delay. The delay system forces you to make a plan and stick to it, or suffer some degree of chaos. Units fire automatically at enemy units; you can control the range at which your units fire, but not the actual target. This procedure is both unusual and realistic.
Kttmpfgruppe
Katnpfgruppe allows you to play a very specific leadership role. Rather than command individual units, you can give orders to those units' head- quarters. This system both reduces the time-consuming problem of moving each unit and adds a further degree of realism. In effect, you give general rath- er than specific orders, of the type actu- ally given by higher-level commanders. The game allows you to switch to a unit-by-unit command if you wish, but you will use this option less frequently as you begin to master the game.
Both Operation Market Garden and Kampfgruppe are encouraging for the company's followers. Thoroughly de- signed efforts like Operation Market Garden are always welcome in the war- game hobby, while new directions like Kampfgruppe are necessary if the hobby is to grow. What SSI seems to need now is a computer with greater graphics and computing capabilities. With the new generation of personal computers now appearing, SSI's games should soon of- fer even better graphics, easier play, and greater realism.
—Neil Randall
Strategic Simulations, Inc. 883 Sticrliti Rd., Bldg. A-200 Mountain Vieu.% CA 94045 Kampgruffe ($59.95) Operation Market Garden ($49.95)
Fast Tracks: The Computer Slot Car
Construction Kit
That's Tom Sneva up ahead on the pole. Bobby Rahal is outside on the first row. Rick Mears is inside on the second row, and here I am, starting in fourth, on the outside of the second row. The green flag Will be out any second. Rahal is probably going to accelerate hard and try to beat Sneva into the turn. I'll just go with him and try to take the lead coming out of the second turn. There's the flag! Hit it hard now!
You'll probably never be sitting on the starting grid at the Indianapolis 500 with Mears, Sneva, and Rahal, but Fast Tracks: The Computer Slot Car Construc- tion Kit will put you on the toughest slot car tracks around against the toughest and smartest drivers you'll ever care to see.
The predesigned tracks are tricky enough. But they can get even trickier as you design your own race course and try to post the fastest time possible. Tight rums, narrow one lane straight- aways, overpasses, and oil slicks make the course extremely demanding. Try to pass at the wrong time, and you'll find yourself being bumped and spinning off the track. Your 64 is not Mr. Nice Guy. Given the chance, it'll push you off the track every time. Don't hesitate to bump back — you can gain two sec- onds for every car you force off the track.
Fast Tracks includes more than 20 different track sections for designing your own race course. The track sec- tions are easy to position for your own racing layout. Just use your joystick to place the pieces. After completing your track, the computer provides the land- scaping and you're ready to race. Build a really tough track, then challenge your friends to beat your time on your track.
The most innovative feature of Fast Tracks is an option that allows you to make a disk copy of your track and give it to a friend who can then load it and
Psi 5 Trading Co: The game
iat 'II put your into orbit.
It's the 35th Century and you're trying to ^captain Quasan-3GP Space Freighters | on the edge of an eternal galaxy. You \ don't have time to too! around in your BMW you're trying to outlast marauding space pirates who seem to be reading your mind.
Its a long shot, but this is your only chance to save the starved-out inhabitants of the Parvin Frontier You hand-pick your own crew from 30 possible candidates. Some will be human. Some will not. Make the right choice! Each candidate has his own special skills and personality, if you can't manage M^ ^ r»l«M *J AM 1 1 ii Tti v\ >i i w< >i 1 1 survive iflCCOiClCiC
Fordealer information contact: Accolade Inc.. 20863 Stevens Creek Boulevard Cupertino. CA 95014.1408] 446-5757 All rights reserved © !985. In Canada exclusively, call Beamscope: 1-800-268-5535
run it, without having to own a copy of Fast Tracks. The program even gives you credit for designing the track. Your friends can experience the challenge of attempting to beat your best rime, lack- ing only the ability to modify or design a track of their own.
An additional disk may be pur- chased from Activision which includes several other tracks, including a Bobby Rahal signature track. Here's a chance to experience a race against one of the best. Try to beat Rahal's time around
his own track.
Activision has also announced a "Dream Track" contest. Create the most difficult and complex track imag- inable, then send it to Activision. The winner, selected by Bobby Rahal, will receive an all-expense paid trip for two to the 1986 Tndianapolis 500.
— George Miller Activision
2350 Bay shore Frontage Rd. Mountain View, CA 94043 $29.95
Keys to Responsible Driving
Learning how to drive is a rite of pas- sage in America. Almost every teenager takes some sort of driver's education course in high school. Keys to Responsi- ble Driving, a package from CBS soft- ware, is an interesting addition to this education.
This isn't a driving simulation — that's left for the the open highwav. In- stead, this self-paced question and an- swer program presents the general rules of the road, letting you move through each chapter of instruction at your own speed. Defensive driving is stressed
throughout the program, and graphi- cally displayed situations put you in the driver's seat You react, and your an- swers, whether right or wrong, are evaluated.
Do you know what the sign for a slow-moving vehicle is? Just how safe or unsafe is mixing alcohol and auto- mobiles? Answers to these questions, and scores of others, are included in this program. Screen after screen shows you the proper way to make a U-turn, or parallel park. What are the steps you need to keep in mind when making a
COMPUTE!'* Gazette January 1986 57
right turn— or a left turn? Keys to Re- sponsible Driving tells you.
A pre-test and post-test show you what you know before you begin, and what you've learned after you're fin- ished. Scores are even kept in a record file which you can access at any time. Separate chapters cover such things as handling and maneuvering a car, road signs, city driving, highway driving, turning and changing lanes, as well as outlining the dangers of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Two disks and a Guide to Safe Driv-
ing booklet are included in this package for the Commodore 64. Reviewed bv
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